CAIRO: Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza reached an agreement with employees at the General Authority of Reconstruction Projects and Agricultural Development (GARPAD) as well as the Land Reclamation sector, who staged a protest in front of the ministry. The protestors were calling on the minister to revoke a decree that would deprive them of owning land …
CAIRO: Marsa Matrouh community and religious leaders will meet on Wednesday for reconciliation talks under the auspicious of Marsa Matrouh governor, to discuss ways to curb sectarian violence that struck the coastal governorate recently. Several Coptic figures, however, are skeptical of the reconciliation talks, claiming that they are skirting the issue instead of directly tackling …
CAIRO: The National Telecommunication Regulatory Agency’s (NTRA) enforcement of the ban on internet-based telephone services such as Skype, has gone into effect, according to all three Egyptian mobile network operators. “The ban is on Skype on mobile internet, not on fixed, and this is due to the fact it is against the law since it …
CAIRO: In response to a government inquiry regarding the constitutionality of denying female judges seats in the State Council, the Supreme Constitutional Court stressed that the law grants both men and women equal rights to assume judicial positions in administrative courts. The decision came after Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif requested a clarification of the legislation …
CAIRO: Coordinator of the April 6 movement Ahmed Maher and General Coordinator of the Kefaya Movement for Change Abdel Halim Qandil, who have been engaged in a war of words for over three months, reconciled their differences in a meeting Saturday at the home of Ambassador Ibrahim Youssry. Maher and Qandil had accused each other …
CAIRO: Egypt was listed as an “enemy of the internet by Reporters Without Borders as a US State Department 2009 report on human rights highlighted Egypt’s ill-treatment of bloggers and internet activists in 2009. The internet has become a “battlefield for supporters and opponents of fundamental human rights, the US State Department report said. “During …
CAIRO: The Marsa Matrouh prosecution detained 30 suspects – four of which are Muslim – for 15 days pending investigations after clashes broke out between Christians and Muslims Friday, leaving 24 people injured. The suspects are facing four charges; illegal congregation, destruction of public property, arson and assault. Marsa Matrouh Governor Ahmed Hussein said calm …
CAIRO: A coalition of opposition parties is set to conclude its activities today with a press conference at Al-Wafd Party headquarters in which they will announce their demands for constitutional reform, free and fair elections and plans to mobilize the masses. Under the slogan the nation s safe alternative , the conference, which started on …
STOCKHOLM: Leading Swedish newspapers on Wednesday published what Muslims consider to be an offensive cartoon of Prophet Mohamed by a caricaturist after he was targeted by an alleged assassination plot. Sweden’s paper of reference Dagens Nyheter published the controversial drawing, insisting artist Lars Vilks “is not alone in this conflict after seven Muslims were arrested …
CAIRO: Due to the substantial decline in swine flu cases, the Ministry of Health has officially announced that during the second semester of the academic year, no classrooms where the H1N1 virus appears will be shut down. Only precautionary measures giving the student who shows swine flu symptoms one week off, will be applied, said …
CAIRO: The death of Mohamed Sayed Tantwai, Sunni Islam’s top cleric and Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, has sparked an outpouring of condolences from foreign leaders and the foreign press. Prior to his appointment as sheikh of Al-Azhar in 1996, Tantawi served as Egypt’s Grand Mufti for 10 years. While known for his sudden …
SIWA: Raham Osman wants inquiring minds to know that, despite being surrounded on all sides by desert, including the Great Sea of Sand, Siwa Oasis doesn’t have a water shortage. Far from it. Siwa doesn’t suffer from a lack of water, Osman, said, as he washed his face with a strong flow of cold, fresh …
CAIRO: “We can do everything with you and no one will know. We bury people alive, a policeman reportedly told Abdel-Aziz Mujedin, blogger and business student arrested on Nov. 2, 2009. Mujedin is only one out of several torture victims that are mentioned in the latest report of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH). …
CAIRO: The Shoura Council, Egypt’s Upper House of Parliament, approved an anti-human trafficking law in principle, Shoura Council Speaker Safwat El-Sherif said. The MPs have approved the law in principle in order to curb the growing phenomenon of human trafficking in Egypt, El-Sherif told news reports. “Human trafficking has become the third most profitable illegal …
