Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
Will Egypt fail?
Soaring prices—the topic du jour in every conversation across all social classes—is just one indicator of the dire economic situation in Egypt. Such pressures are accompanied by stagnant wages, companies laying off employees, and extreme difficulties for someone trying to find a new job. This is compounded by tough measures that are on the way, …
Israeli-Palestinian struggle returns to the soccer pitch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused world soccer body FIFA of allowing FIFA-sanctioned matches to be played on occupied land in the West Bank in violation of FIFA rules and has demanded that the group ensure that future games be staged within the borders of Israel prior to the 1967 Middle East war. The HRW …
Judiciary: fighting graft needs muscles
When a survey on corruption was carried out in Ghana two years ago, more than eight out of every 10 Ghanaians (85%) said judges and magistrates were some of the most corrupt public officials in the country. On top of the list was the police (89%), while national government officials (86%) came second. The judiciary …
India and Africa rekindle trade ties
Until she travelled abroad when she started college, Zara Mwanzia had thought that chapati—the delicious bread she ate while growing up, which most Kenyans still eat—was a local delicacy. “I was surprised to find out that chapati actually originated from India,” she said, musing at how she had been wrong all those years. Zara could …
The Skoda saga
Differences flare up between Shafik Gabr and the Czech company
A megaproject rises in east Africa
Roads, railways, port, pipelines to link Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Sudan
The back and forth movement of democracy and violence between Arab countries and the west
Democracy and violence have disparate missions and routes that are not comparable. Yet, this reality should not keep us from admitting that while western countries, led by the United States, have failed to promote the spread of democracy to the Arab World, a small number of Arab terrorists have successfully managed to extend their violent …
Egypt hopes soccer will help polish its tarnished image
An Egyptian businessman with close ties to general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has submitted a bid for the broadcasting rights of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in a move that is widely seen as an effort to polish the image of Egypt, tarnished by massive abuse of human rights, failing economic policies, and a military …
Opinion: VW caught in the Dieselgate vortex
A year ago, Volkswagen had to admit it had rigged emissions in its diesel models in the US. Since then, the German carmaker has been fighting to win back lost confidence. A long road lies ahead, writes Henrik Böhme.
Egypt: the emerging capital of Arab fashion
Several security-related incidents have had a substantial impact on Egypt’s tourism industry as of late. However, the country now seems to believe that these incidents are over and done with, and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi believes that the tourism industry is about to rebound. With the tourism industry set to rebound, we take a look …
Opinion: A Champions League reform that will only make the rich richer
A new Champions League season is starting amid ongoing debate about its controversial upcoming reforms. The changes will only benefit the continent’s biggest clubs and damage UEFA, writes Olivia Gerstenberger.
Opinion: September 11 was a historic turning point
The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon using hijacked passenger planes were unprecedented. The effects of these events can be felt even today, writes DW’s Miodrag Soric
Part 2: TV news branding and the process of the change
How can a news channel accommodate the audience’s needs effectively and truthfully?
