Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Official promises broken
CAIRO: Less than a week after parliament promised to amend the law to prohibit the detainment of journalists as a result of their stories, an independent female reporter was sentenced to one year in prison in a libel case. “Excessive [and] harsh, said Amira Malash, the sentenced journalist, referring to the court verdict. “The court …
South Korean president says investment inhibited by lack of information
Intro: CAIRO: On the second day of his visit to Egypt, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun said yesterday that while he is mystified by the dearth of his country s investment in Egypt, it is likely to be the result of a lack of information about Egypt amongst South Korean companies. Roh adds that Egypt …
A life fashioned from stone
CAIRO: Adam Henein is known in the art world as the man who makes stone speak. The carved depth of his sculptures has made him an internationally acclaimed artist and the foundation stone of the art in Egypt. The simple beauty in his lines is more than just his livelihood; it is what has sustained …
Migrant workers face abuse
CAIRO: On Feb. 3, over 1,000 people died when a passenger ferry traveling from the Saudi Arabian town of Dubah to the Egyptian port of Safaga sank off the Red Sea coast. While the disaster served to highlight the shaky state of Egyptian transport infrastructure, it also showed the plight of Egypt’s economic migrants, who …
Preliminary report on ferry sinking in two months
CAIRO: A preliminary report into what caused an Egyptian ferry to sink in the Red Sea last month with the loss of about 1,000 lives would be released in two months time, the expert in charge of the investigation said Wednesday. Mohammed Abdel-Fattah Shama said the final report would not be ready until two months …
New natural gas field discovered in Sinai Peninsula
EL-ARISH, Egypt: Egypt has discovered a new natural gas field in the northern Sinai, the local government announced Tuesday. The state oil company Petrobel uncovered the field near the Sinai village of Ramana, 30 kilometers (18 miles) east of the Suez Canal, said Wahbi Abdullah, the director of production in the North Sinai Governorate. Abdullah …
Activists condemn curbs on internet
CAIRO: Rights groups have condemned several Arab governments for blocking Web sites devoted to freedom of speech on political and social issues, calling the move an attempt to limit the free exchange of information. Most Arab governments largely oppress freedoms of the press and expression, said Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information s (HRinfo) …
Median o/n interbank falls to 8.45 percent
CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound fell to 8.45 percent on Tuesday from 8.598 percent on Monday as funds maturing into the market outstripped those sought in new auctions, traders said. Maturities today and tomorrow are larger than the auction which is meant to cover them, one of the traders said. …
Vietnam signs cooperation and double taxation agreements with Egypt
CAIRO: The Egyptian Vietnamese Joint Committee concluded its second meeting this week after a lull of nine years with the signing of agreements on avoidance of double taxation and tourism cooperation. The committee includes a number of officials from both sides and is headed jointly by Minister of Cooperation Fayza Abul Naga and Vietnam s …
Mubarak would retire if he finds successor
CAIRO: The main political adviser to President Hosni Mubarak said on Tuesday that Mubarak would welcome retirement if he could find a replacement. But the Mubarak family is not thinking of putting forward the president s 42-year-old son Gamal as a successor, adviser Osama El-Baz told Reuters in an interview. Mubarak is 78 in May …
Egypt, South Korea pledge to boost trade ties
CAIRO: The presidents of Egypt and South Korea pledged Tuesday to work to boost relations and increase the volume of trade between their countries that amounted last year to around $850 million. President Hosni Mubarak and his visiting South Korean counterpart Roh Moo-Hyun also covered international and regional issues, especially the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Iraq. …
The third operator is calling
CAIRO: Chairman of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Amr Badawy, announced that bidders with local partners will have more weight than those without and will immediately receive 25 of the 1550 evaluation points. Badawy also denied that having an international partner with over 51 percent is a condition for making a bid. This does …
EFG-Hermes drags stocks down
CAIRO: Retail market leader EFG-Hermes dragged Egyptian stocks down on Tuesday in a market driven by anxieties over a 16 percent decline in the benchmark index over the past five weeks, brokers said. In a market lacking news, small investors watched shares in the investment bank fall and many of them decided to reduce their …
Muslim Brotherhood launches bird flu awareness campaign
CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood has launched an awareness campaign of its own to contain the spread of bird flu and assist Egypt s dilapidated poultry industry. Strongly criticizing the government s handling of the recent outbreak in Egypt, the banned but tolerated group has sought to put their recent parliamentary gains into action through financial …
Promoting commitment to public service
CAIRO: Initiating activities aimed at engaging students in community service, fostering their efforts toward lifelong commitment and promoting philanthropy in the region are the main objectives of the newly inaugurated John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement. The center commemorates Gerhart’s legacy, the ninth president of the American University in Cairo (AUC). Gerhart, …
South Korean president heads to Africa