CAIRO: “Integrated rights and equal opportunities equal full development, Minister of State for Family and Population Moshira Khattab said during an International Women’s Day celebration at the British Council. In partnership with the Gender and Development (GAD) donor subgroup, the British Council held a two-day celebration on March 9-10, commemorating International Women’s Day; a global …
CAIRO: Fourteen Egyptian human rights groups expressed their support Tuesday to a statement issued by the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights condemning the Egyptian security forces for killing up to 60 migrants on the Egyptian side of the borders with Israeli since mid 2007. The 14 NGOs echoed the UN stance by calling on …
CAIRO: A waxed rag in hand, Inas Hamam gives her car a good buff as she awaits her first clients of the day – Egyptian women, tired of sexual harassment, who prefer a female taxi driver. Following in the tracks of other female-friendly services – carriages reserved for women on Cairo’s metro and women-only cafes …
CAIRO: Egypt rejected on Tuesday UN rights investigator Martin Scheinin’s criticism of the government’s use of emergency law in a report discussed at the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. Scheinin, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism, presented the report which is the …
CAIRO: Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mohamed Sayed Tantawi died in Saudi Arabia Wednesday after suffering a heart attack in the King Khaled airport in Riyadh. He was 81. Tantawi was in Riyadh to attend this year’s prize-giving ceremony of the King Faisal World Awards for the service of Islam. He is to be buried in …
CAIRO: Rights group The National Foundation for Transitional Justice presented a draft law to parliament on Monday proposing the establishment of an intermediary body to permanently oversee local elections, according to Ali El-Feel, the group’s director. The body will ensure all citizens are granted their full political rights with regards to standing for elections and …
CAIRO: Sixty-six percent of the Arab youth think their country of residence was going in the right direction during the last five years, the Second Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey revealed. The survey also showed that “the most important priority for young people in the Middle East today is living in a democratic country. …
CAIRO: Ramzi Khoury has a busy day ahead of him. Yesterday was also busy. Tomorrow will be too. Khoury is the director of “Sleepless in Gaza & Jerusalem, a video diary project creating a half-hour of footage of everyday life in Palestine. Every day, Khoury and his team follow four Palestinian women around with their …
CAIRO: The Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court will announce on March 14 its decision on Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif’s request to explain and clarify the legislation governing appointing members to the State Council, which had rejected the appointment of female judges. The current legislation stipulates that members of the State Council have to be “Egyptian, a …
CAIRO: The detention of a suspect accused of the botched firebomb attack on a Downtown Cairo synagogue on Feb. 21 was extended for 15 days pending further investigations. State Security Public Prosecutor Hisham Badawi extended the detention of Gamal Hussein Ahmed, 49, who is accused of carrying out the attack which resulted in a small …
CAIRO: Egyptian businessman Rami Lakah, who fled to Europe in 2001, has reached a settlement on debts owed to banks, paving the way for his possible return to Egypt, the country s official news agency MENA reported on Monday. An official with state-owned Banque Misr, Lakah s main creditor bank, told Reuters that Lakah had …
CAIRO: Swine flu cases in Egypt are substantially declining, with the rate of weekly reported cases falling to almost half, the Ministry of Health announced. “Swine flu in Egypt is declining, the number of reported cases this week went down to 22, in comparison to 44 cases reported last week, said Amr Kandil, deputy Minister …
CAIRO: Egyptian researcher Rashika El Ridi received the UNESCO-L’Oréal Foundation award for Women in Science “for paving the way towards the development of a vaccine against the tropical parasitic disease bilharzia, which affects over 200 million people. El Ridi received the award at a ceremony in Paris last week. The annual L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women …
OKCULAR VILLAGE: A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6 struck eastern Turkey on Monday, killing 57 people as it knocked down stone or mud-brick houses and minarets in at least six villages, the government said. The government s crisis center said about 100 other people were injured in the quake, which hit at …
