ALEXANDRIA: Technology used to discover underground ice on Mars could also be used in the search for water on Earth and help ward off conflict in the arid Middle East, a NASA scientist said Thursday. A probe launched by the US space agency NASA discovered in 2007 that the desert which covers Mars sat on …
CAIRO: Recognizing the importance of citizen journalism, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) launched its first issue of its monthly Wasla Thursday, Egypt’s first newspaper with 90 percent content derived from blog entries. The newspaper “mirrors what happens on the blogs … We want to transfer what is discussed online to an audience …
BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia has apparently decided to hold off on carrying out the execution of a Lebanese former TV presenter convicted of sorcery, a Lebanese minister and the man s lawyer said on Thursday. Ali Sabat s mother should rest assured tonight, Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told AFP. That is what I called his …
CAIRO: The issue at popular Islamic resource Islam Online (IOL) was part of a “plan to diversify the website’s content and outreach and not an attack on the website’s progressive approach to editorial content, according to Mohamed Badr El-Sada, one of IOL’s founders and current board member of Qatar’s Al-Balagh Foundation. “We are not against …
CAIRO: With over 150 leaders from the private sector, the public sector and civil society from Egypt in attendance, the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement launched the Corporate Sustainability Capacity Building Program at the Semiramis Intercontinental Cairo Hotel this week. The program has been developed to respond to the clear need …
CAIRO: Some consider it medical progress, but baby gender selection in conservative Egypt has caused a stir among traditionalists who see it as an affront to ethics and have lashed out at clinics offering the service. Ashraf Sabry, a medical doctor, has defied social opposition and uses in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology to allow the …
CAIRO: In a rare show of unity on Wednesday, the Belgian home affairs committee of the federal parliament spoke in a single voice and issued a decision to ban the niqab and burqa in public spaces. The new law states that anyone in public with their face covered or disguised in whole or in part …
CAIRO: Health Minister Hatem El-Gabaly announced Wednesday that LE 200 million will be apportioned to improving doctors’ pay. The announcement, made during a “surprise visit to the Faqous general hospital in Sharqeya, was reported yesterday by the state news agency. The funds will be directed towards specialists and assistant specialists, “as part of the health …
PARIS: France’s top administrative body advised the government Tuesday against slapping a complete ban on the full Islamic veil but said outlawing the burqa in some places was justified for security reasons. Lawmakers from President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party said they were determined to push for a total ban of the full-face veil in draft legislation …
CAIRO: The Administrative Court at the State Council ruled Tuesday against a lawsuit filed by a Christian mother requesting a change in her twin sons’ identification documents from Muslim to Christian. Kamilia Gabballah, the mother of Andrew and Mario, failed to get approval to issue birth certificates for her two sons, registering them as Christians …
GENEVA: A group of outside experts will scrutinize the World Health Organization s response to the swine flu outbreak and likely examine whether the global body could have been clearer when it declared a pandemic of what has turned out to be a relatively mild disease, the World Health Organization said Monday. The review, starting …
CAIRO: Alleged plans announced by the minister of health to drastically reduce the number of illnesses covered by government-sponsored healthcare have been met by both NGO consternation and confusion, while government aides say they know nothing about the plans. Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabaly was quoted in Monday’s edition of government mouthpiece Al-Ahram as saying …
CAIRO: At least two Egyptians drowned when a boat ferrying illegal migrants to Italy capsized in the eastern Mediterranean off Egypt on Tuesday, a security official said. Rescue workers saved 25 passengers and recovered two bodies after their boat capsized three kilometers (two miles) off the coast of Borg Megheizal village in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, …
CAIRO: Egypt’s political future is likely to follow one of three scenarios that involve inheritance of power or the emergence of an independent presidential candidate, political analyst Amr El-Chobaki told online news portal Masrway in an interview published Sunday. As Egypt approaches the presidential elections in 2011, El-Chobaki explained, the first scenario would see the …
CAIRO: Ibrahim Ayew might play his first game with Zamalek since the African Cup of Nations after being included in their squad for Monday s Egyptian Premier League match at Ghazl Mahalla. The Ghanaian out-of-favor midfielder has been snubbed by Zamalek coach Hossam Hassan since helping his country finish runners-up to champions Egypt in January …
