By HAMZA HENDAWI | AP, ARABNEWS CAIRO: The USAID director in Egypt has abruptly flown back to Washington after less than a year on the job, the first major casualty of a row between the two longtime allies over American funding for pro-democracy groups. Jim Bever left his post Thursday, […]
Source: Almasry Alyoum Sitting in what appears to be a busy city square and speaking above a cacophony of car horns, Christine and Nancy Fathy explain to the camera why they have run away from their families. “I left my parents and came to Cairo to understand more about the true religion,” […]
Rfi. France: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has told RFI that its internal election on Saturday was an exercise in democracy. The previously banned group appointed three new senior figures for the organisation’s newly formed Freedom and Justice party. The Brotherhood says a new political “era” in Egypt should be inclusive and […]
Source: Spiegel International Egypt ushered in a new era on Wednesday by becoming the first Arab country to put its former ruler on trial without foreign intervention. The sight of Hosni Mubarak lying on a hospital bed inside a courtroom cage should serve as a warning to other despots. More […]
By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star For those many honest people around the world perplexed by the variations and inconsistencies in so many aspects of the current citizen revolts across the Arab world, historical analogies may be a good starting point to understand the full dimensions and implications of […]
Source: The Telegraph Egypt’s generals were accused of subverting the country’s pro-democracy revolution on Thursday after they banned international observers from monitoring a vital parliamentary election to be held this autumn. The decision triggered outrage among many of the activists at the forefront of February’s overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the […]
Source: almasryalyoum Ongoing negotiations surrounding President Obama’s recently pledged US$2 billion aid to Egypt suffer from disagreements between Cairo and Washington. While the Washington insists on subsidizing civil society organizations directly “without approval from the Egyptian government,” Cairo rejects this position and demands that Washington reveal details about $42 million it […]
By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Egypt have decided to launch fresh studies to build a gigantic 32-km bridge linking the two countries in a renewed bid to forge closer ties and boost bilateral trade and investment. The bridge project will be on the top […]
By AIJAZ ZAKA SYED | ARAB NEWS Justice for the Libyans is welcome. What about the victims of war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan though? Serves him right. That was my instant reaction to the International Criminal Court’s warrant for Muammar Qaddafi. The whole country has been on fire […]
CAIRO (AFP) – Dozens of Egyptians protested on Thursday to demand the introduction of civil marriages, in order to be able to divorce or remarry. Protesters – Coptic Christians as well as Muslims – want the next parliament elected in September to adopt a law to allow civil marriages. Currently, Egyptians follow […]
As the US edges towards dialogue with groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, neo-con rhetoric dominates British politics A discordant trend is tearing apart the Western alliance and its Middle East policies. The armed intervention in Libya has highlighted this graphically, with the US giving only token assistance to the […]
By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Jordan’s natural gas supplies from Egypt were cut late Sunday in what marked the third act of sabotage on the Arab Gas Pipeline this year. more here
Unknown attackers blow up Sinai pipeline that supplies gas to Jordan and Israel. A pipeline carrying gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan has been hit by an explosion in the Sinai peninsula. The explosion on Monday sent flames into the sky, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. […]
The rector of what is arguably the world’s oldest university, a bastion of Sunni scholarship with international influence, has come out in favour of a modern, democratic, constitutional Egyptian state, though there may be some trouble in the fine print. Ahmed el-Tayyeb, […]
Fears of political Islam have increased to unprecedented levels both inside and outside Egypt, but are such worries justified? Whereas Western governments have long been frightened of the rise of political Islam, local fears of Islamists representing political Islam in Egypt have also now peaked, with many liberal, secular and […]
Bloody clashes between protesters and anti-riot police that raged overnight in Cairo’s Tahrir Square erupted in new scuffles yesterday amid mounting frustration with Egypt’s military rulers over the pace of reform. The health ministry said there were 1,036 injured in the clashes. Those included 120 who were hospitalised and most […]
By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS ASTANA, Kazakhstan: The secretary-general of the renamed Organization of Islamic Cooperation has called for a decade of action on political reforms and peaceful resolutions for Palestine, Libya and Syria. “The Muslim world is confronted with some serious developments with direct impact on its stability, […]
By Asma Afsaruddin Religious pluralism is one of the few truly modern expressions. The term refers to the acceptance of a multitude of religions existing in harmony despite internal doctrinal differences and variations in external rituals and practices. Although the term itself hails only from the 20th century, one might […]
By Peter Apps Reuters LONDON – From the streets of Cairo and Madrid to online forums and social media sites, “leaderless” protests are on the rise. But the very qualities that led to their short-term success may condemn them to failure in the long run. Activists in Egypt, Tunisia and […]