CAIRO: Egyptian authorities are looking for three Palestinians believed to be preparing attacks against Israeli tourists on the Sinai Peninsula, a security source said Saturday. Razmi Akram Abu Kholaa, Iyad Awad Abu Beid and Nidal Diab Amudi are being actively sought, by border guards in particular, the source said. It added that the three suspects …

Egyptian efforts to release captured Israeli soldier in Gaza gain speed CAIRO/GAZA CITY: President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday said the response to Israel s aggression against Lebanon revealed the weakness of the United Nations. The month-long Israeli offensive in Lebanon sparked fury in the Arab and Muslim world, not only against Israel but also towards …

Group recognizes the important place Mahfouz held in the literary world CAIRO: El-Gamaa El-Islamiyya (The Islamic Group), the same group that attempted to assassinate Naguib Mahfouz, has issued a statement regarding his death and the assassination attempt in the 1990s. In a memorial statement, the group termed Mahfouz the only thinker who had demanded the …

CAIRO: Egypt warned Israel that its foolish war in Lebanon against Hezbollah threatened Egypt-Israeli ties, Egypt s foreign minister said in a television interview broadcast on Friday. In a rebuttal of accusations from ordinary Arabs that Egypt could have done more to defend Lebanon and back Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said Egypt had made …

Muslim Brotherhood arrests and custody renewals prompt move CAIRO: Members of Egypt’s opposition forces, including some 100 who are represented in parliament, are calling on the People’s Assembly (lower house of parliament) to convene an emergency meeting of its human rights committee, in protest of the rounding up of Muslim Brotherhood members. In the past …

CANBERRA: The Australian government on Thursday warned its citizens there was a high threat of a terrorist attack in Egypt, including the tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a travel advisory it had received credible information suggesting terrorists could attack targets in Egypt. It didn t provide …

Reuters BRUSSELS: The European Union is set to launch a drive this week to revive long-stalled Middle East peace negotiations based on the principle of a return to Israel s 1967 borders, EU officials say. At an informal meeting in Finland on Friday and Saturday, foreign ministers of the 25-nation bloc will discuss how to …

Reacting to UN Resolution 1701 CAIRO: Following the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah, the UN Security Council imposed Resolution 1701. The resolution is aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and the immediate cessation of any military operations. The Daily Star Egypt took to the streets to gauge the Egyptian public’s views …

CAIRO: Egypt urged Britain and the United States Wednesday to give Sudan more time before pushing forward a UN resolution calling for the deployment of UN peacekeepers in war-torn Darfur. Egypt is engaged in contacts to convince the parties that drafted the resolution of the need to give more time for negotiations with the Sudanese …

OTTAWA: An Egyptian airliner flying from Cairo to New York with 313 passengers and 19-member crew made an unscheduled stop in eastern Canada on Monday when smoke was detected in the cockpit, officials said. The Egyptair Boeing 777 landed at Happy Valley-Goose Bay airport in Newfoundland province at about 13:30 p.m. (17:30 GMT), a Canadian …

CAIRO: A well-known Egyptian businessman and several public bank officials were handed heavy prison sentences Monday in one of the country s highest-profile corruption cases, judicial sources said. Car dealer Hossam Aboul Fotouh was sentenced to 10 years in prison for receiving unguaranteed loan facilities totaling LE 1.4 billion ($243 million). Most of the loans …

Rumor of a possible train drivers’ strike reported by Al-Masry Al-Youm CAIRO: A minor shuffle in the cabinet is in effect, read Monday’s headlines. Three ministries out of the 31 headed by Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif have been restructured. Nazif remains in office despite previous reports falsely predicting his discharge. According to Al-Ahram newspaper, President …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak made minor adjustments to his cabinet Sunday, topping the changes with the reassignment of the justice portfolio. The heads of the foreign affairs, interior and defense ministries retained their portfolios. Mamdouh Marei, head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, replaces Mahmoud Abu El-Leil, who resigned 10 days ago from his post as …

CAIRO: Washington s top nuclear negotiator held talks in Cairo Monday as part of U.S. efforts to harmonize positions on the response to give to Iran s fast-advancing nuclear program. Working with Egypt is critical to our success, said Gregory Schulte, the chief U.S. representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency, after a meeting with …

Iran says it will pursue atomic work despite deadline TEHRAN: Iran insisted on Sunday it would never stop uranium enrichment despite a looming UN deadline intended to ensure it cannot develop atomic weapons. Egypt called Sunday for dialogue to resolve the long-running standoff over Iran s nuclear program, just four days before a UN Security …

