By Matti Friedman /AP JERUSALEM: Israel’s prime minister said Sunday that his government is “anxiously monitoring” the political unrest in Egypt, his first comment on the crisis threatening a regime that has been one of Israel’s key allies for more than 30 years. Israeli officials have remained largely silent about the situation in Egypt, but …
By John Irish/Reuters PARIS: Egyptian film legend Omar Sharif on Monday joined the calls for President Hosni Mubarak to step down, saying he had failed to improve the standard of living for ordinary people and that 30 years in power was enough. The 78-year old from Alexandria is best known for his role as Arab …
By AP DUBAI: The pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera is calling out for help from Egyptian bloggers and others after authorities closed its Cairo office amid unprecedented anti-state protests. A statement by the Qatar-based network urges Egyptians to send blog posts, eyewitness accounts and videos to expand coverage of the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak. Monday’s appeal …
By Marjorie Olster /AP CAIRO: When Egypt’s police melted from the streets of Cairo this weekend, the people stepped in. Civilians armed with knives, axes, golf clubs, firebombs, metal bars and makeshift spears watched over many neighborhoods in the sprawling capital of 18 million this weekend, defending their families and homes against widespread looting and …
By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: Human rights groups said Monday that the death toll of the victims of current protests is expected to increase as many severe injuries were reported, estimating the minimum number of deaths to be 130. Human Rights Watch confirmed at least 83 dead in Cairo, 36 dead in Alexandria and 15 in …
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: Mohamed ElBaradei announced to the protestors in Tahrir square on Sunday night that opposition groups had delegated him to form a temporary national unity government and called on President Hosni Mubarak to step down. However the coalition of opposition powers denied ElBaradei’s claim. “We (the coalition of opposition groups) didn’t delegate …
By Sarah Daoud and Christopher Le Coq CAIRO: Throughout Egypt, small businesses are staying surprisingly optimistic in spite of the uncertainty surrounding the political arena and the ubiquitous security vacuum that has ensued. “We are ok, things are running as normal; we can take care of ourselves,” was the sentiment echoed by more than one …
By Marwa Al-A’asar CAIRO: A few dozen women protested Monday afternoon at Moustafa Mahmoud square in Mohandiseen to mark the death of about 100 protesters last Friday. “We are here to mourn our dead children who were killed with live rounds,” one protester said. “We are just ordinary citizens who neither belong to a political …
By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: Fifty people, including a member of the Kefaya Movement for Change, were referred to the military prosecution and are being interrogated there, according to the Hisham Mubarak Law Center. “We still can’t confirm the charges but most likely they were arrested for breaking the curfew in Tahrir square Sunday,” Ahmed Seif …
By AP PLAINS: Former President Jimmy Carter, who brokered a peace accord between Israel and Egypt in 1978, on Sunday called the political unrest and rioting in Egypt earth-shaking and said that President Hosni Mubarak probably will have to step down. Carter told a Sunday school class that he teaches that the unrest is “the …
By Lolita C. Baldor /AP WASHINGTON: The US appealed for an orderly transition to lasting democracy in Egypt even as escalating violence in the American ally threatened Mideast stability and put President Barack Obama in a diplomatic bind. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday refused to speculate on the future of Egyptian President …
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood is organizing mass protests in Alexandria on Monday starting 1 pm marching from Al-Qaed Ibrahim Mosque in Al Raml station and another one marching from Ahmed Abou Soleiman Street in Al Raml district in Alexandria. The protests are scheduled to march all around the streets of Alexandria calling …
By Safaa Abdoun CAIRO: The April 6 Youth Movement called for a million man march and a general strike on Tuesday. “We are renewing our demands, we have to continue what started [last Tuesday] and protect the country, we can’t turn back down do, because if we do, even if it’s one step, it will …
By AFP CAIRO: Here are the main developments this year in Egypt, rocked by the most serious anti-government demonstrations since President Hosni Mubarak came to power in 1981: JANUARY 2011 – 17: A 50-year-old man sets himself on fire outside parliament, an apparent copycat of the suicide of a young Tunisian in mid-December, which unleashed …
By Joe Bialek This letter is in response to the articles covering the civil unrest occurring in Egypt. As a citizen of and believer in democracy, I applaud the efforts of the Egyptian people. Their efforts are similar to what happened following the election in Iran and the most recent revolution in Tunisia. Believe it …
