Source : Al Arabiya / 22 Feb 2014

A flicker of hope for women across Egypt may have been sparked on Friday, after the first female to head a political party in the country was elected.

Breaking through Egypt's political glass ceiling, Hala Shukrallah succeeded former Egyptian Vice President Mohammad ElBaradei to become the Constitution Party’s president.

Source : Al Arabiya / 13 Nov 2013

A recent exhibition held at Cairo’s Townhouse Gallery art space aims to shed light on the different emotions displayed by Egyptian people during times of political instability, reported Ahram Online.

The organizers of the show, entitled “Ugly Feelings,” seek to respond to what they call the “state of helplessness” among Egyptians, stimulated by the political turmoil which followed the 2011 uprising, according to the website.

Source : Reuters / 11 Nov 2013

Egypt's urban consumer inflation accelerated in October, driven by higher consumer spending on food and transportation, the state CAPMAS statistics agency reported on Sunday.

CAPMAS said inflation rose to an annual 10.4 percent in October from 10.1 percent in September.

Egyptian inflation has been pushed up this year by a weaker Egyptian pound, though the currency has steadily appreciated against the dollar since the army deposed elected Islamist President Mohammad Mursi on July 3.

By Yasmine Saleh / 24 Oct 2013

After months of turmoil in Egypt, military officers are pushing popular army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president, after the 2011 uprising had inspired hopes for democratic change in a country long dominated by generals.

Sisi ousted Egypt’s first freely-elected president, Mohamed Mursi, the man who appointed him, in July after mass protests against the Islamist leader’s rule.

Source : AP / 13 Sep 2013

Tunisians, who kicked off the pro-democracy uprisings of the Arab Spring in 2011 by overthrowing their authoritarian president, now yearn for stability and have lost faith in democracy and their elected leaders, according to a poll published Thursday.

The survey published by Pew Research Center shows dramatic drops from last year in favorability ratings of all prominent politicians as well as faith in most state institutions like the elected assembly and the judiciary.

Source : AP / 6 Sep 2013

Indonesian Muslim hard-liners resumed their protests Thursday against the Miss World pageant, as organizers insisted that the event would go on as scheduled this weekend on the resort island of Bali.

In Jakarta, the capital, about 1,000 members of Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia rallied outside the building housing the local organizer of the contest.

Source : Al Arabiya / 24 Aug 2013

The political turmoil in Egypt is not just taking a toll on people living through the country’s bloody violence; animals are also feeling the strain.

Giraffes, rhinos, elephants and deer are contemplating suicide, Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm reported this week, citing gunfire and protester chants as reasons behind the zoo animals’ alleged agony.

By AP / 2 July 2013

Puppeteers from the Israeli version of Sesame Street protested Monday against Israel’s closure of a Palestinian children’s puppet festival, arguing that puppet theater poses no threat to Israeli security.

Source : Al Arabiya with Agencies / 21 Mar 2013

Egypt ministers on Tuesday announced controversial plans to introduce a smart-card system that limits the amout of subsidized bread citizens can buy.

The government would start rationing “after two months,” Supply Minister Bassem Ouda told Reuters earlier this week.

Source : Reuters / 13 Mar 2013

A boy of 12 sees his best friend shot through the heart. Another of 15 is held in a cell with 150 other people, and taken out every day to be put in a giant wheel and burnt with cigarettes.

Syria's children are perhaps the greatest victims of their country's conflict, suffering "layers and layers of emotional trauma", Save the Children's chief executive told Reuters.