Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Public reacts to the hike in gasoline prices
CAIRO: Motorists throughout Cairo work up to a somewhat shocking reality this past Friday; gasoline prices had just been increased a substantial amount. The 90 octane benzene increased by 30 percent and now stands at LE 1.30, while the natural gas increased by 25 percent to reach LE .75 from a previous LE 60. According …
Brotherhood rejects Saudi fatwas on Hezbollah support
CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest Islamist political movements in the Arab world, rejected on Thursday sectarian fatwas by Saudi clerics against supporting Hezbollah in its fight against Israel. Several Saudi clerics have issued religious opinions or fatwas banning support for the Lebanese guerrilla group. It is not allowed to support this Shiite …
Stock market recovers from losses relating to conflict
CAIRO: After nearly two weeks of Israel s massive offensive against Lebanon, the Egyptian stock market recovered all the losses it made in the initial days of the crisis. The CASE-30 index, which tracks the top 30 stocks on the exchange, fell by an average of 4 percent per day in the first three days …
Birthday Bash
ŠΘ # # # Many actors and actresses came to wish Hany a happy birthday and enjoyed partying during this magical hour, here, Amira El Alaily and Nermine El Fekky # # Ehab Tawfik, Magd El Kassem and Hala Sedky
Real estate auction generates LE 46 million in two days
CAIRO: Aside from situations of distress, auctioning real estate is a relatively new concept in Egypt. Traditionally, auctions are associated with negative circumstances, such as bankruptcy and seizure. But these views are being challenged with a number of auctions having been carried out of late as a conventional method of selling real estate. This is …
Exhibition links Egyptian heritage to the African continent
CAIRO: Organized around the African connection to Egypt and designed to dispel some of the misconceptions regarding it, the Yes, Egypt is an African Country, photo exhibition at the Sony and Media galleries of the American University in Cairo (AUC) uses approximately 75 expressive photos to convey its message. The aim of this exhibition is …
Initial bids made on profitable state-owned Suez Steel Company
CAIRO: State-owned Suez Steel Co., one of the largest net-importers of billets in the market, with the most modern facility in the Middle East region, is finally on sale. After a year and a half of deliberation, arguments over the conditions of the sale, a close-call crash for the Egyptian industry with the entrance of …
Lebanese entertainment industry moves to Egypt, amid support and criticism
CAIRO: For Hossam Mostafa, July 12 started out as any other day in Beirut. The summer season was promising; tourism rates were on the rise and music and cultural festivals were about to kick off. Legendary singer Fayrouz was to give the opening performance at the Baalbak Festival on the same night. Everyone was expecting …
Mideast turmoil sets downbeat backdrop for Suez celebration
Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Egypt marked the 50th anniversary of the landmark nationalization of the Suez Canal on Wednesday amid simmering Arab anger over Israel s punishing military offensive in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Celebrations were expected to be low key and the mood somber, in stark contrast with the wave of Arab nationalism that …
Forging a Middle East liberal democracy network
CAIRO: Liberal International, the world federation of liberal and progressive democratic political parties, held a conference in Cairo aimed at launching the Middle East Liberal Democracy Network. It was founded in 1947 as a gathering of liberal parties from around the world, creating a network to promote and strengthen liberalism worldwide. Members of the organization …
Etisalat to sell stake in Egypt operation
DUBAI: United Arab Emirates telecom firm Etisalat is looking to sell a part of its stake in the consortium that won Egypt s third mobile phone license, a UAE newspaper reported on Tuesday. Etisalat, or Emirates Telecommunications Corp, has a 66 percent stake in the consortium that paid LE 16.7 billion for the license; almost …
Three firms in the running for Serbian mobile network
BELGRADE: Austrian, Egyptian and Norwegian companies won the right Wednesday to bid for Serbia s biggest mobile telecoms operator at an auction later this month, the government said. The three are Mobilkom Austria, Orascom Telecom and Telenor. They were selected from a list of 10 companies that had applied to buy a 70-percent stake in …
UN chief calls for unity as Rome talks split over Lebanon ceasefire
Egypt will not go to war for Lebanon, says Mubarak ROME: A 15-nation crisis conference aimed at ending the bloodshed in Lebanon deadlocked Wednesday over the timing of a ceasefire which would allow aid to reach half a million refugees. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan made an impassioned plea for the conference to back an …
A joyful celebration
ŠΘ # # # Ministers Amin Abaza, Youssef Botrous Ghaly, Nadia Aziz, the bride and groom, Hany Aziz and Aisha Abdel Hady # # The couple afterwards headed to Semiramis Intercontinental where the wedding reception was held, here, Dina, Beshouy, Yousra and Samir Sabry
Developers look at creating year-round communities in the North Coast
CAIRO: All eyes have turned to Egypt’s North Coast as another hefty tourism development project goes on sale. Once again, the government is shopping around for investors keen on reaping profits from the North Coast, the tourism industry’s newest cash cow. This time, a $6.8 billion international tourism resort development project in Sidi Abdul Rahman …
Israeli bombings kill seven civilians
More than 14,500 Egyptians evacuated from Lebanon NABATIYEH: Israeli troops sealed off a key Hezbollah stronghold in fierce fighting in south Lebanon and warplanes destroyed a house in this market city Tuesday, killing six people. Militants fired rockets at the Israeli city of Haifa as the two-week old crisis showed no signs of letting up, …
