Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Lebanese musicians honor their nation in a somber but hopeful concert
CAIRO: Last night at the Cairo Opera House Lebanese musicians sang of love, suffering and change at a benefit concert entitled Beirut Won’t Cry. The meaningful performances were meant to signal the Lebanese people’s ability to rebuild their country after the destruction left by the Israeli aggression. Four weeks of air strikes tore apart clinics, …
Cozy Costa Del Sol
UNCTAD report proves conventional economic theories wrong
CAIRO: In what could be described as a revolutionary economic study, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) issued their 2006 report, rebuffing conventional theories governing economic growth and suggesting a potential change in domestic and international approach to economy. The widely accepted policies of the Washington Consensus that dictates that competitive exchange …
World leaders, intellectuals mourn Naguib Mahfouz
CAIRO: Officials and cultural circles in Egypt and worldwide mourned the loss of one the greatest writers of modern times following the death Wednesday of Naguib Mahfouz. Leaders stressed the Egyptian novelist s commitment to peace and dialogue between civilizations, while friends and artists praised the pioneering nature of Mahfouz s works and his simple …
From pashas to the people: Egyptian photography enters the information age
CAIRO: As an art form, photography in Egypt was once the province of a handful of Armenian artists who brought the first cameras to the country and established small downtown workshops. Their work was funded by the pashas and princes that once dominated the country’s cultural life, some of whom also began taking pictures as …
Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt's Nobel laureate laid to rest
Novelist Naguib Mahfouz was laid to rest, yesterday, during a state funeral. Mahfouz, was hospitalized last month after he fell in the street, and died after suffering from a bleeding ulcer. He came to this world only to write, writer Youssef Al-Quaid told Egyptian television. He had an incredible ability to create and create all …
Football star Abdel Wahab dies in training
CAIRO: Egyptian international defender Mohamed Abdel Wahab died after collapsing on the training field on Thursday, club officials said. The 22-year-old, a member of the Egyptian side that won the African Nations Cup finals in February, was pronounced dead before arriving at hospital, his club Al Ahli added. Abdel Wahab, who would have turned 23 …
The Father of Modern Arabic Literature
I first met Naguib Mahfouz shortly after arriving in Cairo in 1945. Aware that a renaissance of Arabic literature was taking place at the hands of a group of writers, of whom Naguib Mahfouz was one, I made a point of getting to know some of them and of trying to make their work known …
EU to seek new Mideast talks based on 1967 borders
Reuters BRUSSELS: The European Union is set to launch a drive this week to revive long-stalled Middle East peace negotiations based on the principle of a return to Israel s 1967 borders, EU officials say. At an informal meeting in Finland on Friday and Saturday, foreign ministers of the 25-nation bloc will discuss how to …
Somali refugees might head to Cairo
CAIRO: With the volatile situation in Somalia, the influx of refugees is increasing and Egypt is a potential destination. The Cairo office of the Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) issued a statement this week asking whether the Somalis fleeing the violence would seek refuge in Egypt. Rough estimates indicate that Egypt is home …
DJ Junior talks about the party scene
Local partygoers more interested in the venue than the DJ CAIRO: DJ Junior packs his bag every summer and off he goes to the crazy global party capital of the island Ibiza, where he spins music in a glittering atmosphere filled with wild men and women ready to let go and have a fabulous time. …
Naguib Mahfouz, an icon of Arab literature, passes away at 94
With a Nobel Prize for Literature, an Order of the Nile, a statue and a street to his name, Mahfouz is firmly entrenched in Egyptian history CAIRO: Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt s most celebrated author and the only Arab to win the Nobel Prize for literature, died Wednesday at the age of 94, several weeks after …
Sandy sing-along
ŠΘ # # # Karika sang and invited anyone to sing with on stage and perform alongside him here are Amy and Doaa Yousry # # The beach party took place at La Plage in Agami on the North Coast, here are Katia Kady and Jehan Abdullah
Internet giant bases Middle East activities in Egypt
CAIRO: Google Inc., the company behind the world’s most popular search engine, continues to build up its presence in the Middle East and, to the surprise of many, has decided to base its activities in the Middle East and North Africa region in Egypt instead of Dubai. Since Dubai is associated with a healthier investment …
Shabana to defend title in shadows of pyramids
CAIRO: Amr Shabana is under no illusions how much pressure he will be under when he starts the defense of his world squash title in front of the pyramids in Giza. The 2006 World Open championships (Sept. 1-6) will take place at one of the most spectacular venues in sport, and the local favorite will …
OCI posts 53 percent rise in H1 net profit
