Reuters CAIRO: After watching a bewildering array of Iraqi politicians try their hand at government, Arab leaders are reluctant to pin much hope on new Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, analysts and official sources said on Monday. Arab governments also face such a range of conflicting choices in dealing with Iraq that they appear paralyzed when …

CAIRO: Approximately 100 demonstrators gathered at the journalists’ syndicate late Sunday night to show their solidarity with detainees. The demonstration featured a group of about 10 former detainees who were showing their continued support for their brethren still locked behind bars. After the designated one-hour of chanting on the steps in front of the syndicate, …

CAIRO: Parliament speaker Fathi Sorour’s clashes with Muslim Brotherhood members continue as the latter insist on raising the issue of two Egyptian border guards who were killed by Israeli fire, reports Al-Masry Al-Youm on its front page. After the policemen died, conflicting reports of their death dominated the news as Egyptian authorities insisted that the …

CAIRO: The leader of Egypt s Muslim Brotherhood said in an interview that tourists could drink alcohol inside their hotels and people should decide for themselves whether to accept bank interest. Supreme Guide Mohamed Mahdi Akef was speaking in a television interview broadcast on Sunday on Egypt s Dream satellite channel. A transcript appeared in …

ROME: The previous Italian government, led by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, played an important role in the alleged CIA kidnapping in 2003 of an Egyptian cleric in Milan, the head of a European investigation told an Italian daily. The role of Berlusconi s government was not marginal in this affair, Swiss Senator Dick Marty said …

CAIRO: Police arrested 110 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday, and beat and tear-gassed others as they protested outside a courthouse in which a prominent Brotherhood member was on trial, sources said. The group s Web site and an eyewitness said thousands of police had surrounded the demonstrators in the large Nile Delta town …

CAIRO: Iran s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Sunday there were problems as well as positive points in an incentive package put forward by six world powers to persuade Tehran to stop atomic fuel work. These proposals contain some positive points. At the same time there are problems and ambiguous points, said Larijani, …

GAZA: A Hamas official openly brought 4.5 million euros into the Gaza Strip through its border with Egypt on Saturday, said a spokesman for a European Union contingent that monitors the crossing point. International donors and Israel have frozen funds to the Palestinian Authority since it came under Hamas control after the Islamic militant group …

WASHINGTON: An Egyptian militant pinpointed by the United States as the new leader of the Al-Qaeda network in Iraq after the death of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi has strong links to Osama bin Laden s leadership, the military said Friday Abu Ayyub Al-Masri met Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. air strike on Wednesday, at …

CAIRO: Confusion dominates Arab and Egyptian reactions to Abu Mosab El Zarqawi s death. Was he freedom fighter, terrorist or American agent? Talking to several Cairenes gives no straight answer to the question. Diaa Rashwan, political analyst at Al Ahram Center for Strategic and Political Studies, says that based on his conversations with other locals …

CAIRO: Israel allowed seven lorries loaded with Egyptian food aid to enter the Gaza Strip through its territory Thursday after the goods had been blocked for more than a month, security sources said. The 66 tons of flour and sugar donated by the Islamic Sharia Association was allowed through the Kerem Shalom crossing, on Israeli …

WASHINGTON: The House of Representatives beat back a bipartisan effort to prod Egypt to strengthen its commitment to democracy and improve its human rights record. On a 225-198 vote, the House rejected a proposal Thursday that would have cut $100 million from the $1.7 billion in aid slated for Egypt in a $21.3 billion foreign …

U.S. use democracy institute as reason for cutting aid CAIRO: On June 4, the International Republican Institute (IRI) was asked to stop all functions by the government until it had received a permit to conduct their activities in the country. The IRI has closed its office in Cairo until further notice, and have even begun …

Solidarity with detained activists and judges reaffirmed CAIRO: In a conference hosted by the freedom committee of Egypt’s Bar Association, the opposition, independent political forces and Muslim Brotherhood renewed their criticism of the regime and re-asserted their solidarity with the detained pro-reform activists and the previously prosecuted judges. “We are convened here today to show …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak expressed hope Thursday that the completion of Iraq s government would help bring about reconciliation in the war-ravaged country. President Mubarak expressed … his hope that the Iraqi government will succeed in creating an atmosphere for holding the Iraqi reconciliation conference, presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters. Awwad said Mubarak s …

