Latest in Politics Highlight
Latest in Politics
Press Round-up
CAIRO: The results of Hamas’ victory in the Palestinian elections, the official and public reactions to the Danish cartoons deemed offensive to Muslims, the ongoing ban on Al Wafd newspaper and Prime Minister’s Ahmed Nazif’s speech at parliament dominated the headlines throughout the week. International talks between Egypt, Palestinian puthorities, Israel and the United States, …
Mubarak warns of terrorist threat over prophet cartoons
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak warned Thursday that the reprinting by several European newspapers of cartoons deemed offensive to Islam risked provoking a terrorist backlash. The president warned of the near and long term repercussions (of the) campaign of insults against the noble Prophet, Mubarak s spokesman said in a statement in English. Irresponsible management of …
Egypt coach urges respect for Congo in African Cup quarterfinals
CAIRO: The local fans are ecstatic that Egypt has reached the quarterfinals at the African Cup of Nations. The national team s coach, however, is urging his players to be wary when they take on Congo in Cairo on Friday. Congo is not easy by any means, said coach Hassan Shehata, who watched the team …
Al-Wafd crisis continues
CAIRO: Dozens of Al-Wafd newspaper reporters and editors demonstrated for hours in front of Cairo’s press syndicate on Wednesday, calling on Noaman Gomaa, overthrown party chairman, to release their paper for publication and to grant them their full financial rights. The Wednesday protest is the latest in a series of angry protests and sit-ins that …
Imam: We have censorship chaos in the region
CAIRO: The star-studded cinematic adaptation of Emaret Yacoubian (Yacoubian’s Building), will be screened at the Berlin Film Festival and is slated for a summer commercial release in its original version, which received the green light from Egyptian censors. The film will compete for four awards with 21 other movies in the Panorama section of the …
Mido and crowd hold key for Egypt
CAIRO: Egypt are hoping they will be able to bank on top striker Mido and a fickle home crowd in Friday s African Nations Cup quarter-final against the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mido is an injury doubt for the host nation after picking up a groin strain in Saturday s 3-1 win over World Cup-bound …
Vodafone Egypt says Q3 net profit up 34 percent
CAIRO: Vodafone Egypt said on Thursday its net profit for the third quarter to end-December rose 34 percent to LE 430 million ($75 million) compared with a year earlier. A subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc, Vodafone Egypt also said it had increased its subscriber base to 6.125 million customers from 5.921 million at the end …
Al-Wafd Party crisis continues
CAIRO: The stakes were raised in the internal crisis in the Al-Wafd Party, as Noaman Gomaa, overthrown chairman of Al-Wafd, was barred by his rivals from the party’s headquarters for approximately three days; an act that weakened chances for reconciliation between the party rivals. Gomaa, after being denied access to the party’s headquarters by the …
And now for the quarter-finals.
CAIRO: Over the span of 11 days, 16 nations at the 25th African Cup of Nations fought to cement their place in the quarter-finals. After injuries, extra-time and plenty of heart-stopping moments, only eight can continue the race toward the prestigious title. Twenty-four games have been played thus far, and football analysts, viewers and players …
Mubarak promotes son in ruling party
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday promoted his son Gamal to a more senior role in the ruling party in what analysts and opposition politicians saw as a step to position him for the presidency. Mubarak appointed Gamal, already one of the most influential figures in the National Democratic Party (NDP), to one of three …
Egypt mediation makes shaky start with Palestinians
CAIRO: Egypt made a shaky start on Wednesday in its mediation on the future of the Palestinian Authority after the militant Islamist group Hamas won last week s parliamentary elections. After talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a senior Egyptian official said Abbas would not ask Hamas to form a …
WHO declares country polio free
CAIRO: Egypt has been declared polio-free for the first time ever by the World Health Organization (WHO). Over a year has passed since the last sample of polio was found here, says Faten Kamel, a medical officer with the WHO polio program in Cairo. We can safely say that we have successfully eradicated polio in …
Report: Survivor of Egypt crash says fellow Hong Kongers in nearby buses ignored accident
HONG KONG: A man identified as a survivor of a bus crash in Egypt that killed 14 said in a radio interview aired Wednesday that fellow Hong Kongers on tourist buses didn t stop, leaving victims waiting another three hours until help arrived. A lot of tour buses passed us. I saw at least two …
Egypt highlighted as an example of political reform in State of the Union address
CAIRO: It was January 1790 when America’s first president, George Washington, delivered the first address detailing to Congress and consequently to the American people, the state of the union, his administration’s initiatives and accomplishments. Since then, the “Annual Message, later renamed the “State of the Union address has evolved into an expansive communicator between the …
E.U. threatens to take Danish cartoon dispute to WTO
CAIRO: A series of cartoons in a Danish newspaper has prompted a controversy that threatens to escalate into a global trade dispute between the European Union and Muslim countries. A series of caricatures first published last September that made light of Prophet Muhammed are at the center of the controversy. Danish daily Jyllands-Posten had published …
