Rafah crossing to remain closed until PA regains Gaza, says Mubarak
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak said Tuesday in a televised address that the Rafah border crossing will remain closed until Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas regains control of the Gaza…
Hollywood's happy, even without a record year
Hollywood loves breaking box-office records, yet studio executives aren t griping that their 2008 lineup will fall a bit shy of the all-time high set a year earlier.With the overall…
Workshop redefines actor/audience relationship
In a recent workshop organized by the Townhouse Gallery and visiting American performance group My Barbarian, there was much more than the prospect of rich cultural exchange: it offered the…
Belly dance fever sweeps Vietnam's capital
A belly dance craze is sweeping the capital of communist Vietnam, dropping jaws, lifting spirits and - the dancers say - empowering women through a new mode of self expression.Since…
In Focus: Fears in 2009
CAIRO: I'm not optimistic about the advent of the New Year. All issues, domestic and regional alike, don't portend well. As 2008 ends with many negative events on both levels,…
Europe's Obama challenge
PARIS: Will the year 2009 and the beginning of Barack Obama's presidency mark the beginning of a new era in transatlantic relations, or will the old divisions linger, nurtured by…
Perfect Losers
LONDON: Economics, it seems, has very little to tell us about the current economic crisis. Indeed, no less a figure than former United States Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently…
Israel is the opium of the people and other Taboos
NEW YORK - "Why aren't you as an Arab lady writing about Gaza? "Where are your columns about Gaza? "Say the Israelis are wrong! The messages started to arrive soon…