Containing Iran with Gulf minnows will be tough
With no sign of Iran retreating on its nuclear program and growing acknowledgment of the risks and limitations of military options, the Bush administration appears to be gearing up for…
Killing Lebanon, economically
And so to the latest tented village. That the Rafik Hariri-inspired downtown area should be the field of battle between what must be seen - wittingly or unwittingly - as…
Political Blogging is fast becoming the media's new frontier
"Blog Me If You Can is a working title of a book I am writing. The idea was born during a moment of clarity as I pondered about the troubled…
Festival improves but awards leave a lot to be desired
Critic bashes Arab films as "plainly rubbish Cairo: The 30th Cairo International Film Festival had its ups and downs, but if we sidestep what could be considered controversial judging, this…
KHAWAGA'S TALE: Plastic surgery
Dr Galil's hands are the tools of his trade. It is with these precision instruments that he welcomes me with an old fashioned hearty handshake, reminding me that manners are…
Make music not war
Is cultural diplomacy the key to international relations?Darryl John Kennedy brought his unique brand of musical diplomacy to Cairo on Friday when he beckoned the small audience at El Sawy…
Up in smoke as tobacco company privatization reaches impasse
Cleopatras and Marlboros might be at the opposite ends of the cigarette price range but one thing they and all other cigarettes available on the market have in common is…
Security forces discover tunnel to Gaza Strip
Egyptian security forces in Sinai, on heightened alert since October, have discovered a tunnel underneath a kitchen reportedly used by smugglers in Rafah, along the border with Gaza.The find came…
Two leading members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood release from jail after six-month detention
Two leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood left jail Saturday, six months after they were detained during a wave of pro-reform demonstrations.But Essam El-Erian and Mohammed Morsi are not entirely…
Activists: Lack of democracy leads to abuse of human rights
While poverty might be an influential factor in the absence of human rights, it is due more to a result of lack of democracy, especially in the Middle East, Egyptian…