Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Legislators debate draft consumer protection law
CAIRO: The People s Assembly gave its in-principle approval earlier this week for a draft consumer protection law. The approval is the first step toward passing the law and legislators have been debating the clauses for several days. Hesham Ragab, deputy minister for legal and legislative affairs at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, tells …
Police release 120 Brotherhood activists
Head: Police release 120 Brotherhood activists CAIRO: Police on Wednesday freed 120 students arrested for belonging to the Islamist opposition Muslim Brotherhood organization and referred 30 others to the prosecutor, a security official said. The Brotherhood, which forms the largest opposition bloc in parliament, confirmed the releases on its Web site (www.ikhwanoline.com), adding all 150 …
Egypt says it has foiled bombing attempts
CAIRO: The government said on Wednesday it had arrested a group of 22 militant Islamists planning bomb attacks on tourist targets, a gas pipeline near Cairo and Muslim and Christian religious leaders. The opposition Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks political change through peaceful means, said the government would try to use the report to extend emergency …
Pro-reform judges stage protest
CAIRO: Pro-reform judges staged a protest Wednesday in support of two colleagues who face disciplinary action after accusing the judiciary of helping to rig parliamentary polls. The two judges have been summoned to a disciplinary hearing over charges they tarnished the judiciary s image by implicating pro-government colleagues in alleged vote fraud in the 2005 …
Parliamentary probe slams state role in ferry disaster
CAIRO: A parliamentary inquiry into a February ferry sinking that killed more than 1,000 people blamed the ship s owners but also strongly implicated the government, the official MENA news agency reported Wednesday. The circumstances of the accident and its reasons point to a hideous image of corruption in a utility related to people s …
Brotherhood launches campaign to end state of emergency
CAIRO: The opposition Muslim Brotherhood launched a campaign Wednesday to end the state of emergency, which President Hosni Mubarak has renewed for 25 years and is expected to extend next month. The lack of freedom is the cause of all woes. And the state of emergency has heightened tensions in this country instead of easing …
Egypt, Arab League condemn Tel Aviv suicide attack
CAIRO: Egypt and the Arab League condemned Tuesday the Palestinian suicide attack in Tel Aviv that killed nine people and called on both sides to return to the negotiation table. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit described the attack as an act of terrorism, a strong condemnation from an Arab state that usually jointly blames both Israel …
Mideast conflict, Iran top Chirac's agenda as he heads to Egypt
PARIS: French President Jacques Chirac heads to Egypt on Wednesday for a two-day visit set to be dominated by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and rising tensions over Iran s nuclear ambitions. Traveling with an 80-strong delegation including Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and top business leaders, Chirac is to head straight into talks Wednesday afternoon with his …
State paper backs Tel Aviv bombing
CAIRO: A state-owned Egyptian newspaper said on Tuesday that a suicide bombing which killed nine people in Tel Aviv was a response to Israeli attacks on Palestinians, and Palestinians should not abandon the struggle against Israel. But another state newspaper said the bombing on Monday, claimed by the militant group Islamic Jihad, should be condemned …
Students speak out against mass arrests
CAIRO: Thirty-five more students were arrested in what has been described as a “hostile and aggressive crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated students. The arrests provoked different reactions among students, and many have risen in rowdy protests while others have chosen to be less vocal in their anger. “No to the emergency law, one banner read at …
Stock market panic resumes
CAIRO: The stock market continued its downward trend yesterday after an apparent lull on Monday. The CASE 30 index, which tracks the top 30 stocks on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges, dropped by 2.59 percent, closing at 6,345.56 points on Tuesday. The index has been on the decline for five consecutive days of trading …
Revolutionizing education through IT
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak met with the president and CEO of Cisco Systems Inc., one of the most widely recognized telecommunications and information technology companies worldwide, to discuss how information technology can aid in revolutionizing the educational system in Egypt. They were accompanied by the Minister of Communication and Information Technology Tarek Kamel, and the …
Median overnight interbank rate steady at 8.25 percent
CAIRO: The median overnight rate on the pound was 8.25 percent on Tuesday, little changed from Monday s 8.288 percent, bankers said. They were awaiting the result of a central bank auction on Tuesday of 14-day certificates of deposit worth LE 7.6 billion ($1.3 billion). The central bank sets a corridor for overnight interbank rates …
Gomaa released from custody
CAIRO: Prosecutors on Monday released a prominent opposition figure who was detained early this month after a fight with his rivals at party headquarters. Noaman Gomaa, 71, walked free on bail from the Cairo hospital where he was admitted after complaining of heart problems, prosecutors said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized …
The winding journey of The Constant Gardener
CAIRO: For decades, Africa s role in Hollywood was restricted to a mere backdrop of picturesque exotic locations. Classics like Out of Africa, King Salmon s Mines, Mogambo and The African Queen told typical stories centering on white characters, with the native Africans playing stereotypical supporting roles. Never has a movie of that period dared, …
