ALEXANDRIA, Egypt: The Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday it had withdrawn from chamber of commerce elections in Alexandria because of interference by security forces to hinder its chances. The Islamist group, Egypt s strongest opposition force, complained that police had stopped its candidates and their representatives from entering polling stations to vote and observe the …

CAIRO: Kefaya (Enough) movement leaders and members have decided demonstrations are not sufficient opposition to the government, and the movement is presenting what they call a “new reform initiative, and is currently negotiating its enactment with parliament members. “There is a need to engage the people to make a change, says George Ishaq, Kefaya founder …

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 …

CAIRO: Thursday’s protests began right, went smoothly, but ended in disarray as plainclothes police surrounded a BBC correspondent’s vehicle and dragged away Karim Al Shaer. In the process of arresting Al Shaer, the men are reported to have thrown objects at the vehicle, breaking windows and forcing the car to stop. “Plainclothes security raided Dina …

CAIRO: Activists around the world are picketing Egyptian embassies under the slogan “The Egyptian judges are not alone! We are not alone, marking May 25 as a day of support for Egyptians “in their quest for freedom and in their fight against tyranny. As protests raged in Cairo, an international coalition of supporters of the …

CAIRO: Authorities have released 41 students detained during street protests last week in support of two pro-reform judges, a security official said Thursday. The students included members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group and the opposition movement Kefaya, (Enough) said the official on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the …

CAIRO: Three Egyptian journalists and a lawyer were charged by a criminal court Wednesday for denouncing state-sponsored fraud in last year s parliamentary elections, judicial sources told AFP. Wael Al-Ibrashi and Hoda Abu Bakr, both journalists with the independent Sawt Al-Umma weekly, were charged with slandering a local electoral commission chief and publishing the names …

CAIRO: Sinai Bedouins have pledged their assistance to Egyptian security forces in their search for people suspected of involvement in deadly attacks on Red Sea tourist resorts in the last two years, the official news agency MENA reported Saturday. There is an agreement between all the tribe leaders of central Sinai to help the security …

CAIRO: Egypt described an Israeli raid into the West Bank town of Ramallah on Wednesday as provocative and incompatible with peace efforts. We demand an immediate end to the use of disproportionate violent measures which are likely to deepen the chasm between the sides, said Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit. He was reacting to a raid …

CAIRO: The much-anticipated “Black Wednesday anniversary went smoothly, as hundreds of Kefaya (Enough) movement and other activists gathered in front of the journalists syndicate. Despite an attempt to march down the road, which was blocked by black clad soldiers, they stayed on the steps and yelled out chants and opposition slogans for hours, Thursday. From …

CAIRO: Political protests have become a common scene in Cairo in recent weeks. While yesterday s wide-scale demonstrations concluded without violence, previous protests were less benign with plain-clothed and uniformed security forces beating demonstrators. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif described previous protests, which were concerned with free press and an independent and effective judiciary, as dominated …

In the May 24 edition of the newspaper, story entitled “Mubarak lashes out at press over coverage of protests, The Associated Press erroneously attributed critical comments in a newspaper editorial to President Hosni Mubarak. The editorial in the Al-Gomhuria newspaper, not Mubarak, criticized news coverage of police actions during the protests as libel and blasphemy …

CAIRO: Palestinian extremists who Egypt alleges helped militants carry out terror attacks on Sinai tourist resorts are not connected to the Palestinian groups Hamas or Islamic Jihad, the foreign minister of the Hamas-led Palestinian government said Wednesday. The Egyptian Interior Ministry announced the accusations a day earlier, directly linking Palestinian and Egyptian militants for the …

CAIRO: Muslim Brotherhood members in parliament continue to appeal for what they have called a “confrontation with the Ministry of Interior and the Prime Minister. The Brotherhood says they still need explanations and justifications for the events of “Black Wednesday, involving large-scale arrests of Brotherhood members. “This is pressure, not only on the interior minister, …

