83 Articles
CAIRO: Secretary of the Holy Synod and Damietta’s Bishop Bishoy denied any intended insult to the Quran or to Islam, stressing that his statement about revising the Quran — which was carried by media reports last week — was taken out of context. “I fully respect Islam and Muslims and I never attacked Islam or …
CAIRO: Trailer truck owners said they will not abide by a relatively new law forcing them to either convert their vehicles to smaller trucks or to sell them, challenging President Hosni Mubarak’s orders not to extend the four-year grace period they were given to adapt to the new law. “The issue is too big, bigger …
CAIRO: Since his return to Egypt, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, founder of the Ibn Khaldoun Center for Development Studies, has been under a special kind of siege. His wife Barbara is reluctant to let him talk to the media, concerned that his statements might lead to another run-in with the government. From the moment he arrived …
CAIRO: A lawsuit filed by controversial feminist Nawal El-Saadawi to attain legal guardian of her husband, Sherif Hatata, following an alleged affair he had, is the reason for the famed couple’s divorce, Saadawi’s lawyer Mohamed El-Samadoni said. In a statement released Thursday, El- Samadoni said that Hatata “was seduced by a woman, 50 years younger …
CAIRO: Speaker of the People’s Assembly urge MP Mostafa Bakry to end his hunger strike Monday, describing him as a “knight” and saying that hunger strikes were not appropriate for those of his stature. Bakry had started a hunger strike inside the People’s Assembly (PA) on Sunday to protest against a draft law proposing the …
CAIRO: The People’s Assembly’s constitutional and legislative affairs committee assigned one of its legal counselors to review the dispute over the Constitutional Party’s leadership, after the party’s deputy, Coptic lawyer, Mamdouh Ramzy, appointed himself as head. Mamdouh Qinawi, head and founder of the party, described Ramzy’s appointment as a "slap on the wrist" by the …
CAIRO: The People’s Assembly’s legislative committee denounced statements by MP Nashaat El-Qassas calling on security bodies to shoot demonstrators. The legislative committee issued a statement on Wednesday describing El-Qassas’ statement as “a violation of the constitution” and “a total disregard for freedom and human rights.” The People’s Assembly is scheduled to vote on El-Qassas’ punishment …
CAIRO: Female students hailing from different governorates fell victim to decisions taken by the Ministry of Higher Education pertaining to the H1N1 virus, the full face veil (niqab) and final grades. A large number of students were barred from entering the universities’ dorms in Cairo this year due to precautionary measures against H1N1, for the …
CAIRO: Hany Anan, one of the founders of the Kefaya Political Movement for Change, said that he is not opposed to Gamal Mubarak succeeding his father in the 2011 presidential elections on condition that Article 77, concerning the number of terms each president is allowed to have in office, be changed. On the talk show …
CAIRO: In a recent trip to Upper Egypt, General Secretary of the Policies Committee of the National Democratic Party (NDP) Gamal Mubarak promised displaced Nubians homes on the banks of Nasser Lake. The promise comes more than 40 years after they were forced to flee floods resulting from the construction of the High Dam in …
CAIRO: Silence dawned on the Sayeda Zeinab district yesterday, the first day of annual celebration of the birth of Sayeda Zeinab, the prophet’s granddaughter. The typical sight of colorful swings, game stands, sweet and gift vendors were no where to be seen. Security forces continued to send away visitors and pull down tents that were …
CAIRO: Tarek El-Zomor, member of the Jihad organization and allegedly one of late president Anwar Sadat’s assassins, is demanding moral compensation to salvage his image in society after being imprisoned for his involvement in the 1981 parade shooting. In a memo presented yesterday by his lawyer Nizar Ghorab to the Attorney General of South Giza, …
CAIRO: Everyone who headed to Hurghada to hear the final verdict in the Al-Salam 98 ferry case was quite pessimistic, but the cries of joy were quickly heard when the court revoked the July sentence and convicted the people in charge of one of the deadliest maritime disasters. The owner of the ferry, Mamdouh Ismail, …
CAIRO: Former leader of Al-Ghad party Ayman Nour announced a reform initiative under the title “Cairo’s Announcement for Democracy and Reform, in a bid to continue efforts that were stalled during his more than four years in prison. Nour called upon parties and political bodies to discuss 10 articles to be included in the announcement …