CAIRO: The curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez has been moved to 3 pm, state TV announced Sunday night. The curfew was first declared on Friday, from 6 pm to 7 am. It was ignored. It was moved on Saturday to the period between 4 pm and 8 am. State TV also announced that …
CAIRO: The US Department of State is authorizing voluntary departure of dependents – spouses and children – and non-emergency employees from Egypt, Elizabeth Colton, press attachĂ©, public affairs section at the US embassy in Egypt, told Daily News Egypt. The US embassy will also offer be offering assistance to other American citizens who wish …
By Amira Ahmed, Safaa Abdoun and Tamim Elyan CAIRO: Unspecified numbers of escaped prison inmates have reportedly reached towns and villages on the sixth day of protests against the regime in Egypt, according to state-owned and independent press and residents. Reports on Sunday afternoon said that 21 prison guards succeeded in escaping from Tora prison …
By Maggie Michael / AP CAIRO: Would-be looters broke into Cairo’s famed Egyptian Museum, ripping the heads off two mummies and damaging about 10 small artifacts before being caught and detained by army soldiers, Egypt’s antiquities chief said Saturday. Zahi Hawass said the vandals did not manage to steal any of the museum’s antiquities, and …
By Sherine El Madany / Reuters CAIRO: Egyptian activist Mohamed ElBaradei said Hosni Mubarak’s appointment of a vice president and a new prime minister was useless and he had not listened to the will of thousands of people calling for 30-year-rule to end. The 82-year-old president picked intelligence chief Omar Suleiman for vice president, the …
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: “The army is allowed to shoot anyone who breaks the curfew according to the law,” a police sergeant who preferred to remain anonymous told Daily News Egypt. “The army’s duty is to protect vital institutions, not protect the people,” he added. He said that police forces are supposed to protect the …
By William Zeman WASHINGTON: Nearly 300 people, from a variety of backgrounds, descended on the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, DC, as well as the White House, to show their support for protesters in Egypt. Similar demonstrations were organized in other cities across the US and the world. While many of the protesters were Egyptians living …
CAIRO: Over 40,000 protesters continued their sit-in in Tahrir Square, demanding an end to the Mubarak regime as the military continued its presence in central Cairo and throughout the country. Daily News Egypt reporters present at the scene said the new tanks in Tahrir Sunday were M1A1 Abrams tanks, a more powerful type than …
By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: The sirens of City Center mall in Maadi blared on Friday night as tens of armed thugs attacked the mall and looted all the stores inside. The thugs, believed to be from Al-Bassatine and other districts, broke into the mall at midnight and destroyed all stores and restaurants after looting them …
By Abdel-Rahman Hussein and Heba Fahmy CAIRO: Gunshots were heard continuously in Heliopolis Saturday night but mainly came from neighborhood watch groups who were trying to scare would-be looters, real or imagined. People set up makeshift roadblocks using rocks, sand and chairs all throughout the side streets of the neighborhood while army vehicles and personnel …
By Sarah El Sirgany and Ian Lee CAIRO: A dead body was dropped in downtown Cairo early Sunday morning from what is believed to be a police car, citizens from the neighborhood watch groups told Daily News Egypt. At 9 am, the body was still on the pavement outside the Mounira Police Station. Residents have …
By Peter Apps/Reuters LONDON: If President Hosni Mubarak clings to power, investors will reprice Egyptian and regional assets to brace for weeks, months or possibly years of heightened political risk. If he goes, global markets could still react with alarm, fearing a rising tide of unrest across the Middle East and possibly other authoritarian economies …
By Amr Ramadan CAIRO: On the sixth day of ongoing protests, the current situation in Egypt is unstable at best. Rumors are growing that Egyptian business tycoons and technocrats — largely seen as being part of a system criticized for cronyism and nepotism — are fleeing. An official at Cairo airport said that an exodus …
By Sarah Daoud CAIRO: “We aren’t getting supplies delivered and are operating on our stock we currently have. This will all be worth it if the change we want to see happen happens,” said Mahmoud Youssef, the owner of Royal Bakery in Cairo. With food deliveries not being made to the many cafes and stores …
CAIRO: Reuters witnesses have said that in Suez dozens of protesters climbed on to tanks as soldiers try to wave them off. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced a nationwide curfew in place from 6 pm Cairo Local Time until 7 am tomorrow. Yet there have been media reports that shots were heard in Central …
