Palestinian women react to violence
Associated PressViolence haunts the four Palestinian women occupying an anteroom of the afterlife, a halfway house to a heaven they hope will provide the answers to all their fears.These souls…
Quilting across the region
If a diplomatic life means constantly moving and upending your routines, then Jenny Bowker has bucked the trend. The wife of Australian Ambassador to Egypt Robert Bowker is an expert…
Turkey: A maturing democracy
ISTANBUL: Despite efforts by political rivals to spin the July 22 elections as a confrontation between Islamism and secularism (and the convenient adoption of this rhetoric by some in Europe…
The Kouchner Conversion
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's appointment of Bernard Kouchner as France's foreign minister was a brilliant political stroke. Having beaten his Socialist rival, Ségolène Royal, Sarkozy decided to compound the Socialists'…
Peace, please, for Palestine, Mr President!
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Premier Olmert are reported to be engaged in secret negotiations. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has just agreed in principle to take part…
China's thoroughly cynical creed: the use of slave labor
When a government-run brick plant in Hongdong County of Shanxi Province was revealed to be using slave labor, a famous episode from a Beijing opera flashed through my mind. In…
Turkey's post-election outlook
ISTANBUL: The extent of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) victory in Turkey s parliamentary elections has exceeded everyone s expectations, including those of the party members themselves. According to…
A pressing need for reform
The issue of reform of the PLO is one of the most complex and important issues on the Palestinian political agenda. The organization is considered the sole, legitimate representative of…
Residents take to the streets over water shortages
CAIRO: Protests over shortages of clean drinking water have spread to a number of governorates in recent days.Residents of towns and villages in Giza, Qalyubia, and Beni Sueif have taken…
