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Ramy Ashour - the world's greatest racquet-sport player? - (3 days ago)
BBC SportWhen it's put to him that he might be the most talented athlete in the world to hold a racquet, a bashful Ramy Ashour admits "that's pretty great".The 25-year-old Egyptian is more than just the current squash world number one - his elastic, unorthodox brilliance and charisma could be the key to squash breaking out beyond its four walls and regaining a place on the wider sporting
Complete list of Egypt's cabinet members after reshuffle - (16 days ago)
Ministers in Prime Minister Hisham Qandil's cabinet following the recent reshuffle (new appointees are in italics): 1. Minister of Agriculture Ahmed Mahmoud Ali El-Gizawi2. Minister of Antiquities Ahmed Eissa3. Minister of Aviation Wael Maadawi4. Minister of Communication Atef Helmy5. Minister of Culture
History of US bombings, failed attempts - (38 days ago)
AP— April 15, 2013: Two bombs explode in the packed streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 140.— January 17, 2011: A backpack bomb is placed along a Martin Luther King Day parade route in Spokane, Washington, meant to kill and injure participants in a civil rights march, but is found and disabled before it can explode. White
The silent love affair between Tehran and the Arab Left - (40 days ago)
The convenient marriage between Iran and the Arab left would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, given the traditional ideological paradoxes between patriarchal Persian Shiism, on the one hand, and leftist orthodoxy on the other.Indeed, a casual viewer of Hizbullah's Al-Manar television, or the Iranian-funded Al-Mayadin TV, these days would probably think that the two Shia propaganda
Egypt's presidency vs. judiciary, intelligence: A new faceoff - (57 days ago)
"Abdullah's appointment was done via constitutional decree; it was a sovereign act by the head of the executive and therefore cannot be reversed by court ruling," said one leading FJP/Brotherhood figure. His comments echoed earlier assertions by Brotherhood lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud.The return of former prosecutor-general Mahmoud is "not going to happen," according to several government
Many questions, few answers await Obama on Mideast visit - (66 days ago)
President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Obama is not expected to come with any new Palestinian peace initiative and will spend most of his time in Israel, the closest U.S. ally in the Middle East, where he
Analysis: Egypt is in for trouble with or without the IMF - (80 days ago)
Egypt is at risk of a "revolution of the hungry" two years after Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising, as food and energy prices will soar with or without an IMF deal. Failure to get the $4.8 billion loan or some other funding would have dire consequences: if Egypt keeps burning foreign currency at the rate it has done since the 2011 uprising, it will have none left in little
Egypt's army and presidency: A delicate dance - (84 days ago)
Many are retired military officers. From interviews with some of the demonstrators, it appears that the call for the return of the army is primarily inspired by fears of the 'Brotherhoodisation' of the state and alleged attempts by the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the army. While the demonstration may have reflected a level of anger and anxiety among some retired army officers, any
Egypt needs more than an IMF loan - (88 days ago)
Financial TimesAs Egypt teeters on the brink of an economic abyss, both the country’s Muslim Brotherhood rulers and its Western partners are pinning their hopes for a last-minute rescue on a long-delayed $4.8bn loan from the International Monetary Fund.In a frequently repeated best case scenario, the loan would unblock a wider package of pledged external finance, allowing some $14.5bn to
Egypt's post-revolution timeline: Two years of turmoil - (118 days ago)
201111 February – Millions of Egyptians who had been protesting for 18 days in Cairo's Tahrir Square celebrate news of Hosni Mubarak's stepping down, announced by the late Omar Suleiman.25 February – A couple hundred protesters are attacked by the military with sticks, severely injuring some of them. The attack was against a planned sit-in to protest against Prime Minster Ahmed
Deadly train accidents in Egypt: A Timeline (1992 - 2012) - (128 days ago)
November 1999: Train travelling between Cairo and Alexandria hits truck and derails, killing 10 and injuring seven. April 1999: At least 10 people die and almost 50 are injured in northern Egypt after head-on collision between trains. October 1998: Around 50 die and more than 80 are injured in a derailment just south of Alexandria. The train fails to stop at buffers and runs into a busy market
Timeline: Egypt's Mubarak - from presidency to prison - (130 days ago)
Here is a look at former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in February 2011 in a popular uprising: Mubarak was thrust into office in October 1981 when Islamist radicals assassinated President Anwar Sadat at a military parade. September 27, 2005 - Mubarak is sworn in for a fifth consecutive term after winning the first multi-candidate presidential vote on September 7.
