Latest in Tag: opinion Highlight
Latest in Tag: opinion
Op-ed Review: Adly Mansour and social justice
The interim presidentâs future Abdallah Al-Sinawy Al-Shorouk Newspaper Al-Sinawy begins his article by explaining that Adly Mansour did not expect his current position as interim president. âHe had not even officially accepted his position as head of the constitutional court when he was assigned [to be] the new president for Egypt, according to the 3 …
For CyberSecurity Professionals, is the Concept of “Control” a Pipe Dream?
In fact, new research from IDC Government Insights finds that overall IT security spending by the US Federal government will rise from $5.9bn in 2012 to over $7.3bn in 2017.
Bahrain detains soccer teams and scores of players and athletes
By James M. Dorsey Bahrain has detained a soccer team as well as scores of other players and athletes since security forces squashed a popular uprising almost three years ago, according to human rights activists, journalists and officials. In one of the latest rounds of detentions, authorities last month arrested three soccer and two handball …
Gulf states draw sharpening criticism from trade unions and human rights groups
With major events and developments looming, conditions in the Gulf states will be illuminated under the international spotlight
A Cybersecurity New Yearâs Resolution: Simplify Security
Cybersecurity is becoming so complicated that you could argue that complexity is one of our biggest security challenges
âTis the season for predictionsâŠ..
As the new year approaches, consumers are bombarded by predictions from companies, analysts and opinion leaders on the newest trends
The Weak State
As the months have trudged by since 30 June, there has been a myriad of talk in the media regarding the creation of the new Egyptian state. The 3 July press conference, showing Al-Sisi with ElBaradei (representing the NSF), Sheikh Al-Azhar, Pope Tawadros, and the Head of Al-Nour Salafi Party, showed the outline of what …
Iranâs government should stop human rights abuses
By Dr. Cesar Chelala The election of Hassan Rouhaniâs as Iranâs President seemed to signal a dramatic change in policies regarding the previous government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, while portraying an image of moderation overseas, serious human rights abuses continue in Iran, despite protests from human rights groups inside and outside the country. Rouhaniâs government had achieved …
Netanyahuâs true colours
By Dr. Cesar Chelala As 91 world leaders gathered in Soweto to pay homage to Nelson Mandela there was one notable absence: Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu cited the high cost of his presence in South Africa to explain his absence. It is possible that both internal politics and what he perceives as past antagonism from Mandela are better reasons to …
Eritrea’s botched kick-off â Football players defect
By Jonathan Moremi Once more it is not going well for the oppressive regime of Eritrean’s President Isaias Afewerki. Desperately trying to find some honour abroad, at least in the field of sports, something keeps going awfully wrong. Sunday evening nine members of the Eritrean national football team, currently in Kenya for the 2013 CECAFA …
Qatar launches politically sensitive survey into low football match attendance
By James M. Dorsey Qatari authorities, in a bid to counter criticism that the Gulf state lacks a football culture as well as a sense that low attendance of matches could constitute a form of protest, has launched a politically sensitive survey to gauge reasons for its empty stadia. The survey on the website of …
Interests
Our dear military, we have a problem, and one that needs to be addressed immediately. We seem to have conflicting interests, and I fear that those interests, or rather your interests, will destroy this country for years to come, against the wishes of all of your supporters. Allow me to break it down for you, …
Palestine, Israel and The Jewish State
By: Fadi Elhusseini While analyses have abounded examining the details of the âsecretâ talks and evaluating the positions of the negotiating parties in the Middle East peace process, prominent Israeli writers have intensified their efforts, on âIsrael’s imminent existential threatâ with much fanfare. Despite the fact that such writers are not officially members of the …
Two NGOs condemn renewed detention for university student
Student is being investigated for contempt of religion
Saudi survey: Majority of Saudis favour womenâs right to sports
By James M. Dorsey A vast majority of Saudis favour women having the right to fully engage in sports in a country that has no official facilities for female athletes or physical education programmes for girls in schools, according to a Saudi sociology researcher, who has put forward a series of recommendations at a time …
Beyond Definitions
A couple of weeks ago, on a beautiful sunny Friday, I was having breakfast with a young and brilliant economist, who is a friend of mine. I asked for her opinion on how Egypt is doing economically, and if there was a term that actually defined our economic state. She laughed hysterically, then told me …
The Ugly Truth: Egyptâs Deep State
By Mohammed Nosseir The question isnât whether Egyptâs âDeep Stateâ really exists or is a fantasy. The real issue is, just how far-reaching is the Deep State and what is the extent of its influence after the revolution? Egyptâs Deep State is the most powerful political entity in the country, one that has managed to …
Al-Ahly turns African championship into anti-government protest
By James M. Dorsey Clashes this weekend between security forces and militant supporters of crowned Cairo club Al-Ahly SC and a political demonstration by the teamâs goalkeeper have dented the Egyptian military-backed governmentâs efforts to show that the country had put its political crisis behind it. The clashes raise the specter of world soccer body …
âDown with the next presidentâ
During the two weeks spent in Tahrir Square in 2011 that culminated in ousting former president Hosni Mubarak, there was a young man who held a placard that read, âdown with the next presidentâ. It did not make sense to many who deemed it a witty play on words in Arabic, while others viewed it …
Increasingly hostile environment to freedom of expression in Egypt: FIDH
The International Federation for Human Rights warns of intensifying crackdowns on protesters and journalists over the past three months
Student Corner: US military aid to Egypt: For whose sake?
