Mubarak trial postponed pending decision on judge switch
CAIRO: Justice Ahmed Refaat of the Cairo Criminal Court postponed Sunday the trial of Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, to Dec. 28 until a decision is made…
Lawyers call for emergency meeting Tuesday
CAIRO: The Lawyers’ Syndicate has called for an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss an appropriate response to the escalated confrontation between them and judges on Friday. During a general…
Tahrir Doctors, rights groups at odds over alleged torture victim
By Omnia Al Desoukie CAIRO: During investigations by the Prosecutor General on Sunday, prison inmates who knew alleged torture victim Essam Atta said that he neither smoked cigarettes nor hashish. According…
Israeli-Egyptian swap highlights brittle ties
JERUSALEM: Israel has said that it agreed to trade Egyptian prisoners for a US-Israeli citizen imprisoned in Cairo on unsubstantiated suspicions of spying to defuse a potential crisis between the…
Reaching new heights in women’s rights activism
WASHINGTON, DC: Mehrunisa Qayyum, in her blog PITAPOLICY, which covers politics and analyses development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, assessed the most recent list of the…
A nation of vidiots
By Jeffrey Sachs NEW YORK: The past half-century has been the age of electronic mass media. Television has reshaped society in every corner of the world. Now an explosion of new…
Prisoner swap: Short-lived ramifications
By Shlomo Brom The exchange of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, after years of campaigning and negotiating is a dramatic event that deeply affects Israeli public opinion…
The thin blue line
By Philip Whitfield CAIRO: Between anarchy and order stand the police. Their power is derived from trust and respect. Not brutality. Remember Steve Biko, the South African anti-apartheid activist? He was…
Military detains activist for 15 days pending investigations, releases another
CAIRO: Egypt’s Military Prosecutor decided Sunday to detain activist Alaa Abdel Fattah for 15 days pending investigations on charges of inciting violence during the Oct. 9 Maspero clashes. Activist Bahaa…
Misr Cement Qena 9-month net falls 16 pct
CAIRO: Egypt's Misr Cement Qena said on Sunday its nine-month net profit fell 16 percent from a year earlier. Net profit fell to LE 263.7 million ($44.2 million) from LE…