Woes of Egyptian society captured in jokes
As people's idea of marriage turns more materialistic by the minute, traffic reaches a new level of chaos everyday and education levels topple further, Egyptians put on their creative hats…
Our fears about the ME and our identity group
TORONTO: This article is a rather unusual joint effort by myself and my friend, the late psychiatrist and analyst, Dr. George Awad. I met George almost 40 years ago when…
Mercantilism reconsidered
CAMBRIDGE: A businessman walks into a government minister's office and says he needs help. What should the minister do? Invite him in for a cup of coffee and ask how…
Treason in the air
COPENHAGEN: Discussions about global warming are marked by an increasing desire to stamp out "impure thinking, to the point of questioning the value of democratic debate. But shutting down discussion…
ANALYSIS: Egypt workers fight for pay, not against the state
MAHALLA EL-KUBRA: Striking Egyptian workers are unlikely to escalate demands for better conditions into a political challenge to the government, but stoppages will make state assets less attractive to investors.…
Silence marks first day of 'canceled' Sayeda Zeinab moulid
CAIRO: Silence dawned on the Sayeda Zeinab district yesterday, the first day of annual celebration of the birth of Sayeda Zeinab, the prophet's granddaughter. The typical sight of colorful swings,…
Ode to Egypt president lands clerk in jail
CAIRO: An Egyptian civil servant who wrote a satirical poem about veteran President Hosni Mubarak has been jailed for three years after a colleague turned the villainous verses over to…
Lead author withdraws from UN Development Report
CAIRO: The lead writer of the United Nations Arab Human Development Report withdrew from the project in protest at what he says is self-censorship and oversensitivity to outsider opinions.At a…
Marwa Al-Sherbini's father demands death penalty
CAIRO: Islamophobia victim's father, Ali Al-Sherbini is demanding that his daughter's murderer receive nothing short of a death sentence, even though capital punishment is illegal in Germany. The father is…
Justice ministry denies claims by legal specialists as protestors threaten hunger strike
CAIRO: As their sit-in enters its ninth day, the Ministry of Justice's legal specialists are threatening to go on hunger strike if their demands are not met. Over 300 specialists…