Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Egypt sets cement price ceiling below market level
CAIRO: Egypt has set the domestic price ceiling for bagged cement bought from the factory at LE 290 ($50.50) per ton, the trade and industry minister said, a level below recent market prices. Analysts said the new ceiling would cut cement company profits but might provide a boost to construction firms. We need to revise …
Reporting Lebanon: Look who's fair and balanced
The summer of 2006 marked an important milestone for Arab media. Israel and Hezbollah were locked in a bitter conflict that would claim the lives of more than 150 Israelis and an estimated 1,000 Lebanese, a third of them children. Each day brought brutal new images of civilian casualties. On American television, leading journalists, such …
National rail head fired over train tragedy
Train collides with tractor: two injured CAIRO: The national rail chief has been sacked over a train crash that left 58 people dead, officials said Tuesday, as the press lashed out at the government over the latest transport disaster. Transport Minister Mohammed Mansour announced that Hanafy Abdel-Qawi had been fired and his deputy Eid Mahran …
Egypt steps up Suez Canal security as warships head to Lebanon
CAIRO: The Egyptian authorities stepped up security around the Suez Canal on Tuesday in preparation for the passage of warships heading to Lebanon, security sources told AFP. Egyptian authorities have increased security in the Suez Canal in preparation for the passage of warships headed to Lebanon to support international forces there, the source said. No …
Triple birthday
ŠΘ # # # They threw a big party throughout the day at Coco Cabana in Marina on the North coast where friends of all ages enjoyed the party, here, Yasmina and Zeina # # The birthday boys blowing out the cake
Orascom Telecom says H1 net grows 12 percent
CAIRO: Orascom Telecom (OT) said on Monday its first-half net profit grew 12 percent to LE 1.9 billion ($331 million), in line with analysts expectations. Telecoms analysts had anticipated net profit of LE 1.76 to LE 2.10 billion. The company, which has mobile phone subsidiaries in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, said earnings before …
At least eight dead in Sinai road crash
CAIRO: At least eight people were killed Tuesday when a bus carrying mostly Israeli tourists overturned near the northern Sinai resort of Nuweiba, security and hospital sources said. Hospital sources in the peninsula, home to resorts that are popular with Israeli tourists, said 39 others were wounded in the accident. Most of the victims are …
Syrian ban on Egyptian guava and mango exports ignites crisis with Egypt
CAIRO: Syria’s ban on Egyptian exports of guava and mango has triggered a new crisis in trade relations between the two Arab countries and is expected to top the discussions of a joint committee meeting in Cairo early in September. Saeed Abdullah, official in charge of trade agreements at the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and …
The boomerang effect
The Bush Administration’s policies in the Middle East were originally sold as a means of encouraging democracy. What they’re actually doing is fostering a growing pan-Islamicism The Bush administration calls it the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), a frighteningly deceptive misnomer for a policy that does little to foster real partnership, substantially more to alienate. …
Iraqis turn to technology for freedom of speech
Bloggers provide a different take on events within Iraq CAIRO: Mohammed, an Iraqi blogger, came to Egypt to participate in a seminar and talk about his blog and his success in voicing his opinions through it. Full of hope, he talked on and on about freedom and development in his country. Naming his blog Iraq …
1,300 Egyptian police beef up Gaza-Egypt border
ISMAILIA: Egypt has deployed 1,300 civilian police officers to beef up security along the Gaza-Egypt border over fears Palestinian militants might attempt to breach the frontier, Egyptian officials said on Monday. The officials, a security source and a border official, said roughly 200 police officers had deployed on Saturday, and the remainder was sent on …
Puppet play dramatizes life on the street
“El-Masoura El-Kabeera focuses on society’s reaction to street children CAIRO: Seven little children, who consider the street their home, are the lead characters in “El-Masoura El-Kabeera, a puppet play produced by Mohamed Abd El-Moniem El-Sawy. In the play, society never serves as either a support or a guide to change their immoral thoughts. Concentrating on …
"Get rid of Israel" says leading opposition figure
CAIRO: A leading Egyptian opposition figure on Monday called on Arabs to take up the noble cause of eliminating Israel, while praising Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. The key result of [Nasrallah s] victory was to give back confidence to the Arab nation to establish its proper agenda … that is …
License fee transferred, contract signed for third mobile operator
Analysts expect uphill battle for new operator to gain market share CAIRO: Third mobile network consortium leader Etisalat will begin commercial operations this February, the network s newly appointed CEO Saleh El Abduli announced yesterday during the contract signing ceremony held in Alexandria. With test runs scheduled for November or December, El Abduli says the …
Wedding bliss
ŠΘ # # # Mr. and Mrs. Zein El Sadat and their daughter Manal El Sadat # # The wedding was lots of fun, and all her close friends were wearing fuchsia dresses, here are Alia and Jailan
Football News
