34495 Articles
Noam Chomsky is a noted linguist, author, and foreign policy expert. On February 9, Michael Shank interviewed him on the latest developments in US policy toward Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Venezuela. This is Part III of a four-part series. Shank: How can the US government think an attack on Iran is feasible given troop …
The Arab world is known as a home to some of the least democratic political structures existing around the globe. Basic human rights are barely met even in some of the apparently liberal countries in the region, such as Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates. But with the introduction of the internet in the intellectually …
Reuters ZURICH: What are the greatest architectural achievements in history? Rome s Colosseum? The Great Wall of China? The Pyramids of Giza? That s what millions of people are asking themselves as they vote in the largest global poll ever conducted, an attempt to recast ancient history by ranking the top architectural marvels as the …
Associated Press LOS ANGELES: Amana Siddiqi loved swimming as a child but gave it up as a teenager because her Muslim faith required she fully cover her body in public. At age 15, I started to cover, so I stopped going to public pools, said Siddiqi, now 27, whose parents come from India and Pakistan. …
Associated Press ROME: The Italian government has signaled it will not press Washington for the extradition of 26 Americans indicted in the alleged CIA kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in Milan, according to remarks published Monday. Milan prosecutors want the government to ask Washington to agree to their request for the extradition of the Americans. …
Noam Chomsky is a noted linguist, author, and foreign policy expert. On February 9, Michael Shank interviewed him on the latest developments in US policy toward Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Venezuela. This is Part II of a four-part series. Shank: Venezuela has been successfully defiant with Chavez making a swing towards socialism. Where are …
In its February 16 issue, The Washington Post described Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s trip to the region as a “high-profile peace mission. There was only one problem with the wording. It appeared in a news-item on page 18, a clear indication of the relatively low priority the trip enjoys on the political agenda of …
Are economic and political reforms an effective way to combat corruption, or do changes such as privatizing state industries actually increase opportunities for corruption? There is not a single answer to the question, but a closer look at the types of corruption that are endemic in various Arab states and the nature of current reform …
When I launched my blog on February 6, 2005 I never imagined that it would become an obsession of mine or a mini-phenomenon for many people interested in the region. Yet within months of the beginning, it became clear to me that blogging was destined to become an integral part of my life, perhaps for …
America’s decision to target Iranian agents in Iraq who may be involved in supporting violent militias is but another sign of the massive influence Iran is exercising in that troubled country. But the United States in fact facilitated Iran’s growing influence by toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime and that of the Taliban in Afghanistan, thus removing …
Associated Press LONDON: A majority of people surveyed in 27 countries do not believe the world is locked in a clash of civilizations that will lead to violent conflict between Islam and the West, according to a poll published Monday. The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) World Service poll of more than 28,000 people found 52 …
Associated Press BAGHDAD: Insurgents launched an attack on a US combat post Monday, sending in a suicide bomber and clashing with American troops. Two US soldiers were killed and 17 wounded, the military said. The assault began with a suicide bomber exploding a vehicle outside the base north of Baghdad, said the military statement. It …
Noam Chomsky is a noted linguist, author, and foreign policy expert. On February 9, Michael Shank interviewed him on the latest developments in US policy toward Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Venezuela. This is Part I of a four-part series. Shank: With similar nuclear developments in North Korea and Iran, why has the United States …
RED SEA: Dedicated to the memory of the former president of the American University in Cairo (AUC) John D. Gerhart, who was a lifelong educator and environmentalist, the university recently inaugurated the John D. Gerhart Field Station in El Gouna. This station will serve as an environmental studies research center while offering a variety of …
Abdelkareem Nabil Suleiman, an Egyptian college student and blogger, will be sentenced on February 22 in Cairo. His alleged crime is expressing his own personal opinion on issues of education, women’s rights, and government reform. As punishment, he could spend the next 15 years in prison. This is a travesty that should not be allowed …