By Mohamed Soliman In 1978, Jimmy Carter hosted negotiations between Egypt and Israel at his presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. Among other controversial terms that were negotiated at the summit, Egyptian President Sadat was requested to demilitarise the Sinai Peninsula and to guarantee freedom of passage through the Suez Canal and the Straits of …
Turkish footballâs financial crisis potentially sharpens political divide
By James M. Dorsey Financially stressed Turkish football clubs are becoming pawns in the political struggle between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and militant football fans who rank prominently among his detractors as football pitches and university campuses emerge as major battlefields between the government and its detractors. Critics of Mr Erdogan charge that the …
Decision to change date of Qatari World Cup risks political and legal rows
By James M. Dorsey A pending decision in early October by world football body FIFA on whether to move the Qatar 2022 World Cup from summer to winter threatens to open debate on whether to deprive the Gulf state of its right to host one of the worldâs two largest sporting events and could spark …
Animal rights in Egypt
Two days ago, a young lady in Port Said posted photos of a horse in the said governorate with a severely broken leg, eating from garbage bins. She implored the online community of animal activists to help the poor creature. She has tried to get in touch with the veterinary services, the police and other …
State of the union
As President Morsi walked into Al-Azhar conference hall on the âNight of Powerâ in Ramadan of 2013, the room rose. The last time he had spoken on such an occasion, General Sisi had replaced Field Marshal Tantawi, and Mr. Morsi had taken full control of the presidential office. Tonight was different, however; he addressed not …
Sisi come, Sisi go!
If somehow we managed to research the words used most frequently by Egyptians in the past three months, Iâm sure âAl-Sisiâ would come high up on that list. You can easily recognise the kind of political atmosphere youâre caught in the middle of simply by noticing the reactions of people to the Generalâs name. Al-Sisi …
Strategy
There are three schools utilised by the state facing strategic Political Violence, also known as terrorism: 1) The Justice System model, where the police and the judiciary pursue such acts as civilian criminal offenses (the most effective model  and takes place in civilised democratic countries; but to be fair, it usually takes a really long …
Manufacturing Fear
There was a taste lost between bitterness, anger and shock last Thursday when the news about the attempt to assassinate the Minister of Interior was out. I donât know how many of you lived in Egypt in the early 90s, but there was a time that I most clearly remember where such acts of terror …
Why comparisons between Tunisia and Egypt arenât helpful
By Maria Glenna Tunis â The suspension of Tunisiaâs National Constituent Assembly on 7 August once again prompted comparisons between Tunisia and Egypt by political analysts and the media, asking if Tunisia will devolve into the violence we have recently seen in Egypt. It is true that there are similarities between Egypt and Tunisia. Both …
Fighting talk
By Philip Whitfield A just war? Or just a war? Martyrdom versus military might? How far is Syriaâs Assad willing to go? Or will he go willingly? Who wins? Does everyone lose? Apparently you can be at both ends and in the middle at the same time. Bashar the Beast fights bantamweight: bare-knuckle with the …