Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
Meeting the needs of children with disabilities
By Dr Cesar Chelala Between 500 and 600 million people worldwide are living with a disability. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 10% of children and youth in the world (about 200 million) have a disability. UN statistics show there are more than 12 million people living with disabilities in Egypt, …
Egyptian autocrats struggle with football’s political pros and cons
By James M. Dorsey An Egyptian government initiative to build more than a thousand new football pitches to “keep youth off the streets” against the backdrop of a rising number of clashes between fans and security forces and a likely extension and expansion of the ban on spectators attending matches highlights the opportunities and threats …
Building a gateway to the future
By Sunil Veetil, Regional Head of Payments and Cash Management, HSBC Middle East and North Africa Many would argue that the 1970s was the decade of innovation. It was in these years that the world saw the first handheld mobile phones, and Sony launched its first Walkman—transforming how, when and where we listen to music. …
Russia is no ally for the Arabs
Although some Arabs are fantasising about it, a major alliance with Russia is unwise both morally and practically
The cabinet’s resignation: A step in which direction?
A few hours before starting to write this article, Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi’s cabinet resigned. This was expected even if the government was pushed into the resignation. However, El-Beblawi’s — even if it was delayed — was a much better option than being dismissed from his position. It is believed that the cabinet’s resignation and …
On women in Egypt: Equality doesn’t mean justice
In late 2013, Thomson Reuters conducted a poll ranking Egypt the worst country among 22 Arab League states for women’s rights. The poll measured women’s status in six different categories. First, “Women in politics” calculated women’s civil representation and presence in high public positions. “Women in society” measured tradition and cultural expectations and limitations of …
The Conman’s paradise
In the 1960’s, the Egyptian state newspaper Al-Ahram was filled with headlines about the amazing scientific breakthroughs of the Egyptian military. One such headline celebrated the invention of the first “Arab-made” airplane – one that could reach Mach 2 – while the other announced to the world the creation of Egyptian missiles that could reach …
What do malware and mosquitoes have in common? More than you might think.
By Anthony Perridge Malware seems to be everywhere and it’s incredibly challenging to combat. It can take many forms and is increasingly resistant to traditional approaches to detect and stop. Instead of relying on a single attack vector, malware will use whatever unprotected path exists to reach its target and accomplish its mission. Mosquitoes are …
Why torture the innocent?
By Wael Eskandar Why would the regime arrest and torture someone if they didn’t do anything wrong or if they can prove their innocence? Such a question seems to be a common logical retort by many Egyptians in response to accusations that the regime, personified in its security and judiciary bodies, carries out gross injustices …
Al-Sisi’s reality check
Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi still rides a wave of soaring popularity following his unrelenting support for the toppling of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The kingmaker is widely expected to enter the presidential race largely uncontested. Save a few decorative candidates, such as presidential hopeful Hamdeen Sabahy and former chief of staff …
Egypt, Europe and Realpolitik
By Ronald Meinardus In Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world, domestic turbulences are affecting international relations. Following the uprising in January 2011, Cairo has pursued what may be termed a multidimensional foreign policy aimed at reducing the unipolar dependence on the United States and other Western allies. These efforts have become particularly visible following …
South Sudan – from cease-fire to sustainable peace?
By Ivan Simonovic “We were picked up at checkpoints or during house searches. They recognised us by our accents, or by the traditional marks on our faces. 200-400 of us were brought to a room of a police station, so small that we were suffocating. Suddenly they opened fire on us from two windows. I …
What do the democratic entities want from the next president?
