Somali sea gangs lure investors at pirate lair
HARADHEERE, Somalia: In Somalia s main pirate lair of Haradheere, the sea gangs have set up a cooperative to fund their hijackings offshore, a sort of stock exchange meets criminal…
Mediator to give Israeli response on prisoner swap
CAIRO: A German mediator is to give Israel s response to Hamas on a prisoner swap as the two sides edge closer to a deal, a Palestinian official said on…
UN slams 'discriminatory' Swiss minaret ban
GENEVA: The United Nations called Switzerland s ban on new minarets clearly discriminatory and deeply divisive, and the Swiss foreign minister acknowledged Tuesday the government was very concerned about how…
Algerian Foreign Minister 'hopes to turn a new leaf' with Egypt
CAIRO: Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medlici expressed his goodwill towards Egypt and said he hoped to turn a new leaf with Egyptians in a telephone interview with London-based Asharq Alawsat…
Fawry eyes 3 pct of Egypt's banked population
CAIRO: Fawry, an electronic bill payment and presentment (EBPP) network, hopes to capture 2 to 3 percent of Egypt's banked population within a year, according to CEO Ashraf Sabry. That's…
COMMENTARY: Stop attacking Dubai!
Slandering Dubai has become fashionable in Western circles. One after the other, rabid British reporters and columnists, in particular, are sinking their teeth into the emirate. The latest news that…
Studio 14 opens with sky-high ambitions
Zamalek has always been an art hub. Between lauded showrooms in Zamalek Art Gallery and Safar Khan, and younger spaces such as Hanfaninha and Lot 17, art connoisseurs are no…
Uganda memory books tell of mothers' love, stark AIDS truths
Unable to face explaining to her younger daughter Winnie Namagga, that, after losing her husband and eldest child to AIDS, she herself had tested positive for the disease, Harriet Balakyabwe…
The achievement myth By Naomi Wolf
NEW YORK: In late September, the American press was filled with data on women's happiness. Marcus Buckingham, a business consultant, made the case that the data showed that women have…
Bread over bullets in Pakistan
LAHORE, Pakistan: The month-long controversy surrounding the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill has still not ended in Pakistan. Its opponents fear that this bill - which provides $7.5 billion in non-military aid to…