Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
Student Corner: The underlying tension between Egypt and Israel
By Nour Bakr The shooting down of an Egyptian military helicopter earlier this year prompted new fears over the security threat posed to both Egypt and Israel by militant groups with access to MANPADs. But whilst bilateral cooperation has remained strong, Egypt’s tumultuous domestic situation is fuelling Israeli security concerns; leading to an underlying tension …
Denting youth unemployment through agriculture in Africa
By Busani Bafana Agriculture is not glamourous. It suffers from entrenched negative perceptions. In the minds of many African youths, a farmer is someone like their parents, doing backbreaking labour in the fields and getting little to show for it. Nonetheless, agriculture is the engine driving many African economies. If it were to get the …
Al Saadi Al Gaddafi trial likely to shed light on dark history of Libyan football
By James M. Dorsey It was only a matter of time before Al Saadi Al Gaddafi, the notorious, football-obsessed third son of toppled Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi would be extradited to Libya by Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries that plays a key role in Western efforts to defeat Al-Qaeda affiliates in the …
What are the justifications for Al-Sisi’s nomination? Part two: The hegemonic state supporters
According to my analysis, highlighted in previous articles, the state includes three major groups, specifically, the police state supporters, the benevolent dictator supporter and those who support administrative reform. What bring the three groups together are their great faith in oppression and their unlimited confidence in the power and ability of the state. In addition, …
The power of the shimmy
This week I learned that power comes to those who shimmy and shake
Syrian children bear the brunt of brutal war
By Dr Cesar Chelala One of the saddest things in the world today, ravaged by brutal wars, is a child, looking nowhere, as if asking the viewer, “Why are you doing this to us? We are only children.” This thought came to my mind as I read a report of the effects of the Syrian …
An unnecessary, yet much needed explanation
Dear Mahmoud, I have been following your writings, and I must say that I’ve been a bit disappointed by the shift in your views lately. While you were a big supporter of 30 June and the end of the unfortunate episode of Egyptian history called “The Morsi Presidency”, it seems that you have started to …
South Africa’s youth employment bill
In May of 2012, a violent clash erupted between protesters and the opposition. Although this sounds like a fairly common news report from Egypt these days, the incident in fact took place in South Africa. The Democratic Alliance (DA), the main opposition to the ruling African National Congress (ANC), took to the streets to march …
Doha disconnect
What was behind Gulf states’ diplomatic isolation of Qatar?
Who needs a constitution?
It’s a running joke in the political circuits in developing countries: “Who needs a constitution over here?” Currently in Egypt, the joke has turned sour. Three years, six cabinets (not counting the reshuffles), two Constituent Assemblies and two constitutions after the 25 January Revolution, Egypt remains a country not bothered by its own governing laws. …
Islam and politics can’t go together
By Moha Ennaji The last three or so decades have seen a spectacular rise of what came to be called “political Islam”: a complex but real category in political and social sciences. Whether espoused or shunned, political Islam has created a genuine debate. However, the recent events in Egypt and Tunisia threw serious doubt on …
The Ukrainian struggle is right
By Dr James Zogby The Ukrainian struggle for independence speaks to me on so many levels. Because I know the history of the Ukraine, I understand their resentment and fear of their often domineering Russian neighbour. I also understand their deep attachment to their land, their culture, and the story of their people. Ukrainians have …
So how is the economy?
