Bank nods to the left
Improving basic services will depend on the degree to which the poor participate in policy making, says a new World Bank draft report. Sherine Abdel-Razek takes a look

Keeping our millennium promises
Much needs to be done for Egypt to reach its development goals, write Michele Ribotta and Christopher Louise

Fingers crossed
Will a reduction in interest rates pull the market out of recession? Yasser Sobhi asks the experts

Ready for take-off
EgyptAir's management is embarking on a massive programme of overhaul and renovation. The airline's chairman, Ahmed El-Nadi spoke with Amira Ibrahim

Autonomy, not independence
The new draft banking law will not compromise the Central Bank of Egypt's autonomy argues Sherif Delawer in this response to comments by CBE board member, Mahmoud Fahmy, expressed in an Al-Ahram Weekly interview

Another break for Uncle Sam
Once again OPEC is rescuing the flailing economy of the world's biggest oil importer, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Turbulent telecoms
Playing in the big league comes at a price, as market leader Orascom Telecom is finding out. Wael Gamal reports

Fruitful partnerships
Egypt bid farewell to USAID's outgoing director in Alexandria, where the agency's projects have helped to change the city's face. Sherine Nasr reports

Briefs
World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi was in Cairo this week to inaugurate a training seminar, reports Soha Abdelaty..