CAIRO: For Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner, jumping from an altitude of 36,576 meters (120,000 feet) and breaking world records at Red Bull Stratos does not only take courage and skill, but also trust in advanced technology and extraordinary, state of the art equipment. The Balloon Starting from the launch operation, a scientific balloon – made …
Egypt’s Black and White Desert normally hosts a smattering of tourists every evening. Student groups traveling from Cairo, tourists looking for a break from Ancient Egyptian monuments, and expats taking short vacations bus down to the desert on chartered tour packages, sleeping under the stars while their local guides set up camp and drive jeeps. …
CAIRO: Doctors’ Syndicate head Hamdy El-Sayyed defended the Syndicate’s board yesterday during a charged general assembly meeting during which some doctors accused the board of being “unable or unwilling to stand up for doctors’ rights. Mona Mina, from the Doctors Without Rights (DWR) group, called for a delegation of doctors to present a petition of …
CAIRO: Members of the National Coalition for Change, headed by the former Secretary-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, chose journalist and outspoken talk show host Hamdi Qandil, to be the group’s official spokesman at a meeting attended by ElBaradei Thursday. Sources told Daily News Egypt that the meeting was convened to outline an organizational …
GENEVA: Israel should pay Palestinians reparations for loss and damages suffered during last year’s war in the Gaza Strip, the UN Human Rights Council suggested Thursday. The 47-nation body didn’t call for similar payments by Palestinians to Israelis. The resolution was opposed by the United States and five European countries. Israeli Ambassador Aharon Leshno-Yaar said …
SYDNEY: World-famous landmarks including the Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower and Beijing’s Forbidden City will go dark Saturday as millions turn out the lights for “Earth Hour , a rolling grassroots movement aimed at tackling climate change. Now in its fourth year, the campaign promises to be the biggest yet with thousands of cities and towns …
GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday narrowly passed a resolution condemning Islamophobic behavior, including Switzerland’s minaret building ban, despite some states’ major reservations. The resolution, criticized by the US as “an instrument of division , “strongly condemns… the ban on the construction of minarets of mosques and other recent discriminatory measures. In a …
CAIRO: Negotiations between lawyers from Islam Online (IOL) and Media International were stalled Thursday afternoon after both parties failed to agree on terms for a financial settlement slated to end an employee strike approaching its third week. Representatives of Abdullah El-Naggar, head of Media International’s board and member of the board of Al-Balagh foundation, IOL’s …
CAIRO: Carrefour stopped the sale of shark meat due to campaign efforts by the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), Chahinaz El-Hossary, assistant to Carrefour Egypt’s general manager, told Daily News Egypt. “We did not know that it was forbidden, El-Hossary said, referring to the selling of shark meat in the hypermarket. She specified …
CAIRO: Marwa Abdel-Fattah signs by turning her nose up and shaking her index finger: she will not be snobby about giving Daily News Egypt an interview if Falcon Eye wins at the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) World Festival. A team of six hearing-impaired children, Falcon Eye took the first place at the Egypt FLL Championship …
CAIRO: The Qena Criminal Court on Wednesday adjourned to April 17 the trial of Gerges Baroumi accused of rapping a 12-year-old girl in the town of Farshout. The rape, which occurred in November 2009, is believed to have triggered sectarian violence in the Upper Egyptian town. While police held Baroumi, a Christian, on charges of …
MADRID: Moves to combat transplant tourism , in which patients from rich countries pay large sums to have organ transplants in poor ones, are gaining pace, experts told an international conference. The World Health Organization and the European Union have led the way in tackling the problem, the Madrid conference on organ donations and transplants …
MANILA: Bird flu outbreaks that have killed seven people in several countries so far this year show the virus remains a threat to humans, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday. The newly confirmed human and poultry cases of avian influenza this year are a reminder that the virus poses a real and continuous threat …
CAIRO: The number of workers living on less that $1.25 increased worldwide by around 215 million in 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis, a United Nations report said. Last Monday, the UN Information Center in Cairo presented the UN report entitled “Keeping the Promise, which analyzes success stories and obstacles to achieving the …
CAIRO: The Egyptian government must take “immediate and transparent measures towards the drafting of an action plan for the implementation of human rights recommendations it has vowed to honor, 16 human rights organizations said Wednesday. Members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) reviewed Egypt’s human rights record in February under the Universal Periodic …
