18 - 24 September 2003 [656]
Graphic version | Current issue | Previous issue
Leading analyst and writer Mohamed Hassanein Heikal celebrates his 80th birthday this week... --caption--
Waiting on America
Israel's decision to remove Yasser Arafat was almost unanimously condemned. But few Palestinians believe the danger has passed, writes Graham Usher from RamallahWays out
With its Iraq policy in tatters Washington is seeking an exit, reports Salah Hemeid
Garnering world support
While important, a European role is not enough to ensure peace in the region. Egypt will also seek the good offices of the US, writes Nevine KhalilCitizenship dialogue
The ruling party has chosen "Rights of Citizens First" as the slogan for its first annual conference. Gamal Essam El-Din reportsLast minute snags
With its first annual conference just a week away, the ruling NDP is trying to deal with a corruption scandal, an opposition alliance and its own disqualified MPs. Gamal Essam El-Din reportsRules of engagement
Omayma Abdel-Latif tries to decipher the message behind the latest government clampdown on the banned Muslim BrotherhoodStalled at a crossroads
Fatemah Farag considers some of the issues being discussed in the lead up to the Tagammu's Fifth Party CongressHi is not enough
A new US magazine aiming to build bridges with young Arabs is slammed by critics and ignored by readers. Gihan Shahine sifts through the magazine for reasonsYoung elegance restored
The 900-year-old Bab Zewaila -- one of the mediaeval walled city of Cairo's main gateways -- has been restored and turned into an open-air museum. Nevine El-Aref attended the inaugurationBack to school blues
As children head back to school, Reem Nafie finds that parents are having a hard time handling the costsGreater anger
"We will not abandon Palestine" and "America and Israel are the originators of terrorism" were two of the slogans being chanted by angry protestors at a demonstration that took place after last Friday's prayers at Al- Azhar Mosque...Newsreel
The Press Syndicate yesterday marked 'Journalist Day' with a ceremony at its headquarters...Arafat's comeback
Israel's decision to "remove" Yasser Arafat enrages the Palestinians in ways unseen since the start of the Intifada. Khaled Amayreh reports from RamallahA cabinet contract
The Israeli cabinet's decision to "remove" Arafat, Nobel Peace Prize winner and the elected leader of the Palestinian people, has been described as a Mafia-style action. Yet Arab reaction remains muted, reports Sherine BahaaOut of focus
While Washington opposes any Israeli action to expel or kill Arafat, it is in no rush to revive the roadmap. Khaled Dawoud reports from WashingtonOpposing ethnic division
An opponent of the IGC tells Dina Ezzat why he is lobbying hard against the US-sponsored administrative bodyResistance will continue
Following the attempted assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Mahmoud Al-Zahar, Sherine Bahaa talks to Abdul-Aziz Al-Rantissi, Hamas's key political leaderPressuring Tehran
Iran's failure to comply with the UN deadline may pave the way to imposing international sanctions, argues Mustafa El-LabbadBlood money and blackmail
Libya this week secured the lifting of UN sanctions imposed on the country in 1992 -- but at what price, asks Rasha SaadPeace at hand
Inching closer to an agreement, the high-powered Sudanese peace talks in Kenya still failed to end the deadlock, writes Gamal NkrumahSeeking 'infinite possibilities' in Detroit
Arabs and Americans prepare to convene an economic forum with broad goals. Dina Ezzat reportsBriefs
Saudi authorities probed on Tuesday the fire that gutted the Hayer prison, killing at least 67 inmates. Located 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the capital, the prison is considered one of the kingdom's biggest detention centers...Pound floating belly-up
Experts are blaming the government for the continuing devaluation of the Egyptian pound. Sherine Abdel-Razek reportsThe 9/11 heat is still on
The effects of the 11 September attacks in the US, and subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, are still taking their toll on the Egyptian economy. Gamal Essam El-Din investigatesSmaller may not be better
Are small enterprises the cure for unemployment? Salah El-Amrousi questions a recent government initiativeA pasha and a bust of Keynes
As the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank kick off in Dubai this week, Margaret Garritsen de Vries remembers the Middle East and the IMF in the early yearsPrescribing politics
The World Bank is now telling Arab governments that only by cleaning up their politics will their economies escape the rut of stagnant growth. Mohamed Darwish reports from Dubai
Cantankerous in Cancun
The staying power of the old exploitative colonialist mentality rendered fresh ideas at the WTO meeting in Mexico irrelevant, writes Gamal NkrumahMuch ado about a minaret
Athens' Muslims have gone without a mosque for almost two centuries. With the Olympic Games due in 2004, Muslim prayer has become a highly-charged political issue. Iason Athanasiadis reports from AthensBlaine and Blair
Tony Blair has spent the last few weeks in excruciatingly public view, looking ever more boxed in, reports Alistair Alexander from LondonUnhappy anniversary
Americans take stock on the second anniversary of the 11 September attacks. Anayat Durrani , in New York, reportsBush boon or albatross?