Press Syndicate discusses press freedom, honors three journalists
CAIRO: Following several incidents regarding Egyptian journalists, the press syndicate put together a closed discussion on the status of press freedom and its future in Egypt, honoring three “courageous journalists. Over the past few months, harassment of reporters and press personnel has contradicted all expectations of a free press. The ruling party assured the public …
Bani Mazar killings provoke nationwide speculation
CAIRO: In yet a new twist in the case of the killing spree that took place in Shams El Din Bani Mazar in El Menia that rocked the country, the accused murderer’s family has finally spoken out, confirming popular belief that the man standing trial is not the same person that killed 10 people. According …
No deportation for Sudanese detainees, says government
CAIRO: The government will not deport Sudanese detainees lacking official status as asylum seekers or refugees, according to an official at the foreign affairs ministry. “Now that the [UN refugee agency] UNHCR has completed its assessment interviews, it’s been decided that none of the remaining detainees will be deported back to Sudan, said Nasser Al-Hamzawi, …
South Sudan demands probe into Cairo refugee deaths
CAIRO: The government of South Sudan is sending a delegation to Egypt to demand a probe into the deaths of 27 Sudanese when police broke up a protest in Cairo, the official SUNA news agency reported. It said the delegation would leave in the coming days with a message from southern leader and Sudanese First …
Fourteen Hong Kong tourists killed in Egypt bus crash
CAIRO: Fourteen tourists from Hong Kong were killed and 30 others wounded in a bus accident Tuesday in southeastern Egypt, the official MENA news agency reported. The bus, carrying the tourists from the Red Sea resort of Hurghada to the southern Nile city of Luxor, was going at high speed when it spun off the …
Giving kids something to smile about
CAIRO: For the 3,000 Egyptian children born annually with a cleft lip or a cleft palate, life is fraught with hardship. They are unable to nurse and their speech is impaired. Sinus and ear infections are a regular occurrence. Ingestion becomes complicated as those suffering from this birth defect have trouble keeping food in their …
No regrets for Lemerre after Tunisia humbled
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt: Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre says he has no regrets over fielding a weakened side that lost 3-0 to Guinea in their final group match at the African Nations Cup on Monday. Leading scorer Francileudo dos Santos was among the players rested by the Frenchman, who decided to experiment rather than make sure of …
Egyptologists find war goddess, rare Nubian king
CAIRO: Egyptologists have discovered two 3,400-year-old statues of the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet and a rare statue depicting a king with Nubian features, an archaeological conservation director said on Monday. War goddess Sekhmet embodied the cruel powers of the sun, and was also responsible for both curing and causing illness. The excavation team believe the statues …
Fighting dirty money
CAIRO: Since the introduction of the money laundering law of 2002 in Egypt, about 12 perpetrators have been caught, according to sources at the Ministry of Interior. The country has also become an international partner in cooperative efforts aimed at money laundry, with last week marking its most recent participation in financial corruption talks. Representatives …
Al-Wafd reporters protest peacefully
CAIRO: More than 30 of the temporarily banned Al-Wafd newspaper journalists sat-in on Sunday in front of the High Committee for Journalists, protesting the halt of their daily publication. In front of the committee’s headquarters, reporters staged a silent and peaceful protest that lasted around three hours, during which members of the committee were assessing …
Job creation tops new cabinet's program
CAIRO: Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said plans to tackle crippling unemployment levels are high on the agenda of his new government programme, which he unveiled Monday in parliament. The cabinet gives priority to job creations in order to absorb the growing workforce and implement President (Hosni) Mubarak s program for 4.5 million new jobs …
To look or not to look
CAIRO: Heated debates between Islamic scholars have been running rampant after a religious decree was issued by an Egyptian cleric claiming that nudity during sexual intercourse invalidates a marriage. According to the controversial fatwa by Rashad Hassan Khalil, a former dean of Al-Azhar University s faculty of Shar’ia (Islamic law), being completely naked during the …
Egypt's CIB lifts 2005 net profit
CAIRO: Egypt s Commercial International Bank (CIB) increased its net profit by 20.6 percent to LE 610.14 million ($106.48 million) in 2005, the bank said in a statement on Monday. The bank said it made LE 505.76 million in net profit in 2004. Most of the increase in 2005 came from an increase in net …
Egypt arrests 22 Muslims over religious violence
ASSIUT, Egypt: Egyptian authorities have arrested 22 Muslims suspected of murder, arson and vandalism during sectarian violence which killed a Christian, judicial sources in the southern town of Luxor said on Sunday. Muslim youths set fire to building materials being used by Christians to turn a house into a church in the southern Egyptian village …
Angola finally wins but misses out on quarterfinals
CAIRO: Only one goal separated Angola from a quarterfinal place at the African Cup of Nations. It could have come even at a different stadium and the Black Antelopes would have made the last eight. But Angola headed home despite Sunday s 3-2 win at Cairo sInternational Stadium – their first victory at the championship …