The International Criminal Court at Five
Five years ago, in July 2002, the first permanent international criminal court was established as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court entered into force. It was mandated to…
Europe must extract itself from its Middle East mess
On my trip through Europe that has included discussions with a wide range of officials and specialists in Norway, Germany, France and Italy, almost every conversation turns to the question…
The politics of perception
June was not a good month for Muslims. To be fair, May wasn't particularly great, either. In fact, come to think of it, things have been pretty bad since September…
Is Egypt Still 'the Gift of the Nile'?
Egypt's unique relationship with the River Nile was probably best captured by the renowned Greek historian Herodotus who noted, 2500 years ago, that "Egypt is the gift of the Nile…
Attempts to curb smoking receive skeptical response
Associated Press CAIRO: In a country where perhaps the most popular national past-time is puffing on a water pipe or chain smoking while drinking tea, new laws designed to curb…
Human Rights Watch blames Israel, Palestinians for civilian deaths
CAIRO: Human Rights Watch blamed both Palestinian armed groups and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) for endangering civilian lives and accused them of violating human rights laws.A report filed by…
Egypt, North Africa set to meet Millennium Development Goals
CAIRO: Northern Africa looks set to achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the targeted date of 2015, and has progressed faster than any other developing region.That is according to…
Shakespeare, with Egyptian flare
When six theater students were assigned to produce an adaptation of Shakespeare s The Tempest, all hell broke loose. None of them warmed-up to a play they deemed to be…
Would-be 'Union for Freedom Party' to integrate repented militants
CAIRO: A new initiative to form a party that includes repentant Islamist militants reignited the debate on the limitations of the political integration of Egypt s most notorious armed organizations…