656 Articles
Walking down the beach at the North Coast this summer, it is only natural to observe people posing for digital cameras everywhere. This year, an innovative photographer has put a twist on the standard beach photos, encouraging her subjects to let loose and go crazy; some went as far as posing in their wedding dresses …
CAIRO: Al-Azhar Scholars Front condemned a recent fatwa issued by the Egyptian Islamic Legislation Authority, Dar El-Ifta, allowing soccer players to break their fast if they have a morning game. “Everyone has the right to play for entertainment [.] Playing is not an occupation that society promotes for people to make a living out of, …
CAIRO: Daily News Egypt has gone out in the streets of Cairo to see how the first day of Ramadan is going for different people around the city. Working hours usually change during Ramadan, starting later in the morning and finishing earlier in the afternoon, but for some working hours stay more or less the …
CAIRO: A number of religious and cultural traditions characterizing the holy month of Ramadan may be hindered this year due to the H1N1 flu pandemic. Many Muslims are expected to avoid taraweeh prayers (evening prayers specific to Ramadan) as well as mawa’ed rahman (eateries offering free iftar meals), both of which attract a large gathering …
CAIRO: Board members of the Doctor’s Syndicate and affiliate syndicates nationwide, led by MP Hamdy El-Sayyed, threatened to resign in protest of the government’s “procrastination in paying the second phase of raises, they announced in a press statement. Fifty-sixty percent of doctors are expected to be covered in the second phase of payment. The syndicate …
CAIRO: Ahmed Gad Al-Karim was arrested for circumcising an 11-year-old girl in Minya, marking the first arrest of its kind after the practice was criminalized last year, according to the Ministry of Family and Population. Al-Karim, 69, was charged with inflicting injury on an 11-year-old girl after a local hospital notified the police. The young …
CAIRO: An alleged mass arrest, torture of detainees and framing evidence turned the attention of human rights lawyers from El-Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence to Al-Warraq district in Cairo. Haitham Mohamedein, lawyer at El-Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, said Lieutenant Magdy Awad from Warraq Police Station rounded up seven …
CAIRO: Hundreds of Egyptians staged a sit-in Sunday at Cairo airport after they were barred from traveling to Mecca to perform a pilgrimage due to new restrictions to prevent the spread of swine flu, an airport security official said. Airport authorities called in extra security to disperse the 300 protesters, who sat on the terminal …
CAIRO: EgyptAir said it has not received any instructions from the higher committee on swine flu regarding the ages of travelers allowed to go to Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Mekky, general manager of ports at EgyptAir, told local press on Thursday. Egypt set an age range for Umrah and Hajj pilgrims traveling this year at 25-65 …
CAIRO: In an unprecedented move, Gamal Mubarak, head of the National Democratic Party’s policies committee, addressed the internet-savvy youth in an online video forum Wednesday night. During the three-hour interactive discussion, Mubarak answered questions about a range of topics including education, economic reform, inflation, subsidies, social welfare, corruption in the public sector and unemployment. Mubarak …
CAIRO: The Ministry of Health set an age range for Umrah and Hajj pilgrims traveling this year at 25-65 years old and halted all bookings for Umrah starting Wednesday, announced Magdy Rady, official cabinet spokesperson. The precautionary measures against the H1N1 virus are among five other decisions restricting travel announced after an emergency meeting Prime …
CAIRO: Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabaly banned the opening of Ramadan tents this year to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. During Ramadan, hotels and restaurants set up nightly tents where they serve sohour and provide entertainment. El-Gabaly told MENA on Tuesday during a celebration in the …
CAIRO: Only 38 percent of Egyptians are aware of e-government services that circumvent lengthy bureaucratic procedures, despite government and civil society efforts to promote it, a government survey showed. The survey, conducted by the Egyptian Cabinet s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), revealed that this percentage is an improvement in comparison to only 21 …
CAIRO: Minister of Family and Population Moshira Khattab denied claims that there is a government decree banning women wearing the hijab, Islamic headscarf, from becoming ministers. According to the Middle East News Agency (MENA), Khattab made these statements on Monday during a joint meeting with Minister of Endowments Mahmoud Hamdy Zaqzouq and female students from …
CAIRO: Following years of legal battles and calls for state recognition, two Bahais issued their first national ID in which the religious affiliation field was left blank, instead of falsely listing Islam, Christianity or Judism as their religion. Sixteen-year-old twins Nancy and Emad Hindy issued their ID cards after a legal battle which ended last …
