CAIRO: Pro-reform judges staged a protest Wednesday in support of two colleagues who face disciplinary action after accusing the judiciary of helping to rig parliamentary polls. The two judges have been summoned to a disciplinary hearing over charges they tarnished the judiciary s image by implicating pro-government colleagues in alleged vote fraud in the 2005 …

CAIRO: Egypt and the Arab League condemned Tuesday the Palestinian suicide attack in Tel Aviv that killed nine people and called on both sides to return to the negotiation table. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit described the attack as an act of terrorism, a strong condemnation from an Arab state that usually jointly blames both Israel …

CAIRO: The opposition Muslim Brotherhood launched a campaign Wednesday to end the state of emergency, which President Hosni Mubarak has renewed for 25 years and is expected to extend next month. The lack of freedom is the cause of all woes. And the state of emergency has heightened tensions in this country instead of easing …

CAIRO: Thirty-five more students were arrested in what has been described as a “hostile and aggressive crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated students. The arrests provoked different reactions among students, and many have risen in rowdy protests while others have chosen to be less vocal in their anger. “No to the emergency law, one banner read at …

CAIRO: Prosecutors on Monday released a prominent opposition figure who was detained early this month after a fight with his rivals at party headquarters. Noaman Gomaa, 71, walked free on bail from the Cairo hospital where he was admitted after complaining of heart problems, prosecutors said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized …

PARIS: French President Jacques Chirac heads to Egypt on Wednesday for a two-day visit set to be dominated by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and rising tensions over Iran s nuclear ambitions. Traveling with an 80-strong delegation including Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and top business leaders, Chirac is to head straight into talks Wednesday afternoon with his …

CAIRO: A state-owned Egyptian newspaper said on Tuesday that a suicide bombing which killed nine people in Tel Aviv was a response to Israeli attacks on Palestinians, and Palestinians should not abandon the struggle against Israel. But another state newspaper said the bombing on Monday, claimed by the militant group Islamic Jihad, should be condemned …

CAIRO: The Egyptian government has sent two prominent judges to a disciplinary board for possible expulsion from the judiciary, raising the stakes in a conflict between the government and judges seeking judicial independence. The decision by Justice Minister Mahmoud Aboul Leil provoked a storm in parliament on Monday when opposition members called for an urgent …

CAIRO: Activists renewed calls for official recognition of Islamist opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood after dozens of the banned party s members were arrested in recent weeks. We call for the government to recognize the Muslim Brotherhood as a legitimate political party, said Nigad Al-Borai, director of the Cairo-based Group for Democratic Development. Only then …

TALLINN: An Estonian soldier who was sentenced in the United Arab Emirates to a month in jail and 80 lashes for sexually harassing an Egyptian policewoman while drunk has been pardoned, a defense official in Estonia said Sunday. The ruler of the emirate of Sharjah has pardoned Andrei Korol. Corporal punishment has been averted, Major …

CAIRO: The jailed leader of the opposition El-Ghad (Tomorrow) party will go on a hunger strike if the prosecution does not improve the conditions of his detention, his wife and spokeswoman told AFP Sunday. Ayman Nour will go on hunger strike on Wednesday if the prosecution does not meet his demands, Gamila Ismail said after …

CAIRO: Sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in Alexandria and the death of a 24-year-old Muslim man made the headlines in Egypt’s national and independent press, with the incidents also receiving extensive coverage in international media. Egypt’s second largest city experienced heavy rioting Sunday with police using teargas and live ammunition to disperse groups of …

CAIRO: Police on Sunday detained 100 Muslim Brotherhood activists as part of a crackdown on the Islamist opposition group to undermine its campaign against emergency laws, the group s deputy leader said. Mohamed Habib told Reuters the arrests were in southern Egypt. Some were taken from their homes, some from the street, he said. Some …

CAIRO: In a brief visit to Egypt last week, U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Robert Joseph further rallied Egypt s support for American efforts to end Iran s nuclear program. Egypt s announcement that it won’t accept another nuclear power in the region is not the first along the same lines. …

