Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Verbal clash continues with Interior Ministry
CAIRO: Muslim Brotherhood members in parliament continue to appeal for what they have called a “confrontation with the Ministry of Interior and the Prime Minister. The Brotherhood says they still need explanations and justifications for the events of “Black Wednesday, involving large-scale arrests of Brotherhood members. “This is pressure, not only on the interior minister, …
Interbank rate falls to 8.27 percent
CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound was 8.27 percent on Wednesday, down from Tuesday s 8.283 percent although demand for funds to invest at a central bank auction remained strong, traders said. The central bank auctioned 56-day certificates worth LE 11 billion ($1.9 billion). We ve actually started to see some demand …
Taking a stride in the technology race
CAIRO: Under the auspices of Tarek Kamel, minister of communication and information technology, Orascom Telecom (OT) and Intel Capital, the venture capital investment arm of Intel Corporation, announced on Tuesday that they have signed an agreement to create Orascom Telecom WiMAX Limited. This joint venture company will work with the government and private sector to …
Placing brings Egypt's El Sewedy Cables to market
CAIRO: Major shareholders in El Sewedy Cables raised LE 1.29 billion ($224 million) through a private placing carried out through the Egyptian stock exchange, a company statement said on Wednesday. The shareholders, many of them members of the Sewedy family, sold 30 million shares, or half the company s stock, at LE 43 a share, …
Farafra trip
ŠΘ # # # The field trip was jointly run by the Math and Geography departments at BISC and focused on learning through experience, above, Kareem Bishara, Ary Erzingatzian and Mazen Nadim # # Students were able to take part in a White Desert tour and discuss ecotourism with industry leaders as well as …
CORRECTION
In the May 24 edition of the newspaper, story entitled “Mubarak lashes out at press over coverage of protests, The Associated Press erroneously attributed critical comments in a newspaper editorial to President Hosni Mubarak. The editorial in the Al-Gomhuria newspaper, not Mubarak, criticized news coverage of police actions during the protests as libel and blasphemy …
Devil in disguise
CAIRO: With the increase in credit card usage, shopping is getting easier. But as the bill reaches a new high every month, card owners are also paying the even higher price of compromising their financial safety, especially if they are fans of Internet shopping. Legal systems around the world, and especially in Egypt, are still …
WHO chief warns of bird flu "blind spots"
Reuters GENEVA: Bird flu threatens human lives in hundreds and possibly thousands of disease blind spots around the globe, the late head of the World Health Organization said in remarks prepared before his death. The UN agency issued the report on Tuesday to the organization s annual assembly of Director-General Lee Jong-wook, who died on …
El-Bastawisy leaves hospital and thanks his supporters
CAIRO: An Egyptian judge reprimanded for blowing the whistle on alleged electoral fraud left the hospital Tuesday morning after heart surgery, his wife said. Hesham El-Bastawisy suffered a heart attack last Wednesday and underwent two operations to unclog his coronary arteries, Ulfat Al-Sahli told The Associated Press by telephone from her home in Cairo. El-Bastawisy, …
Finding the perfect balance
CAIRO: Karen Armstrong’s books on theology and history have managed to charm Egyptian readers, with new titles in demand, book sales high and often making the bestseller lists in Cairo’s bookstores. Armstrong is famous in the Middle East for her books: “Islam: A Brief History and “Muhammad, a book recounting the life and traditions of …
Al Ahli finishes unbeaten for second season in a row
CAIRO: Egyptian champions Al Ahli won 4-0 at Ismaili to finish the league unbeaten for the second season in a row. Last year s African Champions League winners dominated Monday s ill-tempered game to finish the 26-match league program 14 points ahead of runners-up Zamalek. Al Ahli won 23 of their matches, drawing the other …
Singing to the heart
CAIRO: Saber El Rebai s voice evokes oriental music s old school. By making various references to this rich regional musical tradition in combination with his wide vocal range, with a touch of tenderness in romantic songs, his career has proved rewarding so far. It seems that the Tunisian singer is keenly aware of what …
MSA International Day
ŠΘ # # # The University was divided into 12 wings each being another country and gave out free food to the students, here, Negoud El Shibany and Reeman Adelsamee # # Dina Hosein, Shaimaa Hatem and Amina Hosein
Egypt says Palestinians involved in Sinai attacks
CAIRO: Egypt s interior ministry said Tuesday the Egyptian group which carried out three simultaneous suicide bombings in the Sinai last month received support from Palestinian militants in Gaza and Egypt. Several members of the Tawhid wal Jihad group blamed for the bombings went to the Gaza Strip for training in weapons and explosives, it …
Mubarak lashes out at press over coverage of protests
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak lashed out at coverage of Cairo street protests in which more than 600 Egyptians were beaten and arrested, calling the rallies evidence of democracy and coverage of them libel and blasphemy, in remarks published Tuesday. Continuation (of the protests) is evidence of democracy, Mubarak said in an interview with the state-owned …
U.S. Treasury's Snow lauds Mideast development focus
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Middle East oil producers seem correctly focused on putting more oil wealth into domestic development and this poses no threat to the U.S. dollar, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Sunday. More than $200 billion of extra income has flowed to producers who belong to the Broader Middle East and North …
