Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
James Brown, Hakim's soul brother, dead at 73
CAIRO: Legendary African-American singer James Brown died yesterday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital at the age of 73, suffering from pneumonia. With a career spanning more than 50 years, Brown s pioneering of various musical genres including R&B, funk, disco, rap and soul influenced a multitude of different artists that ranged from Elvis Presley, Bob …
Star struck
Boxing Day a good day to reflect
BOXING DAY: I missed the Queen’s Christmas speech from Buckingham Palace, so I thought I might try and summarise some mysteries of my own that have crossed my path this year. Living in Egypt, the Middle East, I feel more and more as if I am watching a fuse sizzle and smoke as it races …
The Arab lion bares its head in Darfur's ongoing war
In the final weeks of the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Mohamed Issa, the chairman of the Rizeigat Advocacy Council and the most prominent independent Arab observer at the talks, grew daily more depressed. Under American pressure, the African Union was forcing the pace of the talks and setting deadlines for an agreement. The leaders …
Lebanon's justice system on trial
During my visit to Lebanon in early December, I was struck by the display of freedom of expression represented by peaceful anti-government demonstrations in Beirut, a rare event in the region. At the same time, the protracted political crisis has justifiably raised fears that the country may descend into political violence leading to human rights …
Assad will abandon Iran if Israel talks peace with him
The Iraq Study Group report reached a series of obvious conclusions. Everything is linked. The United States cannot remain in the Iraqi swamp much longer nor can it abandon Iraq and leave it in its current chaotic state. In order to leave Iraq gradually there is a need for a pragmatic Arab coalition that assists …
Kidnapped Egyptian, Jordanian ship crew head for Colombo
COLOMBO: The 25-member crew of a Jordanian ship which ran aground near rebel-held territory off Sri Lanka s coast last week were on their way to the capital Colombo Monday, the Tamil Tiger guerrillas said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the crew led by an Iraqi national was handed over to the …
Export Development Bank to increase facilitated loans
The Egyptian Export Development Bank is mulling over a proposal to increase its facilitated credit to exporters and to cut interest rates in order to encourage export-oriented industries, said the Bank chairman Hisham Hassan. He said that the bank has developed a plan to increase credit facilities for labor intensive industries that are mainly directed …
Government bird flu guidelines ignored, say officials
Cairo: The latest fatalities due to the H5N1 strain, known as the bird flu virus, are due to poor hygienic practices and a resistance by poultry and bird handlers to put into effect government warnings, health officials have charged. When Hanan Aboul Magd, 39, succumbed to the virus in the Nile Delta province of Gharbiya …
Egyptian bourse quiet in pre-holiday lull
CAIRO: Egyptian share indexes were barely changed on Sunday after a day of quiet trade as foreign investors began their holidays and local and Arab investors adjusted their portfolios ahead of their own holiday period, traders said. It s quiet — all foreign institutions started their holidays on Saturday, and we will have (the Muslim …
"Muslims love Jesus" but can they wish Christians Merry Christmas?
Associated Press KUWAIT CITY: Is it religiously acceptable for Muslims to wish their Christian colleagues or acquaintances a Merry Christmas? In Kuwait, it depends on who you ask. Days before the holiday that is not officially celebrated in this small oil-rich state, pundits like Mohammed al-Kandari began urging fellow Muslims not to extend the greeting …
Pope calls for Middle East peace
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI on Monday made a fresh appeal for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, where he said he hopes to pay a pilgrimage if circumstances permit. The 79-year-old pontiff also called for an end to brutal violence in Iraq and a democratic Lebanon in his traditional Christmas Urbi …
Is your mind open or just foreign?
CAIRO: The nice thing about the word open-minded is that it is not one of these ostentatious, pretentious words that are hard to spell. Its definition can be clearly deduced as most of us know the meaning of both open and mind (and can spell them quite effortlessly). Despite this however, the word seems to …
Police detain 5 members of the Muslim Brotherhood
Police detained five members of the main opposition Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo Sunday, along with 20 staff of a construction company owned by one of them, security sources said. It was the latest move in an escalating crackdown on the group, which holds 20 percent of the seats in parliament, since student members held a …
A link between child rape and train disaster?
