YEAREND SPECIAL: Obama admin makes rapprochement with Egyptian regime after Bush freeze
While US President Barack Obama won the American presidential election on a platform of hope and change, it was more of the same when it came to his administration's dealings…
YEAREND SPECIAL: Egypt's opposition groups blighted by internal divisions
Opposition groups in Egypt had arrows slung on them from all sides in a year marked, not only by criticism and crackdowns from the ruling regime, but by differences within…
YEAREND SPECIAL: Sinai Bedouins suffer repeated crackdowns in a year of tension
Residents of Sinai and Bedouin tribe members continued to bemoan their treatment at the hands of security forces in 2009, prolonging a crackdown meted out since Sinai was rocked by…
YEAREND SPECIAL: MP scandals overshadow 2008/2009 PA session laws
Unlike previous years, the 2008/2009 People's Assembly kept making headlines even after the June recess, with MP scandals overshadowing a largely uneventful term. Scandalous skirmishesIn October, MP Ahmed Shobair, who…
YEAREND SPECIAL: New gem rises from the rubble
On the road of Muiz li-Din Illah, that famed thoroughfare of Fatimid and Mamluk Cairo, is a new gem of a hotel. A small boutique hotel named Le Riad Hotel…
YEAREND SPECIAL: Damascus: A little bit Cairo, a lot of Shaami
As a foreigner numbed by Cairo's constant pace, clatter and change, I had forgotten some of my romanticized images of the changeless East. Souks filled with ancient trinkets, shopkeepers proffering…
YEAREND SPECIAL: Jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon
All eyes were on the world's decision-makers who gathered at the United Nations' Climate Change summit in Copenhagen this month hoping to reach a viable climate treaty. In Egypt, a…
YEAREND SPECIAL: Break out brands of the year
Locally inspired and locally driven, three brands have appeared on the local fashion scene in Egypt earlier on in the year, causing heads to turn and people to talk about…
YEAREND SPECIAL: Trends 2009: The good, the bad and the ugly
Fashion trends this year for both men and women have been very original. Certainly, there was a great departure from the recent trends of over the top fashion statements and…
YEAREND SPECIAL: Female entrepreneurs do business with style
The Egyptian woman is known for her strength and loyalty. Against all odds, she continues to climb the ladder of success and shatters stereotypes. This generation of strong women chose…