Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
No money, no quarter-final say DR Congo
GIZA, Cairo: Democratic Republic of Congo will not play their African Nations Cup quarter-final against Egypt if bonuses are not paid in time, coach Claude LeRoy said on Monday. DR Congo nearly boycotted their opening Group B game against Togo over unpaid bonuses for reaching these finals. A fresh row has now broken over cash …
Arab neighbors will work with Hamas-led cabinet
CAIRO: All the Arab governments around Israel will deal directly with a Palestinian cabinet dominated by the militant Islamist group Hamas, ignoring U.S. and European attempts to isolate the group, analysts said on Monday. The Egyptian and Syrian governments already have good working relationships with Hamas, although some of their main domestic opponents are Islamists, …
Scholars debate the role of women in the judiciary
CAIRO: Legal scholars and members of the Egyptian judiciary went head to head to debate the controversial question of whether women should be permitted to sit as judges in Egypt. The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP), in collaboration with the Delegation of European Commission in Egypt, hosted the …
London Lord Mayor visits with U.K. business delegation
CAIRO: The Lord Mayor of the City of London, David Brewer, is visiting Egypt this week with a business delegation to meet local companies and government officials, including President Hosni Mubarak, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and a number of other ministers. Brewer heads up government services for the Square Mile, an area in central London …
Reporters protest Al-Wafd halt
CAIRO: A group of angry Al-Wafd reporters sat-in in front of the press syndicate Saturday morning, protesting the halt of publication of the Al-Wafd newspaper that is now in its fourth day. The newspaper halt was a direct result of longstanding in-fighting among different factions inside the Al-Wafd party. The conflict peaked when Noaman Gomaa, …
A night to remember
CAIRO: With a splendid – if somewhat unexpected – 3-1 victory against the Ivory Coast, Egypt has made its way into the quarter-finals atop of Group A. The win, while a boon for Egyptian fans, sends Morocco, runners-up two years ago, packing, without having netted a single goal through their matches. Egypt added three valuable …
Injured Mido hopes to make quick recovery
CAIRO: Egypt striker Mido hopes to make a quick recovery from the injury that forced him off the pitch early in Saturday s African Nations Cup win over Ivory Coast. Mido suffered a groin strain and was forced to leave the pitch in the 24th minute as Egypt won 3-1 to clinch top place in …
Criticism leveled at NGOs unjustified
CAIRO: Egyptian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) conducting human rights work are in a bind these days. With local sources of funding almost non-existent, they are being forced to turn to foreign organizations for the funds to pay their expenses. But foreign money has some inherent complications; it opens them up to accusations of being unpatriotic and …
Refugee study programs seek to build awareness
CAIRO: “You are governor of a refugee hosting province. The province has received refugees from different neighboring countries for a long time. About 10 years ago there was a large scale influx that coincided with an economic crisis in your country and a drought further inland, read the first paragraph of an assignment given to …
Al-Masry Al-Youm Friday issue delayed
CAIRO: Last Friday, the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm could not be found on newsstands; rumors that the paper had been banned by the government circulated, as faithful readers searched for the newspaper in dismay. The newspaper has one of the highest rates among opposition and independent newspapers for distribution. The publication has almost always been …
Derailing AIDS
CAIRO: To mark World AIDS Awareness Month, December 2005, the Ministry of Health and Population, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project Communication for Healthy Living, decided to get on track to increase HIV/AIDS awareness. In an innovative attempt to gain attention, the ministry engaged a six-car train to make …
Conquering the world
CAIRO: When Dina Abdel Hadi started her career in Proctor and Gamble (P&G) she became the first woman, regionally, to work in the sales domain. A decade later she is running, in partnership with her husband, ProAct World, a multinational marketing company,while taking care of her two children and participating in a community service organization …
Flaring defiance
The richness of the original Arabic text hampers this superb attempt at translation Naphtalene: A Novel of Baghdad By Alia Mamdouh American University in Cairo Press; Paperback 198 pages; LE 70 CAIRO: The title of the book “Naphtalene: A Novel of Baghdad is an illuminating description of what is kept between its covers. A potent …
A fairytale palace re-opens its doors
CAIRO: Once upon a time, in a kingdom not so far away, Mohamed Ali used to throw beautiful and glamorous events in a palace on the Nile in Shubra. After years of desolation, on Monday evening, the doors of this palace were once again thrown open, the magical space was flooded with opera music and …
Broken promises
CAIRO: Reporters Without Borders Tuesday issued an inflammatory statement slamming the continued hounding of journalists in Egypt and called on President Hosni Mubarak to keep his pledge, made to parliament on Decembe19, to allow press freedom. “Each year, President [Hosni] Mubarak announces that the authorities will stop their harassment of journalists, the worldwide press freedom …
Investment Minister: PM to keep post
CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif will keep his post in a new cabinet and form a new government following recent parliamentary elections, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin said on Tuesday. Mohieldin, speaking to journalists after meeting Nazif,is the first senior government official to comment on the new government since the state-owned Al- Ahram newspaper last week …
Egypt signs FTA with Turkey
CAIRO: Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid signed a free trade agreement Tuesday with Turkish Minister of State Kursad Tuzmen. The agreement will take effect upon ratification by the Turkish and Egyptian parliaments, at which point the Turkish market will immediately become free of duties to Egyptian businesses for most products. Certain …
Grains of truth
CAIRO: An electronic mail message (e-mail) entitled “Strictly Confidential , preceded with the tag “Forward, is circulated on the Internet to forewarn people of a conspiracy against Islamic preacher Amr Khaled; asking Muslims to pray for the popular young man. Amr Khaled, often described as a modern televangelist, began preaching in Egypt less than a …
Arab world's first parliament meets in Cairo
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak, speaking to the firstever gathering of the Arab Parliament, assured its members Tuesday that solidarity would enable the Arab world to successfully confront the challenges it faces. “Our great Arab world, through the unity of its sons, has the means to restore its vitality, to face current challenges and to assume …
Washington speaks out against Nour verdict
NEW YORK: The sentencing of El-Ghad party leader Ayman Nour to five years imprisonment on charges that he forged signatures to register his party has received sharp criticism from Washington. In a statement released shortly after the verdict was announced Saturday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan called upon the Egyptian government to release the political …
Saddam on trial
CAIRO: During his trial last week,incarcerated fromer Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein accused his American guards of torturing him, an allegation that provoked diverse reactions inside Egypt. Human rights groups, however, remain silent in reaction to the claims. The leader, who is strongly suspected of killing thousands during his reign, has been on trial charged with …
Egypt-Turkey to sign free trade zone agreement
CAIRO: Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and Turkish Minister of State Kursad Tuzmen announced that Egypt and Turkey will sign a free trade zone agreement today meant to improve trade and economic exchange between the two countries. The agreement will be signed by President Hosni Mubarak and Turkish President Ahmed Necdet …
Assessing the exchange
CAIRO: As the excitement over Telecom Egypt’s initial public offering (IPO) settles, the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges Chairman Maged Shawky spoke to The Daily Star Egypt about recent developments and future plans for the stock market. The Telecom Egypt offering was generally considered a success, but several investors complained that they did not receive …
National Bank of Egypt to merge with Tegaryoun bank
CAIRO: Egypt’s Bank of Commerce and Development (Al-Tegaryoun) will merge with the state-owned National Bank of Egypt (NBE) with effect from Thursday, the stock exchange said in a statement on Monday. The Bank of Commerce and Development is itself more than 97 percent state-owned but 2.8 percent of the shares are in the hands of …
Kharafi Group goes high-tech
CAIRO: “Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, Khalil Gibran once wrote. This sentiment was echoed by Ibrahim Saleh, who heads up several of the Kharafi Group’s manufacturing ventures in Egypt, including a smart card factory and a computer hardware manufacturing plant that started operation earlier this month. “Up to when …
Egypt median o/n interbank rate dips to 9.15 pct
CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound inched down to 9.15 percent on Sunday from 9.155 percent on Thursday in the middle of a period for calculating banks’ reserves. “There isn’t anything new in the market today and trade is quiet, one trader said. “No one really needs funds right now …we …
EgyptAir signs environment-friendly protocol
CAIRO: In an effort to activate its role in environmental protection, EgyptAir Holding Company signed a collaboration protocol with the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs. The holding company’s role would be activated throughout its seven subsidiaries, locally regionally and internationally, “through materializing the Egyptian and international laws in the field of occupational health and …
Order in court?
CAIRO: Ayman Nour’s trial was a circus, complete with baying audiences, strongmen keeping ravenous hordes at bay and cages being rattled in a desperate attempt at freedom. The problem is, the trial’s entertainment value was as dubious as its outcome, or credibility. Apart from a very few exceptions, no one will ever really know if …
Return of the pop king
CAIRO: Amr Diab’s new album Kammel Kalamak (Finish Your Words) was due for a summer release but was postponed more than once.The August 17 release was first postponed in mourning over the death of Saudi King Fahd Bin Abdel Aziz Al-Saud and the victims of the Sharm El-Sheikh terrorist attack. Then rumors circulated that Diab …
Ayman Nour sentenced to five years in jail
CAIRO: After a trial that dragged on for more than a year, Ayman Nour was sentenced, early Saturday, to five years in jail by an Egyptian court. Nour, chairman of El-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, was accused last year of forging all but 14 applications out of the 2,000 needed by law to declare his political party …