CAIRO: Egyptian police have arrested a senior member of a prominent militant Islamist group who was twice sentenced to death in the 90s during a bloody conflict with the government, security sources said on Wednesday. Abd El-Hameed Abou Aqrab, a leader of the military wing of Gama a Al-Islamiya, was detained several days ago in …

CAIRO: The Supreme Constitutional Court is looking at a lawsuit filed by lawyer Mohsen Bahnasy accusing the referendum on the constitutional amendments that took place last March of being unconstitutional. Bahnasy s lawyers also accuse the changes that have been made to Articles 62 and 88 of the constitution which regulate citizens rights and procedures …

GAZA CITY: Two Palestinian boys, aged 12 and 13, were shot dead on Friday by Israeli troops firing into the Gaza Strip from across the border, medical sources said. Ahmed Abu Zubeida, 12, and Zaher Al-Majdalawi, 13, were in the area around the former Jewish settlement of Dugit, which was dismantled as part of Israel …

CAIRO: The People s Assembly (PA) is accused of double standards when dealing with PA members affiliated with the National Democratic Party (NDP) and those belonging to opposition parties and groups. The issue was reported by Al Dostour, daily newspaper, as a follow up to the results of the PA s investigations committee report dealing …

CAIRO: Iran offered its regional neighbors Monday the transfer of peaceful nuclear capabilities in an effort to counter US claims that it is developing nuclear technology to threaten surrounding countries. Egypt on Tuesday welcomed a recent statement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Tehran was ready to restore full diplomatic ties with Cairo. Egyptian Foreign …

CAIRO: Administrative court rejected on Thursday opposition leader Ayman Nour s latest bid to be released from prison on medical grounds, despite his claims that his health has worsened since he was jailed. Judge Adel Abdul Salam Gomaa, president of the court of assizes and the man who originally convicted Nour, announced his decision without …

TEHRAN: Iran s foreign minister on Monday said Egypt has welcomed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad s offer to re-establish full diplomatic relations. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said he received a message recently from his counterpart, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who he said welcomed Ahmadinejad s offer. There was no immediate comment from the Egyptian government. From our …

Minister says meeting addressed regional issues, not domestic ones CAIRO: Egypt accused the US of double standards towards outlawed groups, specifically the Palestinian Hamas, after an American congressional delegation met with the head of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) bloc in parliament Sunday. A US congressional delegation currently in Egypt held a meeting in parliament with …

Associated Press CAIRO: Egypt s foreign minister urged both Israelis and Palestinians on Monday to end the recent cycle of violence that has left dead and wounded on both sides, according to a foreign ministry statement. Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit s comments were released following his meeting in Cairo with a senior official from …

CAIRO: After 27 years of non-existent relations, the United States and Iran held the first policy-level talks between them in Iraq Monday since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iranian ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi will meet his American counterpart Ryan Crocker at an “Iraqi government facility according to State Department spokesman Tom Casey, AFP reported. This …

CAIRO: Mohamed Habib, the Muslim Brotherhood’s (MB) deputy leader, dismissed rumors of disputes between the young and old generations of the group. Habib s comments were a response to an article published in the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm which featured bloggers belonging to the MB group saying that they are rebelling against the group’s old system …

CAIRO: Egypt on Sunday dispatched 78 troops to join African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, three days after one of its officers was killed in the war-torn Sudanese region, Egyptian officials said. The group was flown directly to Darfur, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to …

CAIRO: Members of the Democratic Front Party won t take part in the upcoming Shoura Council elections, due next month. Member of Parliament and party member Mohamed Anwar El Sadat explained that time limitations are the reason behind the decision. The party got the approval of the Political Parties Committee of the Shoura Council last …

Egyptian victims’ families refuse offer of compensation CAIRO: Libya has agreed to an Egyptian request to postpone the execution of an Egyptian who was due to die yesterday the Mena press agency reported. The agency quoted Assistant Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ouf saying that Libya had agreed to postpone the execution of Emad Abdel-Wahed Mohamed Ali, …