Tanta stadium given the clearance By Amro Hassan Gharbeya governorate approved holding the Tanta-Mahalla game at Tanta club stadium in the third week of the Egyptian League. Following a meeting between Gharbeya governor and security officials in the city, Tanta have been given the clearance to play their home League games at the Tanta stadium. …
Government announces public-private partnership to build schools
Public tenders for 50 schools to be held next month CAIRO: The Ministry of Finance has announced the initiation of a new public-private partnership (p.p.p.) to build 50 elementary and secondary schools in 11 governorates in an attempt to meet the president s campaign promise of introducing 3,500 new schools into the system by 2011. …
Washington, D.C. based Cato Institute starts a new program in the region
CAIRO: The Cato Institute, a non-profit public policy research foundation headquartered in Washington, D.C. and founded in 1977, has started a new program in the Middle East, Misbah Al-Hurriyya (The Lamp of Liberty). The institute promotes libertarianism, advocating individual liberty, limited government, free market and the rule of law. It also seeks to broaden the …
CIA allegedly kidnapped two Muslims resident in Austria in 2002-03: report
VIENNA: The CIA kidnapped at least two Muslims resident in Austria, including one with links to a former imam in Italy who was similarly abducted, Profil magazine reported in its Monday edition. According to Profil, U.S. secret service agents grabbed Gamal Menshawi, an Egyptian doctor and an eminent member of a Muslim community in the …
UN to open office in Upper Egypt to serve general development goals for the organization
CAIRO: The United Nations country office is looking into the possibility of establishing an office in Upper Egypt. Although project studies are underway, the new resident UN coordinator James Rawley says he can t disclose a definite location or opening date for the office. Being new to the post, Rawley says he can t take …
Press Round-up: Steps taken to heal Arab rift over Lebanon
CAIRO: Headlines of national newspapers are centering on President Hosni Mubarak’s meetings with the princes of Qatar and Kuwait, along with his talks with several Arab heads, including Syrian diplomats. The leaders convened for an emergency meeting in Egypt, discussed aid to Lebanon and reconstruction, as well as “Arab unity. The headlines feature reassurances of …
Al-Ahram denies censoring Web sites
CAIRO: Al-Ahram officials have denied claims that the institution intentionally blocked certain Web sites as a form of censorship, blaming a system crash for the misunderstanding. Earlier this month, news circulated that the publishing house had blocked several opposition Web sites, including the increasingly popular and controversial Web logs (blogs). All sites tied to the …
Train crash kills dozens, injures more than 100
QALYOUB, Egypt: A train crash killed and injured dozens of people in a Nile Delta town north of Cairo on Monday in Egypt s worst rail disaster for four years. Casualty figures varied widely. The health minister put the toll at 58 dead and 143 injured. A security source had earlier said up to 80 …
Local cultural scene takes an active role in aiding war torn Lebanon
CAIRO: With the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah now stopped due to a recent cease-fire, attention has been shifted to ways in which to help the devastated Lebanese economy and its people. The local cultural scene has decided to try to play a part in helping out. Five individuals got together and decided to organize …
Foreign ministers gather in Cairo at Arab League headquarters
Arab nations pushing for new peace process with Israel after Lebanon war CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers gathered in Cairo on Sunday to pave the way for an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia planned for later this month. A new peace initiative will likely be high on the agenda, along with a Saudi plan to gather …
Summer wedding
ŠΘ # # # The venue was the garden of his villa in Cairo, here, Sherif Ramzy and Menna Fahmy # # The cozy wedding was made up of intimate friends and family, who danced all night celebrating the bride and groom, here are Tolya, Basant and Nermine
Egypt warns against any military strike on Iran
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak warned against any military strike on Iran in an interview published on Saturday. The United Nations Security Council has demanded Iran suspend uranium enrichment by the end of the month after Tehran failed to persuade the international community its atomic scientists were working on power stations, not bombs. Washington has declined …
Seventeen members of Muslim Brotherhood detained
CAIRO: Security forces detained 17 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday, security sources said, in a fresh step targeting the country s strongest opposition movement. The sources said the Brotherhood members were arrested at a home in Manoufiya province north of Cairo. They said authorities found anti-government books and pamphlets in the home. …
New Consumer Protection Law in effect today
Raising awareness the first major challenge for NGOs CAIRO: More than 60 consumer protection NGOs will begin implementation of the country s first consumer protection law today. Ratified in May, the law requires businesses to accept returns and exchanges within 14 days as long as a receipt is presented, and stipulates fines from LE 5,000 …
Hundreds of Palestinians wait to cross into Gaza as border passage opens
Associated Press RAFAH: The Egypt-Gaza border crossing opened Saturday, giving hundreds of stranded Palestinians the chance to return to the Gaza Strip for the first time in a month. Egyptian tourism police Capt. Amr Osama said the crossing will be open for two days in both directions. Several hundred Palestinians gathered in front of the …