Tarek Atia's web log
Find
out how
the world media sees Egypt...
DECEMBER
2003
REACTION:
Australia says Egypt people smuggler conviction
should send global message...
Star power
Hollywood star actress Angelina
Jolie visits Sudanese "refugee camp" in Egypt, news
agencies report. Jolie is accompanied on the tour by Egyptian superstar
Adel Imam, who along with Jolie, is also a goodwill ambassador for the
UN Refugee commissioner
Immigrant tales
Famous surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub talks to the BBC about his childhood
memories of Egypt and his vision of science's humane purpose...
Meanwhile,
another UK-based Egyptian, billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, is still
trying to get an inquiry into Diana and Dodi's death... according to
this article, he's moved
his struggle to Scotland.
A delicate
balance?
Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Tantawi delivers a "cautious"
take on the France hijab issue, according to this BBC report.
The Christian
Science Monitor, meanwhile, looks at Al-Azhar's
increasing difficulty in getting books it sees harmful to Islam
banned....
Miscellaneous
Catholic Pope awards young scholar big monetary award for her thesis
on Egyptian Copts...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Wednesday, December 31, 2003 16:00 CAIRO
Iraq in the
works
Moussa urges Arab
countries to grab a piece of the Iraq reconstruction pie
Meanwhile, after
meeting with Maher, Iraqi says Egypt will train policemen
Helping out...
Egypt offers to restore
Iranian citadel destroyed by earthquake...
and sends in tons
of relief supplies as well.
Dangerous men
Convicted killers engineer jail
break on Sunday
Meanwhile, Egyptian
who organized
fatal asylum seekers trip convicted...
New policy?
Egyptian player caught doping denies
charge... meanwhile league boss says Egypt is developing high-level
system to test international players...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Monday, December 29, 2003 10:00 CAIRO
So sorry
Jihad El-Khazen apologizes very
very profusely to Ahmed Maher in his Uyoon wa Azan column in Al-Hayat
Let's hope...
Egypt pledge US$1.5
bil if World Cup bid succeeds
Sphinx revisited
An in-depth review of the latest Egypt-themed Video
game
UK-related
Briton's verdict delayed
till March
Meanwhile, Blairs
arrive...
A new Mideast
force
An Iranian site says Al-Ahram urges "Egypt
and Iran to learn from European unity"
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Saturday, December 27, 2003 13:00 CAIRO
Khufu Claus?
Funny Reuters picture of a Christmas
camel by the Pyramids...
More Maher
The Christian Science Monitor suspects the real
gist of the trip was to try to slow down Ariel Sharon's unilateral
moves that may -- if implemented -- make any chance of peace
impossible.
This AFP report
includes the many apologies
that have been forthcoming from the Palestinians since the incident.
Maher
himself -- back in Cairo describes the attack as " a passing
matter that doesn't affect the essence of the Egyptian policy. Nothing
will change that."
Even the Muslim
Brotherhood was stunned
by the vicious attack, reports Reuters
A BBC analysis
tried to figure out why Maher wanted to visit Al-Aqsa in the first
place.
19 mummies
Found in a Giza shaft, 12 are in good
condition
Great photos
Longish feature in Lebanon's Daily Star about the exciting
photo exhibition currently going on Cairo Townhouse gallery
What if?
In a Daily Star survey of Egyptian reactions to Saddam's capture, Kamel
Labidi writes that "the deposed Iraqi regime would not have
enjoyed such solidarity had a majority of Arabs been fully aware of what
was really happening in Saddam’s tribal republic of fear."
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Thursday, December 25, 2003 13:00 CAIRO
UPDATED
ABOVE
Attacked
In
a vividly shocking turn of events, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed
Maher was assaulted in a mosque, of all places, by Palestinian
extremists, who struck him with shoes, seemingly in anger over Egypt's
efforts to mediate a return to the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating
table.
In a tense
diplomatic atmosphere Maher was visiting Israel for the first time in
two years. His talks with Israeli leaders were coupled with intense
Egyptian efforts on the Palestinian side as well.
It ended up being a
bad day for Maher, who fell short of breath, and fainted, during the
attack. BBC provides a 7-part
pictorial chronicling the incident. Their written report -- which
includes news that Maher was back in Cairo "smiling and back on
his feet" -- is
here. Reuters provided the most detailed
take on the event, while AP's
was the quickest. An earlier AP story provides more details on Maher's
meeting with Sharon before the incident.
Mob time
There seems to be a complicated solution to the long-standing third
mobile phone operator problem in the works, says this Telecom
Regulatory Authority press release.
Meanwhile,
Vodafone Egypt finally makes it to the stock
exchange.
A different
perspective
Islam Online covers Egyptian mufti Ali Gomaa's reaction
to the Chirac head scarf ban -- The hijab is not a religious
symbol but an obligation, he says.
The title says
it all
"Egypt's Amr is New World
Open Squash Champ"
Still bidding strong
Plans
for new
and refurbished stadiums -- expressly designed for the 2010 World
Cup bid -- are unveiled.
