Army loans $1 billion to central bank
CAIRO: Egypt's ruling military has agreed to lend $1 billion to the central bank as it struggles with plunging foreign reserves that threaten the country's ability to import, a military…
Eutelsat feels heat, sees growth in Mideast
PARIS: Europe's biggest satellite operator Eutelsat is more accustomed to staking out territory in outer space than worrying about earthly politics, but this year it was plunged into the thick…
Soiled start for candidates of Mubarak’s banned party
ASSIUT: In conservative Egyptian villages where tribal and familial affiliations reign supreme, parliamentary candidates can no longer rely on the former ruling party's blessing to carry them to victory. In…
Ganzoury says will not hold finance portfolio
CAIRO: Egypt's new prime minister, Kamal El-Ganzoury, said on Thursday he had no intention of taking on the finance portfolio in a cabinet he promised to have fully formed by…
Western debt crisis spurs growth of Islamic Finance
MANAMA: Chicago native Mariam Khan never considered Islamic banking until her husband moved the family to Dubai in 2007. But the 36-year-old housewife is a believer now as the Western…
Analysis: Egypt fiscal crisis to pile pressure on army
CAIRO: Egypt's fiscal crisis is adding to pressure from protesters and politicians for the ruling military council to hand over substantial powers to a civilian government long before mid-2012, when…
Salafis, dark horse of Egypt’s vote, seek to assure Copts
CAIRO: Hardline Salafis, forecast to become powerbrokers in Egypt's first post-uprising parliament, are seeking to allay fears in the minority Christian community of an Islamist-dominated assembly. The Salafis, who mostly…
Elton John in tirade against AIDS stigma
British pop superstar Elton John has lashed out at those who continue to stigmatize AIDS as "fascists and idiots," and called on governments to keep funding the fight against the…
Sesame Street comes to Afghanistan
US children's television favorite Sesame Street came to Afghanistan this week with the launch of a new series featuring familiar characters like Elmo and Big Bird. "Baghch-e-Simsim" made its debut…
Buttered Up: Half-browned rice – a family tradition
When my mother is in the kitchen, she likes to talk about my grandmother; I don't think she realizes that it has become a pattern. As she stirs, today a…