IT leaders: from operator to innovator
IBM is one of the oldest companies in the IT industry, and they have become pioneers in the field. As pioneers, they are always leading the market towards huge transformations and revolutionary trends. IBM will introduce a glimpse of the next transformational era: the cognitive era. Cognitive technology means the ability of IT infrastructure to …
Turkey’s travails: purges worsen Ankara’s democracy deficit
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds Fethullah Gulen, the self-exiled conservative leader of Hizmet, one of the world’s biggest Islamic movements, responsible for the attempt to overthrow his democratically elected government. Erdogan asserts that Gulen’s followers infiltrated the military, police, judiciary, bureaucracy, and education system as well as the media. In response, he has arrested …
A historic opportunity for Egypt with India and China
India learned its lesson from China, and knows that industrial development is the best way for India’s economy to grow. Prime minister of India Narendra Modi knows this very well. After he implemented this strategy in Gujarat, he ruled for 13 years and achieved a great deal of success. Therefore, after his appointment as prime …
The North Coast: a symbol of how Egypt manipulates its wealthy and ruins its resources
Being a resource-rich nation is not, in itself, a true blessing. The real asset is a government that knows how to manage its country’s resources by maximising their value to benefit all citizens equally. The Egyptian state’s poor management of its natural resources is clearly illustrated all along Egypt’s North Coast beaches, where its policy …
Egypt digs itself back to 1977
Ahmed Kamal, a medical student, was arrested by police and delivered to his family the following day via the mortuary. Ahmed had been sentenced to two years in absentia and only recently arrested and killed by Egyptian police, possibly tortured to death. Sometime in the past this may have been breaking news, causing outrage in …
Opinion: US-China move a good sign for the climate
The US and China will ratify the Paris Agreement. That’s good for climate protection, DW’s Sonya Diehn writes, but it’s just one step in a process that will need to move forward quickly in order to make a difference.
Opinion: Gabon and the inglorious silence of African institutions
In Libreville, Gabon, residents ventured out on the streets and surveyed damage after two days of riots sparked by a disputed presidential poll. There was little to choose between the main candidates, writes Dirke Köpp.
A vital autumn for Cairo’s policy-makers
Egypt has recently been the subject of a number of deeply unflattering articles in the international business media. Many criticisms have been levelled at the actions, and inaction, of Cairo’s economic policy-makers. These criticisms have not made many friends in Egypt—so I do not propose to repeat them. I also think that, like much …
Opinion: Apple, taxes, and just punishment
The European Commission is aggressively pursuing tax avoidance and illegal tax advantages for individual companies. That’s good for ordinary people, writes Bernd Riegert.
Sanctions are what truly keep bankers awake at night
The pressing issues for banks today are many. Apart from known concerns like capital and figuring out how to comply with the requirements of Basel III, I see that the enforcement of sanctions and embargoes is the nightmare that is really keeping bankers awake at night. Let’s start with the obvious. Sanctions and embargoes are …
Saudi Arabia: a victim of hate campaigns
Do not expect to hear a good word about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on any Western media outlet these days. There is growing evidence of an international campaign built on exaggerations to blacken the country’s reputation and undermine its regional leadership standing. This only serves as a gift to the Iranian media and …
Opinion: Questionable attitude
There is no disgrace in losing to Bayern per se, but the way Bremen capitulated is unacceptable. DW’s Sarah Wiertz questions the attitude of many on the team and argues that they are missing a specific sort of player.
Justice, tolerance, and inclusiveness will help Egypt regain its moral values
There is no question in the minds of Egyptians that we have lost most of our moral values and virtues in recent decades. No Egyptian will argue this fact; what we do argue about is the reason behind this deterioration in moral conduct. I am convinced that if we seriously and genuinely want to bring …
Part 1: TV news branding and the process of change
The news ticker, or crawler as it is sometimes referred to, was first introduced in the United States on the NBC Today Show in 1952. After just a few months, the channel retired the idea. However, it eventually made a comeback. The news ticker was reintroduced in the 1980s on local TV news channels …
Egypt’s 21st century witch-hunts
Imagine this: you are sitting, sipping a cup of coffee in the morning and sifting through the pages of a literary weekly, Akhbar Al-Adab, and you happen upon this excerpt from a book. You read it and you are shocked. It has indecent sexual content and the characters are also smoking hashish! You can’t handle …
The Mercedes story
This week has been full of contradictory talk around rumours that Mercedes-Benz Egypt is looking to exit the local market, what the dealership’s stance is on the matter, and whether it will choose to actually exit the market. Mercedes’ position is as it always has been. There have been assurances that Arab investors have already agreed …
Opinion: Moscow won’t let Ukraine go
Ukraine declared independence 25 years ago. The Soviet Union was beyond saving. Now, Ukraine is once again fighting for self-determination, writes DW’s Bernd Johann.