Hand of Egypt’s military rulers grows heavier
CAIRO: Growing in confidence after eight months in power, Egypt's military generals appear more determined than ever to crush the protest movement that ousted Hosni Mubarak and has turned critical…
Tension between judges, lawyers defused following meeting with PM
CAIRO: Lawyers and judges agreed to end an escalating crisis that led to the closure of several courthouses, following a meeting with Prime Minister Essam Sharaf late Tuesday. Sharaf met…
Egypt ranks 113 on Human Development Index
CAIRO: Egypt ranked 113 out of 187 countries in the Human Development Index presented by the 2011 Human Development Report Wednesday, slipping 12 spots from its 101 ranking in 2010.…
Gold rises on deepening euro zone crisis
LONDON: Gold firmed on Wednesday, helped by safe-haven demand as the euro zone troubles deepened and business surveys showed the severe impact the crisis had on manufacturing in the region.…
Dii GmbH discusses potential energy initiatives in North Africa and Europe
CAIRO: Coming to a Cairo that’s still bright and sunny towards the end of fall, Dii GmbH, the renewable energy consortium of European companies, convened on Wednesday for the 2nd…
Arabs await Syrian reply to plan to end unrest
CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers will review on Wednesday Syria's response to their initiative aimed at ending seven months of violence that has raged during an uprising against President Bashar Al-Assad's…
Motion fails to query Ahmadinejad in Iran assembly
TEHRAN: A petition to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to parliament for questioning over a long list of accusations, including corruption, failed Wednesday after some lawmakers withdrew their support for the…
New settlements ‘basic right’, says Israel PM
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel's decision to accelerate settlement building was a fundamental right, not punishment for the Palestinians joining UNESCO. But Britain, France and…
Yemen protest singers whip up revolutionary zeal
SANAA: By nightfall, thousands of anti-government protesters in a scrappy tent city in Yemen's capital Sanaa catch their breath and begin to cheer musicians clambering onto a rickety stage. "Let's…
A PALESTINIAN VIEW: The Quartet initiative: A serious challenge
By Ghassan Khatib One of the motives behind the Palestinian appeal to the United Nations is to gradually escape the United States' monopoly over mediation in the peace process between Palestinians…