Author: Aly El-Samman

11/1/2012  Cairo governor Dr. Abd El Kawi Khalifa has put forth proposals to achieve two important goals, keeping Cairo clean and motivating young people. The first goal, to keep our capital clean, would be addressed by imposing fines of up to four thousand Egyptian pounds on those who litter in the streets. And if a...

25/1/2012 My recent meetings with foreign, Arab and Egyptian investors gave me the distinct impression that almost everyone plans to wait and see what will happen today, January 25, before deciding on their investment strategies. I heard from real estate expert Mrs. Samia Moussa that many investors she works with have postponed projects until after...

22/2/2012 Listening to debates about how to reform the police and security forces, I am reminded of the special courts set up after the 1952 revolution that ultimately did more damage than good. For that reason and by virtue of my training as a lawyer, I prefer that we stick to our legal system, with...

29/2/2012 As a member of the civil society think tank Club de Monaco, I was honored to participate in this year’s meeting held in Qatar by Crown Prince Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Here is an excerpt from the speech I delivered during the closing session. Stability and security Stability is key to security, yet some...

7/3/2012 In his speech before parliament on February 26, Prime Minister Ganzouri said that donor countries had failed to respect their commitments to send financial aid to Egypt. Upon hearing this, my first reaction was to write in Al Akhbar a reproach to the EU and Arab countries for failing to honor their pledges to...

14/3/2012 Serious concerns were raised about the independence of our judiciary after Egypt lifted the travel ban on 43 foreigners who were under investigation for operating unlicensed NGO’s and illegally receiving foreign funds. Sixteen of those released were U.S. citizens. Personally, I believe it was a mistake to involve the judiciary in this sensitive matter....

14/3/2012 As a supporter of the presidential candidate Mansour Hassan, I’ve decided to use part of my weekly article in Al Akhbar (and some blog posts) to propose ideas to him from now until Election Day. So, my friend, here are my two cents for whatever they’re worth. My first suggestion is that if you...

21/3/2012 We will never forget Pope Shenouda III. We will never forget his quiet words, his unerring advice to the Copts of Egypt in difficult times of sectarian strife, times when violent clashes threatened our national unity. During Pope Shenouda’s illness, sectarian clashes broke out in October 2010 and there were heightened tensions between Muslims...

28/3/2012 When guests come to visit Egypt from abroad, among their first things they do in Cairo is pay a visit to Tahrir (Liberation) Square, famous for its association with the January 25 Revolution. When will we be willing to face the contradiction between the contradictory images of Tahrir Square? The first is of a...

28/3/2012 People tend to worship celebrities and turn them into idols, especially if they hold high level honors like the Nobel Prize. Nevertheless, Ahmed Zewail’s ranking as a world-class scientist does not stop me from asking him two direct questions: First, after seizing the Nile University (NU) buildings for your “Zewail Science and Technology City”,...