CAIRO: Egypt s interior ministry said Tuesday the Egyptian group which carried out three simultaneous suicide bombings in the Sinai last month received support from Palestinian militants in Gaza and Egypt. Several members of the Tawhid wal Jihad group blamed for the bombings went to the Gaza Strip for training in weapons and explosives, it …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak lashed out at coverage of Cairo street protests in which more than 600 Egyptians were beaten and arrested, calling the rallies evidence of democracy and coverage of them libel and blasphemy, in remarks published Tuesday. Continuation (of the protests) is evidence of democracy, Mubarak said in an interview with the state-owned …

Reuters SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The Egyptian government wants to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood forming a parliamentary group by winning seats as independents in future elections, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Saturday. The Brotherhood, a well-established Islamist movement which says it is committed to political reform by peaceful means, won a fifth of the seats …

CAIRO: Egypt s banned Islamist opposition Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday comments by the prime minister about preventing its members from standing in future elections proved the government was not committed to reform. The group, which won a fifth of parliament s seats in elections last year, would attract more support from Egyptians if the …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The Arab League chief on Monday said U.S. charges that Iran wants to build nuclear weapons had no credibility in the Arab world and demanded that the allegation be supported by proof from the UN nuclear watchdog. Amr Moussa further declared that Arabs want the whole region to be free of nuclear …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: President Hosni Mubarak opened the World Economic Forum in a booming Red Sea resort with a surprisingly tough speech that signaled deepening strains in the once-ironclad links with Egypt s American allies and benefactors. Addressing the 1,300 assembled delegates Saturday at the first WEF on the Middle East to be held in …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick condemned Sunday as a mistake the heavy-handed reaction of the authorities in ally Egypt to opposition demonstrators. These (actions) strike me as not only wrong actions but mistakes, like beating people up and the heavy-handed security reaction to these things, he told reporters on the …

EL-ARISH, Egypt: Another suspect in the terror attacks that rocked the Sinai Peninsula in April has surrendered, security officials said Saturday. Gen. Adel Fawzi of North Sinai s criminal investigations unit said that Maged Ahmed Ali al-Ba era, 28, who was wanted for the bombings that killed 20 people in Dahab last month, has turned …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The Egyptian government wants to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood forming a parliamentary group by winning seats as independents in future elections, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Saturday. The Brotherhood, a well-established Islamist movement which says it is committed to political reform by peaceful means, won a fifth of the seats in …

CAIRO: Arab countries and Iran welcomed the formation of the new Iraqi government, saying it opened the way for the region s powers to step up efforts to bring stability to the conflict torn nation. After five months of wrangling, Iraq has a new cabinet in place under the helm of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, …

Associated Press UNITED NATIONS, Egypt: A group of poor nations might reject the next candidate for UN secretary-general in protest unless it gets more say in finding Kofi Annan s replacement, Egypt s ambassador said Thursday. Developing nations that make up the majority of the 191-nation UN General Assembly believe their opinions are being ignored …

Reuters JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert s top two deputies will hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday in the highest-level contact since Hamas swept to power in January, officials said. The meeting, at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Egypt, will come on the eve of Olmert s first …

Reuters GAZA: Rival Palestinian forces faced off briefly at Gaza s border crossing with Egypt on Friday after a Hamas official was caught with 639,000 euros hidden in his clothing, authorities said. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya vowed during Friday prayers not to disband a new Hamas-led security force and said he was prepared to …

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration urged Congress on Wednesday not to cut U.S. aid to Egypt, arguing such punishment for Cairo s democracy crackdown would damage U.S. national interests. Since 1979, the United States has pumped more than $60 billion of aid into Egypt, but many in Congress are growing impatient with Cairo over the slow …

CAIRO: Egypt on Wednesday rejected as misinformed calls from the European Union presidency urging Cairo to end its state of emergency and denouncing its use against pro-reform demonstrators. The foreign ministry has received with surprise and dismay the declaration issued by the EU presidency, said a statement received by AFP. The statement issued on Monday …

CAIRO: Police on Thursday detained three more Egyptians suspected of involvement in the triple suicide attacks that killed 20 people in the Sinai Peninsula last month, security sources said. They were on a list of 25 people wanted in connection with the bombings that struck the popular diving resort of Dahab on April 24, a …