Roman city submerged in sea to be excavated
CAIRO: The Egyptian authorities have given the go ahead for the underwater exploration of what appears to be a Roman city submerged in the Mediterranean, Egypt s top archaeologist said on Monday. Zahi Hawass said in a statement that an excavation team had found the ruins of the Roman city 35 km east of the …
Egypt mulls pound eurobonds
Reuters SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The Egyptian government has started talks with investment banks on the possibility of issuing bonds abroad denominated in Egyptian pounds, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieddin said in an interview on Sunday. It could be something like 500 million euros or dollars and this I think is going to be taken very positively …
Getting the message out
CAIRO: A group of student activists and alumni from the American University in Cairo (AUC) brought the solidarity campaign to campus yesterday in the form of t-shirts and a message. The group is expected to distribute approximately 100 t-shirts to students with the insignia of “Free Droubi printed on the front. “I want people to …
Shares extend losses, index dips over 5 percent
CAIRO: Stocks dipped sharply for a second day on Tuesday, with the benchmark index down more than 5 percent in early trade on the back of a dip in other markets, traders said. The benchmark Hermes index, which shed 6.1 percent on Monday, was 5 percent lower at 09:50 GMT at 45,743.30 points. The Case …
Interbank rate rises to 8.35 percent
X CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound was 8.35 percent on Tuesday, up from Monday s 8.049 percent after central bank auctions drew liquidity from the market, traders said. The central bank auctioned 7-day certificates worth LE 7.4 billion ($1.28 billion) and 63-day certificates worth LE 2 billion. There are two auctions …
Intel unlikely to slash jobs in efficiency review
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Intel Corp. is unlikely to shut plants or slash jobs following a top-to-bottom review announced last month to address shrinking market share and slowing computer sales, a senior executive at the world s biggest chipmaker said on Sunday. That has not been the expected outcome, Gordon Graylish, Intel s vice president and …
Brotherhood says Nazif's comments betray reform
CAIRO: Egypt s banned Islamist opposition Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday comments by the prime minister about preventing its members from standing in future elections proved the government was not committed to reform. The group, which won a fifth of parliament s seats in elections last year, would attract more support from Egyptians if the …
Sawiris says government should join hands with secular movements to combat political Islam
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Orascom Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Naguib Sawiris have made no secret of his political views. He fears the rise of religious political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and believes the government should work with others to resist this tendency. I think the government is making a mistake by trying to …
World Economic Forum comes to a close
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The World Economic Forum is, for better or worse, essentially about strengthening ties between government and business. A number of representatives from civil societies also attend, but ultimately the true theme of the forum, globalization, is driven by business interests. Nevertheless, a number of social issues were addressed by the forum s …
Nazif wants no Brotherhood block in parliament
Reuters SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The Egyptian government wants to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood forming a parliamentary group by winning seats as independents in future elections, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Saturday. The Brotherhood, a well-established Islamist movement which says it is committed to political reform by peaceful means, won a fifth of the seats …
Arab League chief at WEF: No to nuclear weapons in Mideast
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The Arab League chief on Monday said U.S. charges that Iran wants to build nuclear weapons had no credibility in the Arab world and demanded that the allegation be supported by proof from the UN nuclear watchdog. Amr Moussa further declared that Arabs want the whole region to be free of nuclear …
A mediocre mission by Cruise
CAIRO: The most fascinating thing that always intrigued me about films is the viewers relationship with the film and its characters. There are various types of links the audiences create with the fictional characters of a drama – fascination, sympathy, idolization . etc. The most important relationship of all, however, is empathy. Any ordinary filmgoer …
U.S. Treasury's Snow lauds Mideast development focus
Reuters SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Middle East oil producers seem correctly focused on putting more oil wealth into domestic development and this poses no threat to the U.S. dollar, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Sunday. More than $200 billion of extra income has flowed to producers who belong to the Broader Middle East and …
EFG-Hermes chief sees big opportunities in Saudi Arabia
Reuters SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The chairman of Egypt-based investment bank EFG-Hermes said on Monday its newly obtained Saudi license was crucial to growth because it expands the company s market four times over. Saudi accounts for over 75 percent of the total fee pot of the Arab world. So whatever we are doing today we …