Egypt
Egypt vs. Algeria – the “hate match” has already kicked off online
The Algerian Fennecs take on the Egyptian Pharaohs for a place in the 2010 World Cup on November 14. With a week still to go before the game, things have already turned nasty, both countries accusing the other of corruption. Read more...
Buy back your virginity for just ten euros
Question: What are these thin strips of plastic encapsulating a reddish liquid, and why have they prompted such outrage in Egypt? Answer: an artificial hymen, made in China and complete with fake blood. Read more...
Qalyubiyah misses its street-cleaning pigs
Every day, the people of Al Khosos, in Qalyubiyah province north-west of Cairo, are confronted by heaps of rubbish and noxious odours. The problem, our Observer tells us, is one of waste collection, which has got worse since Egypt culled its pig herd because of concern over the A (H1N1) virus – or swine flu. Read on...
Egypt’s biggest Islamic university bans the niqab
During a visit to a secondary school a few weeks ago, Egypt's highest Sunni authority came across a teenager wearing the full veil. Flabbergasted, he humiliated the girl, asking her "Why wear the niqab in a class full of girls?!" He then forced her to remove it. Read more...
Is Farouk Hosni worthy of leading UNESCO?
UNESCO will choose its new general director this evening. It's Farouk Hosni, Egyptian Culture Minister since 1986, who looks set to succeed Koïchiro Matsuura at the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. But will the man who pledged to "burn" Israeli books really fit the bill? Read more...
Pure plagiarism from Egyptian TV channel
A few months ago we brought your attention to the advertising world's most outrageous plagiarists, exposed by a Kuwaiti blogger. This time, it's a young Egyptian showing up a local TV station for its unoriginal ideas. But he's treading on dangerous ground. Read more...
Who wants you to see these torture videos?
Blogger Wael Abbas has published footage of a man being tortured in what he says is an Egyptian police station. The horrific scenes seem not to have greatly shocked the Egyptian public. Our Observers there, however, are asking why, and for whom, these images were filmed. Please be aware that this post includes images which you may find upsetting. Read more...
Egypt's most wanted dog
Egyptians are not amused by “I love you, Man” (Paramount Pictures), the latest summer comedy to come from across the Atlantic. The reason: the main character’s dog is named after the country's former president, Anwar Sadat. Read more…
Marwa Sherbini murder: Egyptians mourn the “headscarf martyr”
A shocking incident in which an Egyptian woman was stabbed to death in a German courtroom has provoked outrage in her home country. The young mother, pregnant with her second child, was killed by the very man she was bearing witness against, himself in court for making Islamophobic insults. Read more...
