The independent Egyptian newspaper Al-Dustor is reporting that Egyptian supermarket Al-Kubri has been selling, accidentally of course, boxes of sweets with Stars of David and Menorahs printed on them for Al-Mawlid Al-Nabawi (The Birth of the Prophet), which is today. The supermarket claims it has no idea where the boxes came from (by the way, […]
Egypt has unsurprisingly rejected a recent Department of State report criticizing the country’s deteriorating human rights record. The report can be found on the DOS website here. An article on the report in the popular independent paper Al-Masri Al-Youm relates that: …in statements given to Al-Masri Al-Youm, [Egyptian] political experts warned against “dependence on the […]
This article from one of the leading English-language Egyptian papers highlights Egyptian forensic reports of the Hussein bomb. The reports indicate that the bomb which detonated had been left under a bench in Al-Hussein Square, and was not thrown from a overlooking window or rooftop. In addition, details are provided of the composition of the […]
Yesterday the acting spokesperson for the State Department emphatically stated what Dennis Ross will not be doing: Let me be clear, he’s not an envoy. He will not be negotiating. He’ll be working on regional issues. He will not be – in terms of negotiating, will not be involved in the peace process. But again, […]
The Egyptian Stock Exchange’s main index rose a bit over 1% today, one day after a terrorist attack targeted tourists in Cairo. Perhaps investors judge the attack an aberration and are confident that the government will stabilize the situation and reassure tourists. On the other hand, investors could be responding to a $10B bond purchase […]
(By Matthew Axelrod and Joseph Simons) Here’s a first-blush report on yesterday evening’s bombing in Cairo: The attack targeted a café in a tourist area and was clearly aimed at foreigners. The bombs were rudimentary, which means they were either manufactured by amateurs or perpetrators posing as amateurs. Mainstream Egyptian media and a number of […]
A bomb went off about an hour ago in downtown Cairo near the Hussein Mosque in the popular tourist area near the open air market Khan Al-Khalili. Major news sources have reported that at least one person, a French tourist, has been killed. The Egyptian Ministry of Health has only reported up to 15 injured, […]
Alexandria is truly something special. Egypt’s finest national museum is housed in a villa there, nearby a stunning opera house nestled almost imperceptibly between courtyards of the city’s streets. The seaside cafes serve the best cappuccinos in the country and the no-frills fish restaurants need no enhancement. Alexandria marks itself with tasteful elegance. Add to […]
Yesterday Ayman Nour was released from prison. Mr. Nour, Egypt’s most famous secular opposition politician, was imprisoned several years ago after performing a bit too well in the first multi-party presidential elections. Ostensibly jailed for forging a few hundred petition forms supporting his candidacy, Mr. Nour’s arrest effectively dampened a cautiously optimistic mood amongst established […]
Traffic accidents in Egypt continue to be a major problem as over 30 people have been killed and scores injured on the roads just this month. Official estimates place the number of deaths resulting from road accidents in Egypt at around 6000 to 8000 per year with tens of thousands of injuries. In August 2008, […]
ACT! 6.0 + Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 + Adobe Fireworks CS3 Samantha M. Shapiro has a wonderful piece in today's New York Times Magazine titled "Revolution, Facebook-Style," asking the question "Can Social Networking Turn Disaffected Young Egyptians into a Force for Democratic Change?" I think it's a great read for anyone wanting a brief over-view of […]
We usually don't link to articles easily found on the web (unless written by FPA contributor Nate Field) but this Haaretz piece about Egyptian Intel Chief Omar Suleiman is tooooo much. Here's my favorite line: “We met some years ago with CIA representatives in the lobby of a hotel,” recalled an Israeli intelligence man, “and […]
With all this attention being paid to Gaza Tunnels recently I’m printing here a June 2008 posting I wrote for a personal blog. It details how Washington approached the Gaza Tunnel issue in the past few years. It is my personal belief that Gaza Tunnels are a red herring, and that neither Israel, the US, […]
This week the Egyptian Government selected Bechtel Corporation to advise on the construction of Egypt's first set of nuclear power plants in a 10-year, $180 million contract. This is good news for Egypt and the United States. Egypt has a long standing policy that the Middle East should be WMD-free. In a joint press conference […]
An Egyptian telecommunications company has become the first mobile-phone company to invest in North Korea. The 25-year license agreement includes a $400 million dollar investment and a 75/25 partnership with a state-owned Korean company. Read about it here and here. Naguib Sawiris, owner of Orascom Telecom Holding, is in North Korea to ink the deal. […]