CAIRO: Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir intends to attend the upcoming Arab Summit in Doha later this month despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) hanging over his head. “President Al-Beshir has received an invitation from Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and agreed to take part in the Doha …

CAIRO: Egypt will open its Rafah border with the Gaza Strip for two days from Wednesday so students and the sick can cross, the state-run MENA news agency reported on Sunday. The Rafah border will be open on Wednesday, for two days, in order to allow the passage of Palestinian students and the sick who …

CAIRO: Sudan has been a victim of international conspiracies for the last 20 years, Sudanese ambassador to Egypt said Friday in reference to the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant issued for the Sudanese president. The ICC’s decision to arrest President Omar Al Beshir for committing crimes against humanity is a serious development in international relations …

DUBAI: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden accused some Arab leaders of being complicit with Israel and the West against Muslims and urged holy war to liberate the Palestinian territories, in an audio tape broadcast by Al-Jazeera television on Saturday. It has become clear that some Arab leaders were complicit with the Crusader Zionist alliance against …

CAIRO: Palestinian unity talks in Cairo were deadlocked on Saturday after factions failed to agree on the composition and obligations of a unity government, officials said. Senior delegations from the Islamist Hamas and the Western-backed Fatah faction of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas began work five days ago in committees formed to resolve their differences. The …

CAIRO: Palestinian factions trying to hammer out a power-sharing agreement are struggling to reconcile their differences toward peace talks with Israel, a Hamas spokesman said Thursday, as the Palestinian president agreed to release dozens of Hamas prisoners in a goodwill gesture during the talks. Fawzi Barhoum, the group s spokesman, said the disagreement over Israel …

MOMBASA: The captain of an Egyptian ship released last week after two months in the hands of Somali pirates said Friday that a ransom of $1 million (?775,000) was paid. The owner of the ship, Abdelrahman Al-Awwa, negotiated with the pirates who demanded $6 million but they finally settled for $1 million, Mahmoud Swidan told …

MILAN: The prosecutor in the trial of 26 Americans and seven Italians charged in the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric said Friday he is confident the trial will go on, despite a court ruling throwing out some key evidence. Prosecutor Armando Spataro said he does not believe that the Constitutional Court s ruling invalidates the …

CAIRO: An online petition addressing the International Criminal Court (ICC) is calling for the issuance of an arrest warrant against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Interior Minister Habib El-Adly for what it termed “heinous crimes against humanity. The “Arrest Mubarak petition had at time of press garnered 216 signatures. It is also calling for the …

BRUSSELS: Top EU officials will meet this weekend with foreign ministers from Egypt and the Palestinian territories and a representative from Jordan, the bloc s Czech presidency announced Wednesday. Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has called another meeting on the current developments in the Middle East, to take place on 15 March in Brussels, said …

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi journalist who shot to fame for hurling his shoes at former US president George W. Bush was jailed for three years on Thursday, stirring outrage from his family and supporters. Muntazar Al-Zaidi, a 30-year-old television reporter, had pleaded not guilty at the Iraq Central Criminal Court to assaulting Bush during his farewell …

KHARTOUM: State radio has been broadcasting a message each morning since Sudan s president became a wanted man: Long live Sudan, free and defiant. President Omar Al-Beshir s response to his indictment last week by the International Criminal Court has certainly been defiant: the immediate expulsion of nearly half the aid workers providing food, medicine …

CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak issued a decree Wednesday, appointing Ambassador Moushira Khattab minister of state for family and population and Mohamed Nasser Al-Din as minister of water resources and irrigation, replacing Mahmoud Abou Zeid. Soliman Awad, presidential spokesperson, said that Abou Zeid asked to be relieved from his position “for medical reasons. However, Prime Minister …

CAIRO: Egypt hosted closed-door talks on Wednesday on a prisoner swap between the Hamas and Israel that would set free soldier Gilad Shalit along with hundreds of Palestinians. For a third time in two weeks, Israeli negotiator Ofer Dekel returned to Cairo on Tuesday night in an effort to nail down an elusive deal, that …

CAIRO: Police in Egypt have arrested three men accused of throwing a petrol bomb in a metro station in the capital last month, a police official said on Thursday. The three, aged between 17 and 20, were arrested on Wednesday, he said. The attack, in which the bottle did not explode, was not a political …