Daily casualty reports from Iraq and high unemployment bode ill for US President George W Bush's re-election chances, writes David Dumke
Building world- class bridges
The school year has begun and the American University in Cairo has a new president. In his first exclusive interview in Cairo, David Arnold talks to Fatemah Farag about what it means to take on the post of 10th AUC president in these especially turbulent times
Washington deaf to reason
Ibrahim Nafie appeals for a more rational approach to resolving the current dilemma in IraqUnfamiliar, not unlikely
It is the element of surprise that so traumatised America two years ago. But should it, asks Abdel-Moneim SaidHeikal at eighty
Mohamed Sid-Ahmed comments on an almost four decade relationship with Mohamed Hassanein HeikalNo obvious destination
A decade ago, and with the signing of the Oslo Accords, Palestinian nationalist ideology turned a corner, writes Salim Tamari . But to where?Loaded designations
The Palestinians' right of return is inalienable and unnegotiable, writes Mustafa El-FekiTwo years on
The tremors from the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center continue to destabilise the world. Mohsen Zahran takes stockSharon draped in a UN flag
Hassan Nafaa detects a qualitative shift in Washington's thinking on the Palestinian-Israeli conflictEditorial:
A less gullible public
Two years after the devastating attacks against symbols of American might on 11 September 2001 the Bush administration is exhibiting precisely those strategies in dealing with the Arab world that resulted in the emergence of figures such as Bin Laden...Close up
The US and the media
After 9/11 Washington became aware of the chasm dividing the US and Arab world...
By Salama A SalamaSoapbox
Deporting Arafat
The Israeli government marked the 10th anniversary of the Oslo agreement in dramatic fashion, by deciding to threaten Yasser Arafat...
By Abdel-Qader YassinBelated orphan
My mother played a huge role in my life. In my youth it was mother who ran the household: she was, if you like, the chief executive officer and not an employee...
By Naguib MahfouzBahgory One-line: ANNA LINDH
Arafat and Ebeid
Affirming Arafat's right to remain in the occupied territories, the Egyptian press this week urged instead that the Egyptian prime minister go, writes Amira HoweidyNot nice to remember
The Arab press had little good news to report this week. Dina Ezzat sees whyBottom Lines
Quotes from the Arab press
Inquisition interrupted
Youssef Rakha recapitulatesPlain Talk
Biographies have long enjoyed immense popularity, and it appears not to be waning...
By Nursi Saad El-DinIt's cramped at the palace
Not much cheer in youth when even the alienation strikes false, writes Nigel RyanBreaking the ice
Amal Choucri Catta attends Sergio Cardenas's first concert as principal conductor of the Cairo symphony OrchestraPhoto Caption
The 15th Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre ended last Thursday amid the usual flurry and excitement of awards...Photo Caption
An exhibition of work by Al-Ahram photographer Sherif Sonbol opened at the Lincoln Centre, New York, on 8 September...
Mohammed Dib: Algeria recalled
-Simorgh, Mohammed Dib, Paris: Albin Michel, 2003. pp250; -Al-Dar Al-Kabira (The Big House); Al-Hariq (The Fire), translated from the French (La Grande maison; L'Incendie) by Sami Al-Duroubi. Cairo: Dar Al-Hilal, 2003. pp385; -Al-Nawl (The Loom), translated from the French (Le Métier à tisser) by Sami Al-Duroubi, Cairo: Dar Al-Hilal, 2003. pp219Supervising the supervisors
Al-Riqabah Al-Barlamaniya fi Al-Nozom Al-Siasiyah: Derasah fi Tagrobat Majlis Al-Shaab (Parliamentary Powers in Government: a Study of the Egyptian People's Assembly), Amr Hashem Rabie, Cairo: Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, August 2002. pp425Harsh realities
Le Monde arabe: Enjeux sociaux, perspectives méditerranéennes [The Arab World: Social Stakes and Mediterranean Perspectives], Samir Amin & Ali El Kenz Paris: L'Harmattan, 2003. pp186Politics of the everyday
Al-Siyasa Aqwa min Al-Hadatha: Hikayat Misriya Mu'asira (Politics is Stronger than Modernity: Contemporary Egyptian Narratives), Dalal El-Bizri, Cairo: Mirette, 2003. pp298Dichotomies and dilemmas
The Cross and the River: Ethiopia, Egypt and the Nile, Haggai Erlich, London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003. pp248In the eye of the beholder
Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, 23 (2003), Literature and the Sacred, Cairo; American University in Cairo Press, 2003. pp501At a glance
A shorthand guide to recent publications compiled by Mahmoud El-Wardani
Looks that kill
Want to look better, younger, slimmer or rounder? Dena Rashed discovers that the quest could cost you your lifeThe others
Removing breast cancer does not bring the nightmare to an end. As Yasmine Fathi finds out, women who have undergone a mastectomy often become outcasts
Fish, ostriches and granite
Preparations to turn the site of the granite quarries of Aswan into an outdoor museum have brought to light new information on an area in use from ancient to modern times, as Nevine El-Aref reportsDig days: No discrimination
Questions resulting from the identification by Dr Joann Fletcher of the so-called mummy of Queen Nefertiti in the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings has caused repercussions in the British press...
By Zahi HawassCourt with a view
For the second year in a row, the Billiards Carom Eurocup was a success. Inas Mazhar attended the one-week eventHalf-time: Final countdown
The deadline for Egypt to present its bidding file to host the 2010 World Cup is inching closer...
By Inas MazharCan't get better
Zamalek are three out of three as they take a share of the lead in the early football season, writes Eric AsmoughaYear's best
Hicham Al-Guerrouj and Hestrie Cloete have been crowned Athletes of the Year at the World Athletics Final in Monaco...Briefs
Sixteen-year-old Ahmed Adli stole the spotlight from international veterans, winning Egypt's Chess Grand Masters Championship...
Al-Ahram: A Diwan of contemporary life Examining the problem
Exams, that perennial problem, were looked at especially closely in 1932 when Al-Ahram published several stories on the issue, most of which were scathing in their criticism of this element in Egypt's educational system. Some though, thought exams should remain unchanged. It was, as Professor Yunan Labib Rizk reveals, a test of wills
Fahmy Howeidy: Religion and reason
He extends a bridge to the other side, while standing firm in his convictions
Profile by Aziza Sami
Pack of Cards
By Madame SosostrisLimelight
By Lubna Abdel-Aziz