Egypt persuades Hamas figure to leave, citing danger CAIRO: Jordan s King Abdullah II met in Cairo with President Hosni Mubarak on Friday in a hastily-called meeting to discuss escalating Mideast violence. The two leaders of moderate, U.S.-backed Arab regimes, the only countries in the region to sign peace treaties with Israel, discussed the Israeli …

CAIRO: The Red Crescent Society in Egypt has denied reports that four Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip had died as a result of poor conditions. In contrast, the NGO says it has provided fully for the needs of the Palestinians. “The needs of the Palestinians …

CAIRO: During President Hosni Mubarak’s reelection campaign – in what was the first-ever, multi-candidate presidential election – he promised to increase the freedom of the press and end all jail sentences handed down to reporters. The promise, however, has largely gone unfulfilled. Hundreds of journalists gathered on July 9 in front of parliament to oppose …

Reuters ROME: Ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who lost power in April elections, attacked Italian magistrates on Wednesday for chasing after CIA agents and Italian spies over the alleged kidnap of a terrorism suspect. Berlusconi also said that Rome risked increasing the chances of a terrorist attack on Italian soil if the government loses its close …

Violence escalates between Israel, Palestine and Lebanon; rebel priest provokes censure CAIRO: The local media has provided different takes on the president s intervention in amending the new press law; some applauded while others were skeptical. Meanwhile, escalation of violence between Israeli, Palestine and Lebanon has been making continuous headlines. Receiving less coverage, but still …

Reuters CAIRO: Arab governments agreed to send their foreign ministers to Cairo for an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, the Arab League said on Thursday. But the 22-member League has not yet seen specific proposals for a joint Arab response to the attacks in which Israel …

Egypt, Hariri hold emergency talks in bid to end crisis BEIRUT: Israel struck Beirut airport and blockaded Lebanese ports on Thursday, expanding reprisals that have killed 52 civilians in Lebanon since Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight a day earlier. The Lebanese Shiite Muslim group retaliated by raining rockets onto towns in northern …

Reuters CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak said in remarks published on Wednesday there was no need to appoint a vice president, suggesting he will leave open the post from which both he and his predecessor became leader. Analysts and the opposition Muslim Brotherhood said that by not appointing a vice president, 78-year-old Mubarak strengthened the chances …

Brotherhood praises abduction of soldiers, says Israel should “exchange the thousands of Palestinian prisoners AITA SHAAB, Lebanon: Israel invaded southern Lebanon in a ground and air assault to retrieve two soldiers snatched by Hezbollah on Wednesday, the first such assault into the country since a 2000 pullout. The capture, in an attack on an army …

Muslim Brotherhood protests, claiming move directed at Islamists CAIRO: In a review of government-proposed constitutional amendments, National Democratic Party (NDP) upper house of parliament members suggested that election candidacy be restricted to official party members, consequently excluding independents. “There is no place for independents on the Egyptian political arena, one NDP member was quoted as …

U.S. seeks more consultation with Egypt; calls for release of Israeli soldiers CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview published Wednesday that his mediation efforts for the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Gaza militants were sabotaged by an unnamed party. I had reached an honorable solution to the crisis of the captured …

CAIRO: Parliament narrowly approved an aid agreement with Denmark after a heated debate dominated by memories of a dispute over cartoon pictures of the Prophet Mohammad published in a Danish newspaper last year. Acting speaker Abdel Aziz Mustafa said the agreement passed by a show of hands on Monday evening, but opposition members of parliament …

Dissident priest offers own program to bridge gap between religions CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday said he would not intervene in the affairs of Egypt s Coptic Orthodox Church, after the controversial announcement by a priest to form a splinter Church. I do not intervene in religious affairs, Mubarak said in an interview with …

Two Palestinians die at closed Egypt-Gaza border GAZA CITY: Israel battered the Gaza Strip with more air strikes on Tuesday as the government gave the green light to intensify the offensive that has killed more than 50 Palestinians in a week. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert defended the operation, aimed at securing the release of …

JERUSALEM: Nearly 580 Palestinians in need of medical care have been stranded for up to two weeks inside a terminal on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, the Red Cross said on Monday. Because of a border dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, the Red Cross has proposed escorting …

