Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra brings Cairo audiences to their feet
As the lights of the Main Hall dimmed, the man seated next to me whispered: “We’re in for a real treat. A quick glance around the audience confirmed all seemed to agree. After all, it isn’t every day that the British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) performs in Cairo (actually, this was their first visit to …
Is foreign media stoking Islamophobia?
CAIRO: The Western media and film industry are perpetuating Islamophobia and prejudice by demonizing Muslims and Arabs as violent, dangerous and threatening people, according to a new British report released Jan. 26. The western media are largely seen by Muslims as a negative influence, co-author Sameera Ahmed said in the report The British media and …
Feel the love
Hamas and the Quartet: the locals are unwelcome to the club
He stepped in from the harsh sunlight of Egypt. He had just crossed the Sinai with two Arab friends, one of whom had died during the journey. The news that he and his friend brought was of huge import. This slight figure, still dusty and grimed from travel by camel, stepped from the Cairo hubbub …
Handball World Championship 2007
Turkish jets and Iraqi instability
The Bush administration is courting influential Kurdish factions in Iraq. But across the border in Turkey, it is supporting Turkey’s subjugation of its large Kurdish population. The United States has just approved the sale of F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to Turkey that are to be used for the express purpose of crushing Kurdish militants …
Priority to be given to solving unemployment problem -Nazif
CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said providing new job opportunities and solving the problem of unemployment top the government priorities and constitute a key target the government is seeking to achieve through cooperation and coordination among all ministries, reported the State Information Service Thursday. The Prime Minister singled out the importance of the role of …
Darfur needs the ICC Investigations
Investigators from the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague are due to arrive in Sudan in the coming days. Yet vocal opponents have recently argued that the Court is responsible, albeit unwittingly , for contributing to the atrocities in Darfur. This is tantamount to stating that courts are responsible for fueling crime and injustice …
Moussa: Arab League to persist in Iraq
CAIRO: The Arab League will continue its support for Iraq and is seeking a replacement for its chief diplomat in Baghdad who quit last week, the organization said Wednesday. Secretary General Amr Moussa said that he is looking at a number of suggested names to head the league s delegation in Baghdad, confirming that the …
Egyptian design comes out of the sands
Agence France-Presse PARIS: Egyptians proudly say their Pharaohs invented furniture. And now the country s fourth biggest industry is seeking to come out of the woodwork and carve out a place on the global scene, with the help of the world s top designers. For you it may be only a piece of furniture, for …
Tunisian becomes first Arab nominated for Holocaust honor
Associated Press JERUSALEM: At the height of the Second World War, Khaled Abdelwahhab hid a group of Jews on his farm in a small Tunisian town, saving them from the Nazi troops occupying the north African nation. More than six decades later, Abdelwahhab has become the first Arab nominated for recognition as Righteous Among the …
Egyptian artifacts among smuggled cache in Greece
ATHENS: Greek police have arrested a woman suspected of antiquity smuggling after discovering a hoard of over 100 ancient Greek and Egyptian objects in houses owned by her and her two sons, police said Thursday. Acting on a tip, officers arrested the 72-year-old woman at the coastal village of Karavomylos in central Greece, and are …
Right groups fear crackdown
CAIRO: Surrounded by more than 100 state security police, a crowd of 50 human rights activists gathered on the steps of the Press Syndicate to mark last week’s National Police Day with a protest against torture. For the demonstrators, the holiday – a rarely celebrated commemoration of the police’s role in ending British rule – …
Life is a beach . and it's going to the dogs
NICOSIA: Dogs are to get a beach of their own on the sun-kissed Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Dogs are strictly prohibited from the holiday island s shoreline to keep the beaches clean for bathers, but Cypriot authorities have decided enough of the dog s life. They are looking for suitable beaches where people and their …
Chaos at student blogger trial, judge adjourns session
CAIRO: The trial of blogger Kareem Amer, a former Al-Azhar University student who is currently standing trial for his controversial writings on Islam and President Hosni Mubarak, was adjourned for the second time on Thursday due to a verbal tussle between the prosecution and the defense. The trial has been postponed until Feb. 22 when …
Egypt storm back to clinch 'Friendship Tournament'
CAIRO: Egypt stormed back from a one-goal deficit to squash Belarus 4-1 and win the International Friendship Tournament in Qatar on Wednesday. The game looked heading towards an extra time when the score was tied at 1-1 with just seven minutes remaining on the clock. But the Egyptians opened the floodgates with Ahmed Samir, Mohamed …
