Experts call for accurate media coverage of elections
CAIRO: As Egypt braces an election period, People's Assembly ballot slated for October and a presidential race in 2011, media and political experts are leery of local media's ability to…
Pakistan's blasphemy laws need reforming
KARACHI, Pakistan: Sadly, the recent violence against the Ahmadi community, which left 80 worshippers dead at an Ahmadi mosque in Lahore, is not a new phenomenon. Religious minorities in Pakistan…
The Chinese economy's secret recipe
BEIJING: China’s GDP growth this year may approach 10%. While some countries are still dealing with economic crisis or its aftermath, China’s challenge is — once again — how to…
Listening to arsonists
BERKELEY: I had always thought that Barack Obama made a significant mistake in naming the Republican ex-senator Alan Simpson to co-chair the president’s deficit-reduction commission. Simpson was a noted budget…
Decoding Egypt: Thank God South Africa's hosting the World Cup
CAIRO: Press coverage of South Africa has been boosted to an all-time high thanks to the country’s hosting of the 19th FIFA World Cup. Documentaries and media reports broadcast round…
Egypt finds evidence of unfinished ancient tomb
CAIRO: Egyptian archaeologists who have completed excavations on an unfinished ancient tunnel believe it was meant to connect a 3,300-year-old pharaoh's tomb with a secret burial site, the antiquities department…
Lawyers hold open strike inside a Gharbia court till July 4
CAIRO: Dozens of lawyers held an open strike Wednesday inside Otour District Court in Gharbia governorate until the appeal session on July 4 of two lawyers sentenced to five years…
Oil above $76, heads for 1st quarterly drop since 2008
LONDON: Oil rose by one percent on Wednesday to move back above $76 a barrel, but was still headed for its first quarterly drop since 2008 as stresses in financial…
UAE banks problem loan ratio may rise 4 pct
DUBAI: The ratio of problem loans for banks in the United Arab Emirates may rise by an additional 4 percent as they book further losses for exposure to troubled conglomerate…
Dubai's Nakheel starts cash payments to creditors
DUBAI: Troubled Dubai developer Nakheel on Wednesday said it has started making cash payments to trade creditors, in the second phase of a repayment schedule, with the rest to come…