CAIRO: Saad Eddin Ibrahim, democracy advocate and political sociology professor, called upon the European Union (EU) to support the spread of democracy in Egypt and in the Arab region at the International Parliamentary Conference in Geneva last Thursday. Addressing EU representatives, Ibrahim assessed the political situation in the region, focusing on Egypt’s numerous setbacks and …
CAIRO: Army fire engines extinguish a fire that broke Thursday morning in the fossilized tree forest that is part of the Virgin Mary Monastery in Drenka village in Assiut, Upper Egypt. The monk in charge of the monastery said that it was necessary for the army to intervene after the civil defense devices failed to …
CAIRO: For the second time in Egypt’s legal record, a convert to Christianity filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Interior, the head of the Civil Affairs Authority and the head of the National Council for Human Rights, demanding that his religious affiliation on official documents be changed from Muslim to Christian. Maher El-Gohary, who …
CAIRO: Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the Egyptian-American human right advocate, was sentenced in absentia on Saturday to two years in prison for damaging Egypt’s reputation. “The Egyptian government wants Saad to stay abroad, his wife, Barbra Ibrahim, told Daily News Egypt. “Saad’s articles were for Egypt’s benefit, unless they consider talking about human rights and democracy …
CAIRO: Ayman Nour, founder of El-Ghad Party and former presidential candidate, could be released from prison on a presidential pardon, due to be announced today. It’s customary for the president on national holidays (in this case the 23rd of July Revolution anniversary) to issue pardons for prisoners who have completed half their sentence. Nour, who …
CAIRO: Security forces allowed 20 people to demonstrate near the Israeli embassy in protest at Egypt exporting natural gas to the Jewish state. This demonstration is the first of its kind since 2000, when security forces clashed with demonstrators who tried to approach the embassy during a wave of protests at the onset of the …
CAIRO: After successfully orchestrating the April 6 strike, the organizing youth made their first collective public appearance declaring themselves a new political power on the local scene. More than 400 young people left their keyboards temporarily and gathered at the Journalists’ Syndicate to meet each other for the first time, following months of corresponding over …
CAIRO: The Ministry of Social Solidarity issued a decree Thursday to reopen the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) following an Administrative Court ruling last March which recognized the center legitimacy. In a statement, the CTUWS described the decision as “a good initiative worthy of appreciation. In April 2007, the government decided to …
FAYOUM: A relative calm fell over Al-Nazla in the early hours of Saturday when residents of the Fayoum village learned that Dalia Mohamed and her son had reappeared. Clashes erupted Friday afternoon in Al-Nazla as hundreds of Muslims threw stones at Christian houses and shops in the Fayoum village, fueling talks of increasing sectarian tension …
CAIRO: In what many see as a growing wave of independent journalism in Egypt, the Higher Press Council gave licenses to five privately-owned newspapers on Sunday. Media analysts say the move will help tip the scales of the market in favor of the independent press and will raise the standard of journalism in Egypt, to …
CAIRO: According to sources inside the Coptic church, Pope Shenouda was involved in an accident Monday night that left him unable to move until the next day. Sources told Daily News Egypt that at 10 pm on Monday, the Pope tripped on the edge of the rug in his bedroom at the Cathedral. He fell …
CAIRO: Pope Shenouda III, head of the Coptic Church, called for heavy security presence around the Upper Egyptian Abo Fana monastery during a phone-in on Channel 2’s El Beit Beitak show on Saturday. The Pope also accused the Arab tribes living in the area of stealing LE 1 million worth of precious belongings from the …
CAIRO: Hundreds of Copts demonstrated yesterday in Samalout, Minya, following the murder of a Copt. At the same time, in Nazlet El Seman, Giza, a fire broke out on the roof of the Mari Girgis Church. Officials stressed that both incidents are criminal and are not sectarian. Milad Farag, a 23-year-old Copt, was killed in …
CAIRO: Pope Shenouda III, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Alexandria and the See of St. Mark, avoided discussing the attack on Abo Fana Monastery during his weekly meeting with the Coptic congregation. The Pope was expected to address the incident, which is thought to be a sectarian clash. He had cut his …
CAIRO: Three days after clashes took place near a monastery in Minya, Governor Ahmed Diaa Eldin announced in a press conference the formation of a committee to resolve the issue. The committee will be comprised of the disputing parties and all government bodies involved – including the antiquities council, the mayor and security officials. The …