136 Articles
CAIRO: The residents of Samanoud, a town in Gharbiya governorate, held a demonstration before the town council on Thursday to protest the rise in prices of food and basic commodities. But despite people’s anger, the demonstration ended only half an hour after it began. According to internet blogger Karim El-Beheiry, security forces were present as …
The recent commercial success of Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner, “A Thousand Splendid Suns and the blockbuster film adaptation of the former has thrust Afghanistan into the spotlight. However, Hosseini’s simple formula of presenting a highly sensationalized thriller/domestic drama/tear-jerker is high on comically stereotyped, Hitler-worshipping Taliban pedophiles, drunken Russian soldiers seeking their next rape victim, …
CAIRO: Activists and media professionals expressed their disapproval of Arab ministers’ call to ‘regulate’ satellite television, but remained skeptical of the effectiveness of such a regulation. The Arab League has voted in favor of a document to regulate Arab satellite television and prohibits offending their regime. Egypt was one of countries who led the initiative, …
CAIRO: The death of Magdy Mehana, esteemed journalist and presenter, was met with grief by the Egyptian public last Saturday. He was, in the words of one young Egyptian journalist, a man on whom “no two people differed. Admired by his colleagues and loved by his readers, Mehana’s death marks the end of an era …
Tucked away in the nooks and crannies of Downtown, El-Rawabit Theater is another independent space putting the ‘r’ of romance back into Cairo. On my way to the Townhouse Gallery, I was nearly enticed in by a magnificent graffiti styled garage exhibition, but resisted ogling longer knowing that in a building a few blocks down …
Approaching the shanty towns in Duweiqa’s Talat Street in Minshayat Nasser, one is overcome by the oppressive stench of raw sewage. A stagnant green pool marks a forbidding welcome to this cluster of shoddy housing, whilst trails of litter and waste tinker up the rocky tracks. Although many shanty towns (ashwa’iat) are built without official …
CAIRO: Electoral violence has risen 1,093 percent since 1987, according to a field study conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights. The study, entitled “The Impact of Election Violence on Democratic Transition and Women’s Political Participation found that 2,186 violent incidents were recorded throughout the 2005 parliamentary elections, compared with 50 in 1987. In …
CAIRO: Around 200 employees from the social affairs offices – which report to their respective governorates – demonstrated Sunday in front of Mogamaa El-Tahrir, to campaign for both a rise in pay and transferal to the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The employees, who held their first demonstration last Thursday, chanted slogans such as “How will …
GAZA: Martyrdom: It’s a word that emanates a ring of fear in every Western politician s heart. Once a chime to the bells of sainthood – such as Joan of Arc or Egypt’s own St. Catherine – the word has a drastically different meaning in today’s world. Martyrdom is a deeply misunderstood concept. While affluent …
CAIRO: A panel of renowned scholars and politicians gathered at the Sawy Culture Wheel Jan. 31 to discuss “justice and peace through the International Criminal Court. Lead by the chairperson of the Administrative Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, the meeting sought to provide scope for discussion on both the progress and the aims of the …
CAIRO: Warda takes me by the arm and leads me into a room filled with computers. “We haven’t got many she said, “we’re lacking the resources of a big television or news company, but we’re getting by ok. Warda Riad Riji El-Anqa is the station manager at the Al-Aqsa television station in Gaza. Set up …
RAFAH: Ismailia is a grim place in Winter. During the past week the rain has poured relentlessly and the streets, owing to Egypt’s poor drainage systems, are ankle deep in water. Hopping through the puddles, my companions and I managed to hitch a lift to the other side of the main street, where it would …
CAIRO: The Badil movement has presented a project to Minister of Agriculture Mahmoud Abaza that will “offer jobs to 600,000 Egyptians, and reduce the cost of a loaf of bread from 25 piasters to 5 piasters. Abdel Khaleq Nasr, one of the founders of the organization, explained the project to members of the movement in …
CAIRO: “We are not a party; we are a center for civil society. These were among the opening words introducing a seminal conference as part of the Project on Raising Fundamental Awareness on Democracy, held at the Ibn Khaldun Center. Over the course of four days, conference participants presented reports, analyses and lectures on the …