Arab-Israelis aren't willing to be pushed around any more
With the release of a highly anticipated document, the “Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, the Palestinian community within Israel has taken its first steps toward full empowerment. The document, which lays out a broad, if not comprehensive, map of relations between the state of Israel and its Palestinian Arab citizens, is unique …
Israel never liked Bush's democratization scheme
Israel and the United States have a close and vital strategic relationship that constitutes a pillar of Israel’s security. Israeli leaders are aware that any major new regional policy departure not closely coordinated with Washington is liable to be a non-starter and to cloud American-Israeli relations. Any smart Israeli aspiring to political leadership knows that …
Injecting sense into the terrorism debate
The United States as a whole – citizens, government, media and academia – broadly has had a difficult time coming to grips with the terrorism phenomenon that struck its shores so traumatically on Sept. 11, 2001. A two-week journey throughout the United States this month left me with the sense that American society is more …
Love is in the air
Al-Jazeera producer charged with "harming national interest"
CAIRO: Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned a decision by judicial authorities on Jan. 27 to initiate trial proceedings against Al-Jazeera TV producer Howayda Taha. Taha was charged with “harming national interest in a documentary she was preparing about police torture in Egypt. “We are deeply concerned about the number of journalists and bloggers …
Egypt to boycott Arab Futsal competitions
CAIRO: The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) decided on Monday to suspend its participation in Arab Futsal activities indefinitely in response to the brutal assault launched on Egyptian players by Libyans in the Arab Cup last week. Libyan security forces clubbed the Egyptian team players during the interval of the final game against the hosts, leaving …
Ghazl El-Mahalla textile workers say their protest is fueled by hunger
CAIRO: Zein Al-Abdeen Zaki has worked at the Ghazl El-Mahalla textile factory in Gharbiyya Province, north of Cairo for many years and like most laborers in Egypt’s textile sector, his life has never been easy. The 35-year-old father of four has struggled to support his family on LE 250 a month, but then disaster struck. …
Lovers stoned to death in Pakistani village
MULTAN, Pakistan: Two lovers were tied to trees and stoned to death for adultery by angry relatives in a Pakistani village, police said Tuesday. Police said the couple, who were in their early 40s, was killed in a barrage of rocks thrown by relatives of the woman in a village in central Punjab province on …
Blood donations encouraged at Adly Street
CAIRO: Downtown’s Adly Street will witness a blood donation campaign organized by the ministry of international cooperation. The ministry joins nation wide efforts to encourage blood donation. Throughout Wednesday and Thursday, the ministry will host a specialized medical team assigned by the ministry of health, to test blood donors expected at the ministry’s headquarters on …
One killed in Sinai landmine blast
SHARM EL-SHEIKH: An Egyptian worker was killed late Tuesday when a landmine believed to have been left over from Arab-Israeli wars exploded near the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, police said. They said the blast occurred some 35 km northeast of Sharm El-Sheikh in a rugged mountainous area close to the coastal road to …
YOUTH VIEWS: How Americans and Arabs view one another
When we think of regions such as the Middle East or countries like the United States, why do we often have a preconceived notion of the kind of people who live there – what they believe, how they act? We mainly acquire such knowledge and notions about other peoples and cultures through the media: cinema, …
Eastern Cairo Industrial zone to house first company for poultry abattoir operation
LE 100 million facility to house 57 abattoirs CAIRO: Members of the Poultry Division of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce announced this week the establishment of a LE 10 million capital abattoir operation company with facilities to be located in Al Nahda City Industrial Zone. The company will operate 57 abattoirs to supply chilled and …
Ghazl El-Mahalla textile workers say their protest fueled by hunger
CAIRO: Zein Al-Abdeen Zaki has worked at the Ghazl El-Mahalla textile factory in Gharbiyya Province, north of Cairo for many years and like most laborers in Egypt’s textile sector, his life has never been easy. The 35-year-old father of four has struggled to support his family on LE 250 a month, but then disaster struck. …
Egypt court orders release of Islamist students
CAIRO: The Cairo criminal court ordered on Wednesday the release of 42 students affiliated with the opposition Muslim Brotherhood held since December, a security source said. The court ruled that the justification for the provisional detention had ended, opening the way for students to be freed. Despite a similar court order for the release of …