SEOUL: South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun left on Monday for a three-country tour of Africa, where securing steady energy supplies for his resource-poor country will be high on the agenda. Roh will visit Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria, in a first trip by a South Korean president to the region in 24 years, the presidential Blue …
Chinese delegation to continue business with Alexandria
CAIRO: A delegation of Chinese investors will visit Alexandria today to discuss bilateral business opportunities between China and Alexandria with potential local business partners. According to the chairman of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, Mostafa El Naggar, the group will discuss the possibility of establishing joint trade fairs for both Chinese and Egyptian businesses in …
Taking it to the streets
CAIRO: On Thursday, March 2, the Movement of Writers and Artists for Change (MWAC) held a street performance in Talaat Harb Square that included the recital of lyrics by famous poet Ahmed Foad Negm and Sayyed Higab, as well as songs by young artists in the movement. This was the movement’s first appearance since the …
Opinion
CAIRO: Amr Khaled’s efforts to organize venues for dialogue between Muslims and Danes have put him under attack, not from Western critics, but from local religious leaders, who say Khaled’s initiative undermines their own efforts, implying the young preacher has a hidden political agenda. Last weekend, Cairo demonstrators protested Khaled’s move. Other demonstrations throughout the …
Press round-up
CAIRO: National newspapers have gone back to their custom of dedicating their headlines to announcing government-related plans and presidential events, while opposition papers have their front pages dedicated to corruption cases, updates on the tragic ferry accident and bird flu summaries. Al-Ahram reports a joint summit between Egypt and South Korea due to start Tuesday …
Foreign ministers of Egypt and Burkina Faso discuss student protest at Cairo embassy
CAIRO: The foreign ministers of Egypt and Burkina Faso spoke Sunday about an angry protest in Cairo last week and the subsequent arrest of 35 students, a Foreign Ministry statement said. In the telephone call, Burkina Faso s Foreign Minister Youssouf Ouedraogo expressed his gratitude for the firm way the Egyptian authorities dealt with those …
Ancient war goddess statues unearthed in Egypt
CAIRO: A team of Egyptian and German archeologists has unearthed six statues of the lion-headed war goddess Sekhmet during restoration work at an ancient temple in the southern city of Luxor, officials said Monday. The team found the artifacts in the Kom Hitan area on the location of the 18th dynasty (1580-1314 BC) temple of …
EFG-Hermes says 2005 net profit up about 560 pct
CAIRO: Cairo-based EFG-Hermes Holdings said on Sunday its unaudited 2005 net profit had risen by about 560 percent to between LE 348 million and LE 356 million ($60.73 million and $62.13 million). The firm, which earned LE 52 million in net profit in 2004, said in a statement posted on the Egyptian bourse s Web …
Median o/n interbank steady at 8.6 percent
CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound was 8.6 percent on Monday, little changed from Sunday s 8.583 percent as bankers awaited the result of a 182-day T-bill auction. It s the same levels as yesterday, one banker said of overnight rates. The central bank was auctioning treasury bills worth LE 1.5 …
Principles of governance
CAIRO: Transparency and governance of corporations are increasingly important issues as public participation in capital markets grows. The popularity of the stock market was clearly demonstrated with several of last year s privatization offerings, including Telecom Egypt, for which numerous individuals put aside their savings to purchase shares. Furthermore, as local companies turn to foreign …
EgyptAir made $75.2 million profit last year
CAIRO: State carrier EgyptAir, 20 percent of which the government is preparing to sell, made a profit of LE 431 million ($75.2 million) last financial year, the chairman of the company said on Friday. Atef Abdel Hamid, chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company, said the sale of the 20 percent stake would not take place until …
Median o/n interbank steady at about 8.65 percent
CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound was broadly unchanged on Sunday at 8.65 percent compared to 8.631 percent on Thursday with no new factors affecting liquidity, traders said. Demand was also quiet in the middle of a two-week central bank period to calculate banks reserves, the traders added. The market is …
Leading German cap producers inaugurate factory in Egypt
CAIRO: The German group BERICAP inaugurated its new cap factory in Egypt yesterday. The group is a leading international manufacturer of plastic caps for a wide range of containers, including those for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. It has production facilities in 16 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, China and Turkey. …
More Brotherhood members arrested
CAIRO: Security forces arrested five members of the Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday in what the opposition Islamist group said was the latest sign of curbs on political freedoms. An Interior Ministry official said the arrested men were found in possession of anti-government publications. By making the arrests, the government was sending a message to Egyptian …
Hala Gorani Interview
CAIRO: In one of her news reports, CNN’s Hala Gorani learned to stuff pigeons. As it took 14 takes to get the right shot, Gorani eventually got “pretty good at it. Another time, she learned all about Aleppoan food, the best culinary offerings of her hometown. It’s not just cooking though; “Inside the Middle East, …