Officials meet in Cairo to discuss Iraqi reconciliation conference
Associated Press CAIRO: Representatives of Iraq s ethnic and sectarian groups started discussions Tuesday on ways for reconciliation and ending escalating sectarian violence that threatens the breakup of the war-battered country. Some 30 delegates representing Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and other smaller minorities are participating in the discussions sponsored by the Cairo-based Arab League. Insurgents are …
Novel offers a lucid glimpse into the lives of Cairo's privileged but lost youth
Ghost FactoryBy Ghaith El-LawziAuthor House, 2005 CAIRO: “People don’t know how to merge in Cairo . says the opening line of the debut novel “Ghost Factory by Gaith El-Lawzi, a fictional story about the culturally confused segment of Egyptian society where sex, drugs and late nights out are the norm rather than a taboo. Although …
The day Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal
Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Fifty years later, Adel Ezzat remembers every minute of the day former Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser took the world by surprise and nationalized the Suez Canal. Only three of us were in the know. President Nasser had chosen us to carry out the nationalization, says Ezzat, who was then a 30-year-old …
In response to "inadequate" government efforts, independent groups offer aid to Lebanon
CAIRO: The Egyptian government’s effort to send aid to war-stricken Lebanon and Palestine has been limited and deemed “inadequate. Non-governmental organizations, political and independent groups are adopting the cause in their stead, condemning the “weakness of the Arab states and glorifying the Hezbollah militia. The state-directed Red Crescent sent two military planes, provided by the …
Mubarak reiterates call for ceasefire, jabs at U.S. policy
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak left for talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after repeating his call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and taking a jab at U.S. foreign policy. What is happening in the region is destructive chaos, not creative chaos, he told reporters at Cairo airport on departure for talks with King Abdullah. …
Suez: The end of the road for Britain and France as world powers
LONDON: The Suez crisis, which began 50 years ago this week, made clear for the first time that Britain and France were no longer world powers and marked the start of a close cooperation between London and Washington still very much in evidence in today s Middle East. Never again were Britain or France really …
Consumers will bear the real burden of gasoline price increase
Comprehensive energy policy still absent CAIRO: With no warning, the government decided to increase the prices of gasoline and other oil products last Thursday. The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper announced the decision the following day, at the start of a long weekend. Fuel prices at the pump immediately increased in line with the announcement. The price …
Etisalat to sell stake in Egypt operation
DUBAI: United Arab Emirates telecom firm Etisalat is looking to sell a part of its stake in the consortium that won Egypt s third mobile phone license, a UAE newspaper reported on Tuesday. Etisalat, or Emirates Telecommunications Corp, has a 66 percent stake in the consortium that paid LE 16.7 billion for the license; almost …
Fifty years on, Egypt cashing in on Suez nationalization
Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Fifty years after its nationalization, the Suez Canal is more vital than ever to Egypt s economy and revenues from transit fees look set to continue a spectacular rise. Since the first oil crisis in 1973 and the soaring prices, the economic importance of the canal for Egypt never ceased to grow …
Mubarak urges immediate cease-fire in Israel-Hezbollah fighting, says a deal can come later
Associated Press CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak on Monday called for an immediate cease-fire in Israel s military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying a longer term solution could be worked out later. In a statement carried by the nation s Middle East News Agency, Mubarak also warned that the onslaught could cause a humanitarian catastrophe. …
MobiNil hyping new services in anticipation of growing competition
CAIRO: MobiNil has just announced the launch of a voice SMS service, known to the rest of the world as voice mail. With this launch, the telecom industry in Egypt is moving into new frontiers . or rather, into old ones that have never before been offered in Egypt. With this strategic offering, MobiNil, the …
French foreign minister calls for immediate cease-fire
Germany seeks end to conflict but no instant cease-fire CAIRO: French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Saturday called for an immediate cease-fire to stop the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah and suggested that an exchange of prisoners could be one way to bring an end to the crisis. The comments came a day after …
Lawyer says recording implicates Italian intelligence chief in alleged CIA abduction
Associated Press ROME: A recording of a conversation between two arrested secret agents implicates the head of Italy s military intelligence in the alleged CIA kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in Milan, the lawyer for one of the agents said Friday. Lawyer Luigi Panella said that his client Marco Mancini, the head of counterespionage at …
The Nile Plaza boasts a stunning collection of work by Egyptian artists
CAIRO: Art is a beautiful thing that can make any place come to life. It is something to be admired and appreciated. In Egypt, we have some outstanding artists, and one tries not to miss their exhibitions. Lately, I have discovered one place that acts as a beautiful museum of Egyptian art, presenting modern day …