CAIRO: The plight of the remaining Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah-Gaza border is to be discussed in a meeting on Wednesday as advocates push for the reopening of the Rafah crossing. Over 5,700 Palestinians stranded in Egypt since June have returned to Gaza through the Erez crossing, leaving Egypt via Al-Oja …

CAIRO: One hundred members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) from a village in Minya resigned on the third day of the NDP elections to protest what they dubbed an intervention of unwanted elements in the elections, reported Al-Gomhuria newspaper. Several newspapers also reported the expulsion of a member of the supervising committee of …

CAIRO: A number of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) lawyers and human rights activists were prevented from attending the military tribunal of 40 Brotherhood members on Tuesday, lawyers told Daily News Egypt. The case, which was previously dismissed from a civilian court, was transferred to a military court after direct orders from President Mubarak. “In the case …

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli public radio reported. The discussion focused on the possibility of reviving the Middle East peace process and on Olmert s contacts with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, it said. Olmert also reiterated Israel s intention to send …

CAIRO: As National Democratic Party (NDP) internal elections got underway this weekend, fighting in some provinces and low participation in others marred what had been touted by NDP members as a significant step towards democracy within the party. In Arish, six people were injured in fights and in Cairo, elections were postponed indefinitely due to …

CAIRO: A Cairo court on Monday sentenced eight of 14 defendants to jail terms including four life sentences, for their role in the April 7, 2005 Al-Azhar’s bazaars suicide bombing that killed three foreign tourists and wounded 11 others. The court handed down lesser custodial sentences of between one and 10 years to four of …

GAZA CITY: Parts of the Gaza Strip were still suffering power cuts on Sunday after the European Union suspended the financing of fuel deliveries for the impoverished territory s sole power plant. The station shut the last of its four generators on Sunday after it did not receive the necessary fuel from Israel, the chief …

CAIRO: Nationwide elections for representatives to Egypt’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) Saturday sparked speculations of potential change in the party’s power structure and the adoption of more democratic policies. Elections were held in 430 of Egypt’s 7,555 electoral units, and were marked by high voter turnout and strong competition between candidates, according to media …

CAIRO: Egypt agreed Saturday to readmit African migrants who allegedly infiltrated the Israeli border through Egypt. Forty-eight migrants were returned in an overnight operation. The Israeli embassy could not independently confirm the number of returned migrants at press time. Egypt had stated previously that it was not obligated to accept the migrants, who are mostly …

CAIRO: The Acting Mission Director for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) John Groarke refuted claims that American aid to Egypt is mainly geared towards the Christian minority. Speaking on an embassy web chat where he received questions from the public, Groarke dismissed newspaper reports which alleged that the majority of the aid was …

CAIRO: Some members of the Kefaya Egyptian Movement for Change believe the movement’s efficacy has dwindled due to its transformation from a popular movement, to one that has become increasingly politicized. Although the majority of observers agree that the movement has not yet reached its full potential, there are few who would contest its trailblazing …

BAGHDAD: The Interior Ministry said Thursday that at least 400 people were killed in a string of suicide bombings targeting an ancient religious sect in northwestern Iraq earlier this week. Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said that 2 tons of explosives were used in the blasts, which crumbled buildings, trapping entire families beneath mud …

CAIRO: The United States sent its Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns to Israel yesterday for a three day trip where he will sign a memorandum of understanding on a new decade-long military aid package with Israel worth $30 billion. A US official told AFP that Burns would make similar trips to Egypt, Saudi Arabia …

WASHINGTON: In a bid to pressure the Egyptian government to enhance freedom of expression and religion, US Congressmen Trent Franks and Emanuel Cleaver issued an open letter to President Hosni Mubarak urging him to release imprisoned Alexandrian student blogger Kareem Amer. “I am very concerned about Kareem and the example Egypt is setting in the …

MOGADISHU/CAIRO: As two more journalists were killed in Somalia over the weekend, voices both from within and outside of the war-torn African country called for increased security measures to protect the media against further attacks. On the morning of Saturday, Aug. 11 four unknown men fatally shot Mahad Ahmed Elmi, a manager at the respected …

