Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Band capitalizes on diversity
Salalem’s musical choice eclectic but promising Although the band is still quite new, Salalem is already demonstrating a lot of potential. Refusing to stick to one type of music, they’ve made diversity their trademark. Each of the band’s songs stands on its own. Their music is a mixture of rock, Latin, jazz, Oriental, alternative and …
Mosque imam faces charges over fatwa termed anti-Semitic
CAIRO: Mosque Imam Safwat Hijazi is facing a legal investigation by Egyptian authorities for a fatwa that he issued earlier allowing the killing of Israeli military officials and soldiers visiting Egypt. The Cairo imam was called into Egypt’s supreme state security court on Monday, facing charges as a result. “I only said that we should …
The Red Zone
I have not read the interview that Dr. Hossam Badrawi gave to Al-Wafd newspaper on his proposal to nominate Mr. Gamal Mubarak as President, but I did read the correction published by Al Wafd. I understood from it that it was merely a personal statement; it was made from his personal point of view and …
EFG Hermes approves LE 2.9 billion Abraaj offer
EFG to use money for regional expansion, e-trading network CAIRO: EFG Hermes shareholders approved on Sunday Abraaj Capital s offer to purchase 97 million shares, representing a 25 percent stake, at LE 30 per share. Upon finalization, Abraaj will hold two board seats and become the largest single shareholder in EFG. The approval came a …
Orascom one of 11 firms interested in Bosnian Serb telco sale
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia: Eleven firms, including France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom-owned Magyar Telekom, have shown interest in the sale of Bosnia s Telekom Srpske, the government said on Tuesday. These and five other firms, including Egypt s Orascom, are yet to buy the tender documentation enabling them to bid by Oct. 4 for a 65 …
"Last town in Egypt" agonizes as Gaza closure drags on
Agence France-Presse RAFAH: As Gaza Strip Palestinians remain trapped in their tiny war-battered territory by an Israeli blockade, the Egyptian side of the border town of Rafah slowly sinks into economic depression. For the people on the other side, I was the first shop in Egypt. Now I am the last and I have no …
Annan, in Egypt for talks, sees end of Israel blockade of Lebanon in 48 hours
Agence France-Presse ALEXANDRIA: Israel should lift its blockade of Lebanon within 48 hours, UN chief Kofi Annan said Tuesday in Egypt as he stepped up efforts to release Israeli prisoners and shore up a fragile truce in Lebanon. Annan s announcement of an imminent end to the crippling nearly eight-week air and sea blockade was …
Up to five dead in yet another train crash
CAIRO: An Egyptian passenger train and a freight train collided head-on on Monday, killing up to five people and injuring 28 others in the second fatal rail crash in Egypt in two weeks, security sources said. The sources said rescue workers had recovered two bodies from the wreckage including the driver of one of the …
Bird flu re-emerges in Egyptian poultry after lull
Reuters CAIRO: Egypt has detected four new cases of bird flu in poultry, the first infections found in two months of a disease that has killed six people in the country this year and wracked its poultry industry, officials said on Monday. Three of the cases were found late last week in so-called backyard, or …
Gaultier all the fashion as he scents success
Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Gregory Gaultier earned himself a showdown with Amr Shabana, the world champion from Egypt, on Monday and made sure that two Frenchmen reached the semi-finals of the World Open for the first time with a display almost as brilliant as the nearby illuminated pyramids at night. The European champion also signaled himself …
Yearly Aida ritual missing the subtleties, but strong on extravagance
CAIRO: Verdi s Aida looks, feels and sounds like a true opera. Costumes, settings and performances are all extravagant. From the beginning, it is clear the viewer is in for a grand epic of a story. The curtains lift to an impressive opening scene with ancient Memphis in the background, setting a high standard maintained …
Fund raiser
Natural gas is still Egypt's fastest-growing industry
CAIRO: Despite very rapid expansion over the last few years, Egypt s gas sector is showing no signs of saturation: it is still the country s fastest-growing industry. Egypt is now the sixth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world, but positive recent developments, in both supply and demand, mean that it has …
Al Qaradawy: "Sufism" is the Shiaa means of infiltrating Egypt
Islamic firebrand Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi weighs in on Shiaas, corruption, political freedom and the late Naguib Mahfouz CAIRO: The Islamic propagandist, Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawy, has warned against what he called the Shiaa penetration of Egypt. In his annual meeting with journalists, he stressed that he believed that the Shiaa are trying to spread their beliefs …
New bird flu cases reported in southern Egypt
CAIRO: New cases of domestic fowl with bird flu were found in southern Egypt and Cairo last week, the Health Ministry said Monday, the first new cases to be reported in months. Health Ministry official Amr Qandil said four people suspected with symptoms of bird flu in the southern province of Sohag were tested negative …
Government launches ambitious plan for development of northern coast region