CAIRO: The owner of a Red Sea ferry which caught fire and sank in February with the loss of over 1,000 lives said in an interview that he would come back to Egypt from Britain to face trial on negligence charges. I will return and appear in court accompanied by my son because I trust …

CAIRO: Jail time was extended Wednesday for 50 members of the Muslim Brotherhood and two activists. Mohamed El Sharkawy and Karim El Shaer, two activists who have been in the spotlight over the past two weeks for the alleged kidnapping, torture and sexual abuse perpetrated against them, were given another 15 days in prison. The …

CAIRO: The Arab League called Tuesday for a region-wide meeting next month in Cairo to seek ways to provide aid to Sudan s troubled Darfur region. The 22-member states of the Arab League said the July 26 meeting will bring together member countries, aid groups and others to discuss ways of ending the inhumane conditions …

CAIRO: Prosecutors on Tuesday extended the detentions of 164 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and 21 other people for taking part in pro-reform protests earlier this spring. The 164 members of the Brotherhood and the 21 others were ordered held for 15 more days each by prosecutors of the government s state security arm. …

CAIRO: When Minister of Interior Habib Al Adly announced that demonstrations needed to have a permit from the ministry before they would be allowed on the street, it was regarded as an official decree from the ministry. However, with the recent case against Al Adly’s Ministry of Interior, brought on by the Egyptian Organization for …

Egyptian and British activists rise in support of Egyptian journalists By Daily Star Egypt staff CAIRO: After organizing worldwide protests for the judges’ cause, Egyptians residing in London, with the help of British activists, rose in support of two female Egyptian journalists who were assaulted by police in Egypt. Around 30 protestors from organizations including …

CAIRO: Egyptian police raided a Cairo study center connected with the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and arrested nine leading members of the Islamist group, police and the Brotherhood said on Monday. After giving the Brotherhood a margin of freedom last year, Egyptian authorities have started to crack down on the movement, calling it a secret organization …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Israel promised Egypt on Sunday it would give negotiations with the Palestinians a chance but in the end it reserved the right to find other ways to end conflict with its neighbors. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, on his first visit to Egypt since taking office, also apologized for the Israeli troops who …

CAIRO: Regardless of its popularity among the grassroots population, Muslim Brotherhood policies and reform initiatives are still surrounded by controversy, especially among intellectuals; the idea of a constitution derived from Islamic law has given birth to speculation over the group’s political, economic and social policies. The reform initiative, penned by senior leaders and members of …

CAIRO: Egypt s oldest opposition party, Al-Wafd, on Friday elected a new leader, who promised to open up the internal debate over how to revive an organization that was trounced in last year s elections. Mahmoud Abaza, 58, a lawyer, was assured of victory as he was the only candidate who stood in the leadership …

By Agence France-Presse SHARM EL SHEIKH: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Hosni Mubarak were to meet in Sharm El-Sheikh Sunday in the first talks between the two leaders since Olmert assumed his position. I intend to strengthen ties with Egypt, the largest Arab country in the region, Olmert told Israeli public radio before …

JERUSALEM: Two Egyptian policemen who were shot dead by Israeli troops may have thought they were pursuing smugglers, according to a preliminary report conducted by the army and reported by public radio Sunday. The report suggests that the Egyptians, believing Israeli soldiers were smugglers, opened fire at them from a distance of around 80 meters …

Associated Press BEIRUT: The daily carnage in Iraq is claiming another casualty; Arab reformers who have increasingly become the target of governments that no longer feel pressured by the United States to change. Ten intellectuals were recently thrown in jail in Syria. In Egypt, more than 600 people protesting in support of two reformist judges …

CAIRO: Egypt has told the U.S.-based International Republican Institute (IRI) to stop its activities in Egypt, saying comments by its representative were interfering in the country s internal affairs. The Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it had summoned country director Gina London and told her to suspend all activities until the organization, which monitors political …

CAIRO: Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Egyptian policemen who strayed over their common border Friday, days before a key meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Hosni Mubarak. This morning, June 2, the bodies of two policemen with the force assigned to guard the international border in Sinai were found 200 meters across …