July 2010  Volume # 31  Issue 07

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Home | Inside this issue    The Watch    A Crack in the Blockade by Passant Rabie Angered by the Israeli raid on an aid flotilla, Egypt opens the Rafah border crossing indefinitely    The Watch    A Good Crisis by Osama Diab Public frustration at the hashish shortage in recent months reinforces the urgency of the nation’s battle with drug addiction    The Watch    Homegrown Innovation by Peter Waters Egyptian entrepreneurs shine at MIT Arab Business Plan Competition    The Watch    The Host with the Most by Osama Diab After the Big Zero disaster, what can Egypt do to become a World Cup host?    The Watch Emergency Session by Ali El-Bahnasawy Parliament approves another two-year extension of the Emergency Law as the government promises to limit its application    The Watch    Mommy Dearest by Sarah Mishkin Egypt lauded for pronounced drop in maternal mortality    The Watch    Smoke Signals by Lamia Hassan Efforts to raise awareness about air pollution have had no clear impact    The Watch    Bitter Medicine by Nadine El Sayed Are new regulations mandating more space for new pharmacies the right prescription for an overdosed industry?    The Watch    Downtown Cairo’s Extreme Makeover by Osama Diab Once the capital’s cultural and social center, Khedival Cairo is looking to regain its former glory    The Watch    Islam Offline by Lamia Hassan A dispute between management and employees of Islam Online has left everyone in the dark    The Watch    Healthy Transfer of Power by Passant Rabie A presidential health scare calls into question the need for a vice president    The Watch    Mastering Disaster by Michael Kaput Vital preparation before catastrophe strikes could cost a country far less in the long run    The Watch Pirates Inc. by Ali El-Bahnasawy As pirate attacks become better organized and funded, Egypt still isn’t ready to commit ships    The Watch    Punish the Plunderers by Nadine El Sayed A new law clamps down on the illegal antiquities trade    The Watch Short, Stout and Slow by Passant Rabie Worsening eating habits are taking their toll on the whole family    The Watch Wadi Digital by Michael Ide The internet is thought to be a tool of empowerment for millions, but have women been left out?    The Watch    A Diplomatic Dance by Ali El-Bahnasawy Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz has to stay on his toes as the voice of Egypt and the Non-Aligned Movement in the United Nations    The Watch    Origin of a Translation by Sarah Mishkin An Arabic version of Darwin’s Origin of Species has gotten lost in a debate about the theory of evolution and Egypt’s science curriculum    The Watch    Bitterness of Exile by Ali El-Bahnasawy As his homeland heads toward national elections, sociologist Saad Eddin Ibrahim looks to history for a hint at the future    The Watch    Mind your Mobile Manners by Dina Basiony Will a new code of ethics for polite mobile use make a difference?    The Watch    Stormy Change by Ali El-Bahnasawy US policy toward Egypt shifting to a less confrontational, ‘big picture’ approach to reform    The Watch    The News Bites by Ethar El-Katatney El-Koshary Today, the nation’s first news satire website serves up heavy topics with a light-hearted approach    The Watch    A Legacy in Danger by Nadine El Sayed Two lesser-known Egyptian legacies have been put on the World Monuments Fund watch list    The Watch    Putting the Pieces Back Together by Ali El-Bahnasawy (Reporting from New York) A Lesson in Respect from thePresidency of Bosnia and Hercegovina    The Watch    Train Campaign by Sara Hassan Mobilizing riders in defense of their rail system    The Watch    Under the Veil by Lamia Hassan and Sarah Mishkin A controversial ruling rekindles the debate over the niqab    The Watch    Anatomy of an Academic Year by Passant Rabie As the threat of swine flu delays the school year even further, parents are left wondering if health and education officials have done their homework    The Watch    From Front Runner to Also Ran by Andrew Raven How Farouk Hosni lost his bid to lead UNESCO    The Watch    Too Tough for Football by Passant Rabie Women beat men to the pitch in forming the first-ever national rugby team    The Watch    Black Water by Ali El-Bahnasawy Al-Barada’a residents were happy to see water reach their homes after years of thirst. They never imagined the agony it could bring.    The Watch    Fanning the Flames by Ali El-Bahnasawy Prestigious award thrusts sociologist Sayed El-Kemny into a heated spotlight    The Watch    Trash Talk by Passant Rabie Citizens band together to prevent our waste from going to waste    The Watch    Enforcing Equality by Ali El-Bahnasawy Female candidates prepare for their own elections next year as a new parliamentary law causes a stir    The Watch    Great Expectations by Lindsey Parietti Some praised, others criticized, but everyone listened when Obama addressed the Muslim world from Cairo last month    The Watch    Street Smart by Dina Basiony You see them every day, maybe complain about them and likely buy things from them: They are unregistered street vendors, making an honest living illegally    The Watch    Wheels of Change by Dina Basiony A Ministry of Finance project is trying to upgrade the ride for taxi drivers and their passengers    The Watch    No-Strings Marriage by Ethar El-Katatney No apartment, no dowry, no wife, right? Not so fast. An obscure Al-Azhar decree says misyar marriage is halal.    The Watch    Off the Script by Passant Rabie The Ministry of Health and Population targets counterfeit drugs in pharmacies    The Watch    The Culling Fields by Lamia Hassan Officials want model pig farms, but zabaleen claim swine flu is a scapegoat for killing off the pork industry    The Watch    What’s Love Got to Do with It? by Osama Diab For marriage offices, the search for profit has replaced the search for a perfect union    The Watch    Family Affairs by Passant Rabie Parliament contemplates an overhaul of the 89-year-old Personal Status Law regulating marriage, divorce and child custody issues    The Watch    Time to Move On by Dina Basiony Defying tradition, Mohamed Mahdi Akef decides to retire as the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood    The Watch    Court Fee Conflict by Passant Rabie A law to increase court fees is under review as lawyers anticipate its effect on the accessibility of justice    The Watch    Giving Life After Death by Ethar El-Katatney A decade after it was first proposed, the much-debated Organ Harvesting and Transplant Act is nearing approval    The Watch    Heard on the Street: Strikes by Azza Khattab Taking your grievances to the street seems to be the trend, but not everyone is convinced by the cause’s effect    The Watch    Protecting the Global Child by Lindsey Parietti First Lady Suzanne Mubarak hosts child protection advocates in Cairo    The Watch    The Heat is On by Passant Rabie Government officials and butagas distributors are trying to figure out what triggered a shortage of cooking fuel    The Watch    Voices of the Unheard by Dina Basiony New publications for the visually and physically impaired hope to bring their marginalized audiences closer to the mainstream    The Watch    Murdering Ethics by Dina Basiony When journalists moved too fast for facts, two young murder victims were posthumously libeled. Excuses,explanations, and investigations are now part of the aftermath.    The Watch    Negotiating Gaza by Dina Basiony Egypt’s role brokering peace between Israel and Gaza is a diplomatic nightmare, particularly when people are getting killed by the hundreds.    The Watch    The Queen of Coum-Booha by Ali El-Bahnasawy Egypt’s only female mayor is too busy taking charge and solving crises to worry about what people have to say about her    The Watch    The Safest Home by Ali El-Bahnasawy One of Egypt’s few shelters for abused women is offering them a chance at a better, safer future    The Watch    A Law Unto Themselves by Dina Basiony A hotly disputed new Lawyers Law has members of the Lawyers Syndicate at opposite ends of the bench from their chairman    The Watch    At the People’s Service by Dina Basiony But the people are not convinced that the police are living up to their motto    The Watch    Elevating Higher Education by Norhan Elhakeem Minister of Higher Education Hany Helal discusses the challenges facing higher learning in Egypt – and a nation’s resistance to change    The Watch    Run for the Border by Rebecca Collard One of the world’s oldest migratory routes has turned into a thoroughfare for Africans fleeing to the ‘Promised Land’ — thousands have made it, but dozens have died trying    The Watch    Connecting Cultures by Manal el-Jesri Al Jazeera’s Hafez Mirazi shares his unique perspective on Arab and American media    The Watch    Conventional Wisdom by Passant Rabie and Dina Basiony The governing party’s fall convention passed in a hush, while the opposition attempted to hold a policy convention of their own.    