Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar—the 75-year-old former chairman of Egypt’s Bank of Alexandria who pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor charge of sexually abusing a maid at the Pierre hotel—got some bad news yesterday when a judge recommend he pay the maid $350,000 for her troubles.
1
Results tagged “egypt”
Gropey Egyptian Banker Should Pay $350K For Abusing Maid, Says Judge
Top 5 Moments Of Occupy Wall Street
Despite the somewhat shark-jumping designation of "The Protester" as Time Magazine's Person of the Year, it's difficult to imagine something that so thoroughly engulfed the public discourse at the end of 2011 as Occupy Wall Street. Click through to see our top five most salient moments of the movement.
Time's 2011 Person Of The Year Is The Protester
This year, Time's Person of the Year is sort of you: It's The Protester. Time's managing editor Rick Stengel said, "No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor in a town barely on a map set himself on fire in a public square, it would spark protests that would bring down dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and rattle regimes in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Or that that spirit of dissent would spur Mexicans to rise up against the terror of drug cartels, Greeks to march against unaccountable leaders, Americans to occupy public spaces to protest income inequality, and Russians to marshal themselves against a corrupt autocracy."
NYC-Based Journalist Beaten, Sexually Assaulted By Egyptian Riot Police
NYC-based Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy is recovering from a brutal assault at the hands of paramilitary riot police while she was covering demonstrations near Tahrir Square in Cairo on Wednesday night. She says riot police broke her arm and hand and sexually assaulted her during her unexplained arrest. Eltahawy lost her phone while being beaten, but was later able to use an activist's phone to describe her ordeal in a series of dramatic updates on Twitter:
Queens Student Accused Of Spying For Israel Released From Egypt
Ilan Grapel, the 27-year-old law student from Hollis Hills detained in Egypt since June and accused of spying for Israel, has been released in exchange for 25 Egyptians held in Israeli jails.
TSA Finds Brass Knuckles, Stun Guns, Dagger And Sword In Checked Luggage
Sure, the TSA's list of prohibited items for carry-on and checked luggage might say that brass knuckles, stun guns, daggers and swords are allowed in checked bags, but when TSA agents find "four sets of brass knuckles, four stun- gun batons, a dagger and a sword" in your bags at JFK Airport, they are probably going to arrest you. Because items like brass knuckles and stun guns are illegal in New York.
Met Returns King Tut's Bits To Egypt
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned a handful of odds and ends found in King Tut's tomb to their home in Egypt, after the museum determined that it had no rights to hang on to the antiquities.
Queens Student Arrested In Egypt, Accused Of Spying For Israel
A 27-year-old student from Hollis Hills was arrested in Egypt over the weekend and accused of being an Israeli spy who "tried to sabotage the Egyptian revolution," according to reports. Ilan Grapel is currently detained in Egypt, though his parents and friends insist that he's no spy.
Video: Lara Logan Describes Brutal Sexual Assault, "I'm So Much Stronger" Now
CBS News correspondent Lara Logan's interview about her terrifying sexual assault in Cairo aired on 60 Minutes last night (see it below). Besides having her clothes torn to shreds and feeling "hands raping me over and over," Logan said they were pulling out her hair, "holding big wads of it, literally trying to tear my scalp off my skull. And I thought, when I thought I am going to die here, my next thought was I can't believe I just let them kill me, that that was as much fight as I had. That I just gave in and I gave up on my children so easily, how could you do that?"
Video: Lara Logan Speaks Out About Sexual Assault In Cairo
CBS News reporter Lara Logan is speaking out about suffering a "brutal and sustained sexual assault" while covering the fall of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in February. Logan was separated from her crew when a mob of 200 grew unruly; she told the NY Times that a group of men groped her, tore off her clothes, and beat her, "For an extended period of time, they raped me with their hands."
Report: Lara Logan Was Stripped, Punched, Beaten With Flagpoles
Last week, CBS News revealed that correspondent Lara Logan "suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating" on February 11, while covering the reaction to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation in Cairo. Now the Daily Mail reports on Logan's attack, "Sensitive parts of her body were covered in red marks that were originally thought to have been bite marks. After further examination they were revealed to be from aggressive pinching. It has also been revealed that she was stripped, punched and slapped by the crowd, which was labelling her a spy and chanting 'Israeli' and 'Jew' as they beat her."