CAIRO: The government has launched an ambitious plan to develop the western part of the Northern Coast area at an estimated cost of LE 60 billion by 2022. Developed by the Egyptian Ministries of Planning and International Cooperation, the plan envisages investments to focus on development schemes directed to export-oriented activities and the promotion of …
Africa backed IMF vote plan in face of opposition
Egypt one of 50 developing countries to oppose overall package Reuters WASHINGTON: Africa endorsed a proposal adopted by the International Monetary Fund last week to increase the voting power of emerging economies, despite heavy opposition from major developing nations concerned that the plan may fail to reduce U.S. and European dominance. Damian Ondo Mane, one …
Opposition group Kefaya campaigning to abolish Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty
CAIRO: The Kefaya (enough) movement, which has held demonstrations over the past two years under the slogan: No for renewal [of President Mubarak s rule] and no for succession [of power to his son, Gamal Mubarak] has decided, following recent events, to campaign against the Camp David peace treaty. Under the title of Together for …
World Food Program appeals to Arab League nations for more support
CAIRO: In a meeting at the Arab League headquarters, the World Food Program (WFP) asked its member states to expand their contributions to the program’s operations in the region and elsewhere. “WFP has no secured funding base; we rely entirely on voluntary donations. For that reason, we are always on the lookout for new partners, …
African giants demonstrate strength in Nations Cup
JOHANNESBURG: The giants of African football demonstrated their strength in the first series of 2008 Nations Cup qualifiers this weekend. Of the eight teams among the top 10 in action, defending champions Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Morocco and Togo won while Guinea and Tunisia featured in goalless draws. Hosts Ghana qualify automatically for the biennial …
Bringing hip hop to the Arabic speaking world
CAIRO: Decked out in flashy chain necklaces, baggy jeans and a closely shaved head, Omar Tohme looks every inch as intimidating as the violently passionate lyrics he raps in his music. But behind his aggressive hip hop front is the suave, gentlemanly demeanor of a person confident in himself and in what he calls “the …
Academic honor
Rachid seeks more trade with China
Trade with China lags far behind EU and US CAIRO: An Egyptian business delegation, headed by Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid, began a week-long visit to China yesterday seeking to attract more Chinese investment to the country and increase bilateral trade. In 2005, total trade reached just over $1 billion (LE 5.75 …
El-Gamaa El-Islamiyya denounces assassination attempt
Group recognizes the important place Mahfouz held in the literary world CAIRO: El-Gamaa El-Islamiyya (The Islamic Group), the same group that attempted to assassinate Naguib Mahfouz, has issued a statement regarding his death and the assassination attempt in the 1990s. In a memorial statement, the group termed Mahfouz the only thinker who had demanded the …
The limits of victory
Who won the 33-day war in Lebanon, Israel or Hezbollah? Both sides have claimed victory, though Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has done so in the kind of understated, eloquent and rationalist discourse that has characterized his satellite TV appearances during and since the fighting. It has been Olmert and his defense minister and coalition partner, …
Driver of overturned bus in Sinai gets 1 year for crash that killed 13
Associated Press CAIRO: The driver of a bus carrying tourists that overturned in the Sinai Peninsula last month, killing 12 Israeli Arabs and an Egyptian, was convicted of negligent manslaughter Saturday, a court official said. A court in the Sinai town of Nuweiba sentenced Ahmad Hanafi Abu El-Elah to a one-year jail term, said the …
Trade Holding Company files claim against El Hanash for missing Omar Effendi deadline
CAIRO: Trade Holding Company (THC) Chairman Hadi Fahmy announced yesterday his company is preparing to file a claim to the General Prosecutor s office against businessman Saeed El Hanash after he failed to provide a $40 million (LE 230 million) letter of guarantee for his LE 2 billion offer to purchase Omar Effendi. Fahmy, along …
Bird flu back in the spotlight
CAIRO: The H5N1 strain of bird flu was reported in a domestic poultry farm in southern Egypt, the first time the highly pathogenic virus was detected in the country in months, an official statement said Sunday. The new case was reported in the village of Al-Rakakna, in the Sohag province, some 490 km south of …
Egypt says it warned Israel against "foolish" war
CAIRO: Egypt warned Israel that its foolish war in Lebanon against Hezbollah threatened Egypt-Israeli ties, Egypt s foreign minister said in a television interview broadcast on Friday. In a rebuttal of accusations from ordinary Arabs that Egypt could have done more to defend Lebanon and back Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said Egypt had made …
World squash champion Shabana through to the quarter-finals
Agence France-Presse CAIRO: World champion Amr Shabana was close to losing his world title to his best friend before reaching the quarter-finals in front of the Pyramids here on Saturday. The local hero was 2-8 down in the third game and had to save three game balls before surviving 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 11-10 against Mohammed …