It was meant to be the library that recaptured the glories of Alexandria, providing a new home for the world’s knowledge almost 2,000 years after its predecessor was burnt to the ground.
Whereas the old Egyptian library offered a rich diet of philosophy and history to the greatest thinkers of its age, including Euclid, Archimedes and Herophilus, the modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina is attracting harsh criticism for serving up very different fare. A row has erupted over the decision to build a food court at the heart of Egypt’s self-proclaimed “window on the world,” with critics accusing its trustees of selling out the library’s venerable legacy for short-term profit. Among the charges leveled at the £135 million (US$219 million) Bibliotheca, which opened seven years ago, is the accusation that secret plans are being hatched to allow McDonald’s to open a branch inside the complex, and that the library is putting brash consumerism ahead of serious scholarship.
Library authorities have denied the claims, insisting the food area is needed for the annual influx of 800,000 visitors.
Six firms have got licenses to open stores in the food area and the library insists McDonald’s is not among them. Sharif Riad, press relations director, said the court was sensitively designed with no logos visible.
In a country that has seen multinational corporations proliferate rapidly in recent years, however, the library’s assurances have left many unconvinced. Commentators link the invasion of brand names into Egypt’s most sacred cultural institution with broader ties between capitalists and politicians and the ensuing corruption scandals.
“I don’t know why everything promising, everything good, in this country must be destroyed by the government ... with their greed and cooperation with the businessmen,” said Zeinobia, a prominent blogger.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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