Archive: egypt
11th August 2009
Egypt’s real estate tax collectors are due to start an open-ended national strike today. Strikes are commonplace in Egypt but this one is especially significant.
The tax collectors won a major victory in 2007 after a series of protests that
… culminated with a 12-day sit-in in front of the… Read more
10th August 2009
Mohammad Abdul Fatah, a 73-year-old Egyptian Muslim, has been awarded custody of his seven-year-old grandson because the boy’s parents changed their religion.
Following the parents’ conversion to the Baha’i faith, the grandfather sought advice from Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Gulf News says.
"He advised… Read more
25th July 2009
It’s worth noting the arrests this week of three bloggers in Egypt – one of the 10 worst countries to be a blogger, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Those arrested are: Abdel Rahman Ayyash, Al-Ghareeb (The Stranger); Magdi Saad, formerly of Yalla Mesh Mohem (Who Cares); and Ahmad… Read more
23rd July 2009
Writing about the Arab Human Development Report yesterday, Inoted with pleasure that Capmas had not been involved in the research, and promised to explain more about this dreadful Egyptian institution.
Capmas, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, is a hangover from the… Read more
21st July 2009
The amateur Egyptian poet who was sentenced to three years in jail and fined $18,000 for “insulting” President Mubarak in unpublished verses has had his sentence quashed by an appeal court.
That is good news. But why do these ludicrous cases keep cropping up in Egypt and other Arab countries? My… Read more
14th July 2009
It’s a bit like like those pre-nuptial agreements where celebrities sort out the divorce terms with their lawyers in advance of getting married – except that the people involved here are not celebrities but poor Egyptian factory workers.
Reporting on exploitation in the sweat-shops of the Qualified… Read more
9th July 2009
I’ve received an email from Corporal Timothy Reece, a linguist in the British Army. He has been looking at my list of English words derived from Arabic and says I’ve missed one – “the word ‘floozy’ meaning a loose woman, or a lady of the night if you will”.
He explains: “This stems from the British… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
