Saudi women fight for control of their marital fate
RIYADH: Women in Saudi Arabia are fighting back against tribal traditions that make them hostage to the whims of their fathers and male guardians who alone can decide who their…
Oman: Natural beauty boosts tourism
Oman has high hopes for its tourism industry, with the government aiming to attract 12 million visitors annually by 2020 – a significant increase on the approximate 2.5 million visitors…
Sierra Leone bursts with diamonds, oil, iron ore and unease
DAKAR: In less than ten years Sierra Leone has gone from one of Africa's bloodiest warring nations to one of the most promising, but a slew of massive investments to…
Pakistanis push trade, not just aid, after floods
FAISALABAD: This eastern Pakistani city is known for the roar of its power looms and the buzz of its sewing machines. Now, following massive floods that devastated the cotton crop,…
Egyptian lawyer seeks to annul more land deals
CAIRO: An Egyptian lawyer said on Thursday he had filed a lawsuit demanding the government cancel the sales since 1998 of all state land not sold by auction. It is…
Egypt wants to delay Arab League meeting on Mideast talks
CAIRO: Egypt wants an Arab League meeting on troubled Israel-Palestinian peace talks next week to be postponed for three days until an Arab summit in Libya, the official MENA news…
Draft law proposes regulating right to peaceful protest, assembly
CAIRO: The right to hold peaceful demonstrations and assembly represents a form of collective expression of opinion granted by the constitution as well as international human rights conventions, according to…
Publishers reach resolution with ministry in supplementary books crisis
CAIRO: The Egyptian Publishers Union (EPU) reached a resolution with the Ministry of Education regarding publishing supplementary textbooks, reducing fees for publishing licenses from LE 40 million to LE 3…
Democratic Front pulls out of Quartet Bloc over PA elections
CAIRO: The Democratic Front Party has withdrawn from the Quartet Bloc after other parties decided to participate in the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in November. The Quartet Bloc…
CAF: African player of year list ‘fictitious’
JOHANNESBURG: A list of 17 African stars supposedly nominated for the continent's 2010 player of the year award was not real and not released by the African Football Confederation. CAF…