CAIRO: On Oct. 3, 2006 opposition MP Talaat El Sadat appeared on Orbit’s “Al Qahira Al Youm talk show and said that not a single bullet was fired by former president Anwar Sadat’s bodyguards during his assassination to protect him. Less than a month later, El Sadat was imprisoned when a military tribunal found him …

CAIRO/KHARTOUM: On Sunday African Union Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said that there would be no need for non-African troops in the new UN peacekeeping force that is set to be deployed in the Darfur region of Sudan. He said that the African Union had secured enough pledges from African states to fully staff the 26,000-strong …

CAIRO: Residents of North Sinai continued their pleas to the government to meet their demands as they congregated in El-Agra near the Gaza-Rafah border on Monday. The main demands of the Bedouin population are the release of detainees arrested en masse indiscriminately over the past three years following terrorist bombings in Dahab, Taba and Sharm …

CAIRO: On Oct. 3, 2006 opposition MP Talaat El Sadat appeared on Orbit’s “Al Qahira Al Youm talk show and said that not a single bullet was fired by former president Anwar Sadat’s bodyguards during his assassination to protect him. Less than a month later, El Sadat was imprisoned when a military tribunal found him …

GHAZNI: Afghanistan s Taliban freed two South Korean hostages Monday in what they called a gesture of goodwill towards talks to free the remaining 19 captured nearly a month ago. Wearing Muslim headscarves and crying as they were bundled into a waiting vehicle, the pair were the first hostages freed since the militants captured 23 …

CAIRO: The British government should talk with “moderate members of influential Islamist organizations like Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Palestine’s Hamas, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a report issued by the British House of Commons said. Global Security: The Middle East report, put together by the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee – which comprises Conservative, Labour and Liberal …

CAIRO: Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit lashed out on Sunday at American criticism of Egypt’s human rights record under President Mubarak’s rule, denouncing what he called “interference in Egyptian affairs. This came after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed concern about the health of jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour. Coming on the heels of …

CAIRO: Egypt has informed Israel it was not under any obligation to receive refugees who have infiltrated the borders of the two countries, according to a report released by the State Information Service (SIS). A senior diplomatic source told the SIS that Egypt was “not committed to receiving any refugees that have already infiltrated the …

CAIRO: Egypt on Sunday criticized what it called US interference in its internal affairs after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined a growing chorus of American criticism of Cairo s human rights record. Despite the solidity of Egyptian-American relations, Egypt doesn t think that allows anyone – even the United States – to interfere in …

CAIRO: The liberal Al Wafd opposition party has announced plans to draft a parallel anti- terrorism law. The draft is a response to government legislation currently being drafted by a special committee led by Mufid Shehab, the state minister for legislative affairs. The law is slated for review and discussion during the next parliamentary session. …

CAIRO: Up to 300 former members of Islamic Jihad are set to be released from prison over the coming weeks. According to press reports, a number of the organization’s leadership are among those to be freed by the Ministry of Interior, including Osama El-Sayyed Kassem. Some, like one time ‘Emir’ of the organization Abdel-Raouf, have …

CAIRO: Three students affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) who disappeared last month, managed to sneak out a message saying they have been held in Tora Prison for 11 days, Brotherhood lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud told Daily News Egypt. They also said that a fourth student, Mohammed Assem, is being held with them. Although …

CAIRO: The North Sinai governor Ahmed Abdel-Hameed met with local elders in Rafah Thursday night to convince them to call off a demonstration planned for the following day. The governor succeeded and asked for more time to address the residents’ long-standing concerns, Tagammu party member and former parliamentary candidate Hussein El Qayem told Daily News …

RAFAH, Egypt: Eleven Sudanese including three children were intercepted at the Egypt-Israel border on Friday while trying to cross illegally into the Jewish state, Egyptian security officials said. The 11, on board a truck, were arrested by police about a dozen kilometers south of the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip. Among those detained …

CAIRO: Almost all of the Palestinians who were stranded in Egypt over the past two months back home in Gaza, but the numbers of those who have remained out of fear of arrest is in dispute. The Egyptian news agency Mena reported that only 30 Palestinians remain, afraid of being arrested once they cross Al-Oja …