JERUSALEM: Israel sealed off the West Bank on Friday amid tension in Jerusalem over controversial plans to build new homes for Jewish settlers and fears of fresh violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. Israeli police also barred men under the age of 50 from prayers at the site of the mosque compound, which is holy …

BOSTON: A Massachusetts philanthropist who gave away millions of dollars to meet medical expenses for needy people and paid for the separation surgery of conjoined Egyptian twins has died. A. Raymond Tye was 87. Daughter Carol Rose says the former chairman of a beverage distribution firm died Wednesday at his home in Cambridge after battling …

CAIRO: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak left the intensive care unit of a German hospital on Wednesday, four days after having a gall bladder removed, Health Minister Hatem El-Gabaly said. Mubarak, 81, “left the intensive care unit this morning for an ordinary room at the Heidelberg University Hospital, El-Gabaly was quoted by the official MENA news …

CAIRO: Former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei condemned on Thursday the detention and beating of Egyptian doctor Taha Abdel-Tawwab at a state security office in Fayoum for expressing support for the aspiring presidential candidate. Meanwhile, Prosecutor General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud ordered the Attorney General of Fayoum Prosecution to start investigations with …

CAIRO: Talks on implementing a new framework for the countries of the Nile basin are set to continue for another six months as a working formula all parties could agree on has yet to be reached, the foreign ministry said. Talks between the nine countries were held March 7 in Alexandria and chaired by Prime …

CAIRO: The Arab League recommended on Wednesday to withdraw its support for indirect talks between Palestinians and Israelis due to recent announcements of new settlement building in east Jerusalem. The league s peace initiative committee s decision is only a recommendation and a final decision will have to be made by the foreign ministers of …

GENEVA: Middle Eastern countries feel tricked by the 40-year-old nuclear non proliferation treaty, an Egyptian diplomat warned on Wednesday, less than two months before crucial talks on the arms control deal. Egypt s ambassador to the UN in Geneva and the conference on disarmament, Hisham Badr, said there was widespread resentment towards the NPT, which …

RAMALLAH: US Vice President Joe Biden met Palestinian leaders on Wednesday, telling them Israel s decision to expand settlement activity in east Jerusalem is undermining the peace efforts he is promoting. He also stressed the US administration s commitment to the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Our administration is fully committed to the Palestinian …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak s health continues to improve after an operation in Germany to remove his gall bladder, Health Minister Hatem El-Gabaly said on Monday. The 81-year-old is recuperating in Heidelberg University Hospital in southwestern Germany after undergoing surgery during which he also had a growth removed from his small intestine. The state of …

JERUSALEM: US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday pledged Washington s full commitment to Israel s security while throwing his weight behind a renewal of Middle East peace talks after a 14-month hiatus. The cornerstone of the relationship is our absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israel s security, Biden said after talks with hawkish Prime …

CAIRO: Rare public statements on the state of the Egyptian president’s health will do little to answer questions on the country’s political future ahead of presidential elections next year, analysts say. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 81, was said by state television to be in a “stable condition on Sunday, a day after surgery in Germany …

CAIRO: US Vice-President Joe Biden began a five-day tour of the Middle East yesterday to push for Palestinian-Israeli peace talks but a proposed visit to Egypt was postponed due to President Hosni Mubarak’s surgery in Germany. Mubarak underwent surgery in Germany last Saturday to have his gall bladder removed and remains there, thus a meeting …

BAGHDAD: Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, the Shia leader who helped ease Iraq s deadly sectarian conflict, emerged Monday as a front-runner after an election seen as a test of the nation s young democracy. The key estimates from the Baghdad region, which could swing the results of the vote, were not yet available but local …

CAIRO: Amid fervent speculation about Egypt’s next President, Egyptian and international press reports announced that current President Hosni Mubarak had undergone an operation to remove his gallbladder in Heidelberg, Germany. “The president’s health is an important issue that concerns every Egyptian citizen and has to be addressed and reported with transparency in the media, information …

