WASHINGTON: The U.S. State Department on Thursday said it was deeply concerned about the arrest and alleged torture of two civil society activists in Egypt and urged authorities there to investigate the matter. We are troubled by the recent reports that Mohammed Al-Sharqawy as well as Karim Al-Shaer were arrested and, during their arrest and …

CAIRO: Egyptian security forces have arrested two men wanted in connection with a spate of deadly attacks in the Sinai region over the past two years, the official MENA news agency reported Friday. A third man gave himself up voluntarily, as the search for suspects in the peninsula continued. Security forces arrested Mohammed Hadi Salim …

CAIRO: Thursday’s protest was, by all accounts, a protest about a protest about a protest. The demonstration raised a lot of questions that must be answered in order for the opposition to maintain a viable dissent movement. Thursday saw about 50 demonstrators move from the corniche in Garden City, next to the Four Seasons hotel, …

Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will hold his first summit with an Arab head of state Sunday in talks with President Hosni Mubarak that will be a likely precursor to a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The summit in Sharm El-Sheikh will be Olmert s first opportunity to explain to the …

CAIRO: United States Ambassador to Egypt Francis Ricciardone said on Wednesday that the Egyptian government should explain the actions taken by its security forces in response to recent protests. We are at the very least disappointed, says Ricciardone when asked for his reaction to the detainment of activists during a meeting of the American Chamber …

ROME: An Italian prosecutor said Wednesday he is pushing ahead with an investigation into the alleged CIA kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in Milan in 2003, saying he might seek indictments as early as July. Milan prosecutor Armando Spataro said the investigation might be wrapped up by mid-July and then he would seek indictments against …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah Wednesday called on Hamas to recognize an Arab initiative for peace in the Middle East that envisages normalizing ties with Israel. Egypt and Saudi Arabia call on Hamas to recognize the Beirut-Arab initiative, presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters after the meeting between the two …

CAIRO: A fire broke out on Thursday at a community center in Cairo founded by opposition leader Ayman Nour, who had held political meetings in the building before he was imprisoned by authorities. Nour s wife and spokeswoman, Gameela Ismail, said there were signs that an arson attack had occurred at the site, located in …

CAIRO: As the press rushed to encircle the newest big name to grace what had been an uneventful demonstration, the plainclothes policeman close by asked a reporter who the man was. “Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the reporter answered the boy. The plainclothes policeman went back to the line that had been drawn up in order to …

ISMAILIA, Egypt: Israeli border troops shot dead an Egyptian man trying to smuggle goods into Israel, Egyptian and Israeli officials said on Wednesday. The unnamed man, who was armed but carried no identity papers, was shot in the head and chest after an exchange of fire with Israeli troops on the central section of the …

CAIRO: Egypt may change the constitution in a way that makes it more difficult for the opposition Muslim Brotherhood movement to win large numbers of parliamentary seats, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said in an interview. Nazif said one proposal was to introduce an electoral voting system which combines voting for individuals and voting for party …

LONDON: The French secret service discussed kidnapping firebrand Muslim preacher Abu Hamza from London to prevent a terrorist attack on the 1998 World Cup, a new book serialized in The Times claimed Wednesday. The plan, which was not at an advanced stage, reportedly involved snatching the Egyptian-born cleric off the street, bundling him into a …

Associated Press ISMAILIYA, Egypt: A group of 13 suspects tried for terror attacks that killed nearly 100 people in Sinai Peninsula resorts over the past two years were plotting to bomb a church and archaeological sites, an Egyptian security official told the court on Tuesday. Police Capt. Nabil Mohammed said defendant Bassam Hammad Eid had …

CAIRO: Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday that President Hosni Mubarak should immediately order an independent judicial investigation into last Thursday’s alleged torture and sexual assault by security agents of political activists. The U.S.-based watchdog also slammed the Egyptian government in a statement released yesterday. “We have asked President Mubarak to put a stop to …

CAIRO: Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif blamed protesters for police violence against demonstrators in past weeks, saying in remarks published Wednesday that the activists had attacked the security forces during their unauthorized rallies. No one is beaten up unless he is using violence himself, Nazif told the independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm in an interview. When someone …