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is hosting the leaders of Egypt and Syria on Wednesday in an effort to persuade Damascus to move away from Iran and instead work with US-allied Arab countries to blunt Tehran s influence. Saudi Arabia hopes the one-day mini-Arab summit will help improve the frayed relations with Syria ahead of a larger …

CAIRO: The US Senate passed its annual government operations package late on Tuesday with $1.5 billion earmarked as aid to Egypt for 2009. The House of Represtatives had approved a $200 million cut in aid to Egypt on Feb. 25. Egypt is the second biggest recipient of annual aid from the US after Israel. The …

GAZA CITY: Firebrand British MP George Galloway on Tuesday donated thousands of dollars and dozens of vehicles to the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip after arriving in an aid convoy. We are giving you now 100 vehicles and all of their contents, and we make no apology for what I am about to say. …

CAIRO: Gamal Mubarak wrapped up his controversial visit to the United States this week where he participated in a number of meetings with US officials and experts addressing the global financial crisis and its effects on Egypt. Mubarak also discussed bilateral relations between Egypt and the United States. According to a statement published by America …

CAIRO: Rival Palestinian factions began a meeting in Cairo on Tuesday aimed at forming a national unity government and resolving major disputes between Hamas and Fatah, the two largest groups. Senior delegations from Hamas and Fatah and smaller factions were due to start work in five reconciliation committees which they agreed to form last month …

CAIRO: A security pact that includes Iran, Israel and the Arab countries is essential for any future peace in the Middle East, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Monday. Speaking at a foreign policy forum in the Austrian parliament in Vienna, ElBaradei said that a security arrangement involving all these countries was …

CAIRO: Introduced as the potential successor to his father the Egyptian president, Gamal Mubarak steered clear of the inheritance of power scenario during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday. He opted instead to discuss Islamic fundamentalism, Barack Obama’s election and Middle East conflicts. “With Mubarak at 80 – and a very healthy 80, …

OTTAWA: Canada s federal court on Monday eased bail conditions on a terror suspect, rolling back his curfew by a few hours at night and allowing him to stay home alone. It was the third time in as many weeks that the court has acted to ease restrictions on suspected terrorists who are fighting extradition. …

CAIRO: American and British convoys heading for the Gaza Strip were permitted entry via the Rafah border crossing on Sunday and Monday. The British Viva Palestina convoy led by Respect MP George Galloway was permitted entry sans non-medical aid which Egyptian officials insisted be admitted via the Israeli controlled Al-Oja crossing. The convoy spent the …

CAIRO: Egyptian political activists in the US sent a letter to President Hosni Mubarak last week requesting the implementation of five main democratic reforms, according to the website “The Alliance of Egyptian Americans. “We call upon you to open a new chapter in Egyptian-American relations by reaffirming Egypt’s respect for human rights, social justice, and …

CAIRO: Israeli negotiator Ofer Dekel has held talks in Cairo with Egyptian mediators on a prisoner swap with the Palestinian group Hamas, an Egyptian official said on Sunday. Dekel s visit, the second in as many weeks, was aimed at securing the release of Israel soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Gaza fighters in …

CAIRO: A top Egyptian diplomat says Egypt will press Iraq to repay some $2 billion in debt incurred during the reign of deposed leader Saddam Hussein. Deputy Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Salah says the debt issue will top the agenda of talks this week aimed at boosting bilateral ties. Salah says before Egypt reopens its diplomatic …

CAIRO: Ramy El-Sweissy, a member of April 6 movement, was kidnapped by security forces from his Cairo home and released the following day, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (AHNRI) reported. State security police on Monday released the 21-year-old Internet activist after detaining him for only one day. The reasons behind his release are …

GENEVA: The UN human rights office will examine whether Sudan s decision to expel aid groups constitutes a breach of basic human rights and possibly a war crime, a spokesman said Friday. Rupert Colville said the Sudanese decision to expel relief workers from 13 of the largest aid groups constitutes a grievous dereliction of duty, …

CAIRO: American and European delegations attempting to enter Gaza via the Rafah border crossing remained at the gate Friday after being consistently denied passage. The 10 members of the American delegation, titled the Gaza Medical/Mental Delegation, camped in front of the Rafah gate Thursday night but their efforts to pass through into Gaza have been …