During recent weeks, different democratic entities have insisted that a presidential candidate must have clear programmes and political directions so that voters have sufficient information regarding their experience in office or public administration or civil societies. This is especially important if the candidate is not a known political figure with a known public history. We …
Murky Turkish football politics mesh with massive corruption scandal
By James M. Dorsey Always murky, Turkish football politics have become even murkier as a politics-laden match-fixing scandal meshes with a corruption investigation that targets Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his closest associates. Defendants in both scandals – Mr Erdogan and the management of one of Turkey’s most storied clubs – portray the allegations …
A constitution not worth its ink
Since the new constitution passed, I have been flooded with emails and meetings from foreign journalists, lawyers, rights advocates and what have you, asking the same question: Isn’t the newly passed constitution better in preserving human rights and freedoms, compared to the previous one(s)? And shouldn’t this be enough for Egyptians? I have faced the …
The nature of trekking in the Sinai Mountains
By Ahmed Shams, PhD Changing weather and long treks “The sun had been shining as if [it was] summertime; it turned hot! We decided to follow Wadi Thabt, Wadi Qasuriya, the Wadi Junction, and Wadi Rimhan instead of Wadi Tarfaa, towards the abandoned building of St. Catherine Natural Protectorate in Rahaba Plain in …
Home sweet home
The reality of living somewhere does not relate to what is portrayed in the news when it comes to being home
Preventing terror is a job for all
Earlier this week, a bomb attack on an Egyptian tourist bus took place in Sinai, taking the lives of three South Korean tourists, and one Egyptian driver. More were wounded in the attack, which was claimed the following day by the Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis (ABM) group as part of an “economic war” against Egypt’s military-backed …
Leadership and Spin
In an interview two years ago, a French journalist asked me the tired question of whether the pitfall of the 25 January Revolution was the lack of a clear unifying leader. With exasperated breath, I explained to her that this was impossible for two very logical reasons: (1) If such a leader existed, he would …
“Let them eat cake”
“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche,” or “let them eat cake,” as the traditional translation of this French phrase goes, is a timeless symbol of leaders that are out of touch with the realities and struggles that the poor in their societies face daily. Although likely untrue, this famous phrase is attributed to Queen Marie Antionette …
This time must be different
By Dr James Zogby Two decades after Israeli and Palestinian leaders signed an interim peace agreement in Washington, DC, the task of achieving a final resolution to the conflict has become significantly more difficult. Not only have the physical impediments to peace grown – for example, the number of Israeli settlers living on occupied Palestinian …
Al-Sisi’s choice
Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has exactly the same reason to run and not run for Egypt’s president: he could win
Death of a poet in Iran
By Dr Cesar Chelala “I have tried to defend the legitimate right that every people in this world should have, which is the right to live freely with full civil rights. With all these miseries and tragedies, I have never used a weapon to fight these atrocious crimes except the pen,” wrote Hashem Shaabani, a young …
Inside the Box
Since 25 Jan and former president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, Egypt has been in a perpetual stage of transition. All dreams of a better future and rosier outlook have evaporated in the midst of unrest that has kept investors and tourists at bay, stifling economic growth. The economy has been battered ever since, with foreign debts …
Revolution square one: Egypt three years on
By Al-Sharif Nassef Having revolutionary momentum pulled from under their feet twice, Egyptian revolutionaries face an increasingly upward battle against the tides of the establishment With the world watching, Egypt’s long-time intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, announced the ousting of Hosni Mubarak from his presidential throne on 11 February 2011. The epic eruption of cheers, tears, …
Workers’ welfare in Qatar: Navigating a minefield
By James M. Dorsey Qatari organisers of the 2022 World Cup – in a bid to fend off criticism in the European parliament, convince world football body FIFA of progress made in improving conditions of foreign workers, and side line political demands by international trade unions – has issued the Gulf state’s most detailed workers welfare …
What is the stance of the democratic entities regarding Al-Sisi’s nomination?
The democratic entities are currently being bombarded with many questions concerning Al-Sisi’s nomination. The questions’ purposes are not answers, but rather denunciation. They are asking: “Will you dare object to Al-Sisi’s nomination?” The weird irony is that Al-Sisi hasn’t even announced his nomination yet. In addition, the available statements for him do not confirm that …
How to deal with emerging markets volatility
By John Wasik Since the beginning of the year, emerging markets have been like cats on a hot tin roof. Hot money is skittering out of foreign markets as countries from Argentina to Turkey have been clawed by economic and political turmoil. But even with heightened concerns about the prospects of developing countries, emerging markets …
Op-ed review: The future and 11 February 2011
Lifeboats Ezzedine Choukri Fishere Al Masry Al Youm Newspaper “Someone asked me: ‘Should we build a Noah’s arc to take us all to the new state that we want to build?’ I said no. That was a good model in the old age, but now the evil ones will not allow you to build an …
Al-Sisi’s dwindling options
The Media momentum was there: the constitutional referendum had passed without “major incidents” (which is code for polling stations not getting blown up), the presidential elections law was issued, Adly Mansour promoted Al-Sisi to the rank of field marshal, and even the military published its semi-endorsment for him to run for president. All the man …