Father Markarius, priest of Manbāl Church, wavered compensation of two hundred thousand Egyptian pounds set by a reconciliation session from a Muslim who participated in the destruction of Coptic property during last week's fight between Muslims and Copts. The committee was formed under the direction of head of al-Minya Security Department, Major General Ahmad Sulaymān, they determined half a million Egyptian pounds penalty if the peace is broken, which both sides have agreed to respect.

The investigation into fire in the Coptic Orthodox Virgin Mary Church in Tamā last Sunday night (May 19) has begun under the supervision of Advisor Hāzim 'Abd al-Shāfī. Prelimary investigations have found that the fire may have been caused by a short circuit. Archbishop Būlā Sam'ān, the Church priest, has prohibited the public from entering the site and mandated the formation of a local engineering unit to further investigate the causes of the fire (Hajāj al-Husaynī, Muhammad Mutāwi', and Nīvīn Mustafī, al-Ahrām, May 21, p. 3). Read original text in Arabic.