By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) said that the continuous arrest of its members and the media campaign against the group will have implications on the group’s dialogue with the regime. “The continuous arrest campaigns targeting a large number of MB members by thugs and security personnel and handing them to military police where …
By Shaimaa Fayed and Tom Perry / Reuters CAIRO: Egypt has a plan and timetable for the peaceful transfer of power, the vice president said on Tuesday, as protesters called more demonstrations hoping to show their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak remains potent. With signs growing the government may be gaining the upper hand in …
By Andrew Hammond  / Reuters CAIRO: Egyptian protesters say they fear security forces will take revenge on them for continuing their campaign in central Cairo for President Hosni Mubarak’s ousting, despite official promises to the contrary. Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said on Thursday there would be no “security pursuit” of thousands of activists who took over …
By AP CAIRO: An international journalism watchdog group has accused Egypt’s military of obstructing the work of reporters covering the crisis in the country. On Tuesday, foreign reporters in Egypt without local credentials were not permitted by the military to enter Tahrir Square, where thousands of protesters have been calling for President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster …
By Marwa Al-A’asar CAIRO: Thousands of citizens are expected to take to the main streets of Suez on Tuesday. Their demands to sack the governor and the police directorate chief have been ignored. “We will keep protesting until they go away,” one protester told Daily News Egypt. “They are responsible for the killing and injuring of …
CAIRO: Egypt’s Minister of Defense approved a trade ministry proposal to allow the union of chambers of commerce to issue permits for the transport of goods during the imposed curfew, Al-Ahram reported. The curfew was eased on Monday and is now from 6 am-8 pm. The transportation will be coordinated with the army in a …
By Hamza Hendawi and Maggie Michael /AP CAIRO: In its latest effort to defuse public anger amid mass protests, embattled President Hosni Mubarak’s regime set up a committee Tuesday to recommend constitutional changes that would relax presidential eligibility rules and impose term limits. Mubarak’s decrees were announced on state television by Vice President Omar Suleiman, …
By AFP BERLIN: German magazine Der Spiegel reported Monday that preparations were underway for embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to possibly visit Germany for an “extended medical check-up.” Rumors that Mubarak may arrive in Germany for a medical sojourn are “much more concrete than was believed until now,” the magazine wrote in its online edition. …
By AFP JERUSALEM: Egypt could ruthlessly suppress the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak like Iran crushed mass protests after a disputed June 2009 election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned. “There could be liberal and democratic reforms in Egypt. The second possibility is that Islamists take advantage of the turmoil to seize control of the …
By AP BERLIN: The Economy Ministry says it will not approve any new arms exports to Egypt over concerns about over the human rights’ situation there amid anti-government protests. The ministry said in a statement Monday that the suspension was effective until further notice. It says it is also reviewing whether to take action on …
By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: Hundreds of journalists and protestors organized a symbolic funeral Monday in Tahrir Square for Ahmed Mahmoud, a journalist at Al-Ahram Foundation, who died last Friday as a result of a gunshot head injury in his office. The protestors called for the prosecution of President Hosni Mubarak who they said was responsible of …
By Safaa Abdoun CAIRO: While protesters continue to occupy Cairo’s main square, normalcy is starting to return to the city with companies, stores and restaurants resuming activity. However, some view this normalcy as cause for concern, fearing it might drown out the protesters’ calls in Tahrir Square. “Life getting back to normal and people going back …
By Samia Nakhoul  / Reuters CAIRO: The first time Essam El-Erian went to jail, he was 27. Last Sunday, he left prison for the eighth time at the age of 57. The medical doctor’s crime for each incarceration was belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s most influential and best-organized Islamist opposition movement and long feared by …
By Dina Zayed and Yasmine Saleh / Reuters CAIRO: Cairo protesters dug in for a long fight on Monday, pressing their demand for an overhaul of the political system and the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak as many Egyptians tried to resume their normal lives. Up to 2,000 people bedded down overnight under blankets and tents …
By AP CAIRO: Egypt’s embattled regime has decided to give government employees a 15 percent raise in salaries and pensions as it seeks to bolster support amid mass protests demanding President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Monday’s decision came during the first Cabinet meeting since the crisis erupted two weeks ago. Finance Minister Samir Radwan says some …
