Thank you all for coming to the thoroughly choreographed event that has announced to the world my union of four months with the sole heiress of the chocolate industry in Texas. Originally, when I started my gold digging career at the mature age of 50, I was told to go for the oil industry, but …
“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 …
Saad Zaghloul must be threshing around in his grave. One of Egypt’s best-known and loved nationalist figures, Zaghloul led a delegation, or ‘Wafd’ to demand the immediate evacuation of British troops from Egypt in November 1918. He was immediately exiled to Malta. The act unleashed a national fury that hadn’t been seen in modern Egyptian …
CAIRO: It was hard not to feel giddy Thursday afternoon when the breaking news bulletin crossed that American journalist Jill Carroll had been released. Even though she was at one time based in Cairo, I don t know her, I ve never met her and there s a good chance I never will. For many …
The parliamentary elections of late 2005 realigned the Egyptian political landscape into a virtual two-party system: the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and an emergent Muslim Brotherhood. Although they have little hope of scuttling bills, Muslim Brothers in the People’s Assembly (who won 88 out of 454 seats) are making good use of their parliamentary …
CAIRO: At a protest in Tahrir recently, there were about 50 people chanting slogans about freedom, God and justice. Although the number of protesters eventually grew, there were initially more spectators than protestors. A handful of important-looking officers oversaw as their many subordinates loitered. Journalists scribbled notes and cameramen recorded videos. About 100 meters down …
The incredibly detailed timeline and graphic photographs of the 9/11 attacks are likely to evoke strong feelings. And perhaps conflicting feelings: Horror at the attacks, but maybe also resentment about the anti-Arab and anti-Islam backlash that followed. Some of the images have become permanently seared into our memories: American Airlines flight 11 crashing into the …
A Supreme Council Court decision taken in January has thrust greedy developers into a fever. Without notice, the country s beautiful historic buildings, as well as turn-of-the century villas and apartment blocks, have become fair game for demolition squads. With so many of the country s architectural gems having been replaced by ugly high-rises, the …
CAIRO: Many mothers in Cairo were delighted to learn about the Baby Fair at the Intercontinental Semiramis Hotel, which ran for three consecutive days (March 19-21). The first of its kind promised an endless variety of products and activities for children; finally, some recognition that the baby industry was a potential gold mine. Especially with …
You can tell a sporting parent a mile away. There are the pacers, the nail-biters, the encouragers, the pushers and sometimes, the whackos, like the Frenchman who last week was given an eight-year jail term after he admitted drugging a number of his children’s tennis rivals. Christophe Fauviau, 46, a retired army officer, was convicted …
CAIRO: With the recent annulment of Al-Masry Al-Youm journalist Abdel-Nasser Al Zoheiry’s sentence, this piece was almost unnecessary; but then, less than a week after his release, Amira Malash, a reporter with Al Fajr newspaper, was imprisoned. Egyptian media have been at the forefront of international and national news, and it’s not been good for …
Munich did not win the Oscar for best film. Not a movie critic by any stretch, I m not in a position to say whether Munich deserved the award. However, from the perspective of this column, I think the film should be looked into because the 1972 Munich Olympics, upon which the film is based, …
CAIRO: I recently heard a senior government official relate an anecdote. In Canada, he asked a Canadian, if you are driving late at night, and you see a red light, and there are no police around, what do you do? The official s rhetorical question was intended to contrast the common adherence to rules in …
CAIRO: Good news for people in a hurry. This evening, sometime between 6-9 p.m, you ll get where you want to go in no time because of the unusual emptiness of the city s perpetually bustling streets. Ahli and Zamalek will be at it again and only those coming from Mars will not be watching …
CAIRO: It has become a fashion item. Their capabilities are forever being expanded and technology convergence has never been better exploited. Their modulation has seen them demonstrate intelligence, intuitiveness and some would say emotional tendencies too. The smart phone can now browse the internet and organize your day. It can play games, music or video …
CAIRO: Did you know that Egypt is now the 17th best country in the world in football? Out of 205 officially registered teams, this is not a bad situation to be in. New FIFA standings show that Egypt jumped 15 places thanks to its winning of the African Cup of Nations. So we are now …
This week’s visit to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brings with it another reminder that U.S. Middle East policy is firmly wedged between Iraq and the hard guys. There were never any easy answers to the Middle East morass. Washington’s drunken lurching in search of exactly that has only made matters worse. …
CAIRO: With the spirit of Egyptian citizens reeling after bombings, political turbulence, forced refugee removal, cartoon chaos and ferry disasters, the recent 11th hour African Cup win lent a much-needed boost to the tapering spirits of the traditionally patriotic Egyptian. Then this weekend, it rained on Egypt’s parade, both literally and figuratively. News of the …
CAIRO: After a troublesome journey to get tickets for the African Cup of Nations final, I arrived at the stadium last Friday holding my ticket. Standing amid hundreds of others . Just holding our tickets. We were denied entrance on the grounds that the stadium was full. They were right; the stadium was packed. In …
CAIRO: The recent promotion of 42-year-old Gamal Mubarak to Assistant Secretary-General of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has once again triggered questions concerning his ultimate political ambitions. Has Hosni Mubarak s youngest son been secretly anointed to run as the NDP s favored candidate for President in the 2011 elections and, if so, how …
CAIRO: It was January 1790 when America’s first president, George Washington, delivered the first address detailing to Congress and consequently to the American people, the state of the union, his administration’s initiatives and accomplishments. Since then, the “Annual Message, later renamed the “State of the Union address has evolved into an expansive communicator between the …
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 …
There are different ways to read Sayyid Qutb’s autobiography A Child from the Village. One can simply view it as an intimate document of rural life at the turn of the 20th century or as data providing clues to the understanding of Qutb’s eventual adoption of the radical Islamic activism that he later became famous …
CAIRO: Have you ever noticed how gastroenterologists and gynecologists, anyone really with any sort of medical degree, even if it’s from Grenada, or if they haven’t practiced medicine since before Castro came to power, feel qualified to speak on any subject whatsoever, feel that their opinion should carry some serious weight, even if they’re talking …
In the World Open in Hong Kong, the 26-year-old from Cairo was in devastating form this week in the final against David Palmer, brushing the Australian aside 11-6, 11-7, 11-8. Shabana had might as well been using a fly swatter instead of a squash racquet, so imperious was he in dispatching Palmer, the 2002 champion, …
The 2005 Egyptian parliamentary elections have been remarkable primarily because of the Muslim Brotherhood’s performance. The banned-but-tolerated group, which held only 17 seats in the last parliament, has already secured 76 slots, with results from the run-offs in the final round of voting yet to be determined. Regardless of how many more seats the Brotherhood …
I don’t have a voting card. I need to confess that up front. I am, however, getting one. I’m very much a product of my generation and social strata. We tend to be well-educated, well-meaning, and largely apathetic. We have opinions and ideas. We have no shortages of those. We just don’t do anything about …