Christians voice concerns following Church stabbing
CAIRO: On this the fourth day of Pascha, the holiest week in Christian Orthodoxy, spirituality for some has taken a back seat to civil unrest. Hurling rocks and bottles at security forces, Copts in Alexandria took to the streets for a fourth consecutive day claiming they are the victims of discrimination and inequality by the …
Sectarian violence dominates local and international news
CAIRO: Sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in Alexandria and the death of a 24-year-old Muslim man made the headlines in Egypt’s national and independent press, with the incidents also receiving extensive coverage in international media. Egypt’s second largest city experienced heavy rioting Sunday with police using teargas and live ammunition to disperse groups of …
Admit to the causes of sectarian violence
The Alexandria riots are something that Egypt needs to figure out; what is causing all this hate? We have heard that this is an anomaly and it doesn’t happen often, simply a few ‘fanatics’ that are ruining the good name of Muslims and Copts across the nation. It is hard to digest. Within the past …
Two prominent judges sent to disciplinary board
CAIRO: The Egyptian government has sent two prominent judges to a disciplinary board for possible expulsion from the judiciary, raising the stakes in a conflict between the government and judges seeking judicial independence. The decision by Justice Minister Mahmoud Aboul Leil provoked a storm in parliament on Monday when opposition members called for an urgent …
OT to raise stake in HTIL, eyes Europe
CAIRO: Orascom Telecom Chairman Naguib Sawiris is increasing his company s stake in Hutchison Whampoa s emerging markets phone unit, he told Reuters in an interview on Sunday. Sawiris said OT had a right to raise its stake by 3.7 percent as part of last December s $1.3 billion deal in which OT bought 19.3 …
Kafr El Sheikh growing into new oil and gas hotspot
CAIRO: Banque du Caire has signed a LE 200 million agreement with Trans Gas Company to finance delivering natural gas to the Kafr Al Sheikh governorate in Egypt. Within the last year, the Kafr El Sheikh governorate has become home to some of the biggest natural gas and oil projects in the country, and is …
Amid arrests, activists urge official recognition of the Brotherhood
CAIRO: Activists renewed calls for official recognition of Islamist opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood after dozens of the banned party s members were arrested in recent weeks. We call for the government to recognize the Muslim Brotherhood as a legitimate political party, said Nigad Al-Borai, director of the Cairo-based Group for Democratic Development. Only then …
Inching closer to Europe
CAIRO: Natural gas is an increasingly popular source of energy. It is a cleaner alternative to oil and can be used to generate electricity more efficiently. Its transport, however, is complicated as it requires either the construction of costly pipelines or the condensation of gas into a liquid form prior to storage and shipment. The …
Estonian soldier pardoned in UAE, avoids flogging: official
TALLINN: An Estonian soldier who was sentenced in the United Arab Emirates to a month in jail and 80 lashes for sexually harassing an Egyptian policewoman while drunk has been pardoned, a defense official in Estonia said Sunday. The ruler of the emirate of Sharjah has pardoned Andrei Korol. Corporal punishment has been averted, Major …
Knife-wielding man detained in Cairo
CAIRO: Egyptian authorities on Monday ordered the detention of a Muslim who entered a Cairo church with a knife, security sources said, days after another Muslim stabbed six Christians, killing one, in Alexandria. Police arrested the 25-year-old unemployed man on Sunday when he went into the church in the Egyptian capital, where Coptic Christians were …
Jailed opposition leader threatens new hunger strike
CAIRO: The jailed leader of the opposition El-Ghad (Tomorrow) party will go on a hunger strike if the prosecution does not improve the conditions of his detention, his wife and spokeswoman told AFP Sunday. Ayman Nour will go on hunger strike on Wednesday if the prosecution does not meet his demands, Gamila Ismail said after …
Two U.S. films draw ire of Arab censors
DUBAI: Two Oscar-winning U.S. films have caused headaches for government censors in the conservative Muslim Arab states of the Gulf, including booming and relatively tolerant Dubai. Syriana is a sinister tale of the United States goals of fighting terrorism, promoting democracy in the Middle East and securing its oil and military interests. It premiered in …
Raising awareness about dangers of Hepatitis B crucial
CAIRO: Although flu-like symptoms, nausea, stomachache, skin rash and yellow eyes and skin are all signs of a hepatitis B infection, experiencing them can actually be good news. These symptoms usually indicate that a patient has a short-term liver infection and within about six months the immune system will clear the body of the virus. …
Mubarak tries to defuse anger over remarks on Shiites
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak has sought to defuse anger over remarks he made about Shiite Muslims being more loyal to Iran than their own countries, saying he was referring only to religion. My remarks about Shiites dealt with their religious loyalties and sympathies, without putting into question the patriotism of Shiites in Iraq or any …
Police continue arrests of Brotherhood members
CAIRO: Police on Sunday detained 100 Muslim Brotherhood activists as part of a crackdown on the Islamist opposition group to undermine its campaign against emergency laws, the group s deputy leader said. Mohamed Habib told Reuters the arrests were in southern Egypt. Some were taken from their homes, some from the street, he said. Some …