CAIRO: Forensic investigators are currently examining the possibility that charges brought against Ramadan Mansour – also known as the Turbini killer who raped and murdered young boys – could unravel the mystery of a 1998 train accident in Kafr Al Dawar. According to press reports, Mansour arrested last month on charges of sexually abusing and …
Egypt concerned over Chad-Sudan conflict
CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit met with Chadian counterpart Ahmat Allami Saturday to discuss the Darfur crisis’ growing regional implications. Thousands of Sudanese refugees have fled to Chad to escape the decimated region, but the fighting has followed them into Chad where janjaweed fighters have reportedly conducted raids against them and Chadian civilians. …
Bird flu kills again, afflicts three due to negligence expert says
CAIRO: The 18th Egyptian to be afflicted of H5N1 avian flu died Sunday, bringing the count to eight deaths in Egypt since the virus was first detected in February. Two of Intisar Farid’s relatives, a man, 26, and his sister, 15, occupying the same house had also contracted the disease after slaughtering a flock of …
SUV giants in Cairo's narrow streets
The trend of driving Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and large super performance cars, a phenomenon that has plagued Europe for the past year, seems to finally have reached the streets of Cairo. On a small street in Zamalek, the driver of a Hummer, under heavy complaints from his date, is desperately trying to park the …
Sci-tech: Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, or how to be a fish underwater
Respect your body, your equipment, and the Red Sea Egypt has been blessed with the Red Sea; you can swim in its warm waters, surf its windy swells, or dive its stunning depths. And in attempting to do the latter in bodies of water the world over, we humans have uncovered a life much less …
Healthy, none fattening and won't make a dent in your wallet
As the world gets more health conscious, people are substituting confectionery and chips with cereal bars – a healthier and less fattening alternative snack. Imported brands like Kellogg’s and Nature Valley have always been available, but lately a local product by Temmy’s has appeared on the shelves for about a fifth of the price. Temmy’s …
Gimme That Healing Feeling
Alternative healing gaining ground in Cairo If pharmaceutical companies had their way, they would be bombarding us with cure-all multi-purpose pills, and in the process breed a generation of faux-hypochondriacs willing to pop a pill at the slightest suspicion of any incoming malady. In the meantime, some would gaze enviously at the East, how they …
The Pussycat Dolls tease an Egyptian audience
If you insist on having shisha, try this at-home method
CAIRO: Tired of loud traffic around downtown ahwas? Or over-the-top trendiness at Sequoia? Well, you can skip those places now. It’s easier than you think to enjoy shisha in your own home. A decent hookah, tobacco and coals can all be purchased for less than LE100. The first step to at-home shisha is, of course, …
Tragic Blair, dishonest to the end
There is a tragic, pitiful quality to British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s current tour around the Middle East. He says the trip is an effort to resurrect the Arab-Israeli peace process, but it seems much more obviously designed to salvage Blair’s fading reputation. It is unlikely to succeed on either count, for the prime minister …
Legitimate star quality
Cement factory workers on strike
CAIRO: More than 1,500 workers at the Cement Tora Factory have been on strike since Wednesday Dec. 20. The workers’ sit-in has blocked the factory entrance, stopping trucks from loading cement packs out of it or supplying it with raw material. The workers are protesting not receiving payment incentives for six months. According to Al …
Dreaming of a military victory in Iraq is dangerous
Robert Gates, the new secretary of defense, warned this week that an American failure in Iraq would be a ‘calamity’ that would haunt the United States for decades. Unfortunately, he’s right. But what is a realistic definition of success? If we ‘surge’ tens of thousands more troops into Iraq and march them up the hill, …
Verses of life
A poetic biography of Nabeel Yassin s life in Baathist Baghdad The wounds we make with words are greater than those made with swords. These are a mother’s prophetic words of warning to her son, an aspiring poet and activist. Nabeel’s Song by Jo Tatchell is the biography of Nabeel Yassin the celebrated Iraqi poet …
Egypt and Libya to boost trade
CAIRO: Egypt and Libya signed 18 agreements and protocols in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties in the fields of trade, tourism and education, the state-run Mena news agency reported Thursday. The agreements were signed after a session of the joint Egyptian-Libyan high committee by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and his Libyan counterpart Baghdadi …
'Tis the season to be jolly
It s that time of the year when Christmas carol melodies seem to haunt you. Whether it s blaring from shopping outlets sound systems or your child who is practicing for her Christmas performance, the carols are infectious. Before you know it, you re humming Jingle Bells as you sit at your office computer. Though …