The Watch    Institutional Cruelty by Passant Rabie The recent case of Islam Badr, the 11-year-old beaten to death by his teacher, sheds light on the issue of corporal punishment in Egypt    The Watch    Party on Fire by Dina Basiony A “peaceful protest” the day before Al-Ghad’s presidential election turned into a violent street scene, complete with Molotov cocktails    The Watch    An Equal Stage by James Chester An international NGO is working to give rural women the tools to run for local government, despite the backlash from their communities and their men    The Watch    And the Winner Is... by Ethar El-Katatney CNN host of The Campaign Trail Jonathan Mann weighs in on a most historic US presidential campaign    The Watch    Banking on Baby by May Kaddah Could umbilical cord blood banking be the cure of the century?    The Watch    Begging Your Pardon by Dina Basiony Al-Dostour Editor in Chief Ibrahim Eissa avoids jail time, but remains cynical about the future of a free press    The Watch    Researching the Region by Manal el-Jesri    The Watch    The Thanaweya Amma Revised by Passant Rabie Students and teachers have long been calling for a change to the national high school exams, but will the latest promises of reform produce results?    The Watch    Voices of the Street by Dina Basiony Over the past few years, public protests have shifted focus from venting about foreign events to expressing domestic discontent. Leaders of three protest movements talk about their roles as agitators for change.    The Watch    A Day without Mercy by Ali El Bahnasawy When the building-sized boulders fell on the houses of Duweiqa, the aftermath was terrible. Egypt Today was at the site on September 6 to witness one of Cairo’s darkest moments.    The Watch    Blowing Smoke by Dina Basiony It turns out that the ‘sick’ man on the cigarette packet warnings is alive and smoking. Now the Minister of Health is being sued over the alleged deception.    The Watch    Campus Confusion by Kholoud Khalifa The much-hyped new campus of the American University in Cairo has led to dismay among students and staff and pleas for patience from administrators    The Watch    Pyramids Makeover by Hossam Zaater The last of the Seven Ancient Wonders gets a twenty-first century facelift, but pleasing everyone proves to be a difficult task    The Watch    Show Me the Money by Ethar El-Katatney Doctors and teachers, fed up with dismal pay, are speaking up and taking action    The Watch    Smoke Screen by Manal el-Jesri Economist Nader Fergany has a bone to pick with those who see a rosy fiscal future    The Watch    Speed School by Jehan Soliman A school for desert racers puts the “old-timers” with the newcomersto teach speed, technique and a healthy respect for the sand    The Watch    A Voice from Without by Osama Diab Arab newspapers, magazines, and television relish their freedom in the UK as they push, from a distance, for change in their home countries    The Watch    Live Theater Comes Back to Life by Nadine El Sayed State-sponsored theater is regaining the spotlight with popular and profitable performances    The Watch    Up In Smoke by Dina Basiony The Shura Council fire sparks criticism and conspiracy theories    The Watch    Extraordinary Repatriation by Erin Cunningham Breaking from policies of the past, Egypt has targeted hundreds of Eritrean asylum seekers for deportation    The Watch    Taxing the Brain by Norhan Elhakeem As the government cuts tax concessions for private schools, academics and parents fear the options for quality education are dwindling    The Watch Heard on the Street: the Emergency Law by Nadine el Sayed The 27-year-old law was due to be replaced last month, but has been extended another two years. We asked for your opinions...    The Watch Not Egyptian Enough? by Manal el-Jesri Ibrahim El Batout’s documentary Ein Shams is winning international accolades, but he can’t get permission to screen it at home because it’s not “Egyptian”    The Watch Nowhere Near Naked by Kholoud Khalifa The ban on nude models in one of Cairo’s best established arts schools has students going underground to teach themselves    The Watch    Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Nadine El Sayed Abeer Soliman and her colleagues are going to the top of Africa in their fight to combat breast cancer    The Watch    Facing the Consequences by Hossam Zaater The Ministry of Health’s new mandatory uniform has munaqaba nurses second-guessing their career    The Watch    Forget Iowa. What about the Egypt Vote? by Andy Lei Though overlooked by almost all of the major presidential candidates, American expatriates are mobilizing to have their voices heard in November    The Watch    Putting the Magic Bullet in Broadcasters by Megan Detrie The Arab League’s new Satellite Broadcasting Charter is meant to protect decency on the airwaves, but critics fear it will serve as a muzzle for free speech    The Watch The Freelance Campaigner by Jeff Neumann As the 2008 US Presidential elections get closer, Dr. James Zogby is on a mission to highlight the ‘Obama Phenomenon’    The Watch    The Man Behind the Prize by Manal el-Jesri Mo Ibrahim thinks the ‘largest prize in the world’ is justa pittance compared to what good governance can do for Africa    The Watch    Waiting for ‘Aish by Ethar El-Katatney In the face of rising food prices, people turned to subsidized bread, only to find it wasn’t there. The government has promised swift reforms, but will they be enough?    The Watch    Breaking into the Boys’ Club by Asma Alsharif Despite headlines, the appointment of the first female maazun is not final    The Watch    Digging for Roots by Nadine El Sayed The Heritage Conservation Think Tank wants to build a better future based on respect for the past    The Watch    Holy Defiance by Ali El Bahnasawy A controversial court order requires the Coptic Church to issue marriage permits to divorced applicants, but it’s unlikely they’ll make it to the altar    The Watch    Lost Rights in Translation by Asma Alsharif Local publishers are on the defensive in the wake of the “Fisk forgery”    The Watch    An American Sophomore in Cairo by Alex Dziadosz The September 11, 2001 terror attacks and the war in Iraq have given rise to an unprecedented number of American students in Cairo. But is a term studying abroad enough to bridge the cultural divide?    The Watch    No Entry by Andrew Schurgott Visa regimes across the world put heavy scrutiny upon would-be travelers from Egypt. Yet as borders elsewhere become more permeable and globalization seems to define progress, the justification of a tightening grasp is less and less clear.    The Watch    Stories from Gaza by Ali El-Bahnasawy The breach in the border wall opened a window onto the daily life of Gazans    The Watch    The Taxman’s Day by Manal el-Jesri Veteran agitator Kamal Abu Eita led his colleagues at the Real Estate Tax Office into a sit in — and won wage hikes and bonuses for thousands of workers    The Watch Life is Not a Luxury by Ali El Bahnasawy Shubra’s El-Sahel Hospital becomes the first Health Ministry hospital to make liver transplants accessible to low-income patients.    The Watch    Out of the Closet and Onto the Screen by Ethar El-Katatney A controversial film breaks open the taboo topic of homosexuality and Islam    The Watch Who Wants to Be the President by Charles Berret Can electing the president of the United States be any more complicated?    The Watch    Minority Report by Nadine El Sayed Amid rising tensions over sectarian strife, demands for better political representation and speculations over the Pope’s successor, Egypt’s Coptic community has many issues to address this new year    The Watch    Stolen Identity by Charles Berret Unable to obtain accurate national IDs, Bahá’ís and converts from Islam must choose between their faith and their rights    The Watch War of Words by Alex Dziadosz Two years and 22 million books later, the USAID-funded National Book Program has done much to bolster Egyptian school libraries. But not everyone is pleased.    The Watch An Island Home by Manal el-Jesri As the bulldozers arrive, the community of Geziret El-Qorsaya digs in for a fight    The Watch Bon Voyage by Nadine El Sayed Cairo’s ferries: A dying way of life or an essential means of inner-city transport?    