Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Human rights organization holds talks with government
CAIRO: The American Human Rights Watch Organization, which is currently in Egypt holding its quarterly meeting, met with members of the Egyptian government on April 8. They discussed human rights in Egypt under the framework of political, economic and social reform programs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as representatives from the Ministry of …
Showcasing Ashoura
CAIRO: “It’s a true definition of humanity; the bringing of morbidity to a new level, a façade to our inner souls. Minou is a very talented woman on a wavelength that needs to be in New York and Paris, says Lamia Hamdy, a business woman and an artist. Hamdy is referring to renowned graphic designer …
Will U.S. fiscal frivolity break the world's piggybank?
Here’s a big idea for the next U.S. Treasury secretary: Reform the International Monetary Fund so that it can help the world balance its checkbook, reducing America’s deficits and Asia’s surpluses, before there’s a financial crisis that hits everyone from Beijing to Boston. The leaks and rumors are flying that Treasury Secretary John Snow is …
Egyptian FM denounces Israeli escalation against Palestinian cities
CAIRO: Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit on Sunday condemned recent Israeli raids against Palestinians and suggested they instead should focus on returning to peace negotiations. Abul-Gheit said the Israeli air-strikes in the Gaza Strip that have killed 15 Palestinians since Friday were a violation of international conventions. The time has come for the Israeli leaders to …
Mubarak's comments make headlines around the region
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak’s comments regarding Shiite Muslims in Iraq sparked region-wide criticism, and independent newspapers around the region have been following up on the issue. A high-profile Shiite Saudi writer, Fouad Ibrahim, told the Associated Press that the president’s remarks are the engine which drives the whole region towards civil war. Definitely Iran has …
Egyptian in Jordan cured of bird flu
AMMAN: An Egyptian worker diagnosed with the H5N1 deadly strain of bird flu at the end of March has recovered and left a hospital in Jordan on Monday, a medical official told AFP. The patient has completed his treatment. He has recovered and left [a] hospital, said the director of the Karak state hospital in …
Bird flu "expected to continue for some time"
CAIRO: Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza said in February that he expected the country to be rid of avian influenza by the time the bird migration season ended in late March. Today, with the number of human infections having reached 11, including three fatalities, Abaza s prediction has clearly not transpired and the outbreak is …
Jailed politician stopped from writing-wife
CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have stopped jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour sending articles to his party s newspaper, Nour s wife Gameela Ismail said on Sunday. Nour, who came a distant second to President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt s first multi-candidate presidential elections, has threatened to start a hunger strike if he cannot send his articles …
Contrived outrage over Mubarak's "civil war" comment
Amazingly, the Egyptian President has managed the impossible, and it only took a matter of minutes. Eat your heart out Condi and Jack! Hosni Mubarak has actually succeeded in uniting members of the Iraqi government-in-waiting with his civil war comments on Dubai s Al-Arabiya network. In fact, in comparison to top Iraqi officials, who have …
Hamas wants Gaza connected to Egyptian telecom network
CAIRO: The new Hamas-led Palestinian government is considering connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt s telecommunications network, communications and technology minister Jamal Al-Khodari said Monday. In the context of the separation from Israel, we are looking, with Egypt, into the possibility of connecting Gaza to the Egyptian telecommunication network, Khodari told Egypt s MENA news …
Latest attempt to license Al-Wassat fails
CAIRO: The latest attempt by moderate Islamist group Al-Wassat to obtain an official license for their party has fallen short. This is the fourth failed attempt by the group in 10 years to acquire a license, despite optimism from its founder that the group would succeed in their bid. The Political Parties Court, a semi-governmental …
It's Israel's system that makes peace so difficult
Before remarking on the meaning of Israel’s March 28 elections for Israeli-Palestinian relations, it behooves us to recall why Israel has such frequent elections, yet can’t install a government capable of resolving the Palestinian issue. The reasons are both Israeli and Palestinian in substance. At the Israeli domestic level, every Israeli government since 1988 has …
Heavy fine levied in libel case
CAIRO: A Cairo court fined a female reporter from Rose Al-Youssef newspaper LE 20,000 for allegedly writing a libelous story concerning a top official in the Ministry of Culture. The daily sacked the journalist as a result, even though the latter vehemently insists her story was true. “They say they have protected journalists from imprisonment. …
Producers turn Morocco into Egypt for 'Ten Commandments' miniseries
TIFNIT, Morocco: It s a hazy June afternoon and crew members are preparing the set for the 300 Moroccan extras to cross what s supposed to be a parted Red Sea. The locals look incredibly convincing as Moses Hebrew followers. The mock-Biblical set is remarkably believable. Water pumped from the ocean trickles down a cliff, …
The source of illiteracy
