Budget deficit lower in first half of financial year, says Nazif
CAIRO: The Egyptian government cut its budget deficit to LE 3.9 billion in the first half of the 2006/7 financial year, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif told parliament on Tuesday. Nazif…
Government imposes export duties on cement and steel
Analyst: decision represents setback to economic reform programCAIRO: The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced late Tuesday the imposition of export taxes on the cement and steel sectors to…
Minister of Finance urges patience with economic reform program
Ghali announces major reform to eliminate bureaucracy in coming monthsCAIRO: Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali defended the government s ongoing economic reform program Tuesday, saying some outcomes are already…
IDF detains TV director, attacks journalists during Nablus raid
New York: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrest of a local television director and harassment of several journalists during a military…
Alleged spy asks Canadian government for a lawyer
CAIRO: An Egyptian with Canadian citizenship on trial for spying for Israel shouted from his courtroom cage on Wednesday that his earlier confession had been extracted under torture. I call…
Egyptian shares fall sharply during global sell-off
CAIRO: The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (Case) 30 Index declined by 253 points Wednesday, one day after global markets plunged beginning with the Shanghai Composite Index's 8.8 percent drop…
Public, private and all the spaces in between
In a small, archetypal "white cube gallery, two artists opened a joint exhibit with resounding resistance to conventional space. But while the Mashrabia gallery space is standard by contemporary norms,…
Crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood
The ongoing crackdown on Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood group has entered a new phase marking a new phase in the escalating confrontation between Egypt's two main political rivals. It seems that…
The ICJ applied too high a burden of proof on Srebrenica
The judgment earlier this week of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning Serbia's involvement in the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 should be greeted with considerable…
The US puts a financial chokehold on Iranian banks
Everybody knows that economic sanctions don't work. Just look at the decades of fruitless pressure on Cuba. If you Google the phrase "economic sanctions don't work, you get nearly 1.2…