Scholar Who Mocked Lara Logan's Attack: Twitter Is Not For Nuance
The journalist and now ex-NYU fellow who belittled the "brutal and sustained sexual assault" on CBS correspondent Lara Logan last week in Cairo, Egypt is now on an apology tour. Well, sort of: Nir Rosen, who resigned his position at NYU's Center on Law and Security yesterday after the uproar his Tweets ("Jesus Christ, at a moment when she is going to become a martyr and glorified we should at least remember her role as a major war monger") caused, told CNN's Anderson Cooper he had no excuse, he "was a jerk," but then blamed his actions on the late hour, "It was 2 AM and I was just being thoughtless," and not really knowing what happened to Logan. But Cooper called him out on that.
Report: Lara Logan Was Separated From Crew For 20-30 Minutes
Yesterday, CBS News revealed its chief foreign affairs correspondent, Lara Logan, "suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating" while covering reaction to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation in Cairo's Tahrir Square last Friday. Logan returned to the United States the next day and was treated at a hospital; she is now recuperating at home. According to the Post, CBS News decided to make the statement because it started to get questions from other media outlets: A source said, "A call came in from The [Associated Press]... They knew she had been attacked, and they had details. CBS decided to get in front of the story."
CBS News' Lara Logan Sexually Assaulted In Egypt
CBS News issued a statement on how correspondent Lara Logan suffered a horrible attack last week in Egypt: "On Friday February 11, the day Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a '60 Minutes' story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration.. In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers."
Egypt—And Little Egypt—Cheers Mubarak's Resignation
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation yesterday capped off 18 days of protests from Egyptians calling for change. Celebrations echoed from Cairo's Tahrir Square, and in New York's "Little Egypt" in Queens, people cheered in the street and honked car horns—one man told the Post, "We are free. We can breathe." The Post also celebrated the end of Mubarak's 30-year reign with a Photoshop cover of the former leader as a mummy.
Mubarak Has Stepped Down, Says Egyptian VP
September? Actually maybe he meant tomorrow? Though yesterday Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a televised address that he wouldn't be giving up his position until elections in September his newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman just made a brief televised announcement that he actually has stepped down, oh, now. Mubarak has reportedly left Cairo for his resort home in Sharm el-Sheik. Early reports say the crowds in Cairo are quite happy with the news.
Mubarak Speaks, Isn't Planning On Leaving Until September
As expected Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gave a televised speech earlier this afternoon, but he confounded predictions he would step down, insisting that he won't be going anywhere until September. In the speech he reiterated that he would not take orders from abroad and praised the "youth of Egypt" who have been protesting in Cairo for 17 days.
Mubarak May Step Down As Soon As Today
It appears that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak may step down in a matter of hours. The Egyptian army has announced that is has begun "necessary measures to protect the nation and support the legitimate demands of the people,” which many are taking to be a signal it will be taking a lead role in the coming changes. Meanwhile the CIA (which has issues with these kinds of things) thinks there is a “strong likelihood” Mubarak could step down as soon as today, to be replaced by his new VP Omar Suleiman.
Marchers Plan Second Egypt Solidarity Rally By UN
Starting at 1 p.m., protesters organized by the Alliance of Egyptian Americans and Activists are set to hold another demonstration outside the United Nations. Yesterday, hundreds rallied in Times Square, and protesters hope the momentum will continue and inspire President Hosni Mubarak to step down. One protester told NY1, "Thirty is more than enough for someone and he's only been taking the Egyptian people and making them poorer and more fearful."
Hundreds Rally In Times Square To Support Egyptian Democracy
Egyptians and Egyptian-Americans in New York City area converged on Times Square yesterday afternoon to support the protesters calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down. The Alliance of Egyptian-Americans's Chairman Ahmed Fathi said, "Today we are standing in solidarity, not just with Egyptian-Americans, but with American citizens from all walks of life and all backgrounds, to support our American values. We are supporting universal values for democracy, freedoms and human rights."