Associated Press CAIRO: Egypt on Sunday dispatched 78 troops to join African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, three days after one of its officers was killed in the war-torn Sudanese region, Egyptian officials said. The group was flown directly to Darfur, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to …

MILAN: A Milan court on Monday dismissed charges against a Milan imam and about 30 others accused of helping organize militants to Bosnia and the Middle East because the statute of limitation has expired, Italian news agencies said. Among the defendants, only three were convicted of minor charges and handed sentences ranging from 4$ years …

Associated Press CAIRO: A top Fatah official said Sunday that the moderate Palestinian group would not meet with the militant Hamas faction while in Cairo to discuss the security situation in the Palestinian territories with Egyptian officials. Deputy Prime Minister Azzam Al-Ahmed s comments came a little over a week after Fatah and Hamas reached …

CAIRO: The two brothers, Talaat El Sadat and Anwar El Sadat, independent members of the People’s Assembly and nephews of former President Anwar El Sadat are facing problems that threaten their MP status. Anwar El Sadat was legally declared bankrupt by Cairo s appeals court following a lawsuit filed against him for issuing unhonored checks. …

CAIRO: One month after the government closed the Helwan headquarters of the Center for Trade Union and Worker Services, Egypt’s largest independent labor rights group, a parliamentarian from the Muslim Brotherhood filed a formal request for its reopening. Over the weekend Abdel Halim Hilal, an MP from the Muslim Brotherhood bloc, filed the request before …

CAIRO: Egypt hosted representatives of Fatah Sunday and will also receive members of Hamas and other groups later in yet another attempt to establish a lasting ceasefire between warring Palestinian factions and with Israel. More than 40 people have been killed in under a week when fighting broke out in the Palestinian territories between members …

The Gaza Strip s border crossing with Egypt was reopened on Friday after Israel relaxed a security alert that kept it closed for 12 days. Pedestrians carrying bags and suitcases clustered at the crossing, Gaza s gateway to the outside world. Others piled into buses or onto the backs of trucks along the road leading …

WASHINGTON: A record number of Americans are pessimistic about the outcome in Iraq and now believe the war was a mistake, according to a CBS News/New York Times opinion poll out late Thursday. Seventy-six percent of Americans think the war is going badly, up ten percentage points in one month, according to the poll. Sixty-one …

CAIRO: The legislative committee at the People s Assembly (PA) agreed to increase the financial fines to be paid as a penalty by plaintiffs for intentionally delaying legal procedures, to three times the current amount, Georgette Kalien, PA member representing the National Democratic Party (NDP), told The Daily Star Egypt. The committee will put the …

West considering sanctions against Sudan ALEXANDRIA: A peacekeeping forum for conflicts in Africa ended Friday in Alexandria and was attended by Sudanese delegates. It was organized by the Cairo Center for Training to Settle Disputes and Keep Peace in Africa in conjunction with Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. The forum addressed various …

CAIRO: The Kefaya Movement for Change has taken a stand this week against the privatization of state-owned properties, calling for a national referendum before any further sales can take place. The activist group, whose public support has dwindled in the last two years, claims that the country’s privatization program has been marred by rampant corruption. …

CAIRO: The political parties committee at the Shoura Council officially approved the founding of the Democratic Front Party yesterday. Osama El Ghazali Harb, the appointed member of the Shoura Council and the chief editor of the International Politics magazine and Yehia El Gamal, law professor at Cairo University and former minister, had filed a request …

CAIRO: The government holds the biggest share of responsibility for the unsolved dilemma of unemployment that Egypt has been suffering for many years, said Mohamed Khalil Kwaitah, a PA member affiliated with the National Democratic Party (NDP) to The Daily Star Egypt. Kwaitah was commenting on a memo filed to the PA by eight members …

EU foreign policy chief reiterates support for Lebanese army CAIRO: Having met with President Hosni Mubarak and Arab League chief Amr Moussa in Cairo, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana told reporters that the EU is looking to reduce tensions in the region and Solana’s Middle East tour is …