Word: cairo
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...understanding Arab societies, and many of them are becoming devotees of Al Aswany's writing. Last fall, a translation of Chicago became an immediate best seller in France, where Al Aswany was paid front-page homage by Le Monde. The English translation, published by the American University of Cairo Press, will hit international bookshelves this month, and editions in nine other languages are in the works...
...already drawing comparisons to the nation's Nobel literature laureate, Naguib Mahfouz. Such high praise may be a little premature: Mahfouz founded modern Arabic literature and wrote almost 50 novels over half a century. But Al Aswany - who continues to work on the side as a dentist in Cairo - does share the legendary author's talent for constructing simple stories about Egyptian life that convey universal truths in defense of human dignity. His writing tackles the most pressing issues facing Egyptian society today, from dictatorship and corruption to economic inequality and Islamic extremism. "The greatest role of literature...
...argue the case with the Egyptians of keeping the Rafah border open - the only entry and exit point into Gaza. Egypt says it is prepared to keep the fence open - but only if Hamas and Fatah share responsibility for it. After the breakdown of three-way talks in Cairo last week, that seems unlikely. Hamas has agreed to help Egypt reseal most of the border fence, but even that agreement seemed in disarray on Monday when Gazan youths pelted Egyptian troops with stones. One Palestinian was killed and nine people fell wounded when shots were fired. With reporting by Aaron...
...made it to Cairo; the family had friends who led them along Bedouin trails across the Sinai desert, past the roadblocks of Egyptian police, whose orders were to turn back any Palestinians fleeing Gaza. Others weren't so lucky. Egyptian authorities stopped dozens of ailing Palestinians at the town of el-Arish because they lacked the proper visas. The patients remain there, camped in mosques and in the doorways of el-Arish, tended by relatives who are pleading with Egyptian riot police to let them pass...
...Gaza friend Azmi Keshawi, though, the brief liberty meant two things: Cairo and chocolate. "I'm taking my wife and kids in the Jeep," he told me when the wall was breached, "and we're driving all the way to Cairo, maybe farther. Just because we can." Actually, Azmi was gone only overnight. He couldn't find any gas in el-Arish, so he turned back. El-Arish's shops had also been picked clean by Gaza's hordes, so Azmi could find no chocolate either, just four big bags of potato chips and a couple of Cokes. No regrets...