The Watch Conversations With the Deaf by Mona Abouissa Despite a recent UNICEF study revealing Egypt to have one of the highest disability rates worldwide, insufficient government and private efforts fail to accommodate the nation’s estimated 100,000 hearing-impaired citizens    The Watch Dying to Live by Hossam Zaater Nearly two dozen more illegal Egyptian migrants are believed to have drowned in late October on the treacherous route to Italy    The Watch For the Children by Marwa Helal Throwing out the speeches, formal dinners and rounds of applause at every year’s Universal Children’s Day, one outfit working with orphans puts on a fun outdoor event that anyone can replicate, any time of the year    The Watch    Floating in Discontent by Ethar El-Katatney Young Sudanese refugees are turning towards gang membership as a form of support network — with depressing results    The Watch    A Chance at Life by Yasmeen El Mallah The Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt has finally opened its doors, but activists and families of cancer patients alike continue working hard to ensure the facility meets the needs of some of the nation’s most vulnerable kids    The Watch    A Decade of Decadence by Riham El-Houshi Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the Egyptian Chefs Association looks forward to more success in community development    The Watch    Given the Chance by Manal El-Jesri Former jihadis are renouncing violence and being released from prison, but lower-ranking members of once-violent Islamist groups are finding it hard to adapt to life on the outside    The Watch    Leaving Footprints and Taking Memories by Andrew Stelzer In an annual White Desert expedition, participants take out much more than they bring in    The Watch Lines of Inspiration by Mohamed Khan The British Film Institute’s World Cinema: Diary of a Day is a wonderful anthology of filmmaking, from the everyday nuisances to the lightning flashes of inspiration    The Watch    A Lesson in Futility by Ethar El-Katatney A new law raises teachers’ salaries, but critics say it won’t even make a dent in a badly damaged public education system    The Watch    Baby Steps by Cache Seel Egypt gets a glowing report on its efforts to reduce infant mortality    The Watch    Looking Good Was Never This Easy by Nadine El Sayed Cairo’s fashionistas will do anything to get their hands on prime-grade couture, from flying across the world to low-level bourgeois smuggling. Has the opening of the Egyptian clothing market cooled the madness?    The Watch    No Questions Asked by Marwa Helal Thousands of medications that should require a doctor’s written prescription are simply sold over the counter — and the Ministry of Health wants it to stop    The Watch    Stolen Scripts by Sherif Awad “Borrowed” plotlines are nothing new in Egyptian cinema, and the US crack-down on intellectual property rights is not the only crisis the industry faces    The Watch    Nothing Lost in Translation by Noha Mohammed As the AUC Press approaches its fiftieth anniversary, the Arab world’s top foreign-language publishing house places a new emphasis on non-fiction    The Watch    Promoting Peace or Propaganda? by Marwa Helal A blunt-but-mysterious anti-terror ad campaign leaves viewers and analysts alike wondering who’s behind the curtains    The Watch    The Fall of Babel by Manal el-Jesri The death of brilliant billionaire businessman and spy Ashraf Marwan in London — in yet another fall from a balcony — set off waves of intrigue and speculation    The Watch    The Lost Queen by Cache Seel The search for Hatshepsut unearths more questions than answers, but makes for great TV    The Watch A Challenging Development by May Kaddah As the Friends of Environment and Development Association wraps up two sustainable development projects and sets to work on a third in Gamaleya, critics remain unconvinced of the modern take on a historical setting    The Watch Beautiful Minds by et staff Rotaract reaches out to Alexandrian families with mentally disabled children    The Watch In the Businessof Entertainment by Sherif Awad The chief of film production at Rotana Group on how to market Arab films abroad    The Watch    Memoirs of an ex-Jihadi by Farzina Alam Britain’s Ed Husain spent his youth practicing what he now considers a dangerous ideology — one that contaminates minds and leads to terrible consequences. What has he learned from his foray into extremism?    The Watch    Not in Our House by Manal el-Jesri Al-Qaeda’s failure to establish a firm footing here reflects a long history of Egypt being an exporter, not importer, of Islamist thinking    The Watch    Another Side of Abu Trika by Yasmeen El Mallah Al-Ahly’s star player is a unique kind of footballer — modest, faithful and humble. But make no mistake: He’s absolutely committed to winning.    The Watch    East Side Story by Sherif Awad Hesham Issawi, the critically acclaimed director of T for Terrorist, on his latest project, AmericanEast    The Watch    Jihad, Reconsidered by Manal el-Jesri The founder of Islamic Jihad has concluded that violence in the name of God is unacceptable. Could a new movement of nonviolent Islamism emerge from a prison cell southwest of Cairo?    The Watch    Counting Egyptians by Nadine El Sayed New census numbers give a snapshot of today’s Egypt. Among the revelations: Adults are an endangered species, with nearly one third of all Egyptians under the age of 15.    The Watch    Finding Fashion Fame by Nicolè A. Staab After a semifinals finish in the Lebanese reality TV competition Project Fashion, Egypt’s Sawsan Nabil looks to the future with her new clothing line, Sedra    The Watch    G’day in Egypt by Tom Gara There is more to the Australia-Egypt relationship than meets the eye    The Watch    Ladies of the Law by Yasmeen El Mallah The appointment of 31 female judges has been hailed by many as a much-needed step forward for Egypt’s legal system. But to some critics, it’s an affront to Islam.    The Watch    Leading a Digital Revolution by Dan Reese Ramy Habeeb has high hopes that his “Library of Alexandria that cannot be burned down” will survive the peculiarities of the regional publishing industry    The Watch    The Armenian Appeal by Nadine El Sayed Building on centuries of solid bilateral ties,Armenian President Robert Kocharian visitsEgypt to ink new economic, political, educationaland cultural cooperation protocols    The Watch    What’s Left? by Manal el-Jesri With the secular elite declaring socialism a dead letter, why does Tamer Wagih, editor-at-large at the Socialist Studies Center’s revamped Awraq Ishtirakiyya, think the time is ripe for relaunch?    The Watch    A New Deal? by Yasmeen El Mallah The NDP loves the new constitution. The opposition is still crying foul. And the nation is still left wondering: What do the 34 articles really say? Read on.    The Watch    Ghosts of ‘67 by Yasmeen El Mallah The public is outraged at reports a documentary broadcast evidence Israeli troops may have massacred Egyptian soldiers in the 1967 War    The Watch    Journalism 101 by Manal el-Jesri Veteran Egyptian journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal inaugurates his new foundation for Arab journalism with a hugely successful workshop run by star writer Seymour Hersh    The Watch    Smile and Say ‘Facebook’ by Nadine El Sayed The hottest new social network in Egypt is bringing people together, for better or worse    The Watch    A Fork in the Road by Shane McNeil The nation’s roads have long been known for danger and chaos, but a group of local organizations are working to change that. Help is on the way from the Ministry of Interior: Are you ready to be ticketed on the spot?    The Watch    A New Deal? by Yasmeen El Mallah The NDP loves the new constitution. The opposition is still crying foul. And the nation is still left wondering: What do the 34 articles really say? Read on.    The Watch    Enough? by Yasmeen El Mallah Although Kifaya members say their recent leadership change was planned and did not signal a split, some wonder whether Abdelwahab Elmessiri is up to the challenge    The Watch    Goodnight Girls by Manal el-Jesri Everyone loves a good scandal, and this month we kick off our new media column with a look at the juiciest one taking the nation by storm: the case of Hala Sarhan’s “prostitute” interviews    The Watch    He’s the Boss by Hoda Nassef One of Egypt’s best-known journalists shares his thoughts on the Egyptian media, from growth and corruption to privatization and dreams for a new Egypt    The Watch    Without a Trace by Manal el-Jesri A report that Iran may have been involved in the 2005 kidnapping and murder of Egypt’s top diplomat in Iraq has raised fresh questions about his disappearance. It has also given new energy to his daughter’s quest to keep her father’s memory alive    The Watch Censoring a Satellite? by Jessica Olien Whether you call it a hate machine or the ultimate video blog, Al-Zawraa is under fire for airing potent images of attacks on American troops in Iraq    The Watch Free For All by Manal el-Jesri With the release of Saddam Hussein’s videotaped execution on local and Arab blogs, more and more Egyptians are turning to what’s become known as “user-generated content” for breaking news    The Watch Murderer or Martyr? by Yasmeen El Mallah The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on the first day of El-Eid shocked the nation    The Watch New Year’s Resolutions by Yasmeen El Mallah The constitution is going to change —that much is clear. Now that President Hosni Mubarak has asked Parliament to amend 34 articles and legislators have voted to accept the task, the devil is in the details: No one yet knows how the amendments will read. Are you ready for a Spring referendum?    