Modern Egypt
Cairo Art Show: “Making a Man out of Him” at the Townhouse Gallery
In her first solo exhibition in Egypt in several years,artist Huda Lutfi presents masculinity as a continuous and changing performance of power versus vulnerability. The work is multi-layered, playing, as Lutfi is known to do, with an array of collected objects and images from around the city, which meticulously give new meaning through carefully... »
Population Growth vs. Literacy
One in every four Egyptians is illiterate. Despite free education and long- running literacy programs, the number of illiterates has changed little in over two decades. Nearly 17 million adult Egyptians can neither read nor write, according to recent government data. Egypt’s population of 80 million is growing at 1.76 percent a year. The strongest... »
Rare storm hits Egypt
Four people were killed and more than 50 hurt as bad weather wreaked havoc across Egypt, pelting the capital with a freak hail storm and smashing a luxury liner into a pier, officials and media said Friday. In the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria, waves as high as a two-storey building pounded the coast, media... »
Egypt approves organ transplant bill
Egypt’s parliament voted by an overwhelming majority on Saturday to regulate organ transplants in a bid to curb illegal trafficking and tourism over the issue. The law bans commercial trade in organs as well as transplants between Egyptians and foreigners, except in cases of husband and wife. Operations in government hospitals are to be financed by... »
Egypt: Millions of children still living in poverty
Image via Wikipedia A study looking at the impact of poverty on children in Egypt reveals that while significant progress has been made, vulnerable children continue to face serious deprivations. The study – Child Poverty and Disparities in Egypt: Building the social infrastructure for Egypt’s future – is the first such study in the country that... »
Egypt’s poor face end of free health care
Around 35 million of Egypt’s 80 million people are in the state health insurance system, according to the Health Ministry, and most of the rest are supposed to get free health care. Those seeking free treatment must make their case at a Health Ministry office and, if successful, receive an official letter authorizing public hospitals... »
67 families in Giza evicted for new housing development project
Sixty-seven families in the Warraq and Imbaba Airport area in North Giza have been evicted from their homes after the land was sold to investors to establish new housing projects. The Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Development had initially reportedly promised to evict the families only when the alternative housing units were ready. The... »
Pyramids suggested on Egypt’s flag
A member of the People’s Assembly of Egypt suggested placing the Great Pyramids on a new Egyptian flag. According to lawmaker Hussein Abdel-Samei, the Pyramids of Giza would replace the current flag’s golden eagle holding a shield emblazoned with the words “Arab Republic of Egypt”. The Great Pyramids are a worldwide known icon unique to... »
Egypt amends Antiquities law
The People’s Assembly amended Egypt’s antiquities law on Monday to bring in stiffer punishments for the theft and smuggling of relics while granting patent rights to the country’s antiquities council. The sale of antiquities is still banned and Egyptians who have antiquities must report their possessions to the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Relics can in the... »
What is an Egyptian antiquity and how to protect it?
At the heart of a “heated debate” in the Egyptian Parliament (People’s Assembly) was the question of what constitutes an Egyptian antiquity and whether the people are capable of identifying an object as such. Article 8 of the proposed law, supported by Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, would ban the trade or any other form... »
