CAIRO: A senior Fatah official said Wednesday that the Palestinian militant movement Hamas does not need to recognize Israel immediately as a condition for forming a government, hinting it could use recognition as a bargaining chip in the future. But Jibril Rajoub, a top security aide to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, underlined that Fatah would …

CAIRO: France is the latest European country to issue a travel warning to the region in the wake of uprisings over a cartoon depiction of the Prophet Mohammed. French citizens have been advised to be extremely vigilant if traveling to Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Lebanon, Syria or the Palestinian territories. Denmark, …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak believes that after Hamas becomes the Palestinian government, it will succumb to international pressure, renounce violence and recognize Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesday. Hamas, whose suicide bombers have killed hundreds of Israelis, won a landslide victory in the Palestinian elections last month and is set to take over …

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have postponed local elections for two years in a move opposition Islamists said on Monday was designed to maintain the ruling party s monopoly over presidential nominations. The delay means that if current President Hosni Mubarak, 77, were to die or step down, the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) would be the …

CAIRO: The continuously unfolding events regarding Egypt’s ferry accident still dominate the headlines of national and independent newspapers. In response to the tragedy, the government promises a thorough investigation supervised by a Parliamentary committee. More than 1,000 Egyptians are dead or missing in a Red Sea ferry accident that occurred less than 10 days ago. …

CAIRO: Egypt called Monday for urgent dialogue between the West and Muslim countries to avert a clash of civilizations over the world crisis about cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. “We are witnessing the early signs of a campaign and a clash between the West and Islam, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said at the opening of …

CAIRO: Egypt s consultative council on Sunday approved the two-year postponement of municipal polls that had been due within two months, in a move slammed by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood. The postponement now has to be approved by parliament to take effect. The Shura council, the country s upper chamber of parliament, approved a proposal …

CAIRO: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday asked his Cabinet to modify the personal status law so the families of the victims of disasters such as last week s ferry sinking can more quickly receive death certificates and government aid. Mubarak s measure was aimed at easing the suffering of families who have loudly condemned …

CAIRO: Business as usual just isn’t going to cut it anymore. That is the core message of Egypt’s Human Development Report for 2005. The in-depth study released yesterday by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with Egypt’s Institute of National Planning, calls for the intense modernization of social services and utilities for ensuring …

CAIRO: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohammad El Baradei left Cairo Friday for the Austrian capital Vienna after a several days visit to Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak held a ceremony to honor El Baradei, who won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. El-Baradei is the fourth Egyptian to win a Nobel Prize, after late …

CAIRO: An Egyptian newspaper editor said on Friday his weekly had published some of the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed last year in an article condemning the caricatures which have sparked a furor in the Muslim world. Adel Hammouda told Reuters he had published the cartoons in El-Fagr in October after he said he had seen …

CAIRO: Money changers in Egypt will not accept Danish or Norwegian crowns in protest over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that appeared in newspapers in those countries, a professional association said on Thursday. The decision was taken during a meeting of the board of the money changers section of the federation of Egyptian chambers of …

CAIRO: A preliminary report detailing the forced breakup of a Sudanese refugee sit-in at a park in Mohandiseen says protesters were given ample warning by security officials to leave peacefully before the incident turned violent. Last December, police fired water cannons late into the night on the more than 2,000 people gathered in the Moustafa …

CAIRO: Sept. 29: A small group of around 20 Sudanese refugees, asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers begins a sit-in protest in a park in central Cairo, close to the office of the UN refugee Agency, UNHCR. The protestors carry placards saying “No to voluntary repatriation to Sudan, “We want resettlement and “No to local …

CAIRO: A 93,000-ton cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal on Wednesday, stopping all transit of the waterway between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, a Suez Canal Authority official said. Four tugs have been sent to re-align the Hong Kong-flagged Okal King Dor, which drifted at right angles to the canal about 10 kilometers (6 …

CAIRO: A series of events have unfolded in recent weeks thrusting Muslims and their faith equally into the focus of the media. Islamic scholars, activists and moderates, however, caution that the events making news as of late should be linked neither to Muslims nor the religion in general. Elections in nearly a dozen countries over …

