CAIRO: The government will appeal against a court ruling in favor of the rights of the country s small Baha i minority, a minister said on Wednesday. Religious Endowments Minister Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk told parliament the government would base its appeal on the opinion of the country s leading Muslim cleric, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, …

CAIRO: Last Sunday, Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif asked parliament to extend the highly controversial Emergency Law for another two years. For approval, it needs two thirds of parliament to back it and, with the National Democratic Party providing more than enough candidates, it was soon passed. The extension was expected in spite of the campaign …

CAIRO: Under criticism for the renewal of the Emergency Law, Gamal Mubarak stated that the renewal does not indicate a setback in the reform polices of the National Democratic Party (NDP) at a press conference held at the party’s headquarters yesterday. “I disagree with those saying that reform has stopped, he says. “We are committed …

CAIRO: A variety of news items have vied for headlines this week. Reoccurring themes in this week’s local and international papers have been the extension of the Emergency Law, the death of the policeman in the hunt for the Dahab bombers, in addition to Egypt and Jordan’s collaboration to end terrorism and promote peace in …

CAIRO: About 100 protesters, vastly outnumbered by riot police, chanted anti-government slogans in central Cairo on Wednesday, two days after the authorities stopped activists holding a similar gathering. Organizers had intended to hold the latest demonstration outside the public prosecutor s office but police ushered the protesters to the nearby journalists syndicate. The demonstration was …

CAIRO: Police on Thursday detained 23 activists from the Muslim Brotherhood who were campaigning against the Emergency Laws, a leader for the opposition Islamist movement told AFP. They were arrested at dawn as they were putting up posters and banners denouncing the renewal of the state of emergency, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed …

CAIRO: Mass arrests targeting Muslim Brotherhood members coupled with the renewal of the Emergency Laws have left Brotherhood leaders angry and speculating on a “conspiracy against Islamists in general and the Brotherhood in particular. “All hopes for reform have totally vanished, declare Muslim Brotherhood leaders on their official Web site, with spokesman Essam Al-Arian vocal …

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday strongly criticized Egypt s decision to approve a two-year extension of the Emergency Law President Hosni Mubarak slapped on the country 25 years ago after the assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack noted that during last year s presidential campaign Mubarak said he was …

CAIRO: With unrest spreading throughout the Arab world, many have been attempting to find solutions to the issues presenting themselves on a daily basis. Whether it is politicians, businesspeople or journalists that are playing a significant role, all are hoping to finally bring about change in the region. Speaking on the unrest in the region, …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak urged Palestinian factions to unite in a common bloc to resume peace talks with Israel, in an interview published Wednesday. Egypt is engaged in consultations with all Palestinian factions in an attempt to get them to close ranks and speak with one voice, which is something that would confirm the existence …

CAIRO: Thousands of angry Egyptians blocked a highway north of Cairo Wednesday, burning tires and debris, after a speeding car struck a cyclist. The cyclist, Bakri Gomaa, was moderately injured in the incident. Some 5,000 people from the village of Sindarhum, on the outskirts of Cairo swarmed on to highway in protest against motorists who …

CAIRO: Hundreds of riot police once again converged on downtown Cairo, Monday, in order to stem another demonstration, this time organized by the Nasserite Party in connection with Labor Day and labor laws in the country. However, it was also used as a follow up in support of a previous demonstration showing solidarity for two …

CAIRO: The death toll from last week s bombings in Dahab has risen to 19 after an Egyptian died of his injuries, state-owned newspapers reported Tuesday. Ihab Salah Al-Sharqawy, an accountant working in the Sinai region, was wounded in one of the three suicide attacks that rocked the resort on April 24 and died of …

CAIRO: The threat of unjustified arrests and fear of unilateral legislative powers, among other issues, topped the concerns of human rights activists in the country following the parliament s decision to renew the Emergency Laws. While some say that the laws don t affect their day-to-day work, others have described how this set of controversial …

GAZA CITY: A delegation from Islamic Jihad, the radical Palestinian faction behind the last eight anti-Israeli suicide attacks, is in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials, Jihad sources said on Tuesday. A delegation arrived last night in Cairo from Damascus (where many Jihad leaders are based) to meet Egyptian officials, Khaled Al-Batsch, one of Jihad …

