Bringing Berber singing into the modern age
Singer Houria Aïchi comes from a Berber ethnic group called the Shawiya, who live on the Aures Plateau of the Atlas Mountains in north-eastern Algeria. I have very strong memories…
Egypt index sees biggest dip in five weeks
CAIRO: Egypt s main index broke below 6,300 points, ending 3.5 percent lower for its biggest one-day drop in more than five weeks, as investors sold cheaply across the board.…
Israel settlement freeze first, normalization later, says Mubarak
CAIRO: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a newspaper interview on Monday that Israel must halt settlement construction on occupied land before Arab countries take steps to normalize ties.He made…
Egypt rejects request for moderate Islamic party
CAIRO: Egypt has turned down a request by political activists seeking to set up a party that would advocate moderate Islam.The government says the proposed party s program doesn t…
Intelligence chief with Mubarak on US visit
CAIRO: Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman is part of the Egyptian delegation accompanying President Hosni Mubarak on his current US trip.Initially, official reports had not included Suleiman as part of the…
No quota for Copts in PA, says Shehab
CAIRO: Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab rejected the idea of setting a quota for seats occupied by Copts in the People's Assembly. Copts are an integral part…
Brotherhood to form committee to fight vote rigging
CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc formed a special committee aimed at combating vote rigging in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in 2010, Hamdy Hassan, spokesperson for…
Kefaya launches 'anti-election' campaign, threatens to resort to international courts
CAIRO: In an early sign of protest, the Kefaya Movement for Change launched a campaign calling for the boycott of parliamentary elections that are due to be held next year…
Egypt signs 6 oil, gas agreements at $2.3 bln
CAIRO: Egypt signed six oil and natural gas exploration agreements with Egyptian and international companies, the Ministry of Petroleum said Sunday. The contracts are valued at $2.3 billion, said Petroleum…