Syria clashes near Damascus, League eyes UN
DAMASCUS: Fierce clashes approached the capital on Sunday as Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's opponents sought to crank up the pressure for UN action after the Arab League withdrew its observers.…
Egypt vows to continue privatization deals, says minister
CAIRO: The Egyptian government won’t take any steps to end the country’s privatization plans, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation said on Saturday. Following a meeting the Prime Minister, Minister…
Telecom Minister’s ‘smuggled international calls’ statement is ‘draconian’, say activists
CAIRO: Telecom experts and rights activists slammed Telecom Minister Mohamed Salem’s statement made on Saturday regarding the “$100 million losses” sustained from incoming “smuggled” international phone-calls, describing it as draconian.…
Egypt index extends rally after peaceful demos; Gulf mixed
CAIRO/DUBAI: Egypt's bourse continued its rally on Sunday after a 7 percent surge in the previous session on relief that pro-democracy protests last week took place without major violence, and…
Clashes erupt in Cairo during anti-army protest
CAIRO: Hundreds of Egyptian protesters demanding an immediate end to military rule clashed on Sunday with rivals in civilian clothes outside central Cairo's state media building, the same place where…
Obama reads Tantawi the Riot Act
By Philip Whitfield CAIRO: Help me out here. Let’s read some news items together to prove I’m not completely mad. First a newsflash: Three PR gurus paid $4.3 million (plus…
The non-communicable disease paradox
By Martin Tobias WELLINGTON: Albert Einstein is reputed to have said that “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Yet the current debate about the global epidemic…
Afghanistan’s terrorized women
By Mohammed Musa Mahmodi KABUL: Recently, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) office in Kudoz province reported the rescue of a young woman who had been imprisoned in her in-laws’…
Egypt politicians adopt social media
Last week Egypt celebrated the one year anniversary of the outbreak of protests in Tahrir Square and the January 25 Revolution. This defining moment in Egyptian history was due, at…
Egypt says it has ended US lobbyists’ contract
CAIRO: Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Sunday it has ended a contract with three Washington lobbying firms to cut expenses, denying reports that the American companies were the ones to terminate…