Reuters BASRA, Iraq: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for a month in oil-rich Basra which is in the grip of a power struggle among Shiite factions. We hope after this month that we will come back to Basra and see that the situation has improved a lot, Maliki …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah opened talks Wednesday in Sharm El-Sheikh on efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the official news agency MENA said. The talks in the Red Sea resort were to focus on a resumption of negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, and Egypt s push for a summit …

CAIRO: The Hisham Mubarak Law Center has issued a statement which declares a demonstration will take place on Thursday, June 1, in front of Kasr El Nil police station, Garden City. It also asks for other Egyptian human rights organizations to come forward in support and participation in Thursday’s demonstration. The announcement came following a …

ISMAILIYA: An Egyptian suspect in a 2004 terror attack denied police charges against him and told a court on Monday that he was tortured into confessing. The defendant, Osama Al Nakhlawi, and 12 other suspects have been accused of bombing the Taba Hilton and Ras Shitan resorts in an October 2004 attack that killed 34 …

RIYADH: Saudi King Abdullah is to visit Egypt on Wednesday for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ahead of an Israeli-Egyptian summit, a Saudi official said Tuesday. Abdullah and Mubarak will meet in Sharm El-Sheikh to discuss the tense situation in the Palestinian territories, the official told AFP, requesting anonymity. The monarch …

Agence France-Presse GAZA CITY: Israeli troops staged their first ground operation in the Gaza Strip Tuesday since pulling out of the territory last year, killing three Islamic Jihad militants and a Palestinian policeman. Three other militants were also killed in the occupied West Bank overnight, making it the deadliest spike in violence since the radical …

CAIRO: Egyptian police detained approximately 30 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood Islamist group in Alexandria as they were preparing to vote in chamber of commerce elections, a spokesman for the group said on Monday. Hamdy Hassan, the official spokesman for the Brotherhood bloc in parliament has confirmed at least 28 people have been arrested. …

CAIRO: In the wake of reports of torture of political activists while in custody, the Bar Association, along with opposition and political forces, held a joint press conference Sunday to discuss their course of action in what they termed a crisis. “The assaults, the abductions and the physical abuse have revealed the true face of …

CAIRO: The U.S. embassy in Cairo denied on Sunday its ambassador had made comments about Washington s aid to the Arab world s most populous nation that had Egyptian MPs up in arms. Lawmakers accused the ambassador of interfering in Egypt s domestic affairs after parliament was told of the reported comments by Ambassador Francis …

ISMAILIYA: A Palestinian militant recruited Egyptians to carry out the 2004 bombing of the Taba Hilton hotel and was part of a wider campaign against Israelis and U.S. troops in Iraq, an Egyptian police officer has told a court. The Palestinian, Yasser Ahmed Mohsin, and 12 other suspects have been charged with bombing the Taba …

CAIRO: As opposition and independent newspapers concentrated on Muslim Brotherhood electoral candidates and the Kefaya (Enough) movement’s reaction to the arrest and torture of two of its young members, national papers continue to present government plans for economic and social reform. The main headlines of the national papers Al Ahram and Al-Akhbar focused on the …

CAIRO: In the wake of Thursday’s turmoil and claims of abuse and torture, the inmates as Tora prison, where Karim El Shaer and Mohamed Sharkawy are currently being held, have initiated a hunger strike. El Shaer and Sharkawy were released from prison last week but defied orders to stay away from demonstrations by being present …

CAIRO: A suspect in the deadly bombings at the Red Sea resort of Dahab last month has surrendered to security forces in North Sinai, the Egyptian press reported Saturday. Mohammed Khidr Sallam Shenub, 26, a resident of the central Sinai region, gave himself up on Friday, just a day after police released his 47-year-old brother …

Associated Press EL ARISH, Egypt: Egyptian police captured six Sudanese, including a one-year-old boy, who were trying to cross into Israel early Friday to seek asylum, a security official said. The six were arrested at dawn as they tried to get over the coil of barbed wire that marks the border in Egypt s northeast …

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet President Hosni Mubarak on June 4 for talks that Cairo said on Sunday would be a preamble to a three-way summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Olmert has said he would consult with Mubarak on a plan the Israeli leader has proposed for the future of the …