SAFAGA, Egypt: It was a long, unhappy weekend in Safaga. Ben Wederman was at breakfast. In person, he looks like Van Morrison. The rest of the media was there as well, TV cameras stuffed under tables. The morning news spread out between plates of scrambled eggs and weak coffee. Fixers scanning and reading the headlines. …

CAIRO: EFG-Hermes, a key player on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges and a mover and shaker in the industry, is lending its expertise to the MENA region, while at the same time not losing sight of expansion plans at home. To begin with, EFG Hermes announced that it has just been awarded what is …

SAFAGA, Cairo: Angry Egyptians seeking news of relatives lost aboard the ferry which sank in the Red Sea last week ransacked the office of the vessel s owners on Monday and set fire to the furniture, witnesses said. A crowd of men hurled chairs, filing cabinets and air-conditioning units out of the first floor office, …

SAFAGA, Egypt: Rescuers made a last-gasp effort Sunday to save more passengers from the ferry that sank in the Red Sea, leaving up to 1,000 feared drowned in one of the worst maritime disasters in years. Less than 400 of the approximately 1,300 people who were on board the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 were confirmed to …

CAIRO: The sinking of an aging ferry carrying more than 1,400 people in the Red Sea, one of the worst maritime disasters in recent history, could revive an old project for a bridge between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Close to 1,000 people were feared dead Sunday, two days after the ferry went down in the …

CAIRO: Following the release of 453 Muslim Brotherhood prisoners around two weeks ago and 269 last week, families of the remaining Islamists still behind bars have been staging protests and calling for the release of “their loved ones. Families of around 20 detained “Muslim activists have been staging protests in front of the National Council …

CAIRO: He characterizes himself as a freedom fighter and friend to the Arabs. So, when George Galloway, outspoken British MP was detained this weekend at Cairo International Airport on what officials called matters of “national security, it came as a surprise to both he and the anti-war activists he has long supported. Galloway arrived late …

CAIRO: Rescue teams have picked up 100 survivors from a ferry which sank in the Red Sea overnight, Egyptian television said on Friday, quoting naval sources. The ferry, the Al Salam 98, was carrying 1,272 passengers and a crew of close to 100, official sources said. Egyptian state television gave no other details for the …

CAIRO: Egyptian officials are reportedly seeking to send more troops to the Sinai. Talks come following a security breech at the Gaza-Egypt border crossing last month, when Palestinians bulldozed through the security wall, killing two Egyptian border police. Under the Gaza disengagement agreement signed last August, it was decided that Egypt would send 750 troops …

CAIRO: Dozens of Al-Wafd newspaper reporters and editors demonstrated for hours in front of Cairo’s press syndicate on Wednesday, calling on Noaman Gomaa, overthrown party chairman, to release their paper for publication and to grant them their full financial rights. The Wednesday protest is the latest in a series of angry protests and sit-ins that …

CAIRO: The results of Hamas’ victory in the Palestinian elections, the official and public reactions to the Danish cartoons deemed offensive to Muslims, the ongoing ban on Al Wafd newspaper and Prime Minister’s Ahmed Nazif’s speech at parliament dominated the headlines throughout the week. International talks between Egypt, Palestinian puthorities, Israel and the United States, …

HONG KONG: A man identified as a survivor of a bus crash in Egypt that killed 14 said in a radio interview aired Wednesday that fellow Hong Kongers on tourist buses didn t stop, leaving victims waiting another three hours until help arrived. A lot of tour buses passed us. I saw at least two …

CAIRO: A series of cartoons in a Danish newspaper has prompted a controversy that threatens to escalate into a global trade dispute between the European Union and Muslim countries. A series of caricatures first published last September that made light of Prophet Muhammed are at the center of the controversy. Danish daily Jyllands-Posten had published …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday promoted his son Gamal to a more senior role in the ruling party in what analysts and opposition politicians saw as a step to position him for the presidency. Mubarak appointed Gamal, already one of the most influential figures in the National Democratic Party (NDP), to one of three …