BAGHDAD: Iraqis defied waves of bomb, mortar and rocket attacks that killed 24 people to turn out Sunday in huge numbers to vote in elections seen as a test of the war-shattered state’s fragile democracy. AFP correspondents said long queues formed at polling stations in the capital, in Sunni towns that mostly boycotted the last …

CAIRO: Veteran Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is in “stable condition following surgery in Germany to have his gall bladder removed, state television said on Sunday. “The president is in stable condition, the television said. Mubarak, who is being treated at Heidelberg University Hospital, also had a growth removed from his small intestine and was fully …

CAIRO: Al-Qaeda s American-born spokesman on Sunday called on Muslims serving in the US armed forces to emulate the Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood. In a 25-minute video posted on militant websites, Adam Gadahn described Maj. Nidal Hasan as a pioneer who should serve as a role model for other …

CAIRO: The leftist Tagammu Party said it has not pitched its support behind Mohamed ElBaradei’s reform attempts because of concerns regarding his economic policy and position on Israel. The Tagammu was one of three major opposition parties which did not meet with ElBaradei during his visit to Cairo and did not sign up to the …

JERUSALEM: Clashes erupted Friday between Muslim worshippers and Israeli riot police at a sacred and disputed hilltop compound following a sermon on a recent Israeli decision to include two West Bank shrines on a list of national heritage sites. A Palestinian woman was hit in the head with a rubber bullet and was hospitalized in …

CAIRO: Both President Hosni Mubarak and his son Gamal have spoken recently about the emergence of former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei as a potential political opponent. Mubarak was in Germany for medical tests and was asked about whether he considered ElBaradei a national hero, to which he responded that Egypt “does not need a new …

CAIRO: Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak will undergo medical tests while in Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, state television said on Thursday in a rare statement on the leader’s health. Mubarak “will go to the German city of Heidelberg on Friday afternoon to undergo some medical tests following complaints of gall bladder pain, TV …

CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to back one last round of indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks despite skepticism over Israel’s readiness to revive peace efforts, Arab League chief Amr Moussa said. The move, which was swiftly welcomed by Israel, came after months of US-led shuttle diplomacy, with Arab foreign ministers insisting the talks should conclude …

CAIRO: Egypt on Tuesday condemned a move by Israel to authorize more Jewish settlements in occupied Arab east Jerusalem, saying it deliberately ignored international peace efforts. Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that the government had given the green light for 600 new homes in a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem. The move points to …

CAIRO: Ankara is ready to mediate between foes Israel and Syria provided there is a political will on both sides, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Cairo on Tuesday. If there is a political will on both sides, then we are ready for indirect Turkish mediation between Syria and Israel, he said. Davutoglu was …

CAIRO: Seven conditions need to be met to ensure free presidential elections in 2011 and a democratic future, said Mohamed ElBaradei in a statement under the banner of the newly-formed National Coalition for Change. The coalition is an umbrella made up of opposition movements and parties in Cairo and led by ElBaradei, though its coordinator …

CAIRO: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday he will weigh up holding indirect talks with Israel during a meeting in Cairo this week, Egyptian state media reported. Abbas, who has rebuffed US pressure to resume direct talks with Israel in the absence of a settlement freeze in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said his government had …

CAIRO: The high ranking members of the Muslim Brotherhood currently detained by State Security will be kept behind bars for as long as possible but they will not be charged and will eventually be released, the group’s lawyer predicted. “The investigations are finished and they should be released but because it is a politically-motivated case …

CAIRO: Head of the Arab Socialist Party Wahid Al-Aqsari told Daily News Egypt Sunday that his party had no connection with what is known as the ‘Opposition Parties Bloc’ opposed to potential presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei. A report in the state-run Al-Ahram daily said that a number of opposition parties had announced a formation of …

JERUSALEM: Israeli police forces stormed the most contentious holy site in Jerusalem on Sunday to disperse masked Palestinian protesters hurling objects at visiting foreign tourists they believed to be Jewish extremists. The incident was over quickly, but the area remained tense afterward. In the past, violence at the site – known to Jews as the …