The Watch Paying in Blood by Manal el-Jesri Blood donations are down by as much as 90 percent in some areas in the wake of a scandal over tainted and defective blood bags    The Watch Romancing the Stone by Zeinab Abul-Gheit Diamonds are, as always, an Egyptian girl’s best friend    The Watch    A Christmas Contagion by Nicolè A. Staab With Santa Claus hats bejeweled with blinking lights and tinsel sparkling in shop windows, the commercial side of Western Christmas is finds its way to Cairo    The Watch    All Hail the Veil? by Yasmeen El Mallah The way Farouk Hosni was attacked for his comments on the veil, you would think Cairenes were uniformly in favor of the hijab. We hit the capital’s streets for an informal survey of liberals and conservatives alike.    The Watch    Begging to Differ by Hadia Mostafa Weeks of public fury over Farouk Hosni for his explosive anti-veil comments have shown that the nation clearly takes a “with us or against us” stance when it comes to matters of religion. Are we fast losing sight of a commitment to freedom of expression that is deeply rooted within the teachings of Islam and the Shariah?    The Watch    How News Gets Out by Cache Seel In a country where deciding to become a reporter could well cost you your life, news service Voices of Iraq is intent on training Iraqi journalists to take control of their own media    The Watch    Killing Kids by Manal el-Jesri Investigators are still deciphering the bizarre web of lies spun by a gang accused of raping and murdering at least 14 street children    The Watch    No Pain, No Gain? by Marten Youssef Some call it corporal punishment, others bluntly charge that it’s child abuse. Either way, a growing number of activists want the Nazif government to get tough on the abuse of minors in what Cabinet has already promised will be the Year of Social Concerns.    The Watch    Under the Spotlight by Nicolè A. Staab George Clooney leads a celebrity delegation to Cairo to raise awareness of Darfur’s humanitarian crisis    The Watch    A Cure for Profit-Seekers by Cache Seel The Institute for OneWorld Health takes on diseases of the developing world    The Watch    Charity Starts at Home by Shane McNeil Despite early controversy about its operations, the Egyptian Food Bankis determined to prove it has struck on a new way of fighting hunger    The Watch    Constituting Change by Rania Al Malky President Hosni Mubarak has asked Parliament to debate a series of constitutional amendments, but are we ready for a comprehensive discussionof reforms? PLUS: A look at the PA’s winter legislative agenda.    The Watch    Countdown to 011 by Rania Al Malky Does Etisalat have what it takes to distinguish itself from the competition?    The Watch    Crisis Management by Fayza Hassan Fifty years after the global crisis that followed Gamal Abdel Nasser’s shocking announcement that he would nationalize the Suez Canal, we take a two-part look at Nasser’s bold initiative and how it helped shape the nation’s history. This month: The international politics. Next month: The Egyptian home front.    The Watch    Fighting a Dread Disease by Shane McNeil With World AIDS Day on December 1, the state and NGOs are teaming up to put HIV/AIDS on the national agenda    The Watch    Go Digital by Dan Reese A joint project led by Yale University aims to create a massive collection of Middle Eastern scholarly journals    The Watch    Live from Doha by Jessica Olien After nearly 18 months of delays, Al Jazeera English has finally gone live and now claims to be the “voice of the unheard”    The Watch    More Space to Grow by Cache Seel “What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that man set foot on the moon, but that he set eye on the earth.” —Norman Cousins    The Watch    Your Civic Duty? by Peter Sachs As many bemoan the continued deterioration of the nation’s akhlaq, one man is out to teach us what civics is all about    The Watch    Egypt Takes Manhattan by Jessica Olien Egypt’s Arthur Murray studio takes top honors at a global dance competition in Manhattan    The Watch    Patience of a Saint by Manal el-Jesri The head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has a message for Muslims outraged by “provocations” from the West: Set your own house in order first    The Watch    Power to the People by Noha El-Hennawy Within four decades, Egypt will run out of natural gas, and current oil reserves are good for only 15 or so years. While oil majors are exploring renewable sources of energy, the NDP recently dropped a bombshell: Egypt is restarting its nuclear energy program.    The Watch    Ramshackle Railroad by Rania Al Malky Four years after an Aswan-bound train accident killed 373 passengers, has anything been done to upgrade Egypt’s troubled rail network?    The Watch    Top Nuke Group to Meet in Cairo by Shane McNeil Pugwash, the global arms control and disarmament conference, will meet in nation’s capital, putting Egypt’s reborn nuclear power program squarely in the international spolight    The Watch    Coasting Toward Success by Hanaa Ahmed New Alexandria Governor Adel Labib has big shoes to fill after Abdel Salam El-Mahgoub, who turned a second-rate metropolis into a jewel on the Mediterranean, was appointed to Cabinet. In an exclusive interview with et, Labib looks at what’s next for the nation’s Second City.    The Watch    Doin’ Time? by Manal el-Jesri One of the most-sued scribes in Egypt has set a new record by becoming the first journalist to be charged with a felony “publishing offense”    The Watch    Making a Racket by Dina Fouad World champion squash player Amr Chabana speaks exclusively with Egypt Today after his devastating home-turf defeat    The Watch    Which Ummah? by Andrew Bossone From the ‘Nation of Islam’ to the Ummah:A look at Islam and race in America    The Watch    Closing Ranks by Hanaa Ahmed Independents associated with the Muslim Brotherhood proved more effective than many expected in their first term as a major opposition force in Parliament, but it will take more than self-discipline for them to make their marks    The Watch    Crude Awakening by Noha El-Hennawy Low-income earners could soon feel the pinch of a 30-percent hike in the price of gasoline and diesel in what is just the latest front in the Great Battle of the Budget Deficit    The Watch    Stone Man Walking by Cache Seel SCA chief Dr. Zahi Hawass on the final journey of Ramses II    The Watch    The Long Journey Home by Noha El-Hennawy After a month of shelling and violent clashes, a fragile ceasefire has put an end to Israel’s attack on Lebanon. Is it safe for the countless Lebanese citizens sheltering in Egypt and elsewhere to goback home?    The Watch    Cooking Up a Storm by Amira Salah-Ahmed You know your mom makes the best molokheyya on the block and that her mahshi trumps the offerings of the best five-star restaurants in town. So where is the Egyptian food in Egypt? Where are the Egyptian celebrity chefs?    The Watch    Foreigners Invade by Amira Salah-Ahmed What do belly dancers and tourist guides have in common? Both have taken on foreign faces in what many believe should be Egyptian-dominated professions.    The Watch    Pressing Charges by Noha El-Hennawy It’s one step forward and two steps back as the People’s Assembly passes amendments eliminating jail sentences for many — but not all — “publishing offenses”    The Watch    Rebel With a Cause by Noha El-Hennawy Underlying tensions within the Egyptian Coptic Church threaten to tear the centuries-old institution asunder as rebel bishop Max Michel breaks away and attempts to form the first official Coptic alternative to the church    The Watch    Reigning Supreme by Noha El-Hennawy Prosecutor-General Maher Abdel Wahed’s presidential appointment to the head of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court raises brows in both political and judicial circles    The Watch    Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Manal el-Jesri El-Banat Dol follows six young women living on the cruel streets of Cairo    The Watch    Queen Bees by Hadia Mostafa The Global Summit for Women comes to Cairo to help Arab businesswomen improve their economic status and strike a balance between home and work    The Watch    Site-ing the Source by Cache Seel The Supreme Council of Antiquities launches a new project to map and describe all of Egypt’s historical sites    The Watch    A Call or a Cause? by Azza Khattab Despite continuing debate, the Ministry of Awqaf is moving forward with plans to synchronize the azzan    The Watch    High-Water Mark by Cache Seel Rising groundwater, laden with salt and chemical fertilizers,is eroding the monuments in the Nile Valley at an unprecedented rate    The Watch    On Islam and Intellect by Manal el-Jesri Is it high time Al-Azhar updated some century-old fatwas to suit the world we live in today?    