CAIRO: Imprisoned opposition politician Ayman Nour is scheduled to go into hospital on Saturday to have stents inserted in his arteries, his wife said on Thursday. It will take them about 48 hours to prepare him for the procedure and they will keep him in hospital for four to five days, Gameela Ismail told Reuters. …

Group claims that recent government legislation is directed at obliterating them CAIRO: After winning 88 seats in the 2005 parliamentary elections, the Muslim Brotherhood has become the single largest opposition bloc in parliament. Despite their recent success however, the Muslim Brotherhood hasn’t been allowed to become a licensed political party. Instead, they currently operate as …

Many critical of Egypt’s position, but few solutions suggested CAIRO: The Israeli-Hezbollah conflict continues to dominate the news and consequently editorials. Articles are covering numerous angles. These are from critics of the US, Israel and Europe, as well as those channeling their censure towards regional leaders including the Egyptian government. The Qana massacre and its …

BEIRUT: Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit expressed hope Wednesday that the United Nations Security Council would issue an appeal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah within the next 48 hours. I hope that in the next 48 hours there will be an appeal from the UN Security Council for a ceasefire. This is an Arab, …

Egypt named as Arab candidate to be associated with Quartet Associated Press BERLIN: Germany suggested yesterday that the so-called Quartet of Middle East negotiators, be reactivated with help from Arab nations to address the current fighting in Lebanon. The Quartet – the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations – drafted the …

NGOs, private corporations organize donation campaigns and transportation to Lebanon CAIRO: With the continuous escalation of violence in Lebanon and mounting frustration with official Arab responses to the Israeli aggression, civil society has decided to act on its own. By the second week of the war on Lebanon, reports indicated that the contributions of Arab …

RAMALLAH: More than 2,000 Palestinians denounced moderate Arab leaders in a march in support of Hezbollah yesterday. The protesters marched through Ramallah s main thoroughfare, carrying pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah guerrillas, and waved Hezbollah s distinctive yellow flags. Protesters chanted insults about President Hosni Mubarak, a reference to the …

Rage and frustration mark local reaction to Qana massacre CAIRO: When the Saudi fatwa was issued last week denouncing support of Hezbollah on the grounds of the Shiite-Sunni differences, the general attitude was rejection. Nonetheless, the fatwa found supporters here and there. But a unified stance, at least among the Arab masses, was imminent; unfortunately, …

Recent aggression reexamines Egypt s normalization with Israel CAIRO: The Camp David Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty has had its supporters and denouncers among Egyptian politicians of late, but the debate has been reignited since Israel launched a massive air, land and sea assault on Lebanon following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah on July …

Newspapers publish pictures of dead children from Qana on front pages. CAIRO: The aftermath of what the press has labeled “The 2006 Qana Massacre is topping local headlines. With the incident igniting flames of anger and provoking reactions across Egypt, opposition newspapers are in turn lashing out at Israeli, American and Arab leadership. History seems …

Mubarak says UN impotent over Lebanon CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak warned Monday that the entire Middle East peace process could collapse because of Israel s attacks on Lebanon. Egypt, which triggered the peace process, warns of the consequences of its collapse, Mubarak said in a nationwide televised statement. The Israeli aggression undermines the opportunities to …

Al-Watani Al-Youm joins the ranks of partisan newspapers The ruling National Democratic Party has established a new weekly newspaper called Al-Watani Al-Youm. The newspaper means The National Today and appeared on newsstands earlier this month for the first time. It was necessary that a new newspaper would be established to express the evolution of the …

Egypt joins in condemnation of Israeli bombings CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa joined a chorus of Arab leaders on Sunday in denouncing an Israeli air strike that killed 54 people in Lebanon, terming it a massacre and demanding an international probe. The dawn air raid, which was the single bloodiest attack during Israel s …

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) _ Israeli forces pounded theHezbollah-controlled side of the border on Sunday as theLebanese guerrilla said it had fired a new barrage ofrockets into Israel. The crossfire came as diplomats stepped up efforts to finda solution to the 19-day crisis, with U.S. Secretary ofState Condoleezza Rice returning to the Middle East to pusha …

CAIRO: Egypt on Sunday voiced dismay at accusations by Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi that it was supplying weapons to the Islamic Courts militia who control the capital Mogadishu, a foreign ministry statement said. Egypt regrets the statements which appeared in the media made by the head of the Somali interim government, in which …

