20 - 26 November 2003 [665]
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A parliamentary pause
President Hosni Mubarak interrupted his speech during the opening of parliament yesterday owing to "severe flu", reports Gamal Essam El-DinForcing resistance
Washington has resorted to a show of force against insurgents in Iraq. But will it help crush resistance, asks Salah Hemeid
No pressure
Senior NDP officials vehemently denied that American pressure was playing a role in the party's recent political reform initiatives. Gamal Essam El-Din reportsCalm before the storm?
Last week's parliamentary procedural meetings featured the resignation of a record number of MPs, and sharp attacks against the governmentSalesman spy?
An Egyptian lawyer accused of offering to spy for Israel will be tried before a state security court. Jailan Halawi reportsTo explain, not to embellish
In his first exclusive interview, Taha Abdel-Alim, the new head of the State Information Service, talks to Fatemah Farag about creating a credible media sourceBlood in vain?
Rights groups are crying torture. But, asks Amira Howeidy, is anybody listening?High time for patients' rights
Will a recent Doctors Syndicate endorsement of Egypt's first "Patients' Rights" document trigger more positive change for health care? Hala Sakr looks for answersNewsreel
President Hosni Mubarak recently issued two presidential decrees granting Egyptian nationality to almost 1000 individuals with Egyptian mothers and foreign fathers, reports Reem Leila...
Inching towards a cease-fire
If prospects for a Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire are better now than at any time since Israel re-conquered the West Bank it is because a truce serves Ariel Sharon as well as the Palestinians, writes Graham Usher from JerusalemBuilding from the ruins
While the Palestinian Authority settles on another cabinet in Ramallah, Hamas delivers governance in Rafah. Graham Usher reports on the new Palestinian orderAmman for all seasons
The new Jordanian prime minister is trying to convince a sceptical opposition that the government's promises of inclusion are the real deal, reports Sana Abdallah from AmmanTerror strikes Turkey
Two bombings in Istanbul on Saturday killed 25 and wounded over 300. The ostensible target was Turkey's tiny Jewish community, but the majority of the victims were Muslims. Gareth Jenkins reports from IstanbulReality bites
In the week following the second devastating attack in Riyadh in less than six months, Saudis finally woke up to the fact of home-grown terrorism, writes John R BradleyAgainst sectarianism
Iraqi political figures have welcomed America's new strategy in Iraq, although some problems remain. Omayma Abdel-Latif reportsSelling success to the Arabs
As the Bechtel school refurbishment programme comes under question, representatives of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad continue to insist on their neo-conservative vision of success in Iraq. Karim El-Gawhary reports from Baghdad
Banking on the interbank
Despite government promises, a mechanism that could help solve Egypt's forex market problems has failed to materialise. Yasser Sobhi investigatesBack to the WTO
Egypt is heading regional efforts to get the multilateral trade negotiations which collapsed in Cancun back on track. Niveen Wahish reportsKorean credit lies idle
Why has a $150 million credit line extended by South Korea not yet been utilised? Sherine Nasr investigatesBriefs
The Japanese Embassy in Cairo is organising a training programme for Egyptian businessmen and owners of small and medium enterprises...Lynch mob
The Jessica Lynch ordeal has stirred debate over the Pentagon's spin tactics as well as a media hungry for white heroes. Khaled Dawoud reports from WashingtonLives hostage to words
A recent US Supreme Court decision could be a step towards bringing the Bush administration back in line with American ideals about the just rule of law, writes Ramsey Al-RikabiBaby steps
India and Pakistan edged closer through recent conciliation measures, but the big issues are still pending, Iffat Idris reports from IslamabadThe reality of war comes home
Italy is reeling from the shock of receiving the mortal remains of 19 Italians killed in a suicide bomb blast in Iraq, reports Samia Nkrumah from RomeFall of the oligarchs
The arrest of Russia's richest tycoon on charges of fraud and tax-evasion has raised hairs on many a head at home and abroad, reports Shohdy Naguib from MoscowThe Tætervolk affair
The expulsion of an MP from parliamentary activities for alleged anti-Semitic remarks has caused a furore throughout Germany, writes Rania Gaafar in Berlin
Israel's anti-Semitism
The Israeli right stands guilty of more than hypocrisy when they accuse others of being anti-Semitic, writes Ibrahim NafiePeace among masters
Security must mean more than safeguarding order for just 20 per cent of the world's population, writes Ismail Sabri AbdallahPolitical theory 101
Bush and his speech writers turn to grand language, grand claims and grand lies in the latest US stage-setting barrage against the Middle East. Azmi Bishara is unimpressedPost-democratic disorders
Democracy has always been a distant dream -- a breeze about to blow from the West but which never comes. The dream is now over, writes Gamil MattarKnowledge is power
The global train of change is headed in the direction of new thinking. Unless economies jump on board, they'll be left behind, writes M Shafik GabrSpeed is not everything
The technological advancement of modern armies may prove less than effective against guerrilla warfare tactics, writes Galal NassarA very Arab obsession
Paranoia and wild imaginings can be comforting when faced with overwhelming state power and pure brute force, writes Ghada KarmiNo way but out
Bush may argue that democracy secures peace, but occupation forestalls democracy, writes Mohamed Sid-AhmedLessons in imperial misadventure
The score sheet does not look good for Bush as he rolls up to the next presidential elections, writes M A Muqtedar KhanEditorial:
Washington must relent
The twin truck bombs that killed 25 and injured hundreds at two synagogues in Istanbul on Sunday was a grim reminder that the United States-led war against international terrorism is far from over...Close up
It's Israel, stupid!
