Though the Egyptian president has authorized the release of some 100 political prisoners, the global human rights organization says thousands more are languishing inside prisons for doing no more than engaging in peaceful protest.
Source: MADA MASR
Mada Masr is an independent Egyptian online newspaper, founded in June 2013, with content in Arabic and English.
Egypt and China made billions worth of energy and infrastructure deals during al-Sisi’s recent visit to Beijing, another sign of growing economic and political ties between the two countries.
Though the Egyptian military is still mum, new details are emerging in the deadly air strike in the Western Desert that mistook a group of Mexican tourists for Islamist terrorists.
CAIRO — In the past two months, at least five people have died in Egyptian police custody after being arrested on politically related charges. Four of the detainees belonged to the conservative Jama’a al-Islamiya group, while another was accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Three of those Jama’a al-Islamiya members died over just […]
Italian energy giant ENI has reported an unprecedented discovery of gas reserves off the coast of Egypt. It’s no quick fix for the troubled Egyptian economy.
ATHENS — We were staying in the downtown area close to Athens’ Kotzia Square, walking distance from the local fish market, the hardware market and local spice vendors. So a fishy mist weighs down the air, mingled with the opulent, nostalgic aroma of mastic (a resin used in the manufacturing of ouzo and mastika, a […]
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An Egyptian Novelist’s Passion For Hebrew
“It would have been more fitting for us to speak either Arabic or Turkish in this gathering today, especially given the common cultural heritage we share. There should have been someone present today to translate to Turkish. It is a shame really that we have to communicate in English.” — Orhan Pamuk at the 2007 […]
Though deep historical rivalries between Saudi Arabia and Yemen have little to do with Egypt, it has been drawn into the anti-Houthi confict. Having given initial support to the Saudi coalition, how far Cairo will go is the source of intense speculation.
The bloody dispersal of Cairo’s sit-ins two years ago marked a decisive end to the Muslim Brotherhood’s political ascendancy. The group now is in crisis, its membership divided over its ultimate direction.
CAIRO — Aisha’s family has tried everything to cure her of the crushing headaches that ruin her days and the violent, swirling images that haunt her at night. “At first, we went to the doctor, but he was unable to help,” says her brother, Ahmed El-Said. “He prescribed her pills but, if anything, they made […]
Videos and pictures showing female police officers violently reprimanding alleged harassers over the Eid holiday weekend in Egypt drew both praise and scorn.
CAIRO — Etisalat, the smallest of Egypt’s three telecom companies, has gone no-holds-barred in its latest challenge to Vodaphone, “borrowing” one of the latter’s former mascots, a genie, to take several not-so-subtle jabs at the market leader’s star-studded, sing-songy Ramadan ad. In the Etisalat spot, a narrator asks the genie (who’s all decked out in […]
CAIRO — Egypt has been bombarded with a constant stream of messages this week about the miracles the New Suez Canal will bring. Not all of the claims hold up to scrutiny. Claim: The new extension will allow two-way traffic along the canal. Reality: This is sort of true — 60% true, to be more […]
CAIRO — A woman carried her son as she pleaded with the doctor in charge of Nasser Institute Hospital’s blood bank for a few bags of blood to save his life after a serious car accident. The doctor turned her away, saying that the boy’s rare blood type was not available. Salma Khattab, whose father […]
The Egyptian regime and Islamic militants kill civilians every day. If they are killed by the militants, then they are victims of terrorism, and if they are killed by the military, they become terrorists.
CAIRO — Questions abound in the wake of Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb’s announcement that the government will build a 700-square kilometer business and administrative center called The Capital Cairo. Topping the list of queries is whether Egypt, which has millions of vacant property units as it stands, even needs this type of project. The […]
From launching new air routes to studying Mandarin, Egypt’s tourism industry isn’t just standing idly by while post-revolution problems keep American and European visitors away.