It has been famously said that the Palestinians never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. The recent meeting, hosted by Saudi King Abdullah, held in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, between Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian Prime Minister, and Khaled Meshal, Hamas s political guru, seems to prove the …
CAIRO: Fifteen young girls sat around two tables in a classroom at the Egyptian Museum, molding rakes and water pumps out of red clay. They are participating in the museum’s program to teach schoolchildren about Egyptian agriculture during Pharaonic times. In many museums, one might expect posters and pictures on the walls to inspire the …
Reuters CAIRO: A 37-year-old Egyptian woman who tested positive for the bird flu virus has died in a Cairo hospital, bringing the number of deaths from the disease in Egypt to13, a government health official said on Friday. A World Health Organization expert said a delay in reporting symptoms was largely behind the most recent …
Is red wine the secret to longevity or a potent poison? The balance of alcohol’s benefits versus its sinister sins on our health is as complex as it is controversial, and has been documented throughout civilization in many religions including Islam and Christianity. Red wine lovers will be pleased to know that there is now …
Cairo’s student population has jumped aboard the Internet social sensation with the amiable, yet addictive Facebook. Designed in 2004 by two students from Harvard University, Facebook has become one of the fastest growing networks among teens and young adults in the US and the most widely subscribed to by college students. In September 2006, the …
CAIRO: A police officer coincidentally caught out man disguised as a policeman as he posed as a major in one of the capital’s streets, Al Gomhuria daily reported. Captain Islam Mukbel, of the Nasr City police station, was on patrol along with two detectives and some soldiers. Their patrol car collided with a man who …
CAIRO: Running from sound grenades and tear gas at protests in the West Bank, working for a grassroots Palestinian organization opposing Israel’s separation wall, and staying on a settlement in the Jordan Valley – for a few American students in Cairo, the opposing dynamics of occupation defined a month-long stay in the area through the …
Reuters WASHINGTON: Even a small rise in the world s sea levels, predicted as a result of global warming, could make environmental refugees of some 56 million people in developing countries, a World Bank economist said on Tuesday. If seas rise as little as one meter this century, as forecast in some scientific models, one-fourth …
Reuters DUBAI: Al-Qaeda s second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahri said US President George W. Bush s troop build-up in Iraq was a gamble bound to fail and criticized his Democrat rivals for not bringing any change in Washington s policy. [Bush s] addiction to gambling … motivates him to continue to place losing bets until he goes …
With the recent riots in Arab-French suburbs and heated debates over the hijab (head scarf), France may not seem like the place to find Middle Eastern cultural activities. Not true. And my recent trip to Paris proves it. Whether you’re interested in studying the history of intellectual and cultural connections between Europe and the Arab …
The reconciliation between the leaders of the two major Palestinian groups, Hamas and Fatah, which was negotiated in Saudi Arabia last week, is being hailed as a major political breakthrough. But the national unity government created as a result of this agreement faces many daunting challenges. The agreement needs to be followed by an effort …
St. Valentine, a martyred Christian saint in ancient Rome, could have never imagined how love would evolve into a force in international politics. He probably only knew love for God and for his fellow human beings. The notion of love for a nation, or love for the leader of a nation, would have been peculiar …
Two years after the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister, Rafik Hariri and 22 others, including the former minister Basil Fuleihan, on Tuesday Lebanon was subjected to another terrorist attack in Ain Alaq, near Bikfaya, home of the Gemayel family. The bombings represented, most probably, another escalation by the Syrian regime. In assessing the possible …
Reuters CAIRO/ROME: A Muslim cleric freed from a prison in Egypt four years after being grabbed in Milan in a suspected CIA kidnapping wants to sue former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi for damages, his lawyer said on Monday. Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, has alleged that Egyptian guards tortured him with …
There is growing concern among the Western coalition forces about the worsening situation in Afghanistan. The insurgency has recently shown its bloodiest face since the Taliban’s ouster in 2001 and represents a ticking time bomb for the collapse of US policies in the country. The fallout of American policies in Iraq has been felt across …