Bearing in mind it was the eve of Eid, it might be expected that Cyminology’s ill-timed concert would attract little attention. However, by dint of reputation, as well as backing by the Goethe Institute, the German quartet still managed to conjure up a healthy audience. Cyminology is fronted by Cymine Samawatie. First generation German born …
The idea of home delivery DVDs might seem fairly ludicrous considering Cairo’s congested traffic. A night in with friends, popcorn and a weepy movie might end up being spent watching Rotana Zaman while “Gone with the Wind sits in a traffic jam on the 26 July Bridge. Perhaps this pessimism is just a case of …
The thing that struck me when I arrived in Cairo was the overwhelming feeling of utter insignificance. Besieged on all sides by high rise tower blocks, sweeping flyovers and millions of other bodies shifting through the dusty streets, one soon becomes used to the ‘ant’ syndrome. That you are just another body in a swarm …
Sidling up to Andrew Shim at the British Embassy party was no mean feat. Relaxed and unassuming, he greeted my “excuse me can I just ask you a few questions with a broad smile, even putting down his plate for the sumptuous buffet the embassy had laid out for its homegrown stars. Despite having played …
CAIRO: After a 10-day sit-in outside the cabinet office, the Real Estate Tax employees protest and nationwide strike was finally called off. At 1 pm exactly, weary workers, many of whom had been sleeping rough since the beginning of the protest, made their way down Qasr Al-Aini Street. As they prepared to leave, they were …
CAIRO: The Giza Preliminary Court adjourned yesterday the hearing of eight workers claiming unfair dismissal. The next session will take place Jan. 16. The workers were dismissed three months ago from the German-Egyptian company Infit, which produces pipe fittings and small jobbing castings. After taking their case to the Workers’ Union, as well as several …
CAIRO: After 45 days sailing up the Nile, eight weather beaten boats came to anchor at El-Gezira gardens in Zamalek. The events of Sail the Nile 2008 were drawing to a close, but not without a bang. A speech by the UN ambassador to Egypt, James Rawley, set off the day, citing shocking figures highlighting …
CAIRO: Jobless and penniless, eight men held a demonstration in front of the Workers Union yesterday Jan. 9. The eight men, who have been jobless for three months, were sacked from the German-Egyptian company that produces pipe fittings and small jobbing castings, Infit. The men were accused of inciting fellow workers to strike. The eight …
Quincy Jones is the epitome of cool. Jazz legend, film composer, producer and humanitarian, his life and works span generations. When Jones was playing jazz with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Charles, the pop industry as we know it today was still a twinkling coin in the entertainment business’ eye. So when Jones …
It is 17th century Turkey, and Eflatun’s son has just died. A miniature artist, he finds solace in painting the face of his dead son, not in the customary Ottoman style, but in that of the heathens. This is the image that haunts the film, an emotive inked out sketch of lost childhood and a …
Nadine Labaki is famous for her direction of Nancy Agram’s video clips. But now, after the showing of directorial debut Caramel at the Cairo International Film Festival and with its imminent release in Egypt, Labaki s career has taken a dramatic step forward. But it is not only Labaki who has reached stardom through the …
I hadn’t intended to see “Battle for Haditha. Out of personal choice, I had decided not to. But as usual Cairo Film Festival cock-up would have it, “Reservoir Dogs could not, for some technological reason, be shown. For once, waiting a good half an hour for a film I hadn’t wanted to see turned out …
What color is the universe? Beige, according to one of the many eccentric characters of “La Luna en Botella. This jolly little question is a snippet that fits neatly into the film’s quirky script, which is punctuated with the lighter side of existential questions. The main character Z tells the tale of his grandfather, who …
Although the film “Rendition was a box office flop, it was not without its saving graces. One of these graces was Omar Metwally, Egypt’s new pride and joy. History student-turned-actor, Metwally is the freshest Arab face to hit Hollywood. In a press conference at the Grand Hyatt hotel, journalists got the chance to ask Metwally …
In the Name of God was heralded by some critics as one of the most influential, groundbreaking Pakistani films of all time. Now I’m no expert on Pakistani films, but if this is a barometer of their cinematic excellence, it doesn’t look very hopeful. The story follows two musical brothers, Sarmad and Mansour, who live …
CAIRO: Over 700 tax collectors from the Real Estate Tax Authority staged a sit-in in front of the Minister’s Council yesterday, resuming a series of strikes that started last April. The Sunday sit-in follows in the footsteps of a Nov. 13 demonstration that took place in front of the Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions. The …