The year of accidents, disasters and fires
The last weeks of the year 2008 were witness to two of the worst road accidents, closing off a year marred by disasters and fires that claimed tens of lives…
Egypt backslides on press freedom with detentions and publishing bans
Media censorship, intimidation and prosecution of journalists continued to be business as usual in 2008, the year in which the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) placed Egypt seven…
2008: A year for victorious women
In Egypt, 2008 can easily be labeled the woman s year. In addition to numerous new legislations championing women's rights, 2008 saw the first female marriage registrar, the first female…
Verdict in schoolboy Islam Badr's case expected Thursday
ALEXANDRIA: Islam Badr's family were left frustrated Monday after the Alexandria Court postponed its verdict in the case of 23-year-old mathematics teacher Haitham Nabil Abdel Hamid, accused of kicking the…
Health ministry tackles a handful of controversies as year wraps up
During the last two months of 2008, hospitals around Egypt were paid surprise visits by the Ministry of Health as part of its crackdown on medical violations.Incidents of medical negligence,…
Experts debate correlation between economic and political reform
Up until the onset of the global economic crisis, Egypt had embarked on a program of economic reform that has spurred growth, encouraged foreign direct investment and promised that -…
HRW condemns Eritrean refugees' ill-treatment in Egypt
CAIRO: The Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Egypt to halt the deportation of Eritrean asylum-seekers and to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Egyptian…
Egypt gov't impedes right to freedom of association, says HR organization
CAIRO: Governments in the south and east Mediterranean continue to use all manner of legal and other obstacles to impede the right to freedom of association, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights…
Most Egyptians skeptical about US Mideast policy, says Gallup study
CAIRO: Seventy-five percent of Egyptians do not believe that the United States is serious about establishing democratic systems in the Middle East, according to a study by Gallup, a leading…