CAIRO: An Israeli media watch group is accusing Egyptian television of promoting anti-American messages on its airwaves. Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), a right wing organization based in Jerusalem, is reporting that the Egyptian Channel 1 program Man in the Era of Globalization, starring Egyptian actor Salah El-Saadani, carries anti-American hate propaganda. In its advisory, PMW …

AMMAN: Jordan s King Abdullah and President Hosni Mubarak have agreed to ask major powers to revive Middle East peace talks next month to pre-empt Israeli unilateral moves, their foreign ministers said on Saturday. Both countries are worried about the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace after the election of a new Israeli government under Ehud Olmert …

CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood condemns the terror bombings in Sinai this week, but it supports Palestinian attacks against Israel, the group s leader said Friday. Speaking in an interview with the Saudi-owned satellite channel MBC, Mohammed Mahdi Akef deplored the triple bomb attack that killed 18 people and wounded 90 others in the Sinai resort …

CAIRO: With only days to go until the expiration of Egypt’s highly controversial Emergency Law, the Parliament Sunday passed a measure to extend the legislation for another two years. Condemned for its authorization of sweeping arrests and detentions by Egyptian national security, the Emergency Law is viewed by critics as a tool to stifle any …

CAIRO: Three Egyptians were killed Sunday in clashes that broke out when police raided northern Sinai to hunt down the group responsible for the deadly bombings in Dahab, security sources said. State-owned newspapers also reported that one of the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up in the Red Sea resort of Dahab on April …

CAIRO: Activists say that a triple bomb attack in the Red Sea resort town of Dahab on Monday is proof that a long-standing emergency law is ineffective in combating terror. The state of emergency has consistently failed to protect anyone, Egyptian or foreign, from terrorism, said director of the Cairo-based South Center for Human Rights …

CAIRO: Egyptian police have detained two men they said drove people suspected of involvement in bomb attacks in the resort of Dahab and north Sinai, the state MENA news agency reported. In a report published late on Friday, MENA quoted security forces as saying they were questioning two drivers whose passengers could have been involved …

CAIRO: An Egyptian was killed Sunday in clashes that broke out when police raided northern Sinai to hunt down the group responsible for the deadly bombings in Dahab, the interior ministry said. The armed clashes erupted at dawn in the Jabal Al-Maghara region in northern Sinai as police encircled an area where they believed suspects …

AQABA, Jordan: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrived in Aqaba for talks with King Abdullah II on aiding the Palestinians amid a growing Western boycott, an official with Jordan s royal court told AFP. As soon as he landed, Mubarak went immediately from Aqaba s airport to Abdullah s palace for talks on the situation in …

CAIRO: It wasn’t long into the aftermath of the latest Sinai bombing that the people in Dahab, and the rest of the country, began anxiously pondering who was responsible for the recent string of violence that has plagued the country. Suffice it to say, this haven has, in many ways, been isolated from the mayhem …

CAIRO: Egypt s parliament approved the renewal of the state of emergency for two years Sunday, a controversial measure the country s premier justified with a recent wave of bombings and communal clashes. The opposition Muslim Brotherhood swiftly condemned the government request, arguing that emergency laws were ineffective and that its justification was tantamount to …

CAIRO: Press freedom activists and journalists condemned the arrest of satellite TV news station Al-Jazeera s Cairo bureau chief Hussein Abdel Ghani on Wednesday, calling it an attack on journalists everywhere and a violation of freedom of expression. This constitutes an attack on journalists right to broadcast information in a transparent, unbiased way to the …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday vowed to defeat terror as investigators probed whether a fugitive suspected in previous Sinai resort bombings may have carried out this week s blasts in Dahab. We are chased by a blind terror and no one is immune from its evils, Mubarak said in an annual nationally televised speech …

CAIRO: The Cairo bureau chief of Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera was detained for a day and questioned on Thursday by Egyptian state security prosecutors. Hussein Abdel Ghani was arrested on Wednesday in the Red Sea resort of Dahab and accused of broadcasting false information liable to harm Egypt s reputation, the TV station said. He …

CAIRO: The Egypt bureau chief of Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera was questioned by a state security prosecutor Thursday after being arrested in the Red Sea resort of Dahab. Hussein Abdel Ghani was accused of broadcasting false information liable to harm Egypt s reputation, the station said, as fellow journalists and rights groups condemned the arrest …