Culture wars Oct 2, 2009
A minister for 22 years, he has refused to visit Israel, and his threat to burn any Israeli books he found in the Alexandria library, can hardly have helped. But the vote at Unesco sparked an interesting debate - why is Egypt so opposed to any form of cultural normalisation. (BBC News -- Africa)
File on 4: Complex fraud 'going unpunished' Jul 21, 2009
Critics of the SFO cite the way it dealt with suspicions that bribes worth 5m were paid to a businessman linked to the Egyptian authorities by a subsidiary company of building giant Balfour Beatty, when it rebuilt the Alexandria library on a world heritage site. The case ended last year with the firm, which had reported the suspected fraud to the SFO, paying a 2. (BBC News -- UK)
A decade of Islamic art Jul 12, 2009
Syed Mohd recalls that the IAMM has sent exhibitions to museums as close as Singapore (the Asian Civilisations Museum) and as distant as Egypt (the Alexandria Library). In July, there will be an exhibition of our Central Asian ikat (woven cloth) at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Egyptian u-turn on Israeli books Jun 16, 2009
When asked about Israeli books in Alexandria library last year, the minister said that if they existed, he would burn them himself ... But the culture minister and abstract artist Farouk Hosni has come under some severe criticism for comments he made last year to the Egyptian parliament in which he said he would burn any Israeli books that were being held by the Alexandria library. (BBC News -- Africa)
Landmarks go dark for world climate campaign Mar 29, 2009
In Egypt, the Giza pyramids, the Cairo Tower and the Alexandria Library on the Mediterranean all went dark. In the United Arab Emirates, which has the highest per capita energy consumption in the world, Dubai's iconic sail-shaped seven-star Burj al-Arab hotel turned off its nightly multi-colored light show. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Landmarks Go Dark For Earth Hour Mar 29, 2009
" Scientists have warned that global warming caused by burning fossil fuels on a massive scale could devastate the planet, hitting the poorest countries hardest with floods, droughts and disease. Some 371 landmarks were due to power down worldwide, including also the Vatican, the Empire State Building, the Las Vegas casino strip and Beijing's "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium. Mountaineers planned to raise an Earth Hour flag on the 8,848-metre (29,000-foot) summit of Everest, the planet's highest... (Channelnewsasia.com)