ROME: The Italian government and its intelligence services were not aware of and did not participate in the alleged CIA kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in Milan, a Defense Ministry official told Senate committees Tuesday, amid growing evidence that the Americans did not act alone. Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, in power at the time of …

CAIRO: A new Egyptian press law that allows judges to jail journalists for offences such as insulting public officials or heads of state violates international standards for press freedom, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. The law, passed on Monday and billed as a reform measure by the government, eliminates imprisonment for some publishing offences …

CAIRO: Egypt s Coptic pope sought Monday to reassure his followers Monday upon returning from a trip abroad that raised concerns over his health and saw a dissident bishop trying to set up a rival church. The church has 20 centuries of history behind it. It has remained solid and was never harmed by the …

Thousands stranded along Egypt-Gaza border JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected on Monday international criticism of Israel s offensive in Gaza and demands by militants to free Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an abducted Israeli soldier. Olmert, speaking to foreign media, said operations in Gaza to press for the soldier s release and an end …

KUWAIT: Three Egyptians kidnapped in Iraq have been freed, Kuwait s private television Al-Rai reported on Sunday. They are being received by Egyptian authorities at the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border, Rai said. The three were freed following intensive efforts by the Egyptian embassy in Kuwait. It was not immediately clear when the men were abducted. A television …

CAIRO: Parliament passed a controversial press law on Monday despite protests by journalists and opposition activists who say it puts new limits on press freedom. The government-drafted law, billed as a reform and passed by a show of hands, eliminates imprisonment for some publishing offences but continues to let judges send journalists to jail in …

Independent and opposition newspapers strike against new law CAIRO: Journalists continue to protest a government-proposed press law after Egypt’s People’s Assembly announced that it was prepared to pass it. More than 20 independent and opposition newspapers and magazines launched a strike on Sunday; only national newspapers were to be seen on newsstands. Many pro-democracy and …

ROME: A top Italian intelligence official arrested on charges of participating in the alleged CIA kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric was questioned for a second day Saturday, amid growing evidence that the Americans did not act alone. Marco Mancini, head of counterespionage at Italy s SISMI agency, was detained Wednesday on an arrest warrant issued …

GAZA: Israel launched air strikes against Palestinian targets across the Gaza Strip on Sunday and said it would continue an open-ended offensive after rebuffing a ceasefire proposed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas. Israeli leaders said the military would press on with air and ground assaults until Palestinian militants released Corporal Gilad Shalit, a …

CAIRO: Egyptian security forces have detained 30 leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the latest arrests in a crackdown on the country s strongest opposition movement, the group s deputy leader said on Sunday. Mohammed Habib told Reuters 27 Brotherhood members were arrested in the town of Ras Al-Bir on Egypt s north coast during …

CAIRO: Despite its young age in comparison to other, more established parties, the liberal El-Ghad (Tomorrow) party, founded by the 42-year-old Ayman Nour in October 2004, was one of the key players in the political movement that Egypt witnessed in the last couple of years. The party had its ups and downs and now faces …

Agence France-Presse GAZA CITY: Israel pressed on with its bloody offensive against Gaza on Friday, a day after reoccupying land and waging multiple air strikes in the deadliest 24 hours in the Palestinian territories for four years. Three Palestinians, one of them a teenager, were killed as Israeli artillery and aircraft pounded the northern Gaza …

Group accuses government of obeying U.S. commands CAIRO: One of Egypt’s principal opposition groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, announced Thursday their intention to run in the coming elections for the Shura Council (lower house of parliament) in April. “We have a principal. It is that we would run for all elections, on every level, including the …

Egyptian cleric to sue Berlusconi ROME: Italy s government on Thursday backed a probe into the possible role of its intelligence services in the alleged abduction of an Egyptian by U.S. agents, a day after senior intelligence figures were arrested in connection with the case. Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi said Prime Minister Romano Prodi …

Israeli forces take over abandoned settlements in northern Gaza CAIRO: Egypt s efforts to defuse the worsening Palestinian-Israeli crisis have ground to a halt because of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal s refusal to press for the unconditional release of an Israeli soldier and growing mistrust between Egypt and Hamas, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said. Israeli …