Analysis: Egypt's currency crisis hinges on household dollars - (136 days ago)
The key to preventing a messy devaluation of Egypts pound may lie with the countrys households, whose dollar holdings are being eyed by foreign investors as a critical gauge of trust in the authorities. Countless emerging market crises have shown over the decades that it is not the withdrawal of foreign investors from a market but the flight of local households and businesses from a
A year of tumultuous times for all branches of state - (137 days ago)
The year 2012 was supposed to witness Egypt’s transition from the revolutionary state back to the stability of elected bodies and sovereign institutions. However, the transition turned out to be longer and more complicated than expected, and the final outcome of the year was an elected president, a dismantled Parliament and a constitution that a considerable number of political players are
Egypt President could face a summer of discontent: News Analysis - (147 days ago)
President Mohamed Morsi is expected to address the Shura Council Saturday morning. The council will assume legislative powers following the ratification by the president of a controversial constitution passed by referendum with a less than two thirds majority of Egypt’s illegible 51 million voters, according to official results announced Tuesday. Morsi’s speech will be his second
Egyptian prosecutor's resignation angers Brotherhood - (156 days ago)
Egypt's public prosecutor resigned under pressure from his opponents in the judiciary, dealing a blow to President Mohamed Mursi and drawing an angry response on Tuesday from the Islamist leaders supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood. Seeking to keep pressure on Mursi, the main opposition coalition staged protests against an Islamist-backed draft constitution that has divided Egypt but
Egypt faces divisive choice over political future - (160 days ago)
Egyptians decide on Saturday on a constitution promoted by its Islamist backers as the way out of a prolonged political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab worlds biggest nation. Voting begins in a referendum on a divisive draft basic law that has pitted Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Mursi against a liberal, secular and Christian
Egyptian reactions vary to President Morsi's new constitutional decree - (165 days ago)
The decree issued on Saturday night by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi following a round of national dialogue aimed at calming ongoing protests has done little to change the minds of much of the opposition."We have broken the siege of fear; a constitution that aborts our rights and freedoms is a constitution that we will overthrow today, if not tomorrow. Our strength is in our will," said
Mixed reactions to Egypt president's call for constitutional referendum - (173 days ago)
Politicians have given mixed reactions to President Mohamed Morsy’s call for a 15 December referendum on the draft constitution completed by the Constituent Assembly Thursday. The president made the call late Saturday after assembly chairperson Hossam al-Gheriany handed him the document in an official ceremony. Numerous assembly members had resigned from the constitution-drafting body
Egypt's draft constitution translated - (174 days ago)
Al Masry Al YoumEgypt Independent’s translation of the draft constitution will be updated throughout the day. Constitution Preamble We, the people of Egypt, In the name of God and with the assistance of God, declare this to be Egypt’s Constitution and the document of the pioneering, peaceful revolution, which was started by Egypt’s promising youth, protected by the
International reactions differ on UN recognition of Palestine - (174 days ago)
Palestinians celebrated the UN General Assembly's decision on Thursday in Yasser Arafat square in the West Bank city of Ramallah to upgrade them to a non-member observer state, embracing and shooting guns and fireworks into the air.When the tally was announced and the bid for the status upgrade was approved by 138-9, along with 41 abstenations people cheered and shouted "God is greatest". In the
Egyptian constitution-drafting assembly faces fatal threats - (186 days ago)
Months-old internal divisions and ideological disagreements among the 100-member Constituent Assembly – the body tasked with writing Egypt’s new constitution – have reached a crescendo on Sunday as more than 30 non-Islamist members have decided to withdraw from the Assembly’s ranks, accusing representatives of Islamist forces of doing their best to draft a
New pope installed to lead church in Islamist-run Egypt - (186 days ago)
The Coptic Orthodox church staged a ceremony rich in ritual on Sunday to install its pope, Tawadros II, who Christians hope will guide them through the new, Islamist-led Egypt. The 60-year-old pope was picked on November 4 and the ceremony on Sunday filled with incense, elaborate robes and chanting marked his formal ascendance as the 118th leader of the church. Coptic Christians, whose
Cairo's street vendors: The curse and the blessing - (192 days ago)
The growing number of street vendors in Cairo’s bustling streets has caused many people to blame vendors for increasing the city's chronic traffic problems. Many observers note that vendors' presence has significantly increased with the rise of unemployment over the past several years, and especially so in the two years of lax security that followed the 25 January Revolution. The stands
Local reactions vary to Egypt's online pornography ban - (197 days ago)
Reactions varied among Egypt's independent and partisan politicians to Prosecutor-General Abdel Maguid Mahmoud's Wednesday decision to implement an earlier administrative court ruling banning pornographic websites in Egypt. Islamist politicians praised the move. In statements to Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan described the decision as "a
Egypt's last 10 Coptic Popes - (200 days ago)
Born Nazeer Roufail in 1923, the future 118th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox of Alexandria graduated from the Faculty of Arts of Cairo University and worked as a teacher as well a reporter before choosing monastic life. As a bishop, Shenouda III and number of his students were suspended in 1966 by Cyril IV because of his campaign for changes and reforms in the church, such as calling for
Bishop Tawadros 'new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians' - (201 days ago)
Bishop Tawadros has been chosen as the new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians, becoming the leader of the largest Christian minority in the Middle East.His name was selected from a bowl by a blindfolded boy at a ceremony in Cairo's St Mark's Cathedral. Three candidates had been shortlisted.The 60-year-old succeeds Pope Shenouda III, who died in March aged 88.Attacks on Copts are on the increase,
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BBC SportWhen it's put to him that he might be the most talented athlete in the world to hold a racquet, a bashful Ramy Ashour admits "that's pretty great".The 25-year-old Egyptian is more than just the current squash world number one - his elastic, unorthodox brilliance and charisma could be the key to squash breaking out beyond its four walls and regaining a place on the wider sporting
Ministers in Prime Minister Hisham Qandil's cabinet following the recent reshuffle (new appointees are in italics): 1. Minister of Agriculture Ahmed Mahmoud Ali El-Gizawi2. Minister of Antiquities Ahmed Eissa3. Minister of Aviation Wael Maadawi4. Minister of Communication Atef Helmy5. Minister of Culture
AP— April 15, 2013: Two bombs explode in the packed streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 140.— January 17, 2011: A backpack bomb is placed along a Martin Luther King Day parade route in Spokane, Washington, meant to kill and injure participants in a civil rights march, but is found and disabled before it can explode. White
The convenient marriage between Iran and the Arab left would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, given the traditional ideological paradoxes between patriarchal Persian Shiism, on the one hand, and leftist orthodoxy on the other.Indeed, a casual viewer of Hizbullah's Al-Manar television, or the Iranian-funded Al-Mayadin TV, these days would probably think that the two Shia propaganda