CAIRO: Egypt ranks alongside Yemen, Morocco, Sudan, Mauritania and Iraq as one of the least literate countries in the Arab world. Over a third of the population in these countries cannot read or write, with the illiteracy rate in Egypt closer to one-half. The economic impact of the absence of this fundamental skill amongst a …
Children of the quarries
CAIRO: When Ahmed left school at age 11 to work in the rock quarries near his village, he was happy to earn a little money to help support his family. But as soon as I went to work, I found it very hard, Ahmed, who is now 14 and still working the quarries, told a …
Regional neighbors lash out at Mubarak over Iraq, Iran comments
CAIRO: Iraq and its powerful neighbor Iran were fuming Sunday over comments by President Hosni Mubarak, a major broker in Middle East politics, about Iraqi civil war and Shiites allegiance to Tehran The comments have upset Iraqi people who come from different religious and ethnic backgrounds and has astonished and discontented the Iraqi government, incumbent …
Unfortunately, strangers on a train
I was on the evening train from Washington to New York, happily reading a book, when I overheard a sliver of conversation that would make it impossible to concentrate and remind me just what an uphill struggle it could be to be a Muslim in America, today. “And those cartoons! They get so angry about …
Israel's denying entry to peace mission deserved harsh condemnation
The past few weeks saw the error in foreign news coverage of the Middle East come to life as an international group promoting peace journeyed throughout the region. The Breaking the Ice peace mission began their journey overland in Tel Aviv early March and has just recently ended the trek by planting an olive tree …
Median overnight interbank falls after rate cut
CAIRO: A cut in the central bank s overnight lending and deposit rates pulled the median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian down to 8.1 percent on Sunday from Thursday s 8.456 percent, bankers said. The central bank s monetary policy committee last week cut the bank s overnight deposit and lending rates by 25 …
Egypt to host meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Iraq issues
CAIRO: Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said Saturday that Egypt would host a meeting of Arab officials next week in an effort to stop the spiral of violence in Iraq. Abul-Gheit said the Wednesday meeting of foreign ministers would focus on the continuing dangerous Iraqi internal events and would ask loyal Iraqis to work to stop …
Housing sector climbs on mixed Egypt bourse
CAIRO: Housing stocks climbed on a mixed Egyptian bourse on Sunday, building on a rally in the sector since mid-March, traders said. Housing stocks have been boosted by expectations of expansion in the sector. Medinet Nasr Housing and Development climbed 11 percent, United Housing gained 5.7 percent and Shams Housing and Development added 6.3 percent. …
Singapore's ST Telemedia, Qatar Tel partner for third license
Head: Singapore s ST Telemedia, Qatar Tel partner for third license SINGAPORE: Singapore Technologies Telemedia (ST Telemedia), a leading information-communications company, and Qatar Telecom QSC (Qtel), one of the Middle East’s growing telecommunications companies, announced their joint venture to bid as a consortium for the third Public Land Mobile Network license in the Arab Republic …
Arabic e-books the real deal
CAIRO: A new form of information is storming through Egypt and the Arab world. It may be a few years away from dominating the industry, but Arabic e-book publishing is starting to make a direct impact in the world of literature and culture. Ramy Habeeb, managing director of Kotob Arabia, an e-book publishing house, has …
Monuments, deserts and beaches
CAIRO: There are many things Egyptians can look forward to with the onset of the spring season: ideal weather, outdoor cafes, a jump-start to the summer and an abundance of holidays. “Spring is one of the best seasons for travel, says Mohammed Al Rifai, director of sales at Eastmar Travel. “The weather is accommodating to …
Two Egyptian children recover from bird flu
CAIRO: Two Egyptians have been discharged from the hospital after recovering from bird flu infection, a Health Ministry official said on Friday. The two sisters, aged 18 months and six years, had been in hospital since at least Sunday, when the ministry said blood tests showed they had been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain …
WWW World
War of wordshttp://www.bushflash.com/ Mohamed Ragheb This prescient pronouncement by the fourth president of the United States, James Madison (1809-1817) scrolls across the top of the home page: “If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. The foreign enemy is of course Al-Qaeda, and the …
Egyptian author speaks on Arab image in the West
CAIRO: One of Egypt’s most renowned writers, Ahdaf Soueif, spoke at the American University in Cairo (AUC) Thursday night. The famed writer discussed the importance of understanding how the west portrays Arabs in fiction, and her discussion was met with enthusiasm in a packed auditorium on campus. “The portrayal of Arabs in the west is …
The nanny: The essential luxury
ALEXANDRIA: When walking in sports clubs in Alexandria and Cairo, where members of Egypt’s “high society usually take their children for fresh air and sun, it is not odd to see women and girls of all ages and nationalities wearing white coats tailing the young kids. These women are called nannies, in reference to their …
Recent fatwa against statues opens door to extremists
“Egypt is on the cusp of becoming a great nation. Let us not turn questions of jurisprudence into social issues, rather, let us work together to form the mind of a new generation. With these words, Dr. Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, concluded his segment of the March 28th episode of the Egyptian …