Tom Cruise tries the risky business of Valkyrie'
A Nazi-filled Christmas is not an easy sell.That s just one of the challenges Tom Cruise faces with his new World War II thriller Valkyrie, which opens Dec. 25. In…
Ibn Arabi's wisdom celebrated at international conference
In celebration of the life and times of Andalusian mystic philosopher Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (1165-1240), the sage's enthusiasts gathered at the Gomhuria Theater last Saturday for the inauguration of the…
In Focus: Human Rights in the Arab world
The 10th of December marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was published on that day in 1948. While human rights have become a…
Opening China, then and now
WASHINGTON, DC: America's opening to China by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in 1971-1972 was a historic breakthrough. Less famous, but of equal importance, was the next major step, taken…
Obama's Middle East
JERUSALEM: President-elect Barack Obama's plans for the Middle East, the region where his predecessor's policies shattered America's standing around the world as a benign superpower, represent a welcome departure from…
Bush and the flying shoes
CAIRO: Many many years ago, in Tangiers, before I had become a Muslim or understood much if anything about Muslim ways, I was sitting at a traditional outdoor Arab café,…
Shoe-mania takes over the internet
CAIRO: In less than 48 hours following Iraqi journalist Muntazar Al-Zaidi's attempt to hit US President George W. Bush with a pair of shoes, hundreds of Facebook groups and pages…
Special Series: Education: Long way ahead for higher education, say experts
CAIRO: With thanaweya amma stealing the spotlight throughout the academic year, little attention is given to higher education, which suffers from lack of proper facilities, qualified faculty and overcrowding among…
Teenage girl dies of bird flu in Assiut
CAIRO: A 16-year-old Egyptian girl has died of bird flu, bringing the number of deaths from the disease in the north African nation to 23, the highest outside Asia, the…
Emergency State Security Court annuls Quranist detention order
CAIRO: The detention order issued against Reda Abdel Rahman, a Quranist blogger arrested in late October has been quashed by the Emergency State Security Court.Adel Ramadan, a lawyer with the…