Abbas says Egypt to relaunch Palestinian reconciliation talks
CAIRO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Egypt plans to relaunch reconciliation talks between his Fatah faction and Hamas, which controls Gaza.Abbas met Sunday with President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. Afterward,…
Gaza tense after seaside explosion and Hamas crackdown
GAZA CITY: Hamas security forces fanned out across a tense Gaza Strip Sunday, following a mysterious weekend car bombing that killed six people and sparked the toughest Hamas crackdown against…
Egypt ranks 85 in economic freedom index
CAIRO: Egypt's economy shows signs of reform in privatization, fiscal, and business freedom, however, it remains weak in freedom from corruption, banking freedom and property rights protection, a recent study…
France's 'white' film industry resists change
PARIS: Where are the French Denzel Washingtons, Forest Whitakers, Wesley Snipes or Halle Berrys?France s silver screen is still overwhelmingly and despairingly white, say advocates of diversity in French film…
A KHAWAGA'S TALE: A cup of hot chocolate
LE REVAND, France: In one's chalet you discover the perfect recipe for hot chocolate as the lighting cracks across the mountain tops. A culinary holiday, afternoons spent seasoning Thai green…
Sound of music returns to von Trapp Salzburg villa
VIENNA: Salzburg is alive with the sound of music once again, as the von Trapp family s villa opened its doors to the public this weekend for the first time,…
Nigeria's Sick Man Democracy
How sick is Nigerian president Umaru Yar'Adua? In May, he admitted during a live television broadcast that he suffers from a kidney ailment, but sought to quell rumors that he…
Iran's digital war
The products of globalisation have significantly undermined the process of "information management in countries where censorship is still part of everyday life.Traditionally, the Islamic Republic has always interfered in the…
US policy not a scapegoat for extremists
As the competition for the US presidency heats up, the threat of Muslim extremism is bound to become a major issue in the campaign. The reason is its link to…
Islamic music videos, all the time
CAIRO: The moment an Arab viewer tunes into one of the many Arabic music channels, they are immediately transported to a world of wanton women and material luxury. Sultry songstresses…