Associated Press CAIRO: Representatives of Iraq s ethnic and sectarian groups started discussions Tuesday on ways for reconciliation and ending escalating sectarian violence that threatens the breakup of the war-battered country. Some 30 delegates representing Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and other smaller minorities are participating in the discussions sponsored by the Cairo-based Arab League. Insurgents are …

Agence France-Presse CAIRO: Fifty years later, Adel Ezzat remembers every minute of the day former Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser took the world by surprise and nationalized the Suez Canal. Only three of us were in the know. President Nasser had chosen us to carry out the nationalization, says Ezzat, who was then a 30-year-old …

Reuters CAIRO: A vision of a new Middle East emerging from the conflict in Lebanon as outlined by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice drew ridicule on Monday from mainstream Arab analysts and former Arab diplomats. Several of them said the United States and Israel had little if any chance of achieving their stated goals …

Associated Press CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak on Monday called for an immediate cease-fire in Israel s military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying a longer term solution could be worked out later. In a statement carried by the nation s Middle East News Agency, Mubarak also warned that the onslaught could cause a humanitarian catastrophe. …

Germany seeks end to conflict but no instant cease-fire CAIRO: French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Saturday called for an immediate cease-fire to stop the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah and suggested that an exchange of prisoners could be one way to bring an end to the crisis. The comments came a day after …

CAIRO: Fourteen Arab governments have backed a call for an emergency summit on violence between Israel and Hezbollah and the Palestinians, but the Arab League remained one vote shy of a two-thirds majority needed to convene a meeting. A senior Arab League official said on Sunday that Somalia, Mauritania, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates …

Becket attempts to play down differences with key regional ally Associated Press LONDON: Egypt s foreign minister appealed Thursday for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East, arguing both sides must take initiatives to stop fighting. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit insisted that Israel and Hezbollah must stop attacks in a conflict that has killed more …

Ground attack increasingly likely CAIRO: In an attempt to diffuse the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana made a blitz visit to the region this week, where he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, President Hosni Mubarak and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. “The …

Rice plans Middle East trip next week BEIRUT: The French foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, arrived in Lebanon on Friday to seek to mediate in the Israel-Lebanon crisis, his office said. Douste-Blazy warned Friday that the escalating conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah could lead to a catastrophe. The situation has significantly deteriorated and there …

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit calls for immediate cessation of violence BEIRUT: Israeli troops met fierce resistance from Hezbollah militants Thursday as they crossed into Lebanon to seek tunnels and weapons for a second consecutive day as Israel refused to rule out a full-scale invasion. Israeli warplanes also launched new air-strikes on Beirut s southern suburbs, …

CAIRO: An Egyptian sailor who was injured during a rocket attack on his boat off the Lebanese coast died in a Syrian hospital, Egyptian security sources told AFP Thursday. Ahmed Yussef Awad suffered injuries to his neck caused by missile fragments and died Wednesday at a hospital in Syria. He had been taken with 11 …

Israel kills seven in Gaza as Mubarak says end to conflict in sight BEIRUT: At least 55 civilians were killed Wednesday as Israeli jets and gunboats pummeled towns and villages across Lebanon and tens of thousands of people fled a conflict that both sides defiantly warned would have no limit. In the bloodiest day since …

Immediate divergence on tactical matters WASHINGTON: The United States and Egypt met in a rekindled strategic dialogue dedicated to strengthening the two countries relationship. Foreign Minister Ahmed-Abul Gheit and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice then clearly showed major differences at least in their tactical outlooks. In brief comments during a photo opportunity, Abul-Gheit used …

President Hosni Mubarak criticizes Hizbullah and Hamas BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes battered Lebanon on Tuesday, killing 26 people, and more Hizbullah rockets hit the Israeli city of Haifa, with no sign that diplomacy would halt the week-old conflict any time soon. Nine family members, including children, were killed and four wounded in an air strike on …

CAIRO: Arab League representatives gathered in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of holding an extraordinary summit over Israel s offensive in Lebanon. The pan-Arab body s secretary general, Amr Moussa, said on Monday that eight members, Yemen, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Sudan, Algeria, Qatar, Lebanon and Djibouti had already expressed support for a …

