Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Block, kick and strike
CAIRO: Martial arts date back more than 2000 years; pictures were painted on tombs, showing people fighting. Today, the different types of martial arts have evolved and developed into a form of fitness that is accessible for everyone and not only to hardcore enthusiasts. Egypt has always promoted participation in the martial arts, including Karate, …
Cyberian Misr
CAIRO: In a first, Egypt has its own online gallery of original contemporary and modern art, a retail website launched by some of Egypt’s most talented artists. Egy-Art.com offers worldwide shipping of Egyptian artwork, a step that founders of the website believe is essential to market Egyptian taste in fine art. Browsing through the online …
In the event of an emergency
CAIRO: If there is one thing critics say was revealed following last week’s tragic Red Sea ferry accident that left as many as 1,000 people dead, it is the lack of a concrete emergency plans from the government as well as the Al-Salam Company. One week later, conflicting remarks and accusations between the government, the …
BMW adds model to local assembly line
CAIRO: BMW announced this week that it will add a new model to the two that are currently assembled in Egypt. The company also released its sales figures for 2005, during which it achieved a 69 percent growth in local sales compared to the previous year. BMW through its local partner Bavarian Auto Group (BAG) …
Africa won't budge on Cup timing, demands respect
CAIRO: Africa s ruling football body insisted on Friday there will be no going back on the timing of the Nations Cup, despite pressure from European clubs. There was also a rebuke from the Confederation of African Football for managers in Europe who try to hold on to their African players during the finals, with …
Egypt grab record fifth Nations Cup crown after penalty shootout
CAIRO: Hosts Egypt won a record fifth African Nations Cup title when they defeated Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties after both teams failed to score after normal and extra time in the final here Friday. Egypt coach Hassan Shehata said they owed their victory to the total support by the 80,000-strong crowd even at a …
Egypt gives first look at first new tomb uncovered in Valley of the Kings since Tut's
LUXOR, Egypt: Through a partially opened underground door, Egyptian authorities gave a peek Friday into the first new tomb uncovered in the Valley of the Kings since that of King Tutankhamun in 1922. U.S. archaeologists said they discovered the tomb by accident while working on a nearby site. Still unknown is whose mummies are in …
Paper printed cartoons in 2005 to attack them
CAIRO: An Egyptian newspaper editor said on Friday his weekly had published some of the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed last year in an article condemning the caricatures which have sparked a furor in the Muslim world. Adel Hammouda told Reuters he had published the cartoons in El-Fagr in October after he said he had seen …
EFG-Hermes raises valuation for OT
CAIRO: Investment bank EFG-Hermes raised its long-term fair value estimate for Orascom Telecom (OT) to LE 437 ($76.27) a share because of what it called OT s aggressive growth strategy. EFG-Hermes previously gave the Egypt-based international mobile operator an estimate of LE 306.25 a share. But it said in December this should already be 5 …
A solid turnout
CAIRO: The Orascom companies are experiencing a good week, following a good year. Mobinil, one of the companies under Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH), announced yesterday their full year 2005 results, and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) announced that it has signed an initial agreement with Sonatrach, the Algerian state-owned oil and gas company. MobiNil reported increases …
Egypt median o/n interbank rate steady at 8.35 pct
CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on Egypt s pound was 8.35 percent on Thursday, with market conditions little changed from Wednesday when the rate was 8.399 percent, bankers said. Four of seven banks contacted by Reuters had dealt overnight at between 8.3 and 8.4 percent. Rates were between 8.35 and 8.45 percent on Wednesday. …
A chronology of the Sudanese protest crisis
CAIRO: Sept. 29: A small group of around 20 Sudanese refugees, asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers begins a sit-in protest in a park in central Cairo, close to the office of the UN refugee Agency, UNHCR. The protestors carry placards saying “No to voluntary repatriation to Sudan, “We want resettlement and “No to local …
Money changers stop dealing in Danish crowns
CAIRO: Money changers in Egypt will not accept Danish or Norwegian crowns in protest over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that appeared in newspapers in those countries, a professional association said on Thursday. The decision was taken during a meeting of the board of the money changers section of the federation of Egyptian chambers of …
Protesters warned their lives were in danger
CAIRO: A preliminary report detailing the forced breakup of a Sudanese refugee sit-in at a park in Mohandiseen says protesters were given ample warning by security officials to leave peacefully before the incident turned violent. Last December, police fired water cannons late into the night on the more than 2,000 people gathered in the Moustafa …
A million little lies
CAIRO: I wake to the drone of an airplane engine and the feeling of something warm dripping down my chin. I lift my hand to feel my face. My front four teeth are gone, I have a hole in my check, my nose is broken and my eyes are swollen nearly shut. I open them …