CAIRO: Egypt’s five international airports have each dedicated a terminal for Umrah travelers returning from Saudi Arabia, as the high season for the lesser pilgrimage kicks off. Umrah terminals at the international airports of Cairo, Alexandria, Assiut, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan will be air conditioned and equipped with more quarantines and thermal scanners, CEO of …
CAIRO: Egypt’s Minister of State for Family and Population Moshira Khattab said that the country’s drug addiction hotline has received over 8,000 calls in the past six months, reported the official Middle East News Agency (MENA). The majority of calls came in from students, craftsmen and unemployed citizens, said Khattab. The hotline is an essential …
CAIRO: The Egyptian Writers’ Union condemned the campaign launched against secular writer and thinker Sayed Al-Qimni after he received the State Merit Award in Social Sciences earlier this year. In a statement issued Tuesday, the union denounced “attacks in the name of religion, and which the religion is completely innocent of . Islam only knows …
CAIRO: The American University in Cairo (AUC) launched its International Counseling and Community Psychology (ICCP) graduate program – the first of its kind in the region. The program offers MAs in family and child counseling, family and couples counseling and community psychology, as well as graduate diplomas in general family counseling and community psychology. “We …
CAIRO: A commentary in the British newspaper, The Observer, tackled the controversy surrounding women’s dress in Islam, stating that in Egypt, “a headscarf can be a political statement. In his article “Islam and Dress, Jason Burke also suggested that Islamists constitute the principle political opposition in Egypt, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood. “In Europe, Burke …
CAIRO: More than 120 countries will mark World Breastfeeding Week from August 1 to 7, in a bid to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. The date commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF policymakers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. …
CAIRO: Egypt’s Minister of Culture and the only Arab candidate vying for the position of UNESCO’s director general, Farouk Hosni, told Egyptian terrestrial television that he “refuses normalization with Israel. In an interview aired on Thursday night, Hosni explained that there are currently negotiations between Egypt and Israel regarding peace in the region and Egypt’s …
Ramadan . What’s that? “What is Zakat? “What does Hajj mean? These are some of the questions young Tarek and Jana Bakkar had running through their minds while growing up. Faced with more and more questions, their mother, Mennah Bakkar, was inspired to write the first series of children’s books explaining the five pillars of …
CAIRO: Sectarian rifts in six governorates in Egypt left four dead and tens injured and detained during the second quarter of 2009, according to a report issued by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) about the freedom of religion and belief in Egypt from April to June this year. The report was based on …
CAIRO: Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud ordered the interrogation of 17 parents from the governorate of Suez for forcing their children to drop out of school and start working. Mahmoud’s decision came after the governor of Suez filed a report detailing a social and civil research that found that 17 respondents refused to let their …
CAIRO: The Doctors’ Syndicate condemned surprise visits conducted by Ministry of Health inspectors to medical institutions, likening them to “police raids. Hamdy El-Sayed, head of the Doctors’ Syndicate, said such visits should be conducted in a civilized way. “This is not a health inspector paying a surprise visit to a butcher’s shop; they are dealing …
CAIRO: The Suez School of Petroleum and Minerals is college applicants’ top choice this year, and will be accepting students with a score of 99.4 percent and above, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research announced. The faculties of medicine and engineering, which were traditionally the most sought after, took a back seat to …
CAIRO: A Health Quarantine Unit began functioning Thursday at Cairo’s International Airport to enforce restrictions set by Arab health ministers on travelers heading for Umrah and Hajj in Saudi Arabia. The restrictions include denying vaccination and an international vaccine certificate to those who fail to submit a health certificate from a public hospital stating that …
CAIRO: Cairo hosts 58.7 percent of Egypt’s street children, followed by Giza at 6 percent, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Family and Population showed. Minya and Fayoum both rank third with each hosting 5.1 percent of street children. “The phenomenon of street children is a time bomb waiting to explode, Minister of Family …
CAIRO: Ethar Kamal El-Katatney, reporter for IBA Media, received CNN’s MultiChoice African Journalist Award for her article “The Business of Islam, submitted into the Economics and Business Award category. El-Katatney is the first Egyptian to receive this award. This is the 14th annual African Journalist Award, the largest pan-African award on the continent. It was …