The change was just as sudden as it was unexpected. Washington is revising its Iraq strategy only six months after it announced the end of military operations...
By Salama A SalamaSoapbox
Arabian Days
Time was that everything oriental filtered into the Western imagination through the mist of Arabian Nights -- a mix of fairytale and exotic sensuality...
By El-Sayed ElewaLiterary gestation
A literary work first emerges as an idea that is effectively unsourced -- you never really know where it's coming from...
By Naguib MahfouzBahgory One-line: PAUL BREMER
Eid without kahk
Again, the price hikes were the focus of the Egyptian press this week. Jailan Halawi examines how desperate the situation has becomeIt's all America's fault
Reading the Arab press this week, Dina Ezzat finds more disturbing images of the Middle East, all because of the United States
Costume dramas
Cross-fertilising theatre design: Sonali Pahwa encounters templates for a variety of HamletsWaltz out of time
Amal Choucri Catta has programme complaintsPlain Talk
Three articles in the British press attracted my attention and I find them closely linked...
By Mursi Saad El-DinObituary: Mohamed Choukri
Moroccan writer Mohamed Choukri died of cancer at the age of 64 Sunday morning, in Rabat's Military Hospital...A kind of invitation
Swiss artist Roma Inderbitzin arrived in Egypt not knowing in what direction her work would lead -- that is until she discovered the work of local potters. She speaks to Nigel Ryan about negative form, submarines and the importance of open hearts
Jambo, jambo
Gamal Nkrumah cackles with delight, downing kuku and kuvaSufra Dayma: Kahk
Weekly recipe
By Moushira Abdel-MalekBaked with love
Baking festive pastries at home for the post-Ramadan Eid Al-Fitr feast is an age-old tradition. Lina Mahmoud rolls up her sleeves and digs inAd craze
Ghee, skin lightening creams and cement: watching these Ramadan TV commercials you would think the advertising business was in high gear. Gazebeya El-Hammamsy reports that this is not exactly the caseMigratory minds
Denys Johnson-Davies' translation of Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North in 1969, three years after it first appeared in Arabic, set the Sudanese masterpiece on a path of resounding success and triggered a series of translations into almost all major languages. Last month the novel's international reputation was confirmed further, and its author canonised, when it became the first Arabic book to appear in the Penguin Classics series. Below the translator's introduction to the 1989 editionReturn tickets
Season of Migration to the North, Tayeb Salih, trans. Denys Johnson-Davies, London: Penguin Classics, 2003. pp169Vegetal and mineral memory: The future of books
The city of Alexandria played host on 1 November to the renowned Italian novelist and scholar Umberto Eco , who gave a lecture in English, on varieties of literary and geographic memory, at the newly opened Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Al-Ahram Weekly publishes the complete text of the lecturePrésences arabes
Le Paris arabe (Arab Paris), Pascal Blanchard et al, Paris: La Découverte, 2003. pp247At a glance
A shorthand guide to recent publications compiled by Mahmoud El-Wardani
A thorn in Tunisian sides
A second Tunisian club has been flattened by Zamalek. Mohamed El-Sayed writes on the latest mismatchAn evening of grace
Female gymnasts in Gezira made one Ramadan night truly memorable, says Inas MazharThe precursor?
It was billed as a warm-up before the African Nations Cup but Saturday's friendly in Cairo between Egypt and South Africa could also have been viewed as a battle between the two leading contenders to host the 2010 World Cup...Finally, the final
A surprisingly easy victory over Esperance put Ismaili in the African Champions League final, reports Abeer Anwar...
Sheikh of the press
Al-Ahram's chief editor for 32 years, Dawoud Barakat's tenure witnessed World War I, the 1919 Revolution and the Declaration of 28 February 1922. Professor Yunan Labib Rizk writes that the outpouring of sorrow following Barakat's death in 1933 only confirmed his place in the history of Egyptian journalism
Abdel-Rehim Abdallah: Beneath the skin
A venerable institution brought back to life
Profile by Samia Abdennour
Pack of Cards
By Madame SosostrisLimelight
By Lubna Abdel-Aziz