Al-ARISH: A group of stranded Palestinians protested on the Egyptian border Thursday, demanding to cross into Israel so they could reach their families in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinians territories, police said. The rally of about 100 Palestinians included men, women and children who carried banners calling Israel to let them in and facilitate …

VIENNA: Egypt has sent a high-level protest to dozens of European nations expressing astonishment and regret at their refusal to endorse Cairo s call for a Middle East nuclear free zone at a conference last month. The letter, which was made available Wednesday to The Associated Press, also asks for an explanation. The Oct. 4 …

CAIRO: Lawyer and human rights activist Gamila Sadek, a representative of the Syrian Bar Association and the Paris-based Arab Committee for Human Rights, like several would-be observers before her, has recently been barred from attending the trial of 40 Muslim Brotherhood leaders. The trial has attracted widespread attention both at home and abroad, largely because …

CAIRO: The Washington Post has published an article speculating about the possibility of Gamal Mubarak becoming Egypt’s next president after his father, Hosni Mubarak, steps down. In a piece entitled “In Egypt, the son also rises, the Post’s Egypt correspondent, Ellen Knickmeyer, surveys the opinions of ordinary Egyptians, political analysts and business interests, and draws …

RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he would not attend a forthcoming US-sponsored Middle East meeting at any cost, calling for a timetable on reaching a deal with Israel. Time must not be lost because that s not in anyone s interest. We cannot go to the meeting at any cost. It is unacceptable …

CAIRO: Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Chief of General Intelligence Omar Suleiman made a quick fire visit to Sudan Wednesday in an attempt to avert the latest political crisis in the war-torn country after southern ministers resigned from the cabinet. The Egyptian officials headed to Khartoum as well as the southern stronghold of Juba …

CAIRO: The military trial of Muslim Brotherhood leader Khayrat El Shater and 39 others continues today, as the latest in a string of foreign human rights lawyers attempts to observe the proceedings, which have so far been closed to both media and international monitors. Gamila Sadek, a Syrian attorney representing the Paris-based Arab Committee for …

CAIRO: Egypt and the Arab League signaled a shift in their attitudes towards an upcoming US-sponsored peace conference due to take place in the fall after a visit to Egypt Tuesday by American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Having previously criticized the ambiguity of the conference’s agenda, the Arabs changed tack after being given assurances …

CAIRO: The first day of Eid witnessed severe clashes between central security forces and the Muslim Brotherhood in Al Salhiya village near Sharqeya as a large number of members of the banned group gathered in a public place to hold the Eid Al Fitr prayer on Saturday. Several people were reportedly injured in the commotion …

JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice opened an intense round of Mideast shuttle diplomacy Sunday, struggling to bring Israelis and Palestinians close enough to make a planned US-hosted peace conference worthwhile. The two sides are at bitter odds over an outline of a peace agreement that would be presented at next month s conference, …

CAIRO: After almost two weeks of turbulence and rioting in Al-Arish in Sinai because of tensions coming to the fore in a dispute between Bedouins and city-dwellers, those living in the desert have made it quite clear they do not intend to be oppressed much longer. “We have tasted freedom, dignity and to be human. …

PRAGUE: The foreign minister of Egypt said Wednesday that a planned US-hosted international conference on Mideast peace must be well-prepared if it is to take place at all. Ahmed Aboul Gheit said many questions remain to be answered before Egypt and other Arab states can attend the meeting, expected to be held north of Washington …

CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt s powerful opposition movement, has laid down its first detailed political platform, which would bar women and Christians from becoming president and establish a board of Muslim clerics to oversee the government, reminiscent of Iran s Islamic state. The platform has dismayed secular reform activists who have cautiously hoped the …

JERUSALEM: An Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for more than 15 months is in good condition, Egypt s intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was quoted as telling an Israeli minister on Wednesday. Gilad Shalit is in good condition. He feels well and has even gained some weight because he does not do any exercise, Suleiman …

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have arrested 62 young Islamists on charges of belonging to an organized militant group, a charge they deny, their lawyer told AFP on Wednesday. Montasser Al-Zayat said the students were rounded up in various parts of Egypt over the last three months, accused of plotting to blow up a lobby group run …

CAIRO: NATO will provide equipment to help Egypt monitor its porous borders under a new partnership agreement, the Egyptian presidential spokesman said Wednesday. Egypt became the second country in the region after Israel to sign Tuesday the North Atlantic alliance s Individual Cooperation Program, which aims at improving political and military ties with the Mediterranean. …