Moment of pride beckons for Drogba
CAIRO: Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba says lifting the African Nations Cup in Friday s final against Egypt is a matter of pride. Drogba, wearing the captain s armband in Egypt, has been vital to his team s run to the final, notably scoring the only goal in their semi-final with Nigeria and the penalty …
Intact tomb found in Valley of the Kings
CAIRO: An American team has found what appears to be an intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the first found in the valley since that of Tutankhamun in 1922, one of the archaeologists said on Thursday. The tomb contains five or six mummies in intact sarcophagi from the late 18th dynasty, about the …
CIB acquisition finalized
CAIRO: The sale of 18.7 percent of Commercial International Bank (CIB) to a consortium of investors was announced yesterday in a deal worth approximately $230 million. All regulatory approvals for the acquisition have been obtained. The consortium, led by Ripplewood Holdings, Eton Park Capital Management and RHJ International, will purchase the stake at the equivalent …
EFG-Hermes helps drag down stocks
CAIRO: Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes helped drag Egyptian stocks down on Wednesday as retail investors sold ahead of a planned capital increase, traders said. The benchmark Hermes index fell 2,560.24 points, or 3.7 percent, to 66,042.04 points. The broader CIBC index ended the session down 2.7 percent at 271.86 points. It s mainly small retail …
Egypt median o/n interbank rate creeps up to 8.4 percent
CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on Egypt s pound ticked up to 8.4 percent on Wednesday from 8.385 percent on Tuesday, traders said. The rates are slightly higher, but there isn t much of a change because there are no new developments in the market, one of the traders said. Four out of the …
Industrial development growth in line with far-reaching business plans
CAIRO: The Minister of Trade and Industry, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, announced that industrial investments reached LE 15.0 billion during 2005. Workers, 115,000, were hired and 3,200 new companies were granted establishment licenses. He also added that a draft consumer protection law will be presented to the Peoples Assembly shortly for discussion. According to the quarterly …
Cargo ship blocks all traffic in the Suez Canal
CAIRO: A 93,000-ton cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal on Wednesday, stopping all transit of the waterway between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, a Suez Canal Authority official said. Four tugs have been sent to re-align the Hong Kong-flagged Okal King Dor, which drifted at right angles to the canal about 10 kilometers (6 …
Mido banned, teammates claim verdict too harsh
CAIRO: Egyptian striker Mido should not have rowed with team coach Hassan Shehata but his instant six-month ban is too harsh, his teammates said on Wednesday. Mido will miss Friday s African Nations Cup final against the Ivory Coast after his furious exchange with Shehata after being substituted 12 minutes from the end of Tuesday …
Human rights groups investigate shipping disaster
CAIRO: Alongside an official government investigation, local human rights groups have launched a parallel inquiry into the circumstances under which a ferry sank in the Red Sea on Feb. 3. We ve sent a delegation to the ports of Safaga and Hurghada to investigate the incident and question those responsible, said Tarek Zaghloul of the …
Crash burns onto the silver-screen
CAIRO: The issue of prejudice is not unfamiliar on the silver screen. There have been many films tackling the issue in various ways. Only the unique and well thought-out have claimed box-office success. Crash falls into that category. Arguably one of the best movies of the year, Crash offers a well thought-out script with an …
Regulating a free market
CAIRO: Egypt s competition law was first drafted in 1995. Ten years later, after numerous revisions and modifications, the law was finally passed by parliament in February of last year. Mona Yassine, who has been charged with establishing and heading up the new authority that will implement the law, discusses her progress and plans for …
Telecom Egypt considers third mobile license bid
CAIRO: Telecom Egypt said on Tuesday it was considering bidding for Egypt s third mobile license, but denied it was holding any talks to sell a stake in Vodafone Egypt to do so. Egyptian daily Al-Alam Al-Youm said Telecom Egypt had begun talks to sell its 25.5 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt, a subsidiary of …
Coca takes her designs overseas
CAIRO: As though competition within Egypt is not strenuous enough, Jaylan “Coca Ezzat has been providing her interior designing spaces to clients based outside of Egypt, and in other cases been subcontracted by international companies to handle their local projects. But for Coca, designing is a passion and not a competition, although she realizes the …
Ripplewood to buy stake in Egypt's CIB
CAIRO: A group led by U.S. fund Ripplewood Holdings will buy an 18.7 percent stake in Egypt s Commercial International Bank (CIB) for $227 million to $244 million, a banking source said on Tuesday. It s being sold to a consortium led by Ripplewood, the source, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters, adding …
Nour's wife denied visitation rights
CAIRO: Ayman Nour’s wife and El-Ghad party spokesman, Gamilla Ismail, was prevented from visiting her husband, who is currently in the midst of his sentence in Tora Mazraa Prison; Ismail claims the bar was meant to prevent Nour from submitting articles he had written for the El-Ghad newspaper. Ismail said she had a written permit …