Meanwhile,
Ismaili have apologized
to the African football association for fans' behavior after a recent
match... CAF is looking into it, as well as into the team's charge that
the referee was unfair.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Tuesday, December 23, 2003 04:00 CAIRO
Charming Sharm
British
Prime Minister Tony Blair continues to choose Sharm
El-Sheikh for his winter break. The Guardian breaks the news based
on a conversation with an undersecretary of Egyptian tourism --
although Downing Street would not confirm.
Meanwhile, the BBC
talks to the wife of one of the British Hizb U-Tahrir detainees, who is
not happy about Blair's choice... In this story, the network mistakenly
refers to the same official as the tourism minister.
Egypt wants
Israel to follow Libya's lead...
"I hope that other countries in the region . . . would follow such
an example . . . get rid of and put an end to any nuclear weapons
production program," Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher is quoted as
saying by AP.
"Maher did not specifically name Israel," the agency reports,
"but said: "You
know, of course, who I mean."
Agri-growth
An in-depth AFP story details agricultural
firm Sekem's success...
Meanwhile,
Australia has donated some agricultural
technology to Egypt in a bid to reduce animal cruelty...
Kids' films
A Middle East Online report reveals the plot for two
new children's movies: Ahmad Awad's "Six Monkeys" is about six
working-class kids who help get a man from their neighborhood elected
to parliament, and Adel Yehya's "Spicy Baby" deals with a
similar theme.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Sunday, December 21, 2003 09:00 CAIRO
Massive maneuvers
As Egyptian mediators try to push for peace with Palestinian factions
in Gaza, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher is scheduled
to visit Israel next week.
Wary economics
At major investment conference, the World Bank urges
Egypt to speed up economic reforms. One participant said, "We
need to move faster because the world will not wait for us 25 more
years."
A Daily Star
feature on the same topic goes
into even more detail...
Meanwhile, cement
is doing alright -- especially in Africa
Global conundrum
See how Egypt's
Sleepless Nights fares against all the other films competing for
the Oscar nomination for best foreign film.
Now go in-depth
on the same subject, courtesy of Cairo Live...
Digital
manipulation
Sphinx turns
its head towards Dubai in new Dubai Shopping Festival advert...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Friday, December 19, 2003 01:00 CAIRO
Moderate fashion
Nyier Abdou writes of "the
dawn of the "new hijab"" in The Independent.
Stark warning
Mona El Tahawy talks
tough in a post-Saddam capture op-ed piece in the International
Herald Tribune.
Bad sport
BBC opinion piece harsh
on Egypt, skeptical of World Cup 2010 bid, after Ismaili fan fracas
fiasco
Dangerous dives
Alluring Red Sea "sea
cucumber" causing diving danger for unemployed youth, says
this interesting item in Khaleej Times.
Just got it
AP catches on to the Amma
Nour phenomenon, a month later...
Here's the original...
Twins
update
Reconstructive skull
surgery scheduled for April -- to give the boys time to heal from
the separation operation.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Wednesday, December 17, 2003 05:00 CAIRO
Cairo reacts
Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher is one of the few officials quoted in the
New York Times Arab
reaction piece to the capture of Saddam.
Meanwhile,
Reuters reports that Egypt is among countries able
to bid for Iraq contracts,
And in Cairo,
security is tightened
around the US Embassy.
Trouble brewing
Will the dispute over Kenya's
use of the Nile's source at Lake Victoria rise in pitch, or settle
down?
Sad soccer news
The Sports Illustrated CNN headline says it all: "Egyptian failed dope
test at world youth championship"
A
little more politics...
Despite landmark meeting, full restoration of Egypt-Iran ties still a
ways away
Meanwhile, Maher
reiterates the message that the US is wasting
a chance to pursue better peace between Israel and Syria.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Sunday, December 14, 2003 23:59 CAIRO
Mahfouz at 92
The famous writer and Nobel laureate celebrates
his birthday with a message to Bush: "it's through justice
that one presents oneself as leader of the world, and not with an
invasion."
All types of
peace
Mubarak meets Israeli minister in Geneva to talk about peace process
progress, but Israel still has a lot of work to do before Egypt even
considers sending its ambassador
back to Tel Aviv
Powell meets
Intelligence chief Omar
Suleiman in Washington to discuss the Palestinian track...
Meanwhile,
a major
children's peace camp taking place in Egypt...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Friday, December 12, 2003 17:00 CAIRO
IT and peace
Mubarak was one of the world
leaders who attended the big
IT summit in Geneva
While there, he
also ended up meeting with Israeli
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to talk peace. AFP provides more
details about what the two may be discussing.
Mubarak also met Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami, the first time presidents from the two
countries have met since the Iranian revolution in 1979
Both meetings (with
Israel and Iran) are considered the highest level meetings between
leaders of those respective nations in a long time...
Earlier in the
week, Mubarak also urged the US to pay more attention to Syria's
peace overtures with Israel
Sad state
A last minute goal by Argentina
drove Egypt out of the Youth World Cup. The FIFA web site provides
intricate details...
Meanwhile, Egypt's
national coach laments the tough
division Egypt's adult team faces in the regular World Cup
qualifiers...
