Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Iran and Arab states on Wednesday seized on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert s statement implying that Israel has nuclear weapons, calling it proof of a regional threat and demanding UN action. Egypt s opposition Muslim Brothers, who control a fifth of parliament, reacted angrily and demanded an urgent parliament session attended by …

CAIRO: A day after his release from prison on Saturday, Essam El-Erian, one of the most prominent leaders of the banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood opposition group was placed under house arrest. But on Monday, the authorities lifted the arrest and the physician by training was told he was free. “But no one knows till when, El-Erian …

Reuters Israeli pundits make much of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert s powers of persuasion, but this was one bit of proof that he might well have wanted to do without. An Israeli television station broadcasted candid footage on Thursday that appeared to show Olmert, during his first official visit to Rome, coaching Italian Prime Minister …

Egyptian authorities are holding an American on suspicion of having terror ties, and a security official says the man is from Ohio. The American was arrested late last month along with eleven Europeans and an unknown number of Egyptians and Arabs from other countries who were accused of belonging to an Islamist terror cell plotting …

A field of Kefaya activists shouting slogans such as “We want a clean government , and “Down with Mubarak, the thief gathered outside the Lawyers’ Syndicate and on the steps of the Press Syndicate in Downtown Cairo for an anti-government protest to mark the movement’s second anniversary on Tuesday. Due to a police blockade and …

Brotherhood leader say incident is misinterpreted, stresses the organization doesn t have a military wing CAIRO: Students affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood demonstrated in militia-styled outfits on Al Azhar University campus last week. And although the demonstration sparked questions as of the direction of Brotherhood policies and their possible adoption of violence, the ministry of …

Café owner allegedly threatened to end weekly meeting For years, Egyptian novelist Alaa Al Aswani held a weekly literary forum on Thursdays at Downtown Cairo’s Al Nadwa Al Thaqaffiya café. Last Thursday, however, the artists and writers – who meet to discuss themes like the influence of various literary eras on contemporary Egyptian fiction – …

PARIS: French anti-terrorist police have freed eight Frenchmen accused by Egyptian authorities of plotting attacks in the Middle East and expelled from Egypt, judicial officials said Sunday. The eight Frenchmen were arrested upon their arrival in France on Friday. The DSAT anti-terrorist agency released four Saturday, and four more Sunday, the judicial officials said. The …

While poverty might be an influential factor in the absence of human rights, it is due more to a result of lack of democracy, especially in the Middle East, Egyptian human rights activists have said. The United Nations decided that this year’s observance of Human Rights Day on Dec. 10 would be dedicated to the …

Two leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood left jail Saturday, six months after they were detained during a wave of pro-reform demonstrations. But Essam El-Erian and Mohammed Morsi are not entirely free, according to an official from the prosecutor s office. Each is required to inform authorities of his movement within Egypt and is prohibited …

Egyptian security forces in Sinai, on heightened alert since October, have discovered a tunnel underneath a kitchen reportedly used by smugglers in Rafah, along the border with Gaza. The find came after security forces found a half ton of weapons caches in the area, the seventh such find in as many weeks. In late October, …

PARIS: President Hosni Mubarak said in Paris on Friday that he fears the consequences of the Lebanese opposition protests, calling them unreasonable and warning they could split the nation apart. The President was in the French capital to inaugurate a major exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts from underwater excavations and was to hold a working …

CAIRO: American journalist Mark Danner delivered a sobering assessment of US involvement in Iraq to students and faculty at the American University in Cairo (AUC) Tuesday. Looking around at the intricate mashrabia windows of AUC’s Oriental Hall hosting his lecture, Danner opened by commenting on the beauty of the room, saying “I’m afraid this is …

CAIRO: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari called on Egypt and the Arab nations to maintain an effective political role with the incumbent Iraqi government in a press conference held Sunday with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit prior to the December 5th meeting of ministers from Iraq’s neighboring countries. He added that the Arab initiative …

Foreign Minister states regional troubles a concern for all CAIRO: The members of G8 have been won over by the seriousness of Arab efforts in the areas of political, economic and social reform according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit. Abul Gheit was commenting on the results of the G8-led Forum of the Future …

CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Monday Egypt would hold a referendum next summer on constitutional changes that should pave the way for ending a quarter century of emergency law within 18 months. Nazif said work was under way to amend the constitution to change the power system, encourage political parties and replace an …

CAIRO: A security adviser has disputed the authenticity of a tip that four Palestinians were in South Sinai to set off a series of attacks targeting Israeli tourists. On Sunday, media reports had indicated that Egyptian security forces looking were looking for four Palestinian men amid an elevated alert level. The reports said four Palestinians …

Leaders to discuss trade, mid-east peace and budding economic ties CAIRO: Underlining burgeoning economic ties and Egypt’s importance as a peace broker in the Middle East, President Hosni Mubarak is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel this month – his third visit to Berlin this year. The trip also preludes Germany’s ascension to the …

Ministers will call for end to sectarian violence threatening region The Arab League will host a meeting of foreign ministers from Iraq’s neighboring countries in Cairo on Dec. 5, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry. In the statement Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said that the meeting aimed to achieve a unified Arab stance …

Egyptian foreign minister pledges support for Palestinian state CAIRO: Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman has told Israeli officials that Hamas-captured Israeli soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit will be released within the next three weeks according to Israeli Cabinet Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio Thursday. Ben-Eliezer was quoted as saying, “Within three weeks …

Nazif and Davoudi hold discussions in Turkey CAIRO: A meeting between Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and the Iranian vice president does not mean an improvement in the countries’ relations due to the unpredictability of the Iranian president, an expert says. Prime Minister Nazif met with Iranian First Vice President Parviz Davoudi in Istanbul, Turkey during …

CAIRO: No changes will be made to the status of the 5.6 million permanent civil servants as a result of the new civil employment law, Dr Ahmed Darwish, minister of state for administrative development, said during a press conference Monday. Darwish had earlier announced a new draft law on civil employment to be presented for …

Press unified in anti-veil stance and support for Hosni CAIRO: In response to the attacks directed at Culture Minister Farouk Hosni two week ago after he announced his controversial opinion on the veil, public figures, religious scholars, feminists and artists have rushed to issue statements and opinions on the veil making the issue a top …

Cleric’s calls for withdrawal of support will go unheeded, expert says CAIRO: Calls by Iraqi Sunni leader Sheikh Harith Al-Dhari for Egypt and the international community to end support for the Shiite-led government of Iraq will go unheeded by Arab states, according to Nabil Abdel-Fatah, an expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. …

President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview published on Saturday that he saw hopeful signs that big powers are turning their attention to a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “There are signs in that sense that has recently come from important international capitals … We hope that this will give birth to an urgent and …

Arab League welcomes the Abbas initiative Egypt has called for both the Israeli and Palestinian sides to respect the newly reached ceasefire agreed on between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert according to the Foreign Ministry. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said, “All parties must respect the ceasefire. The withdrawal of Israeli …

Opposition criticizes official party’s stranglehold on media CAIRO: The ruling party is planning an aggressive campaign to promote its policies and proposed amendments to the constitution, announced the website of the National Democratic Party. Aly El-Din Helal, the secretary general of the NDP media committee, said party officials have already started visiting different governorates to …

Nearly 300 male students at Al-Azhar University angrily protested against what they considered to be anti-veil remarks made by Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni. Chanting slogans such as, “The veil is a religious obligation, and holding signs reading, “No women at work without veil, the students insisted the hijab headscarf is a symbol of a …

CAIRO: Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal held positive talks with a senior Egyptian security official on Thursday to discuss a prisoner exchange between the Palestinian movement and Israel, a senior Hamas member said. Egypt has been trying to broker the prisoner swap since the capture of an Israeli soldier in a raid near Gaza in June …

CAIRO: Opposition movement Kefaya has gathered a 100,000-strong petition calling for the annulment of Egypt’s 1979 Camp David Peace Accords with Israel, said General Coordinator for the Kefaya opposition movement George Ishaq. Ishaq told The Daily Star Egypt that the movement wants the treaty annulled due to the inequity in its conditions. We saw this …