CAIRO: Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have reached a deal brokered by Germany for a prisoner exchange to take place within two or three weeks, the state-owned daily Al-Ahram reported Sunday. The prisoner swap between Hezbollah and Israel is to take place within two or three weeks maximum, thanks to a German mediation which …

Israeli air strikes wounds eight Palestinians in Gaza GAZA: The Gaza-Egypt border opened for a day Friday, after weeks of closure following the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-allied militants in Gaza. The brief opening of the Rafah terminal comes at the end of the summer travel season and will enable hundreds of stranded …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak has suggested that his detractors have lost their nerve, and asked God to calm them, in the latest verbal jab at Damascus over the Arab stance on the conflict in Lebanon. I hold my nerve and I am unflappable in the face of provocation. May God calm those who have lost …

Israel raids Gaza, civilian and two militants killed GAZA: Palestinian militants blew a three-meter hole in the Gaza-Egypt border wall on Thursday, in a bid to allow a crowd of about 5,000 Palestinians to enter Egypt, security and border sources said. The explosion was on the Palestinian side of the wall at the Salaheddin gate, …

CAIRO: The Egyptian authorities stepped up security around the Suez Canal on Tuesday in preparation for the passage of warships heading to Lebanon, security sources told AFP. Egyptian authorities have increased security in the Suez Canal in preparation for the passage of warships headed to Lebanon to support international forces there, the source said. No …

Arab nations pushing for new peace process with Israel after Lebanon war CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers gathered in Cairo on Sunday to pave the way for an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia planned for later this month. A new peace initiative will likely be high on the agenda, along with a Saudi plan to gather …

Associated Press UNITED NATIONS: Arab nations want the UN Security Council to join in launching a new peace process to end the broader Arab-Israeli conflict, saying the road map unveiled in 2003 to establish a Palestinian state is dead. Arab League foreign ministers have asked to send a delegation to a ministerial meeting of the …

BAGHDAD: Iraqi police have arrested five Egyptians in a raid against suspected terrorists in war-torn Baghdad, the office of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced Friday. National police commandos arrested an Iraqi along with the Egyptians, the statement said, without giving further details of the operation. The U.S. military maintains that the largest number of foreign …

Associated Press CAIRO, Egypt: The governments of Egypt and Morocco are said to be considering contributing troops to a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, but both countries are deeply hesitant to put themselves between Hezbollah fighters and Israel. A deployment would put either Arab country in a potential lose-lose situation: If fighting were to break …

Former Egyptian consul to Israel escapes attempt on life MARJAYOUN, Lebanon: Lebanese troops, tanks and armored vehicles deployed south of the Litani River on Thursday, a key provision of the UN cease-fire plan that ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The deployment marks a first step toward extending government control in a region Lebanese troops …

Egyptian shot, injured near border GAZA: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday armed groups had agreed to stop firing rockets into Israel from Gaza, but militants said such a move would be dependent on Israel halting its offensive. Yesterday all factions met and agreed on calm and stopping all actions that may give others …

Arab foreign ministers to meet in Egypt on Sunday BEIRUT: Foreign ministers arrived in Beirut on Wednesday to help plan the assembly of a 15,000-strong international force to oversee peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon. An explosive left over from the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah killed a man. The international force would work with an equal …

GAZA: An Israeli aircraft fired a missile into a house in the southern Gaza Strip early on Wednesday, killing a Palestinian militant and his father, witnesses and medics said. The Israeli army said it had targeted a weapons storage facility and warned everyone inside to leave before the attack. The air strike destroyed a two-storey …

Reuters GAZA: Egyptian mediators have presented Hamas and other militant groups with a new proposal aimed at ending a six-week-old standoff over an Israeli soldier seized near the Gaza strip, Hamas officials said on Tuesday. A source close to the negotiations said the proposal called for Hamas to transfer Corporal Gilad Shalit to Egyptian authorities …

Egypt reiterates decision not to send troops to Lebanon-Israel border BEIRUT: A fragile ceasefire in the Lebanon war was holding Tuesday despite sporadic violence as Hezbollah claimed a historic victory, but Israeli leaders faced recriminations at home over the conflict. Thousands of exhausted Lebanese displaced by the massive month-long Israeli onslaught jammed bombed-out roads across …