The Watch    One Month Later by Cache Seel On the scene the day after the Sham El-Nessim blasts, staff writer Cache Seel returns for a look at Dahab one month later    The Watch    Remembering Sid-Ahmed by Manal el-Jesri Al-Qahira serializes the pseudo-memoirs of the late Mohamed Sid-Ahmed: communist, columnist and Egyptian patriot    The Watch    Welcome Back In Egypt by Amira Salah-Ahmed The Ministry of Tourism kicks off a public awareness campaign    The Watch    Building Bridges by Amira Salah-Ahmed The Center for Arab-West Understanding hopes to improve the quality of cross-cultural reporting    The Watch    In for a Pound by Cache Seel Entering its fourth decade in Egypt, USAID is focusing on micro-finance to help more of the nation’s working poor make better lives    The Watch    Scheherazade Tells All by Manal el-Jesri Ahdaf Soueif, the world’s top-selling Egyptian writer working in English, on literature, politics and how the politics of literature has seen her likened to Joseph Goebbels    The Watch    The Interfaith Blame Game by Cache Seel A second act of violence in six months toward the Coptic community sparked protests on the ground and intense debate about protection for minorities and interfaith dialogue    The Watch    Tough on Terror by Noha El-Hennawy The proposed anti-terror bill is at least 18 months from passing in the People’s Assembly, but debate over what it should include has already begun. For a hint of what the discussion might look like, Egypt Today spoke with a retired senior State Security officer, a leading human rights activist and a member of the Parliamentary Committee studying counter-terror acts around the world.    The Watch    A New Direction? by Fayza Hassan A founding staff member looks back on Al-Ahram Weekly as the nation’s only English-language weekly marks its 15th anniversary    The Watch    Day of Justice and Freedom? by Manal el-Jesri The government neatly defused a series of fiery libel cases last month, but journalists are adamant that the People’s Assembly act on a two-year-old presidential order to decriminalize libel    The Watch    Finding Abu Salama by Cache Seel A Red Sea NGO is protecting a unique population of dolphins off Samadai Reef    The Watch    Have Passport, Will Travel by Amira Salah-Ahmed The Interior Ministry is gearing up to introduce new machine-readable, biometric-enabled passports    The Watch    Reforming the Airwaves Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqqi unveils plans to reform and partially privatize state-owned broadcast media within three years    The Watch    Voices of the Past by Cache Seel Veterans from Voice of America’s Arabic Radio Service are fighting to preserve and digitize interviews dating back to the 1960s    The Watch    A Foul Business by Azza Khattab The deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu has arrived in Egypt, and for once the government has quickly swung into action to contain a crisis that threatens the livelihoods of some 2 million Egyptians    The Watch    All Politics is Local by Noha El-Hennawy Opposition groups criticized the governing NDP’s decision to postpone municipal elections originally slated for this spring, but Mohamed Kamal, a leading party reformer and the architect of President Hosni Mubarak’s election campaign, says sweeping changes at the NDP last month will hasten the pace of reform    The Watch    Football Fever by Karim Ezzeldin Egypt wins the Africa Cup of Nations, and the country will never be the same again    The Watch    Girls, Uninterrupted by Noha El-Hennawy Rajaa Al-Sanea’s daring new novel lifts the veil off Saudi society, exposing another side of the Muslim world’s most conservative society    The Watch    Kings or Cooks? by David Lee Wilson The Valley of the Kings yields an unexpected treasure as Supreme Council of Antiquities Secretary General Zahi Hawass prepares to reveal yet another surprise, this time beneath the sands of Saqqara    The Watch    Raider of the Lost Tomb by David Lee Wilson Otto Schaden uncovers a deeply buried treasure in the Valley of the Kings    The Watch    Something in the State of Denmark by Manal el-Jesri Herbert Spencer once said, “No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; and no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy.” Can the controversy over the Danish cartoons disparaging Islam then be seen as a first step toward freedom?    The Watch    The AUC of Tomorrow by Viviana Mazza With its $300 million campus nearly readied for use AUC prepares itself for the move to New Cairo    The Watch    Third Time Unlucky by Amira Salah-Ahmed More than a month after a ferry carrying hundreds of passengers sank in the Red Sea while crossing from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, government officials continue to investigate the cause of the accident, leaving bereaved families waiting for their loved ones and an entire nation waiting for answers    The Watch    A Far Cry From Cairo by Carole To A relocated Egyptian chef finds himself lost in the Beijing crowds    The Watch    Alex Bends an Elbow by Cache Seel An Alexandrian landmark has survived war, revolution and time to be the last stand-alone bar in Egypt    The Watch    Business as usual by Noha El-Hennawy The appointment of a number of prominent business figures to the new Nazif Cabinet sets the wheels of economic reform in motion, but what does the shuffle mean for tattered opposition parties already reeling from their lousy showing in last fall’s parliamentary elections?    The Watch    Out of the Red by Cache Seel As Chinese tourists flock to Egypt, the Egyptian government is taking steps to make sure the economic powerhouse and soon-to-be political heavyweight becomes one of our best friends    The Watch    Publish and Perish? by Noha El-Hennawy A row over who can publish Naguib Mahfouz’s banned Children of the Alley in Egypt and under what circumstances has reignited debate over Al-Azhar’s role in the publishing industry    The Watch    Taste Test by Cache Seel New brewer and winemaker EIBCO is looking to give Al-Ahram Beverages a run for its money. Our resident alcohol expert sat down to give them a try.    The Watch    The business of politics by Noha El-Hennawy    The Watch    The spirit within by Sanna Negus    The Watch    The Uninvited by Viviana Mazza Caught in a mire of policy procedures between the Egyptian government and the UNHCR, thousands of relocated Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers find themselves back out in the cold    The Watch    The Unusual Suspects by Sanna Negus The arrest of an untreated schizophrenic in the gruesome serial killingof 10 Minya residents sheds new light the nation’s mental health system. Does a new rehab center at Abassiyya Psychiatric Hospital hold answers?    The Watch    Around the Bloc by Noha El-Hennawy The banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood is now the biggest (if unofficial) opposition group in Parliament. Is it enough to turn the Brothers into democrats? Supreme Guide Mohammed Mahdi Akef talks about the group’s future.    The Watch    Hope Floats by Kristina Roic IPO fever gripped the nation last month as the government sold a 20 percent stake in Telecom Egypt. While institutional investors got what they expected, first-time buyers were taken to school in the ways of the market —and treated to a lecture about what’s haram and what’s halal.    The Watch    Pressing On by Manal el-Jesri Just over a year and a half after its zero issue, Al-Masry Al-Yom celebrates success as one of the most newsworthy dailies in the nation today    The Watch    A bug’s life    The Watch    Dry As The ... by Cache Seel A joint American, Egyptian and French team tests Mars-bound water-finding equipment in the Western Desert    The Watch    Enemy Camps? by Viviana Mazza Amid fears a six-week-old Sudanese refugee sit-in might erupt in violence like the recent outbreak in France, the UNHCR’s Cairo offices closes its doors despite high-profile intervention from the Interior Ministry and Adel Imam    The Watch    Ghosts of the Sinai by Cache Seel A quiet memorial recently re-opened in Sinai commemorates Egypt’s forgotten refugees: The 825 Croatians who died at El-Shattdisplaced persons’ camp in the final months of the Second World War.    