Egypt’s next transition steps this week, says source
CAIRO: Egypt's ruling military council will announce a constitutional decree within the next two days that will chart the path towards elections and civilian rule, a security source said on…
Longtime blues piano player Pinetop Perkins dies
Muddy Waters was looking for a new piano player when chain-smoking journeyman Pinetop Perkins showed off his aggressive keyboarding during a jam session. "He liked what he heard. The rest…
‘Uncle’ named best picture at Asian Film Awards
The Thai film "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" was named best picture at the fifth Asian Film Awards on Monday in a ceremony overshadowed by the absence…
In-demand banned books return to Cairo shelves
Recent studies on reading in the Arab world have shown a drastic decline in those picking up books and newspapers in their free time, and Egyptians, young people in particular,…
Sarkozy goes to war
By Dominique Moisi PARIS: In 2003, France, under President Jacques Chirac, took the lead in opposing America’s planned invasion of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin’s flamboyant speech…
Egypt activist, US school advocate get JFK award
BOSTON: A Google executive who launched a Facebook page that sparked protests in Egypt and a North Carolina school board member who fought school redistricting plans over racial segregation concerns…
Solidarity with Japan
By Vaclav Havel, Desmond Tutu, and Richard von Weizsäcker PRAGUE: The shattering earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 have wrought devastating physical damage — aggravated by the threat of…
Arab League slams Yemen ‘crimes against civilians’
CAIRO: Arab League representatives meeting in Cairo on Tuesday condemned "crimes against civilians" in Yemen and urged the Sanaa government to deal with the people's demands in a "peaceful manner."…
Obama goes South
By Jorge Castañeda MEXICO CITY: US President Barack Obama’s current swing through Latin America will probably be short on substance, long on rhetorical flourishes and symbolism, and may include a few…
Israeli civil society, democracy and political change
By Naomi Chazan At precisely the same time that civil society has emerged as the catalyst in democratically-driven upheavals in the Arab world, Israel's civil society is increasingly threatened. There is…