By Stephen Brown /Reuters MUNICH: The United Nations on Sunday drove home the warning from Western nations that a transition to democracy in Egypt should not be rushed to avoid worsening the crisis and destabilizing the entire Middle East. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon backed up calls at a security conference in Munich from the United States …
By Diaa Hadid / AP CAIRO: Two rows of men greet demonstrators at the main entrance to Tahrir Square, clapping as people enter, and chanting in the rhythms of a tradition Egyptian wedding procession. “We are becoming bigger!” they shout. “God is Great!” Inside Cairo’s main square, musicians stroll, man read poetry to the crowd and …
By Essam Fadl CAIRO: As protesters push for regime and constitutional changes regarding elections, a rights group has been working on articulating a unified vision of citizenship issues and Coptic and sectarian problems to be included in any constitutional amendments. The Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization kicked off meetings on Saturday and were expected to …
By Charles Onians / AFP CAIRO: Egypt’s feared state security services are using torture as much as they ever did, rights activists say, with no sign that their horrifying tactics are about to change despite the regime’s promise of reform. Rights groups say that anger against routine police abuse and torture has been a driving …
By Ibrahim Barzak / AP BUREIJ REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip: A Hamas insurgent who escaped from an Egyptian prison and sneaked back to Gaza though a smuggling tunnel received a hero’s welcome Sunday by the Palestinian Islamist movement. Egypt arrested Ayman Nofal in the northern Sinai Peninsula town of Al-Arish three years ago and accused him …
By Karin Laub / AP CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak’s immediate resignation — the key demand of protesters in the streets of Cairo — would trigger snap presidential elections under the Egyptian constitution and could make political reform more difficult, experts say. That’s one of the quandaries opposition groups face as they try to chart an uncertain …
By AFP WASHINGTON: Leading Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said he was “not invited” to take part in negotiations Sunday on the future of a post-Mubarak Egypt, and criticized the talks as “opaque.” “I should start by saying I have not been part of the negotiations. I have not been invited to take part in …
By Erika Solomon/Reuters DUBAI: Egypt’s former trade minister, sacked with the rest of President Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet in an attempt to quell mass protests, said Mubarak’s participation in the country’s government transition was “critical.” Rachid Mohamed Rachid told Reuters in a phone interview on Sunday he planned to return to Egypt despite learning on arrival in …
By AP CAIRO: Egyptian-American scholar and Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail added his weight Sunday to calls for President Hosni Mubarak to step down to help end the standoff with anti-government protesters. Zewail, who has been living in the United States, returned to Egypt Sunday and met with government officials and young protesters to help mediate …
By AFP CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign ministry accused diplomats on Sunday of trying to bring weapons and communications equipment into the restive country, which saw looting amid anti-government protests this month. “It has been noticed of late that some foreign embassies in Cairo have tried to bring some weapons and communications equipment in diplomatic bags, relying …
By Maggie Hyde /AP CAIRO: The Egyptian military detained a correspondent for Al-Jazeera’s English-language news channel for seven hours in Cairo on Sunday, said the network, which has been targeted repeatedly throughout the unrest in Egypt. Ayman Mohyeldin, an American citizen, was detained near Tahrir Square, where protests calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak …
By AFP WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama reached out to several foreign leaders about the unrest in Egypt, as Washington stepped up a diplomatic effort for a quick transition of power in Cairo. Obama underscored the need for “an orderly, peaceful transition, beginning now,” the White House said in a statement on Saturday as a …
By Patrick Werr and Alexander Dziadosz /Reuters CAIRO: Egypt tried to get the nation back to work on Sunday with banks reopening, and the vice president held unprecedented talks with a banned Islamist group and other opponents about their demand that President Hosni Mubarak quit. A steady stream of employees flowed into Cairo’s financial district and …
By Safaa Abdoun CAIRO: Spokesperson of the April 6 Youth Movement, Mohamed Adel, said the council of Wise Men does not represent the movement nor the people demonstrating in Tahrir Square in any way. “We don’t know anything about the Council of Wise Men and the resolutions and statements they’re making,” Adel said. The Council of …
By AFP CAIRO: Participants in talks between the Egyptian regime and several opposition groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, agreed on Sunday to form a constitutional reform committee, a government official said. Government spokesman Magdi Radi said they agreed on “the formation of a committee, which will include the judiciary and a number of political figures, …