CAIRO: A leading member of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday he saw no harm in an Iranian nuclear weapon because it would help restore the balance between Israel and the Arab and Muslim world. Mohamed Habib, deputy leader of Egypt s main opposition group, told Reuters that Washington s motive for opposing Iran …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak has sought to defuse anger over remarks he made about Shiite Muslims being more loyal to Iran than their own countries, saying he was referring only to religion. My remarks about Shiites dealt with their religious loyalties and sympathies, without putting into question the patriotism of Shiites in Iraq or any …

JERUSALEM: Hamas, facing a funding crisis two weeks after taking over the Palestinian Authority, is asking supporters to deposit money into an Egyptian bank linked to one of France s biggest financial institutions. In a rare public appeal on its Web site, Hamas asked donors to wire money into an account at the Misr International …

CAIRO: Egyptian officials have done their utmost to squelch the uproar caused by President Hosni Mubarak’s suggestion last week that the Shiites in Iraq and the Gulf are more loyal to Iran than their own countries, saying the remarks were taken out of context. Both Iraq and Iran took umbrage, of course, with Baghdad canceling …

CAIRO: A mentally ill Egyptian man killed a worshipper and wounded five others on Friday in knife attacks at two Coptic Christian churches in the coastal city of Alexandria, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Security and police officials said earlier three Egyptians working together had killed one person and wounded three others in …

CAIRO: Rights advocates hailed the release of 950 former militants from the Gamaa Al-Islamiya, a reformed Islamist group that participated in the Islamist insurgency that gripped the country in the early and mid-1990s. The prisoners release is definitely a step in the right direction, said Montasser Al-Zayyat, head of the Lawyers Syndicate Liberties Committee and …

CAIRO: Jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour filed a petition Wednesday accusing prison authorities of banning him from writing articles for his party newspaper, his wife said Gamila Ismail added that Nour, leader of the El-Ghad (Tomorrow) party and the runner-up in presidential election last year, also complained about conditions of his detention during a brief …

CAIRO: Egypt said on Thursday it wanted a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran s nuclear program and could not accept the emergence of a new nuclear-armed power in the region. In a statement after a meeting with the U.S. State Department s senior arms control official, it also said that failure to persuade …

CAIRO: Jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour filed a petition Wednesday accusing prison authorities of banning him from writing articles for his party newspaper, his wife said Gamila Ismail added that Nour, leader of the El-Ghad (Tomorrow) party and the runner-up in presidential election last year, also complained about conditions of his detention during a brief …

CAIRO: Since the week was void of any news guaranteed to make the front pages of local newspapers, editorials focused on the various aspects of corruption, the ongoing struggle of journalists against imprisonment for publishing crimes, and further analyzed the connotations of President Hosni Mubarak s interview with Al-Arabia TV earlier this week. While the …

CAIRO: Activists accused the state of fabricating evidence to support criminal charges against members of the political opposition. In spite of their relative infrequency, these operations have wide and long term effects in spreading fear among ordinary citizens and amongst some activists who fear their turn will come, read a recent report issued by the …

CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers began meeting Wednesday at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo to discuss Iraq, without the presence of their Iraqi counterpart, an AFP photographer reported. Earlier, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal said Iraq would be present at the meeting even though Baghdad announced a boycott in response to President Hosni Mubarak s …

BAGHDAD: The Egyptian president s claim that Shiite Muslims in Iraq and the Middle East are more loyal to Iran than their own countries serve only the enemy, Iraq s radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr said Wednesday. Such remarks serve only the enemy, and try to ignite civil and sectarian war, Al-Sadr said in a …

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have released some 950 detained former members of the militant Gamaa Al-Islamiya (Islamic Group) in the past six weeks, including 300 on Tuesday, police sources said on Wednesday. The Egyptian government detained many thousands of Gamaa members or sympathizers in the 1990s, when the group was waging a low-level guerrilla war against …

BAGHDAD: Iraq has decided not to participate in a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo because of comments by the Egyptian president questioning the loyalty of Shiites, Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari said Tuesday. We have taken a decision not to participate in the conference Wednesday, Al-Jaafari said after criticizing President Hosni Mubarak s comments …

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration rejected Monday assertions by President Hosni Mubarak, a close Arab ally; Iraq is descending into civil war. That s not our assessment, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. We don t share that assessment. Mubarak said in a television interview Saturday that civil war has almost started in Iraq and an …