"Emphatically
not guilty"
Omar Abdel-Rahman's American
lawyer responds to the latest charges filed against her
Meanwhile,
Egyptian charity head in US to be deported
to Cairo
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Wednesday, December 10, 2003 19:00 CAIRO
Update
The Washington Post reports that "Palestinians accept conditional
truce"
in Cairo ceasefire negotiations
Meanwhile,
it seems not many are satisfied with the "half
way measures" according to MSNBC.
League rest
BBC reports on down and out Ahly being pleased with the recent decision
to suspend Soccer League play until all the big tournaments are
over...
No bang
The brimming controversy over the Bibliotheca
Alexandrina's
display of an Arabic translation of the Protocols of the Elders of
Zion comes to an unceremonious close as the library quickly pulls
the book off display, puts out a statement of apology, and
tries to quietly shelve the whole thing away, according to
AP...
Courting controversy
In an interview with the Washington Post, Aida
Seif El-Dawla, the Egyptian doctor who recently won a human rights
award from Amnesty, discusses
the hypocrisy of Bush's democracy call.
Meanwhile,
dubious news source World Net Daily quotes from an
even more dubious source -- MEMRI -- which translated an interview
given by Egyptian
American Khaled Abul Fadl to October magazine.
Abul Fadl was
appointed by Bush to the US Religious Freedom commission. In this
interview he is highly critical of the Bush administration
policies, and the two sources above are obviously trying to get Abul
Fadl in trouble in the US by trying to show that when he speaks to
an Arabic paper he is critical of Bush.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Monday, December 8, 2003 12:00 CAIRO
UPDATE:
More news about Palestinian
factions meeting in Cairo...
AP says Egypt has
strongly encouraged the factions to take advantage of the situation and
work
out a deal
New
"protocols" controversy in the making?
UNESCO asks Alexandria
Library about display of book that is considered anti-semitic
forgery
Still alive
Egypt loses to Japan in Youth World Cup, but still manages to advance
to next round...
3rd strike
More
Japanese tourists
injured in yet another bus crash...
Misc...
Strange French-inspired waiters'
contest takes place Nile-side...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Saturday, December 6, 2003 20:00 CAIRO
Airport
antics
The headline of this item says it all: "Naked
tourist delays flight from Cairo".
Meanwhile,
an Irish Egyptian surgeon gets into a bit of trouble at Cairo
airport for having an
ancient pistol in his bag
Unanswered questions
Will Cairo talks lead to a Palestinian
ceasefire? CNN seems to think they might.
Meanwhile,
Al-Akhbar's
declaration that Sharon wants to liquidate the Palestinian
peace process is picked up by the majors...
ALSO...
Bush and Mubarak talk peace
on the phone and plan a White House meeting.
Going for
gold
At the Youth World Cup in Dubai, Egypt beats England
1-0 to bring their point total to 4 going into their final
first round match with Japan on Friday.
Meanwhile,
yet another Egyptian
soccer star set to join the European majors -- Ahly under 20
goalkeeper Sherif Ikramy -- son of veteran goalkeeping great Ahmed
Ikramy -- is being scouted by Dutch club Ajax.
Big buy
AFP reports that "Mohamed Al Fayed, the Egyptian-born owner of
London's Harrods department store, is preparing
a bid for the Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sister edition..."
Mines still
kill
One dead, two injured, in latest
tragedy
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Thursday, December 4, 2003 15:00 CAIRO
Home at last
Major stolen antiquities cache returned
to Egypt from Switzerland.
Good opportunity
Egypt's 2010
bid featured prominently at the Youth World Cup in Dubai
"Civilized
way to solve conflicts"
Palestinian factions -- including Hamas -- take part in peace
talks in Cairo
Meanwhile...
Speaking to reporters with the new Maltese president, Mubarak rejects Bush's
democracy call and expresses
support for the Geneva Initiative.
Lots of blue
pills
Saudi man caught trying to smuggle $77,000
worth of Viagra into Egypt
No way
Opposition parties won't
participate in new elections to fill seats left vacant by
draft-dodging deputies....
Big projects
Major new apparel
factory opens in Ismailia
Meanwhile,
Thai funded acrylic
fiber factory to open next year.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Tuesday, December 2, 2003 11:00 CAIRO
CLICK
HERE FOR MORE WEB LOG
ARCHIVE
9 -- NOVEMBER
ARCHIVE
8 -- OCTOBER
ARCHIVE
7 -- SEPTEMBER
ARCHIVE
6 -- AUGUST
ARCHIVE
5
ARCHIVE
4
ARCHIVE
3
ARCHIVE
2
ARCHIVE
1
Do you have a
comment on any of the above or on anything else on cairolive.com?
Make
your voice heard here.
FOR
EGYPT HEADLINES CLICK HERE
Cairolive.com's Egypt headlines section surfs the net for you, searching high and low for the most
useful and interesting stories out there about Egypt. Here you'll find the most discerning links to up-to-date
news and entertainment -- if it's important and
about Egypt on the net, we'll find it for you first every single time.
