Egypt up 11 spots in global competitiveness
CAIRO: Egypt's world ranking has improved a dramatic 11 places. Unfortunately for football fans, Egypt's dramatic rise was in the World Economic Forum's "World Competitiveness Report 2009/2010 and not the…
Egyptian stars make an unremarkable 'visit' in Hanfaninha exhibit
I've always been weary of being an art critic rather than a supportive advocate of arts. It's difficult, when the artist under scrutiny is a young, aspiring one, and there's…
A piece of Indian folk at the Opera House
As a newcomer to Cairo, I had been surprised when my Pilates class was conducted to the Bollywood hit single "Kabhie Kabhie. Indian music in Egypt? Months later, I am…
Capital idea: Egyptian photographer wins Art Prize
What would you do with $200,000 and six months to go? That is the question currently facing Egyptian artist Hala El-Koussy after receiving the Abraaj Capital Art Prize.El-Koussy - co-founder…
Colonialism revisité
"Just as a man would not cherish living in a body other than his own, so do nations not like to live under other nations, no matter noble and great…
Decoding Egypt:In search of a political Abu-Treika
The current weakness and fragmentation of opposition parties and the nonchalance of public opinion suggest that perhaps nothing can disrupt the plan to groom Gamal Mubarak to the presidency in…
Ramadan: a time to give
KUWAIT CITY: A friend in New York recently asked me what Ramadan was like. Borrowing a chapter from my three-year-old son's playbook, I tried to explain it in constructs that…
Fighting radicalism without fighting radicals
WASHINGTON, DC: Eight years into what was once called the Global War on Terror , Western policymakers show a growing recognition that combating violent extremists requires more creative tools. In…
Freeze the settlement freeze
RAMALLAH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to approve new Jewish settlements on the eve of a possible settlement freeze is the latest round in a cycle that has been…