Sign Of The Times: Egypt Rally vs Bieber Rally
In one corner, we have Justin Bieber fanatics, who came into Times Square today to catch a glimpse of their hero during an appearance on MTV's "The Seven" (the Bieb has been in town doing press for his movie, Never Say Never, making appearances on "The Daily Show" and at MSG for a Knicks game). In the other corner, we have protesters rallying against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his crackdown on protesters in Cairo. And lo and behold, from the looks of it, humanity didn't let us down this time! Do the Mubarak demonstrators really outnumber the True Beliebers? Must be Photoshop.
Reviled Kenneth Cole Egypt Tweet Appears on Cole Storefront
Less than twelve hours after Kenneth Cole was scolded by the entire Internet for tastelessly using the Egypt revolution to promote his new spring collection, somebody in San Francisco emblazoned his infamous tweet on the side of a Kenneth Cole outlet. Come on, New York, why does San Francisco always win the "Who's More Down on the Man" pissing contest? We're three hours ahead of those hippies, and still no Keffiyeh-wearing bike messenger from Bushwick has lobbed a King Tut paperweight through a Kenneth Cole window? Do we have to fan the flames of every fauxtrage ourselves?
Today, Times Square Rally In Support Of Egyptian Protesters
As tens of thousands of Egyptians gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest the government and President Hosni Mubarak—and as the U.S. urges Mubarak to resign immediately—Egyptians in the NYC area are planning a rally in Times Square. According to WCBS 2, "The rally will start at 3:30 pm. Protesters are expected to march to the Egyptian Consulate on 59th Street and 2nd Avenue. A large enough crowd could complicate the evening commute for those trying to escape the city via the 59th Street bridge."
Why Should Kenneth Cole Limit His Crass Tweets to Egypt?
Thugs on the payroll of Egyptian tyrant (and American pal) Hosni Mubarak have been hunting down journalists and human rights workers and taking them into "protective custody," nudge nudge, wink wink. On a related note, Kenneth Cole's Washed Leather Bomber Jacket is on sale for just $398.00. We know that because a few hours ago Kenneth Cole tweeted, "Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo." Cute! But why stop there? As long as Cole is marketing products on the backs of slain political dissidents, he might as well connect the dots between his clothes and other big news stories. Some suggestions:
Americans Flee Egypt As Protests Continue
In spite of the Egyptian government's mid-afternoon curfew, thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Cairo. CNN reports, "The crowd has swelled compared with Saturday and Sunday, and people gathered Monday in Tahrir Square, a focal point of the protests. Some of them said they had spent the night, and the smell of smoke from campfires lingered in the air. Helicopters hovered overhead in Egypt's capital as one group held signs and chanted, 'The Egyptian people want the government to fall.'"
Supporters Of Egyptian Protesters Rally At The U.N.
Egyptians in New York City held a rally in support of the anti-government protests in their native country, calling for the end of President Hosni Mubarak's leadership, outside of the United Nations yesterday. One told NY1, "No matter how far we are we're still going to support. That is where our roots are from and that's where we're going to continue to support," while another said, "Step down. Just resign. His whole crew, the whole government. Just let us pick. Since 30 years, not even one justice for anyone. All he wants to throw in jail he just throw in jail. That's not fair."
Local Egyptians Supports Protesters As Unrest Continues
As protests continue in Egypt over President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year reign—police fired on protesters near the Interior Ministry in Cairo, killing at least five (at least 52 have died in clashes over the past week, with 2000 injured)—worried Egyptians in the area have been trying to reach their friends and family. A Queens resident told NY1, "So far, I'm not able to call my family. I'm not able to contact Egypt. There is no Internet. There is no YouTube. There is no Facebook. There is nothing. Egypt in a siege.”
Egypt Threatening To Repossess Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra's Needle has been a cornerstone of Central Park since 1880, but now Egypt is threatening to take it back if the city doesn't keep it in better condition. Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, wrote to the Central Park Conservancy and Mayor Bloomberg imploring them to preserve the obelisk for future generations, or else face Egyptian repo men:
Weiner Wants to Cash in on Diplomats' Parking Tickets
Foreign diplomats who park as they please around the United Nations owe the city big bucks, and Rep. Anthony Weiner is not about to let it ride. He's got a plan to make diplomats pay for their $18 milllion worth of infractions by hitting their countries where it hurts. (And no, he's not talking about stealing their models.)
« Previous
1
Next »
send a tip
tips@gothamist.comsubscribe
Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist.