The perils of Europe’s navel gazing
By Ana Palacio MADRID: While the world anxiously awaits the climax of the eurozone drama, its leaders’ behavior resembles the political equivalent of what physicists call “Brownian motion,” with officials bouncing…
Muttering Mutaween
By Philip Whitfield CAIRO: I think people miss the real story in Egypt. People were trying to convince themselves during the revolution that Egyptians were going to turn out to be…
Why development aid is not enough
By Erik Solheim OSLO: Poverty is not only about not having enough money. It is also about exploitation and oppression, and about armed conflicts and wars that make it impossible to…
Europe’s vicious spirals
By Barry Eichengreen BERKELEY: The euro crisis shows no signs of letting up. While 2011 was supposed to be the year when European leaders finally got a grip on events, the…
Being a Muslim and being a feminist are not mutually exclusive
By Fatemeh Fakhraie PORTLAND, Oregon: People, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, often tell me that I can’t be both a Muslim and a feminist. At a recent book reading in Oregon, for…
Muslim Brotherhood hails ties with US
CAIRO: The head of the political arm of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday hailed US-Egyptian ties during talks with the US State Department's number two, but also said they must…
Political powers sign Azhar’s ‘bill of rights’
CAIRO: Representatives of political parties and politicians signed Wednesday Al-Azhar’s bill of rights during a meeting aimed at discussing Egypt’s future as the first anniversary of the Jan. 25 revolt…
TEData employees demand fixed contracts
CAIRO: TEData employees continued a strike for the third day on Wednesday, citing discontent over temporary contracts. “We are not demanding a raise in salaries — only that our jobs…
Switzerland broke law ignoring Iraqi asylum claims
BERN: A government-ordered probe into why Swiss embassies ignored up to 10,000 Iraqi asylum requests has found that officials broke the law. The independent investigation by retired federal judge Michel…
SCAF plans Jan. 25 celebrations as activists call for mass protests
CAIRO: January 25 was declared a national holiday in Egypt to commemorate the 18-day revolt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, the ruling military council said Wednesday. Military leaders who witnessed…