As the world warmly embraces South Sudan as the newest member of the global community, Egypt is not expected to give more than lukewarm wave from afar.
For years the Egyptian establishment has seemed bitter that its initiative - centered around (...)
“All our economic losses are a small price to pay for freedom,” said renowned businessman Naguib Sawiris to audience applause at a public event recently.
But beyond the slogans, it is impossible to gloss over the economic challenges in (...)
The blood bank at Kasr Al-Eini hospital, a few hundred meters from downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square, where demonstrations continued into their sixth consecutive day, was overflowing with blood donors. The hospital lobby turned into a makeshift (...)
Though hydropower is traditionally the nation's most prized renewable energy source, Egypt's immense potential in wind and solar power propelled it to number 22 on the latest Renewable Energies Country Attractiveness Index (CAI).
The index, (...)
It might have been the Eid holidays, the inclement Swedish weather, or just political apathy, but not a single official Arab delegation was present at World Water Week in Stockholm earlier this month, an event that is considered the world's most (...)
Many Chinese-produced maps place Europe and Africa on the left side, the Americas on the right, and China at its center. It makes sense--after all, the country's name in Mandarin is ZhōngGuó--the Empire of the Middle.
Looking at a map on which Spain (...)
Our world is home to 39 megacities--cities that are in turn home to more than ten million inhabitants each. Twenty-eight of these are located in developing countries, characterized by young and growing populations, with all the accompanying (...)
Understanding the complexities of Juba's political past and present is nearly as tricky as navigating its streets. In the second installment of his two-part story on Southern Sudan, Mohamed El Dahshan travels the city's roads and modern history, and (...)
Riding through Juba, you may be tempted to think that history began with the 2005 Peace Agreement. But there's far more to this unusual city than an international organization circus--the Sudanese are struggling to build a nation, in the midst of (...)
Books penned by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard are not a common sight in Egypt. Recently, however, Arabic-language translations of the books have begun to appear in Cairo, even bearing the stamp of approval--surprisingly--from (...)
Last month, Egypt finalized the restoration of the Maimonides synagogue in Cairo's "haret el-yahud", its old Jewish Quarter. But the cancellation of the official inaugural ceremony was symptomatic of the uncomfortable, and sometimes tense (...)
Beirut--As the best Arab start-ups and ideas were being feted at an honorary banquet at the ArabNet internet business conference in Beirut earlier this week, Egyptian ICT entrepreneurs went entirely unmentioned--and for good reason: of the ten (...)
“Definitely,” answers Fouad Jeryes, who works with the Arab social media and content sharing platform D1G–whose name reads in Arabic as “Diwanji” (one who goes to a divan or public area). In fact, the needs and demands of the Arab user are (...)
Beirut--If you believed Arab internet-based companies were invisible, the ArabNet Conference that began in Beirut on Thursday may just prove you wrong. The two-day event will feature over 500 participants, including major firms from both inside and (...)
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif had an excellent excuse to miss the Davos forum this year: he just got married. But he wasn't the only Arab figure listed on the program, or who was expected to make an appearance, who chose to miss the event.
Gamal (...)
After being delayed twice, Sudan's parliamentary and presidential elections are slated for April. These elections are to be the first multi-party ballot held in the country in 24 years and although the situation remains tense, they have the (...)
Nearly 1400 participants from 43 countries marching to Palestine via Egypt. With a premise like that, hoping for things to go smoothly is wishful thinking.
The Gaza Freedom March, an event organised by several pro-Palestinian organisations led by (...)
The first sign says it's a National Democratic Party (NDP) office. Another establishes it as a Ministry of Social Solidarity local unit. A third sign claims it belongs to "El Wayli Kindergarten." But really, the building is a synagogue, a Jewish (...)
As the globe marks World Aids Day (WAD) on 1 December, Egyptian activists and HIV/AIDS-related governmental and non-governmental organizations have tried to promote local events and campaigns aimed at raising public awareness about the (...)
There was a time when Turkish products in Egypt were limited to the Paşabahçe glass products sold door-to-door – and the chewing-gum you bought duty-free in Port-Said.
No longer. Today, the tour bus you're riding in Cairo, the shirt you're wearing (...)