National newspapers dilute coverage on side stories; independent press criticize CAIRO: Newspapers in Egypt around the region are focusing intensely on the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, with national newspapers taking a calculated approach to coverage and the independent papers continuing to heap criticism on Arab states. Opinion columns in national papers make it a point …

CAIRO: An emergency summit convened by the Arab League was described by Cairo-based analysts and human rights activists as ineffective in terms of dealing with the current situation in Lebanon. League statements reflected an overt attempt to ignore the question of Lebanon, which was one of the chief reasons why the meeting was called, said …

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit slams G8 statement on Israeli offensive BEIRUT: Lebanon shuddered under a new wave of deadly Israeli air raids Monday, as Hezbollah militants struck the Israeli city of Haifa with rockets for the second time in as many days. As the death toll climbed to 200 less than a week into a …

CAIRO: Eleven crew members of an Egyptian merchant ship returned to Cairo on Monday, three days after their cargo vessel was hit by a Hezbollah rocket during an attack on an Israeli warship off the Lebanese capital Beirut. One injured crew member remained in a Syrian hospital. The Cambodian-flagged Moonlight, bound for the Syrian port …

CAIRO: Six of the 22 members of the Arab League favor holding an Arab summit on the violence between Israel and Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said on Monday. The response falls short of the two-thirds majority needed for a summit to go ahead but more governments could sign up …

North Sinai declares state of emergency AL-ARISH: In the hours following the explosion at the Egyptian border with Gaza, scores of Palestinians who were stranded on the Egyptian side of the border rushed into Gaza. Meanwhile, North Sinai Governor Ahmed Abdel Hamid declared a state of emergency, according to the official MENA news agency, prompting …

Mubarak says Israel is fighting a losing battle CAIRO: The Arab League said on Saturday after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers that the Middle East peace process had failed and called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene to stop the escalating violence. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa announced the decision following …

CAIRO: The following statement was issued by an independent United Nations human rights expert on the independence of the judiciary: The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy, expressed serious concern over a law regulating the judiciary in Egypt, which was approved by the Egyptian Parliament on June 26, 2006. Promulgation …

Reuters MILAN: The head of Italy s military intelligence agency was questioned by prosecutors for the first time on Saturday on suspicion of helping the CIA kidnap a terrorism suspect in Milan, judicial sources said. The development makes Nicolo Pollari the highest ranking official connected to the Italian investigation, which has already led to the …

CAIRO: An Egyptian civilian ship off the coast of Lebanon was hit during an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military, Egypt s foreign ministry confirmed on Saturday, but the crew of 12 survived. The 12 sailors have reached Syria safely, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alaa El-Hadidi said, adding there were no casualties among …

U.S. military released inaccurate report of identity of Al-Qaeda leader Al-Muhajir CAIRO: For more than seven years, Abu-Ayoub Al-Masry, the purported successor to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, has been held in an Egyptian prison, an Islamist lawyer Mamdouh Ismail told The Daily Star Egypt. After the death of Al-Zarqawi in Iraq, the U.S. military claimed that …

SIDON: Three Egyptian workers were wounded and a fourth missing in a series of Israeli raids in Lebanon at dawn on Saturday, including an attack near the home of pro-Syrian parliament speaker Nabih Berri. Warplanes raided four gas stations across southern Lebanon, police said. Three workers were wounded and a fourth was missing after an …

CAIRO: A former member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) on Sunday launched a campaign rallying support for his breakaway liberal opposition party. Osama Ghazali Harb, editor of the quarterly Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya, presented plans for the new party, the Democratic Front, which is based on the build up of a true and complete democratic …

HELSINKI: The European Union on Friday called for the border between Gaza and Egypt to be opened, saying it was deeply concerned by the poor conditions facing Palestinians stranded there. Israel has blockaded Gaza after the abduction of an Israeli soldier during an attack on a military post at the end of June. We demand …

CAIRO: Egyptian police broke up a financial planning meeting of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and detained eight members of the Islamist group, the state news agency MENA reported. The meeting in a Cairo suburb on Thursday evening was between an official of the Muslim Brotherhood s central financing committee and seven committee members from the …