CAIRO: Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) first-half net profit rose 53 percent on last year to LE 1.2 billion ($210 million), the firm said. The construction and building materials group reported in a statement that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of LE 2.03 billion, 55 percent up on last year. Two analysts said …
Median interbank rate steady at 8.5 percent
CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound was stable at 8.50 percent on Wednesday, virtually unchanged from Tuesday s 8.506 with the market quiet as traders awaited the results of central bank auctions. The market is quieter today, but everyone is waiting to see the results of the auctions, one dealer said. I …
Israel urges nationals to leave Sinai as warning issued
JERUSALEM: The Israeli government urged its nationals to immediately leave Egypt s Sinai Peninsula Wednesday, saying there was a high risk of an attack there targeting Israeli tourists. There have been serious alerts over the past couple of weeks of possible terrorist attacks targeting Israeli tourists in the Sinai and we call on them to …
Angry Israelis demand regime change
Israel is in trouble. Its president Moshe Katsav is being investigated for allegedly raping one of his own staff members. Ehud Olmert, its Prime Minister, is accused of accepting a whopping $500,000 bribe from a building contractor and of making crony political appointments during his former tenure as Minister of Industry and Trade. Its Chief …
Human rights abuses in Egypt, Jordan and Syria
DUBAI: Human rights organizations in Egypt have condemned the Egyptian government for two fatal rail accidents and have continued with campaigns for the release from prison of prominent Muslim Brotherhood members. Elsewhere in the Middle East, poor prison conditions have been highlighted in Jordan and rights groups continued to condemn Syria despite the country signing …
Resurrecting the past in Abu Sir
Hungarian Egyptologist uncovers the secrets of Taposiris Magna Taposiris Magna: A Temple, Fortress and Monastery of EgyptPublished by Egypt Excavation Society of Hungary, 2004Hardcover, 223 pages CAIRO: West of Alexandria, between the Mediterranean Sea and the freshwater Lake of Mariut, lays Abu Sir, home to the ancient town of Taposiris Magna. A tall tower still …
Smoke fears force EgyptAir plane to land in Canada
OTTAWA: An Egyptian airliner flying from Cairo to New York with 313 passengers and 19-member crew made an unscheduled stop in eastern Canada on Monday when smoke was detected in the cockpit, officials said. The Egyptair Boeing 777 landed at Happy Valley-Goose Bay airport in Newfoundland province at about 13:30 p.m. (17:30 GMT), a Canadian …
Heavy jail terms handed down in corruption case
CAIRO: A well-known Egyptian businessman and several public bank officials were handed heavy prison sentences Monday in one of the country s highest-profile corruption cases, judicial sources said. Car dealer Hossam Aboul Fotouh was sentenced to 10 years in prison for receiving unguaranteed loan facilities totaling LE 1.4 billion ($243 million). Most of the loans …
Tottenham signs Egyptian Mido
LONDON: Tottenham agreed to re-sign Ahmed Mido from AS Roma on Tuesday. This is almost two months after the Egypt striker left the London club. Mido will sign with Spurs if he gets a work permit, which is a formality, according to the club, which didn t release details of the transfer fee or contract. …
Celebrity event
ŠΘ # # # The event was held at the Semiramis InterContinental in Cairo, here, Former Miss Lebanon Katia Kaady and Egyptian singer Essam Karika # # Hady Hatem and Rana El Dighidy
Dubai no longer an employee's paradise
Rising costs of living are forcing many foreigners homeward bound DUBAI: Ali Mahmoud, 42, is a UAE-based Egyptian expatriate. Having worked between Dubai and Sharjah as a translator for the last 15 years, he has decided to put an end to his career away from home. The reason: for him as well as for many …
Increased IT development vital to Egypt's future
CAIRO: With studies indicating only 4 percent of Egyptians own computers, the state of information technology in Egypt needs to be reviewed. The country, like the rest of the world, is entering into a vicious circle where increasing accessibility demands a boost in the IT industry, which requires a qualified workforce, which in turn necessitates …
Polavara to raise $41 million in rights issue
CAIRO: Textile firm Arab Polavara plans to raise LE 234 million ($41 million) through a rights issue that will double its existing shares, the stock exchange said on Tuesday. The 46,843,280 new shares would be offered to existing shareholders at LE 5 each, the exchange said. It said that Polavara would allow shareholders to buy …
Building bridges of understanding
Organization works to teach people how to present Islam CAIRO: To prepare its recently hired American employees for their new life in Cairo, the American Embassy in Egypt, in coordination with the Bridges Foundation, has organized a lecture about how to live in an Islamic country. The lecture was given by Fadel Soliman, founder of …
U.S. seeks Egyptian support on Iran nuclear issue
CAIRO: Washington s top nuclear negotiator held talks in Cairo Monday as part of U.S. efforts to harmonize positions on the response to give to Iran s fast-advancing nuclear program. Working with Egypt is critical to our success, said Gregory Schulte, the chief U.S. representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency, after a meeting with …