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On Being Transgender In Egypt
CAIRO — Aisha was sleeping when her apartment was raided. She and three other friends had just moved in when the police came by asking if they had weapons or anything illegal. They said no, and were asked for their identity cards. Aisha and her friends are transgender women, but their identity cards say they […]
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Egypt Is No Country For Free Journalists
Last month, Spanish correspondent Ricard Gonzalez was forced to leave Egypt in a hurry. Here is his story
CAIRO — With its densely populated coasts and low-lying agricultural areas, Egypt is one of the most vulnerable countries to rising sea levels. According to World Bank data, a one-meter rise in the sea level would inundate a quarter of the Nile Delta and force 10.5 million people from their homes. Rising sea waters would […]
CAIRO — Interested in planting summer vegetables such as pepper, zucchini or molokhia? Now is just about the right time of year to plant, says Hany El Khodary, head of urban farming company Green Zone Egypt. Even city dwellers with no outdoor space apart from a small balcony can grow small gardens or recycle some […]
The new series “The Jewish Alley,” set in the early 1950s, is being shown to Egyptian audiences during the Ramadan TV season. Its creator explains why it matters now.
Getting past the Israeli checkpoints into Palestine is a humiliating experience. Reflections of an Egyptian writer.
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Egypt’s Wannabe G.I. Janes
A movement championing the right of women to enlist in the military is taking on conservative gender politics, the military status quo and religious doctrine.
In his first year as president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has shown surprising rhetorical flair, even as he consistently sends contrasting messages.
There is so much beauty to be found in the preservation of decay.Â
The state security apparatus that secretly exerted control over much of Egyptian society during the Mubarak regime is firmly back in command.
Coverage of social issues in Egypt is rarely even-handed. Instead, media outlets preach and bray, moralizing instead of taking a detached, just-the-facts approach.
CAIRO — When the Egyptian regime carried out the hanging of six defendants last week in the Arab Sharkas case, it was sending a clear message to former President Mohamed Morsi a day after a Cairo court sentenced the former leader and another 106 people to death. Such is the interpretation of events in the […]
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The Last Seven Jews Of Egypt
CAIRO — Egyptian Jews are having to face the ugly truth that their community appears bound to vanish. As recently as 1947, Egypt’s Jewish community numbered up to 80,000. Today, by most accounts, there are just seven Egyptian Jews left, most of whom are elderly women in need of daily medical care. The last time […]
Despite the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, religion still dominates the public sphere. Against the odds, the founders of a new party are fighting for the separation of mosque and state.
Families of certain social standing in Egypt often educate their children in English. Publishing houses too are getting in on the Anglo influence, publishing literary works and texts written directly in English.
CAIRO — There are two smiling European-looking 30-somethings waiting to welcome you to the new website, Liberland.org, while a hopeful-sounding logo proclaims, “Live and let live.” Formerly referred to as Gornja Siga, the seven square-kilometer state (slightly larger than the Vatican and Monaco) came into existence following a border dispute between Croatia and Serbia. The […]
In the deafening Egyptian capital, a small group of independent artists quietly present an art relying on everything the performer has to give … except their voices.
Lake Burullus, the country’s second-largest natural lake, which yields a third of all the fish sold in Egypt, is slowly being ruined, as are family businesses.
CAIRO — International lingerie store Victoria’s Secret came to Cairo in 2013, but somewhat surprisingly for a country of Muslim modesty, there has been a varied and flourishing lingerie business in Egypt’s capital for years. Most of the lingerie downtown is imported from either Turkey or Syria. The owners of the two lingerie shops who […]
Egypt’s participation in the military operation “Decisive Storm” against the Houthis in Yemen is a question of interests, alliances and cold, hard cash.
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Egyptian Dwarfs Fight For Their Rights
It’s a different kind of Arab Spring in Egypt that you may have missed.
CAIRO — Amid shifting copyright and publishing norms, adaptation and translation of existing works is as contentious an issue today as ever in the literary world. The questions are particularly relevant for the Arabic novel, both for its recent and not-so-recent history. Many have accused Ahmad Mourad of reproducing characters from Naguib Mahfouz in his […]
As electricity costs climb in the face of energy shortages and a steep reduction in government subsidies, a new website helps consumers track their consumption and calculate costs.