Egypt’s Islamists tighten their grip on power
Monday, 26 March 2012
Egypt’s newly empowered Islamists have tightened their grip, giving themselves a majority on a 100-member panel tasked with drafting a constitution that will define the shape of the government in the post-Hosni Mubarak era. Led by the Muslim Brotherhood to victory in parliamentary elections, fundamentalists now ... Read More
‘Cruel’ halal slaughter methods under attack in the UK
Sunday, 25 March 2012
British ministers are seeking to change a law to ensure that meat slaughtered using Islamic, or halal, methods cannot be sold without proper labeling. According to the Daily Mail on Sunday, “unwitting members of the public” are being served halal meat “secretly” in schools, hospitals, pubs and famous sporting venues, ... Read More
Europe faces jihadist threat; rising fears of ‘lone wolf’ terror attack
Friday, 23 March 2012
With France’s deadly attacks, radical terror has apparently struck once more in the heart of Europe -- and authorities say there’s a dangerous twist: the emergence of homegrown extremists operating independent of any known networks, making them hard to track and stop. “It is concerning us,” Europol chief Rob ... Read More
Turkey should have thought twice on Syria: analysts
Friday, 23 March 2012
Turkey may have acted too fast when it took its tough stance against Damascus, expecting a rapid fall for the regime, some observers have argued ahead of a “Friends of Syria” conference in Istanbul. Now, a number of commentators in Turkey are suggesting it might be time to think again. “Turkey ... Read More
Will Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood field a presidential candidate?
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Despite earlier statements to the contrary, sources from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB) claim that the group might be fielding a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections especially since one of its most senior members is about to be acquitted of charges leveled against him by the former regime. The Muslim ... Read More
Mali’s Toure was unable to stamp out mounting resentment
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Former military ruler Amadou Toumani Toure was known as Mali’s “soldier of democracy,” but found himself ousted by mutinous soldiers just one month before wrapping up his time in office. The 63-year-old, affectionately known as “ATT,” had been unable to stamp out growing resentment among army officers over his ... Read More
Online rumor exposes information void in jittery China
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Groundless rumors of a coup that have swept Beijing in recent days are a sign of nervousness after the sacking of political star Bo Xilai exposed rifts in China’s ruling Communist Party, analysts say. Bo had been tipped to join an elite group of leaders who effectively run China later this year, and his ... Read More
Analysts say siege mentality blocks Jordan from reform
Thursday, 22 March 2012
The Arab Spring, that is still blowing over the Middle East a year after it began, has had a limited impact on Jordan where a “siege mentality” is hindering much-needed reform, analysts say. The International Crisis Group said Jordan is “dallying with reform,” triggering debate among analysts in the kingdom, ... Read More
Egypt presidential elections enveloped in mystery: analyst
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
As the first post-revolution presidential elections in Egypt draw closer, speculations are rife about who among the candidates is most likely to win. However, Egyptian political analyst Moustafa Kamel al-Sayed has argued that the entire political scene is blurred in a way that makes it very hard to guess who the next president ... Read More
Suspected French killer’s journey from petty criminal to Islamist
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Suspected Islamist serial killer Mohamed Merah is a 23-year-old French petty criminal of Algerian origin who has spent time in Pakistan and Afghanistan and claims to be an AZl-Qaeda operative. Born in the southwestern French city of Toulouse on October 10, 1988, Merah had been tracked for years by France’s DCRI ... Read More
Late Coptic Pope could not escape involvement in politics: Egyptian novelist
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Egyptian novelist Yusuf Zidan said the recently-deceased Coptic Pope Shenouda III was wise enough to deal with critical situations in a way that does not compromise the security of Egyptian Christians. “Pope Shenouda knew that Copts were being used as a tool for political balance by the regime in Egypt and this gave him a ... Read More
Empowering women vital for world food supply
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Empowering female farmers in developing countries is crucial to solving the world’s food problems as an era of food price spikes looms, the chair of a panel which advises governments and donors on agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa told Reuters. “If we’re going to feed the world and in particular if Africa is ... Read More
Hamas clinging to Gaza as unity remains elusive
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Efforts to reunify the Palestinians behind one leadership appear to have hit a dead end: Hamas leaders ruling the Gaza Strip have concluded that subordinating themselves to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would be wasting a golden opportunity offered by the Arab Spring. The thinking, as revealed in ... Read More
Battle for Tunisia’s soul worries country’s leaders
Monday, 19 March 2012
Tunisian president’s office has warned of attempts to sow division inside the country, after a series of incidents that highlight the growing tension between advocates of Islamist and secular values. In a statement issued Sunday, the president’s office expressed concern over the profanation of mosques in the ... Read More
Raising level of dialogue in Saudi Arabia
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Given the status of books, studies and researches, we saw the vital cultural interactions that the Kingdom has witnessed over the last few days. These interactions indicate that the reform project — sponsored by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques — has been on track in a gradual, yet wise Read More
War against al-Qaeda steams ahead despite Arab Spring
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Analysts wrote for a while that the Arab uprisings took many governments and organizations like al-Qaeda by surprise and they had more or less written the terrorist group off, saying it will be sidelined and struggle to make itself relevant. This would be especially so because voters in Arab-Spring hit countries like Tunisia, ... Read More
Young lawyer inspires hope among Egypt activists
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Egyptian revolutionaries who forced Hosni Mubarak out of office last year are struggling to find a voice to represent them in the presidential race that will name his successor. But a young labor activist and rights lawyer hopes he may fit the bill. Khaled Ali, 40, has attracted a dedicated youth following, buzzing media ... Read More
N. Korea’s plan for rocket launch stirs regional concern
Friday, 16 March 2012
North Korea said on Friday it will launch a long-range rocket carrying a “working” satellite to mark the centenary of founder Kim Il-sung’s birth next month, sparking regional condemnation that it was in breach of a U.N. resolution. South Korea, which is still technically at war with the North after signing only an ... Read More
Divided and rudderless, global community stumbles on Syria
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Unlike in Libya, the international community has been divided and rudderless in the face of Syria’s unrest, unable to halt an increasingly bloody crisis after a year of half-hearted efforts. And though the appointment of U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan has offered a glimmer of hope, analysts say there ... Read More
Obama tested by events outside control
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
This is the economy election, right? Tell to that to the world. President Barack Obama is getting another dose of the reality of his job: the out-of-his-control events that shape whether he will keep it. He is lobbying Israel not to launch on attack on Iran that could set the Middle East on ... Read More