CAIRO: Jailed leaders of the Islamic opposition group have for the first time accused the government of politicizing the army by using military tribunals to try its opponents, according to a statement released this week. The members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who are all on trial in a military court on charges of money laundering …

CAIRO: Egypt and Israel have agreed to reduce the percentage of Israeli components that must be included in Egyptian-made products that receive duty-free status when exported to the United States, Israel’s envoy to Egypt said Monday. Israeli Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai and his Egyptian counterpart, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, signed the amended agreement on …

CAIRO: As the armed conflict in Darfur continues unabated, the efforts of Sudan’s neighbors to bring an end to the violence teeters on an edge because of the splinter within the rebel groups and the difficulty in helping them form a unified negotiating bloc. “Mediation efforts by the UN and African Union to convince rebel …

JERUSALEM: More than 60 percent of Israelis oppose sharing sovereignty over Jerusalem with the Palestinians as part of a final peace deal, in a poll published on Tuesday. Asked if Israel should agree to any sort of compromise on Jerusalem as part of a final deal, 63 percent said no, compared with 21 who said …

CAIRO: Egypt on Tuesday strongly criticized an Israeli plan to confiscate Arab land outside east Jerusalem that has revived fears that the Jewish state wants to split the occupied West Bank in two. The plan proves the correctness of reports that Israel is planning to go ahead with its scheme to separate the northern parts …

CAIRO: The decision by over 20 of Egypt’s independent and opposition newspapers to suspend publication Monday has made headline news worldwide. Monday’s protest against the government’s recent clampdown on the Egyptian press has attracted media attention from the US to Europe and from the Gulf to Australasia. In a New York Times opinion piece on …

CAIRO: A semblance of calm was restored to the Northern Sinai city of Al-Arish on Monday as security officers brought together leaders from two Sinai tribes for talks after two days of clashes between the tribes. Clashes between the Bedouin Tarabeen tribe and the Fawakhriya of Al-Arish escalated into full scale riots as city dwellers …

CAIRO: In a rare interview with an Arabic satellite news station, US President George W. Bush denied that the United States is gearing up to attack Iran and said he remains committed to working diplomatically to resolve the standoff with Tehran over its nuclear program. Bush, in an hour-long interview with Al-Arabiya TV, also reiterated …

GAZA CITY: The head of the Hamas government in Gaza urged Arab nations not to attend a US-hosted Mideast conference in the fall, saying in an interview published Saturday that he didn t expect the gathering to produce any results. We are going to appeal directly to the Arab brothers, especially the kingdom of Saudi …

CAIRO: With its leader Ayman Nour still behind bars, Al Ghad party struggles in a turbulent political climate. Its headquarters, once pulsating with hopeful energy, now sits idle. Diaa Rashwan, political analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies lays the blame for this stagnation on the party itself. Al Ghad party didn’t …

CAIRO: A total of 22 independent and opposition daily newspapers did not publish on Sunday in protest of the lengthy jail sentences recently handed down to several journalists. The newspapers were Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al-Badil, Al-Dostour, Al-Osbou, Al-Fajr, Al-Midan, Al-Forsan, Sout Al-Omah, Al-Ahali, Al-Mogaz, Al-Arabi Al-Nassery, Al-Gamaheer, Al-Karama, Nahdat Masr, Al-Nahar, Al-Alam Al-Youm, Al-Mawqef Al-Arabi, Al-Mal, …

CAIRO: Unrest in the north Sinai town of Al-Arish continued for the second day in a row after an innocuous dispute led to clashes between Bedouins and residents. On Sunday, local residents in Al-Arish gathered in major squares to protest that security forces were not doing enough to protect them from Bedouin tribes, according to …

CAIRO: The 34th anniversary of the 6th of October Arab-Israeli war in 1973 has seen the spectrum come from one end to the other as those who were once enemies and fought against each other now live in peace, albeit a cold one. The 1973 victory, which came six years after the defeat in the …

CAIRO: The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency Mohamed ElBaradei urged the world to give Iran more time to prove its nuclear intentions are peaceful, warning in an interview published Thursday that attempts to isolate Tehran are boosting its hard-liners. ElBaradei has come under sharp US criticism over moves that Washington sees as appeasing …