Egyptian foreign minister urges calm

• Al-Masry Al-Youm, Wednesday, January 27, 2010 12:30 PM

Egyptian authorities have moved to tone down the rhetoric in the buildup to Thursday's Egypt-Algeria semifinal at the Africa Cup of Nations, a rematch of last fall's World Cup qualifying matches that sparked rioting in Egypt and Algeria.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and his Algerian counterpart are working to head off disputes between fans of both countries at the game in Angola.

National Sports Council chief Hassan Saqr called upon Egyptian soccer federation head Samir Zaher to "tone down" his patriotic rhetoric so as not to incite violence.

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