Our pick of the five essential Christmas albums
Every year, a stream of Christmas albums is released, containing their obligatory covers of the season's most beloved classics. From Elvis, Sinatra, Dean Martin and Cliff Richard to Destiny's Child,…
How the Grinch failed to steal Christmas
I was never a big aficionado of Christmas tunes. "Jingle Bells, "Santa Clause is Coming to Town and the like never gave me the sense of elation it did everybody…
Building momentum for peace
With the revival of Middle East peace talks following the Annapolis meeting, agreement over security issues between Israelis and Palestinians will be crucial to building a negotiating momentum. In particular,…
Death and tobacco taxes
A global killer is ripping through the world's poorer countries largely unchecked. Within 25 years, it will cause 10 million deaths a year worldwide - more than malaria, maternal deaths,…
Be the moderate you're looking for
O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, though it may be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be against…
Musings: France's Ugly Face!
On the 10th of this month, France received Libyan President Moammar Qaddafi in a step representing the pinnacle of President Sarkozy's "realpolitik, which was preceded by his famous visit to…
Hajj pilgrims buy gifts as memories of Mecca
MECCA: Pilgrims heading home from Mecca not only carry mental souvenirs of an unforgettable spiritual journey, they also take gifts for loved ones not fortunate enough to travel with them…
Chaos mars Egyptian Hajj delegations, official denies accusations
CAIRO: Despite reports in the independent and state-owned press about the lack of organization of the official Egyptian Hajj delegations, General Ayman Helmy, media relations director at the Ministry of…
Woman forced to strip in new controversial video clip
CAIRO: Award-winning blogger and anti-torture activist Wael Abbas created a new stir over the Eid holiday when he posted an image and audio recording depicting what he alleges could be…
AUC community continues normalization debate
CAIRO: Twenty eight years after the Camp David Accords ended hostilities between Egypt and Israel, there are few issues that inspire more rumors, or get Egyptian intellectuals as heated, as…