Last week we talked about the challenges facing the new Egyptian government. We spoke of the newly appointed prime minister’s objectives. Mr Mehleb has proclaimed that his main aims are to wipe out militant violence and improve the economy. Well, security we all know about and can see its status by watching the news; but how …
Higher Education in Egypt
The principal challenges
Equality and Justice in the Courtroom
By Navi Pillay It is natural for a man to respond to a nagging female partner with violence. Women’s demands for equal pay with men for equal skills are not justified, because women are likely to stop working to have children. A man who kills his wife may receive a more lenient sentence if she …
Women taking charge to save the environment
By Dr Cesar Chelala The growing worldwide demand for resources is threatening the world’s environmental health to an unprecedented extent. There is widespread agreement that unless new and more effective policies are set in place, this situation could have devastating implications for human development. In this context, women and children can be very active participants …
What are the justifications for Al-Sisi’s nomination? Part 1: The popular current
There are three movements rooting for Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s nomination in the upcoming presidential elections. One of those movements is what we can call the popular current, which expresses the general mood of the people in the streets. The second movement is supporters of the former regime, including some of the state’s apparatus. …
Trade union call for a freeze on kafala puts Qatar to the test
By James M. Dorsey Qatar’s response to a call by international trade unions to freeze its controversial sponsorship system for foreign workers injured in a gas leak and separate gas explosion is likely to indicate the Gulf state’s willingness to reform or abolish a scheme that critics denounce as a form of modern slavery and …
Ukraine is Egypt – well, not really
Egyptians know now what it was like to watch the Tahrir Square uprising in 2011 from outside of the country – because the same kind of media attention was recently projected on Ukraine. This country, which hasn’t been the subject of monthly breaking news for a while – let alone daily breaking news – has …
Fasting over fervour
I like the combination of piety and pragmatism, it is human and easier to relate to and tempers fervour with common sense
Egypt and Gaza
Last Friday, a small group of Palestinians protested near the Egyptian border, demanding the opening of the Rafah border. Their congregation ended uneventfully; however, it highlights a brewing crisis between post-Morsi Egypt and the Hamas government in Gaza that can easily explode any time soon. Moreover, Tony Blair, the special envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East …
The future of the two little girls
A couple of weeks ago, on my road back home using 6 October Bridge, I managed to avoid hitting two young girls – girls so little as to be invisible unless right in front of the car. For a full week, I saw them selling tissues in the same spot, and every day I could …
‘Let them eat cake’, part 2
When Gouda Abdel Khalek was Minister of Supply in March of 2012 he made a very “novel” suggestion— not the good kind of novel. At the time, Egypt’s food subsidy programme supplies were woefully insufficient to feed the millions of Egyptians benefitting (in theory) from the assistance. With some governorates having no rice for distribution …
Your Weekly News
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this week’s news from the fair land of Egypt, the place so magical that the state’s institutions spend all of their effort in putting a smile and a chuckle on its citizens’ faces. We start our broadcast with the latest update regarding the military’s miracle cure, the CCD, by General …
Egypt’s new buffer government
The culture of rumours and speculations in Egypt can tempt us to abandon our logical thinking. Take, for example, the resignation of Beblawi’s government—this was a move that took many by surprise, but it shouldn’t have. The government resignation was inevitable; the timing may be intriguing, but the decision was not. Clarity and transparency are …
What did Bouazizi want?
How would the man who ignited the Arab Spring view his unintended legacy?
Despite climate change, Africa can feed Africa
By Richard Munang and Jesica Andrews Climate change comes with never-before-experienced impacts. For example, crop yields and growing seasons will decrease even as changing rain patterns will worsen people’s access to water. Yet Africa’s population is projected to reach 2 billion in less than 37 years, and in 86 years three out of every four …
Mission impossible
Following the abrupt resignation of Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi’s government, Egypt’s newly appointed Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb is tasked with what seems to be a mission impossible. The new PM indeed faces several humbling challenges on various fronts but despite his good intentions and flowery promises, he is as likely to flop. However, to define …
Rugum: Rescue plan for the Sinai Mountains
By Ahmed Shams, PhD A community response and essential maps The outline of Rugum Plan is based on the Gebaliya “people of the mountains” Bedouin community response, led by tourism business leaders, to the trekking accident of the Egyptian tourists in the vicinity of Gebel Bab El Donya (2,090m ASL) last week. I crystallised and …
Student Corner: Soldiers versus Workers
By Taher El Moataz Bellah Milko Milkonian, an American electrical engineer, was an active member of the Democratic Movement for National Liberation (DMNL), the most cohesive and largest communist group of Egypt’s surging, yet highly divided leftist movement. For two years from 1950 to 1952, his mission was to deliver parcels from communist affiliated print …