The Watch    Heavy Action by Anne Fouéré Just 25 years after the sport arrived in Egypt, the national team racks up an unexpected success at the Junior Sumo World Wrestling Championships    The Watch    Invasion of the Weevils by Kristina Roic The Red Palm weevil has been unstoppable during its 13-year killing spree, but a new project teaming agricultural scientists with government officials could stall its march using new, environmentally friendly biocontrol pesticide methods    The Watch    Look Who’sComing to Dinner by Noha El-Hennawy The banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhoodposts a strong showing in the first two rounds of this year’s parliamentary election as traditional opposition parties melt down    The Watch    Middle Ground by Ahmed Namatalla A moderate Islamist party could win recognition in the courts this month. Is the nation ready for a religious party after the Muslim Brotherhood’s strong showing in the early stages of this fall’s parliamentary elections?    The Watch    New Visions by Viviana Mazza From translation software to printers that produce three-dimensional images, blind students are finding ways to access university facilities    The Watch    The House of the Spirits by Keith Miller The crumbling walls of the Ambron Villa, where famed novelist LawrenceDurrell penned his celebrated The Alexandria Quartet, are teeming with spirits, but does anyone care enough to restore the villa to its former glory?    The Watch    Walled Off by Ahmed Namatalla Is building a fence around the city of Sharm El Sheikh the answer to the respective problems of terrorism and camels?    The Watch    Beautiful Minds by Jeremy Fugleberg The Public School Scholarship Fund offers bright public schoolstudents an opportunity to enroll in the American University in Cairo    The Watch    Chickening Out? by Manal el-Jesri With the bird migration season in full swing, Egypt wakes up to the possibility of an avian flu pandemic if stringent measures are not followed by bird farmers and hunters alike. We speak with the nation’s leading flu expert to get the inside story on how worried Egypt should really be.    The Watch    Coptic Airwaves? by Viviana Mazza A Coptic satellite broadcaster is looking for funding.    The Watch    Scared Stiff by Noha Mohammed A government official tips off the local press to a threat to Cairo’s Petrified Forest Protectorate    The Watch    Strings Attached? by Ahmed Namatalla Despite local resistance to foreign intervention in domestic politics,several US-based NGOs have proved bold enough to launch extensive pro-democracy programs in Egypt — with a little bit of help from USAID    The Watch    The Home Front by Noha El-Hennawy Spurred by a conservative Coptic activist, the diaspora is set to take its concerns to the US Congress this month, but many Copts at home resent the decision to hold the upcoming conference, particularly after last month’s violence in Alex    The Watch    No More Shark-Fin Soup by Hadia Mostafa One environmental NGO’s crusade to save the Red Sea pays off in a new law prohibiting shark fishing    The Watch    Out, Out Brief Candle by Manal el-Jesri A tragic fire at a Beni Sueif Theater venue snuffs out the life of dozens of the nation’s cultural elite and thrusts not only the Ministry of Culture but also the Ministry of Health into the spotlight    The Watch    Turning a New Leaf by Noha El-Hennawy President Hosni Mubarak is sworn in as the nation’s first elected president after last month’s landmark multiparty elections.    The Watch    An Early Start by Manal el-Jesri Egyptian parents, worried about their children’shealth, have started to enroll them in specially tailoredfitness programs. Is five too young to start working out at the gym?    The Watch    Death on the Coast by Rania Al Malky The tragic death of a 35-year-old mother of two raises questions about the safety of events organized on the North Coast    The Watch    From ‘Citizens’ to ‘Voters’ by Rania Al Malky Promises and slogans washed over the Egyptian public last month aspresidential candidates, in the throes of the first free multi-candidate elections for the nation’s top office, competed for votes. A look at how it all unfolded.    The Watch    The Color of Money by Rania Al Malky A European gaming company teams up with Egypt Post tolay the groundwork for a controversial joint venture — sports bettingand a national lottery. Is it the fifth and final stage in Egypt Post’s overhaul?    The Watch    With You in Spirit by Noha El-Hennawy Public endorsements of candidates by both Coptic, Catholic and Muslim clergy and the suspension of a controversial priest stoked the debate last month about the power religious institutions wield in this month’s presidential elections — and raised new questions about the separation of religion and the state    The Watch    Election Date Set by Noha El-Hennawy The nation goes to the polls on September 7 in the first-ever multiparty presidential contest    The Watch    Like a Fish to Water by Egypt Today Staff 12-year-old Amira Ahmed Egypt’s next Olymic hopeful    The Watch    Never Surrender by Manal el-Jesri The man on the street reacts to the July 23 Sharm El-Sheikh bombings    The Watch    Sharm Attacked by Noha El-Hennawy Sharm El-Sheikh has become the latest victim of global terrorism. As residents pick up the pieces, security officials vow to bring the perpetrators to justice.    The Watch    Waiting for Badr by Manal el-Jesri In the latest installment of his memoirs, former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali gives a poignantly human insight into the harsh inner workings of political life    The Watch    Betting on the Masses by Rania Al Malky As the move to legalize betting on football gains momentum, critics are wondering: Is it a tax on the poor by manipulating their love of the game?    The Watch    Unheard on the Streets by Noha El-Hennawy The NDP claims they’ve been chosen by the masses and have their full support behind them. So does the opposition. But who’s to say what the man on the street really wants? Let’s go to the polls to find out.    The Watch    Urban Legends by Rania Al Malky Controversy over the future of the Café Riche building downtown puts the National Organization for Urban Harmony’s heritage preservation law back in the spotlight.    The Watch    A Club for All Seasons by Eiman M. Ghoneim Less than five years away from a centenary of its own, a look at the Heliopolis sporting club, its past, present and future    The Watch    Cynics and Cheerleaders by Rania Al Malky On the eve of the Nazif government’s one year anniversary, citizens speak out about the state of the economy. Surprise: It’s a split decision.    The Watch    Different Meanings by Ahmed Namatalla Heliopolis through the eyes of its neighbours    The Watch    For a New Generation by Hadia Mostafa An interview with Heliopolis club President Fouad Sultan at the new shurook branch    The Watch    Once, We Hosted Kings by Samir Raafat The heliopolis Palca Hotel has passed through a stately life cycle, from the avany garde of style and elegance to bureaucratic hive in its autumn years. President Mubarak has restored its profile as the Presidential headquarters, but eager historians will have to wait to witness its lush interiors first hand.    The Watch    Peace of Mind by Manal el-Jesri Proudly inaugurating a new type of psychiatric health resort that removes the social stigma of mental illness, Doctors Ahmed and Tarek Okasha hope to encourage some of the millions suffering undiagnosed to seek help    The Watch    The Cutting Room Floor by Manal el-Jesri Heliopolis club barber Mahmoud Kenawi reveals and withholds snippets of the secret lives of Misr El-Gedida’s heirs he has collected in half a century grooming the bigwigs    The Watch    The Great Wall’s Ivory Tower by Rania Al Malky A new Egyptian Chinese University hopes to capitalize on warming trade ties    The Watch    When the Game had Rules by Hadia Mostafa The elegant older gentlemen observing the Heliopolis club’s croquet fields on weekday mornings maintain a network that hearkens back to the days they say the entire club acted as they do committed, proud and sociable    The Watch    A Diet of Their Own by Manal el-Jesri The innovative Dr.Diet offers pre-prepared meals tailored exactly to your weight-loss needs    The Watch Reporter’s Notebook by Ahmed A. Namatalla The first reporter on the scene of last month’s bombing in Khan El-Khalili reflects on his experience    The Watch    The Activist by Manal el-Jesri The new president of the Union of Egyptian Writers speaks out on pension reform (Naguib Mahfouz’s monthly stipend: LE70 a month) and his syndicate’s new activism.    The Watch    The Egg and I by Noha El-Hennawy Boy or Girl: Should you be allowed to shift the odds and decide the sex of your baby? It’s a question Al-Azhar is asking.    The Watch    The Hardliner by Hadia Mostafa Can Benedict XVI, a hardliner opposed to Turkish EU membership and defender of the doctrine that only the Catholic Church offers salvation, continue John Paul II’s interfaith dialogue?    