  Check the hottest night spots at the North Coast NORTH COAST, Alexandria: The summer is here and it s sizzling on the North Coast with great beaches to hang out at in the morning but when the sunsets it s when everything really gets started so here is are a few places you have …

Mubarak sees “no light at end of Mideast tunnel BEIRUT: Israeli planes blasted south Lebanon for a 17th day on Friday while the military mobilized thousands more reservists for the battle that the Jewish state s main backers, the United States and Britain, are to discuss at the White House. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, …

LONDON: A British-based cleric wanted in the United States on terrorism charges renewed his legal challenge on Friday against convictions in Britain for inciting racial hatred and soliciting murder. Egyptian-born Abu Hamza al-Masri, 48, was jailed for seven years in February after being convicted on 11 of 15 charges he faced at a London court. …

Cairo demo calls on Hezbollah to destroy Tel Aviv CAIRO: The Mufti of Egypt, the country s senior exponent of Islamic law, said the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah was defending Lebanon against Israeli injustice. The attacks, killing and destruction that are taking place in Lebanon now by Israeli forces are injustice itself, Mufti Ali Gomaa …

CAIRO: Arabs on Thursday wrote off the Rome meeting on Lebanon as a disappointment and accused Washington of subverting the will of the world for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah. But some saw hope in signs that Washington was isolated and might have to change its position if its Israeli …

Reuters CAIRO: Anti-government activist Mohammed El-Sharkawi, who spent most of the past three months in jail, accused the government on Wednesday of a distortion campaign against the country s pro-democracy protest movement. He said the campaign, combined with a spate of arrests at street protests in recent months, was taking a toll on turnout. But …

CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest Islamist political movements in the Arab world, rejected on Thursday sectarian fatwas by Saudi clerics against supporting Hezbollah in its fight against Israel. Several Saudi clerics have issued religious opinions or fatwas banning support for the Lebanese guerrilla group. It is not allowed to support this Shiite …

CAIRO: Around 1,000 protesters gathered in the center of El Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, expressing their solidarity with the Lebanese people. It was the largest protest outside El Azhar mosque to be held in the city since the start of the most recent Israeli-Lebanese conflict, which has resulted in the deaths of more than …

Arab inaction and increase in gas prices take the lead CAIRO: Arab inaction toward the Lebanese crisis, an increase in local gas prices and Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif s statements dominated editorials throughout the week. Some writers like Fahmy Howeidy in Al Ahram surveyed the crisis in general, commending Hezbollah and criticizing the American-sponsored Israeli …

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit says Arabs disappointed by talks BEIRUT: Israel said Thursday a world meeting on Lebanon had authorized it to wipe out Hezbollah in the south of the country and vowed to step up its air offensive after nine elite troops were killed. Yesterday in Rome we have in effect obtained the authorization …

Egypt will not go to war for Lebanon, says Mubarak ROME: A 15-nation crisis conference aimed at ending the bloodshed in Lebanon deadlocked Wednesday over the timing of a ceasefire which would allow aid to reach half a million refugees. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan made an impassioned plea for the conference to back an …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak left for talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after repeating his call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and taking a jab at U.S. foreign policy. What is happening in the region is destructive chaos, not creative chaos, he told reporters at Cairo airport on departure for talks with King Abdullah. …

LONDON: The Suez crisis, which began 50 years ago this week, made clear for the first time that Britain and France were no longer world powers and marked the start of a close cooperation between London and Washington still very much in evidence in today s Middle East. Never again were Britain or France really …

CAIRO: The Egyptian government’s effort to send aid to war-stricken Lebanon and Palestine has been limited and deemed “inadequate. Non-governmental organizations, political and independent groups are adopting the cause in their stead, condemning the “weakness of the Arab states and glorifying the Hezbollah militia. The state-directed Red Crescent sent two military planes, provided by the …

More than 14,500 Egyptians evacuated from Lebanon NABATIYEH: Israeli troops sealed off a key Hezbollah stronghold in fierce fighting in south Lebanon and warplanes destroyed a house in this market city Tuesday, killing six people. Militants fired rockets at the Israeli city of Haifa as the two-week old crisis showed no signs of letting up, …