IN FOCUS: A True Civil Society
You'd be wrong to think that the current opposition parties in Egypt will affect any form of change in the coming years. Apart from the fact that they are farcical…
Guarding optimism
The skeptics have unassailable arguments: History and a consistent record of failure are on their side. Expectations of success for the Middle East summit in Annapolis are further dampened by…
Furnace cities
It's possible to see, right now, what global warming will eventually do to the planet. To peek into the future, all we have to do is go to Beijing, Athens,…
The soft power of the United Nations
Joseph Stalin once dismissed the relevance of "soft power by asking, "How many troops does the Pope have? Today, many self-styled realists dismiss the United Nations as powerless, and argue…
Children behind bars
CAIRO: The dismal chapter in the life of Omaima, a 27-year-old from Qaliubiya, started when she signed checks on behalf of her elderly father. Her sister was getting married, and…
ID card policy violates religious freedom, say rights groups
CAIRO: Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights called on the government to allow Egyptian citizens to list their actual religion on national ID cards and other…
Adopt a child for a day
CAIRO: In celebration of the Universal Children's Day (UCD), people are invited to adopt a child for one day and make them feel like they are part of a family.…
Save the Sphinx, beckons one Egyptologist
CAIRO: An Egyptologist launched a website aimed at warning against the underground water that is threatening the Sphinx and other antiquities in the Pyramid plateau.On his website "Save the Sphinx,…
The power of philanthropy
CAIRO: Egyptians are, generally speaking, charitable. It's an essential element of our cultural values. We're all familiar with the mobile phone messages petitioning on behalf of a charity case. In…
Grand Mufti says media misquoted 'drowning fatwa'
CAIRO: Mufti Ali Gomaa denied Tuesday false claims made by the media following his fatwa concerning the illegal migrants who recently drowned off the Italian coast.Gomaa's fatwa - that these…