The Watch    Constitutional Facts A look back at democracy in Egypt    The Watch    Murder On the Nile? by Vivian Salama Unravelling the Mystery of the Boy King’s Murder    The Watch    This is Not the Note by Manal el-Jesri Fathy Salama overlooked locally despite Grammy    The Watch    To Toe the Line by ­Noha El-Hennawy The nation awaits an ‘electable’ candidate to join the presidential race    The Watch    Who Keeps the Kids? by Manal el-Jesri the recent amendment to the custody law    The Watch    Egypt to the Rescue? by Noha El-Hennawy The Sharm El-Sheikh peace conference puts Israeli-Palestinian talks back on track    The Watch    High and Dry by Rania Al Malky Nasr City residents want water or at least a straight answer    The Watch    Musical Chairs by Noha El-Hennawy Minister of Information Mahmoud El-Beltagui trades posts with Minister of Youth Anas El-Fiqqi    The Watch    Paradise Regained by Hadia Mostafa The Friends of Siwa Association have plans to preserve the Oasis’ natural and cultural heritage    The Watch    Start the Presses by Danna Farhang Cairo magazine rises from the ashes of the defunct Cairo Times and The Daily Star branches out into the Egyptian market    The Watch    Air Bags Included by Rania Al Malky Egypt has finally recognized that its chaotic roadspose a grave danger to pedestrians and motorists alike    The Watch    Lagging Behind by Rania Al Malky Why have Arab countries been so slow torespond to the humanitarian crisis in Southeast Asia?    The Watch    Prominent English Translations    The Watch    Publish or Perish by Manal el-Jesri Despite facing problems, publishing giant Dar El-Maaref refuses to sell out    The Watch    See You in September by Rania Al Malky Egyptian-funded and British-run, BUE is now accepting applications    The Watch    The Olive Branch Tune by Omar Attum Performing various concerts in the States, Palestinian and Israeli children moved audiences with their music    The Watch    The Simple Truth by Rania Al Malky A new translation of the Qur’an aims at a more contemporary and accessible rendition    The Watch    Translating Meaning    The Watch    A Simple Gift by Manal el-Jesri An ageless architechtural masterpiece, the mosque of Ibn Tulun has been restored to its former glory    The Watch    A Stellar Addition by Hadia Mostafa Citystars, the largest multipurpose complex, has finally opened its doors to the thronging masses    The Watch    Bridging the Gap by Ahmed Ezzat The Anna Lindh Foundation is set up to facilitate cultural dialogue between East and West    The Watch    Citizen Cane by Summer Said UNICEF makes a documentary of an animation project by Minya children to promote children’s rights    The Watch    Drop the Mummy, and Nobody Gets Hurt by Manal el-Jesri Recent controversy over moving King Tut puts Egyptologists in the spotlight    The Watch    Slowly but Surely by Mursi Saad el-Din Bangladeshi Ambassador Mahmoud Hassan speaks about plans to boost the economy, alleviate poverty and increase bilateral trade with Egypt    The Watch    Stitches in Time by Hadia Mostafa Can the recently signed QIZ agreement do for Egypt what it did for Jordan, or are we drawing the short end of the stick with Israel?    The Watch    Collecting Votes    The Watch    Education at a Glance    The Watch    End of the Free Ride? by Rania Al Malky A phantom university reform plan stirs up the education system’s critics    The Watch    He’s Baaaack by Hadia Mostafa W’s got another term in the White House, and America is more divided than ever. A look at what “four more years” means for US Democrats and the Middle East    The Watch    How do we win one of these? by Leonard Braman    The Watch    Mobilizing the Rumor Mill by Réhab El-Bakry Is a Canadian company’s rumored interest a sign that a third mobile network is in the offing?    The Watch    New AUC Scholarship by Sarah-Eve Hammond    The Watch    Painting the Town by Manal el-Jesri The National Organization for Urban Harmony promises to tune Cairo    The Watch    Take a Bite out of Crime by Rania Al Malky As the United Nations steps up its crackdown on corruption, pressure mounts for Egypt to enact tough legislation and ratify a new international convention    The Watch    The Big Chill by Manal el-Jesri The National Gene Bank is on a mission to flash-freeze Egypt’s agriculturally significant plants, but what about endangered species?    The Watch    The Case for Bush?    The Watch    The Party Begins by Hadia Mostafa El-Ghad, the third political party to be officially recognized in 27 years, celebrates with elections    The Watch    Yo, Taxi! by Noha El-Hennawy The government is bringing New York-style yellow taxis to Cairo. They’re new, air-conditioned, and the meters work. Can the capital’s cabbies cope?    The Watch Before Press Time by Amr Khalil Parliament approves Sharon’s pullout plan; Iraqi massacre; Afghan vote    The Watch Just a Minute, Mr. Postman by Hadia Mostafa Cairo’s American expat community mirrors a global determination to make the overseas vote count    The Watch    Naguib’s New Toy by Noha El-Hennawy Telecoms magnate Naguib Sawiris launches a free-to-air terrestrial TV channel. Don’t bother trying to tune in at home, though it’s based in Baghdad    The Watch    9/11 Redux by Summer Said Michael Moore’s smash Fahrenheit 9/11 slams home a few truths but gets mixed reactions from Cairo cinemagoers    The Watch    Finally, Some Relief by Noha El-Hennawy The Nazif government stunned the nation by slashing customs duties and reforming the import bureaucracy. Two questions remain: How soon will the economy begin to grow? And when will your wallet feel the difference?    The Watch    Healing Pains by Manal el-Jesri Health officials want it shut down, but Al-Nadim Center is carrying on its mission to help victims of torture rebuild their lives    The Watch    Heroes of our Time by Sarah-Eve Hammond Egyptian athletes bring back the first Olympic medals since the 1984 games in Los Angeles    The Watch    Let the Whining Begin by Noha El-Hennawy The NDP’s annual convention endorsed broad economic reforms and some political change just days after overhauling the nation’s customs regime, but the opposition is still howling for constitutional amendments    The Watch    Nice Day for a Mass Wedding by Sarah-Eve Hammond USAID invites 150 couples and their 9,000 guests to wedding festivities that celebrate family health    The Watch    The Alchemist by Manal el-Jesri Fuelled by victory in Athens, Egypt’s tae kwon do bronze medallist looks to convert his bronze into gold in Beijing    The Watch    ’Isms of Our Age by Azza Khattab Some may have become things of the past, but the ’isms of the post-Revolutionary era have been instrumental in shaping today’s political, cultural and intellectual debates    The Watch    A Breath of Fresh Air by Yasmin Moll Human rights watchdogs who draw attention to abuses still find themselves in the spotlight. The difference is, there’s actually debate today.    The Watch    A City Reborn by Yasmin Moll How Alexandria has transformed itself from a run-down provincial town into a thriving metropolis with flashes of its pre-revolutionary (and even Ancient) brilliance    The Watch    A Free Press by Manal el-Jesri After Nasser’s iron fist and Sadat’s roundup of dissendent journalists, today’s media professionals enjoy a degree of freedom unprecendented since the Revolution. Here’s how it all went down.    The Watch    All God’s Children by Azza Khattab Politicians have used religion to gain legitimacy. Extremists have used it to condone murder. And religious institutions have been more than happy to play the power game to win some control of their own. Welcome to 25 years of religious politics in Egypt.    The Watch    By The Numbers by Yasmin Moll Believe it or not, the nation has taken massive strides toward human and industrial development and poverty reduction in the last quarter century    The Watch    Egypt Then, Egypt Today by Noha Mohammed 25 years later, Bill Harrison’s dream is going stronger than ever    The Watch    Gold Rush by Mirette Mabrouk and Réhab El-Bakry It’s been a wild ride since Sadat declared the Open-Door policy. The next time you want to complain about the local economy, consider how far we’ve come.    The Watch    Great Crooks by Réhab El-Bakry and Noha Mohammed The Open Door ushered in an era of unprecedented economic growth and heralded the birth of “the business scam”    The Watch Invincible Cairo by Manal el-Jesri Six of the capital citys most renowned artists and writers reflect on what Cairo means to us all.    The Watch    Invincible Cairo by Manal el-Jesri Six of the capital city’s most renowned artists and writers reflect on what Cairo means to us all    The Watch    Our Very Own Godfather Friends and colleagues pay tribute to Egypt Today’s founding publisher, the beloved William Harrison    The Watch    Pluralism at Death’s Door? by Noha El-Hennawy Twenty-seven years ago, Sadat created the nation’s political party system. Today, despite the NDP’s effort to kickstart a dialogue on reform, the opposition is less effective than ever. Is the ruling party to blame? Or do opposition parties need to own up to some responsibility, too?    The Watch    Sinai Homecoming by Matthew Carrington In the two decades since the Israeli withdrawal, Sinai has helped power the nation’s tourist economy and grappled with development    The Watch    Special Issues by Noha Mohammed A look back at some of our most popular special issues of the past quarter century    The Watch    The Art of Change by Réhab El-Bakry With new legislation on everything from economics and personal status through social reforms, the past 25 years have seen unprecedented legislative activism    The Watch    The OnlyArab League Success Story? by Yasmin Moll An Inside look at Alexandria’s Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport    The Watch The Saeedis Awake by Abdalla F. Hassan From Islamist violence to new patterns of development, more has happened in Upper Egypt over the past 25 years than one might imagine. But is it ready to take on a more globalized world?    The Watch    The Saeedis Awake by Abdalla F. Hassan From Islamist violence to new patterns of development, more has happened in Upper Egypt over the past 25 years than one might imagine. But is it ready to take on a more globalized world?    The Watch    Two Steps Forward by Réhab El-Bakrywith additional reporting by Noha Mohammed and one step back. A look at 25 years of milestones along the road to the empowerment of women    The Watch    Urban Sprawl by Yasmin Moll As the capital has become too crowded for comfort, a new generation has turned to satellite cities in search of room to stretch their legs    The Watch    Young Turks by Noha El-Hennawy Are these splinter groups the leading parties of tomorrow?    The Watch    A Classic Mistake by Zeinab Abul Gheit On the trail of the elusive 2000 draft law protecting Egypts classic film heritage    The Watch A Pile of Rubble by Nesrine Etman A spate of allegedly illegal demolition orders from the New Cairo Authority leaves Qattamias factory owners out in the cold    The Watch    Cruel and Unusual by Manal el-Jesri Media and public outcry over dire conditions at the Giza Zoo get us kicked out of the World Association for Zoos and Aquariums    The Watch    Democracy 101? by Yasmin Moll Last months Arab Reform Conference in Cairo saw over 100 Arab intellectuals agreeing that US-backed change may not be so bad after all    The Watch    Off the Map by Yasmin Moll The Khedive Ismails Egyptian Geographic Society fights to stay alive    The Watch    Reform free-for-all by Yasmin Moll Dont know your GMEI from your BMEI? Here is a quick guide to some of the most significant homegrown and international reform efforts of late.    The Watch    The Last Say by Manal el-Jesri The Islamic Research Center now has judicial authority over many forms of printed materials. Is it another nail in the coffin for freedom of expression?    The Watch    A Newspaper for the Bar by Yasmin Moll Lawyers hop on the liberal press bandwagon with a new monthly of their own    The Watch    All in Favor of Ruby by Réhab El-Bakry The 2003-04 legislative season at the Peoples Assembly saw MPs pass a spate of economic and status laws and much discussion of a certain sexy singer    The Watch    Building Bridges by Anayat Hassan A new satellite broadcaster is set to launch Americas first-ever Muslim channel    The Watch    Digging In by Alex Ionides From new museums and lazy curators to breathtaking discoveries and new technologies, the local antiquities scene is back in the international spotlight    The Watch    Other legislative highlights    The Watch    Sharms War of Words by Hadia Mostafa, with additional reporting by Rania Al-Malky Environmentalists are training their guns on one of Sharm El-Sheikhs first property developers, but the man at the center of the nations latest environmental flap isnt going down without a fight    The Watch    Tax Insects Invade! by Yasmin Moll New tax hikes on luxury goods will do little to curb the budget deficit and possibly a lot to slow down private-sector spending.    The Watch    The L-Word by Yasmin Moll How liberal are the nations two new liberal daily newspapers? And what does an Egyptian liberal believe in, anyway?    The Watch    The Word on the Street by Yasmin Moll How people feel about higher taxes    The Watch    Anatomy of a Flip-Flop by Hadia Mostafa Sheikh Tantawis conflicting statements on suicide bombing since 9/11    The Watch    Growing Pains? by Yasmin Moll The newly expanded European Union could hit some Egyptian exporters where it hurts    The Watch    I Need A Hero by Yasmin Moll Superheroes in a new home-grown comic-book series sell political empowerment and religious tolerance to Arab youth    The Watch    Not Again? by Hadia Mostafa The good news: President Mubarak saved Giftun Island from sale to a developer. The Bad news: Lake Qaroun may need his help next.    The Watch    Preaching to the Converted by Yasmin Moll Islamic scholars want the world to know the truth about Islam. Is anyone listening?    The Watch    Repentant Rogue by Yasmin Moll Libya is coming in from the cold, but Bushs Middle East policy deserves little credit and democratic reforms in Tripoli remain a way off    The Watch    The Arab in BBC Arabic by Alex Ionides Egyptian Hosam El Sokkari becomes the first Arab to head up the fantastically popular radio and web service. Where will he take it from here?    The Watch    The Big Nothing by Alex Ionides Egypt is shut out in its bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup    The Watch    The UNs Endgame? by Alex Ionides The Bush administration is pinning its hopes in Iraq on the body it once scorned    The Watch    The Waiting Game by Yasmin Moll After raising expectations in April, the National Council for Human Rights backs away from recommending the emergency law be scrapped    The Watch    When is it Murder? by Hadia Mostafa Islam forbids suicide and killing innocents, yet suicide bombings are on the rise. A scary consensus is emerging as Al-Azhar continues to flip-flop on the issue.    The Watch    Amending Camp David is a non-starter by Yasmin Moll The Foreign Ministry doesn't expect to see Egyptian troops on the border with Gaza any time soon    The Watch    Bulldozers for Peace by Yasmin Moll Sharons unilateral disengagement from Gaza isnt so much a Palestinian victory as an Israeli troop redeployment, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs    The Watch    Fairs Fare by Manal el-Jesri The prestigious Frankfurt International Book Fair wants to feature the Arab world this year, but will Arab governments cough up the cash to pull it off?    The Watch    middle east briefs by Alex Ionides    The Watch    Stop the Press! by Manal el-Jesri Hope for a liberal press law vanishes as a new, stricter government draft law surfaces    The Watch    The Next Ibiza? by Hadia Mostafa Environmentalists and business leaders rage against a back-door deal to sell the Giftun Island protectorate to an Italian developer    The Watch A Restless Minority? by Hadia Mostafa As the region’s Shi’a angle for power, a clampdown on the sect in Egypt is launched    The Watch An Island Apart by Doha Al-Zohairy After six months in office, Al-Jazeera’s top boss explains why he thinks Arab media needs to change even more    The Watch Deciding What’s Best by Alex Ionides The Arab League’s Hesham Youssef says change cannot be imposed from abroad    The Watch Egypt’s Newest Jewel by Jacky Tuinstra The opening of the largest public park in the region has been delayed until fall, but residents of Cairo’s Darb Al-Ahmar district are already reaping the benefits    The Watch Eternally Yours, Online by Alex Ionides A unique website puts the wonders of ancient Egypt in the palm of your hand    The Watch Pressing Issues by Manal el-Jesri Journalists welcomed the abolition of jail terms for libel, but worry the government is about to take with one hand what President Mubarak gave with the other    The Watch Still on the books    The Watch Taking the Initiative by Christl Dabu Egypt joins the WHO’s race to treat 3 million HIV/AIDS victims by 2005    The Watch Taking the Initiative by Christl Dabu Egypt joins the WHO’s race to treat 3 million HIV/AIDS victims by 2005    The Watch The Weakest Link by Réhab El-Bakry A crippled Arab League mulls new reforms to put it back on its feet    The Watch Uncle Sam’s Burden by Yasmin Moll Arab leaders are cool to Bush’s Greater Middle East Initiative, but say they’re not about to throw the baby out with the bathwater    The Watch Waste Not, Want Not by Jacky Tuinstra    The Watch Who arethe Shi’a?

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