Egypt News
Egypt lifts cooking gas price before IMF visit - (47 days ago)
Egypt raised the price of state-subsidized cooking gas for the first time in two decades on Monday, a government official said, trimming an unaffordable subsidy bill but increasing the risk of unrest. The price rise comes two days before an IMF mission arrives in Cairo to continue talks on a $4.8 billion loan needed to stave off a budget crisis and support a fast-weakening
Salafi Sawah to form convoys to discuss Shia danger - (47 days ago)
Yasser Borhamy, vice president of the Salafi Dawah in Alexandria,Yasser Borhamy said the group are currently preparing convoys and conferences to inform citizens about the dangers of Shia Islam, in the light of increasing visits by Iranians and Egyptian-Iranian rapprochement. Borhamy told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the preaching convoys will operate across the country aiming to educate Sunni Muslims
Security seizes missiles in North Sinai - (47 days ago)
Security in North Sinai seized number of shots and missiles in a store located in al-Sakaseka area, east of Arish Monday. A security source said, “while combing the area, strange bodies were found on the coastal international road” that links Al-Arish, Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah. An explosives expert inspected the seizure, the source added. Four anti-craft missiles and 15 bombs were
Egyptian Police end butane gas depots protest - (47 days ago)
A protest staged by owners of butane gas depots in the district of Shubra was brought to an end by the police on Monday afternoon and the venues reopened. The depot owners were protesting the supply minister’s decision to raise the price of gas cylinders for household use to LE8, and for commercial purposes to LE16, while also limiting their profit to LE2. The ministry’s
US accuses Egypt of stifling freedom of expression - (47 days ago)
WASHINGTON - The United States on Monday accused Egypt of muzzling freedom of speech after prosecutors questioned the most popular Egyptian television satirist over allegations he insulted President Mohamed Morsy and Islam. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also suggested the Egyptian authorities were selectively prosecuting those accused of insulting the government while
Man dead, 12 wounded in attempt to break into police station - (47 days ago)
A man was killed and 12 others wounded in clashes Monday between security forces and residents of Abu Qurqas, Minya, when residents tried to break into a police station to free their detained relatives. Alaa Eddin Hafez, director of the Abu Qurqas Central Hospital, said he admitted 10 injured residents and three policemen, while a resident named Ahmed Abdel Azim died in hospital, after being
U.S. accuses Egypt of stifling freedom of expression - (47 days ago)
The United States on Monday accused Egypt of muzzling freedom of speech after prosecutors questioned the most popular Egyptian television satirist over allegations he insulted President Mohamed Mursi and Islam. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also suggested the Egyptian authorities were selectively prosecuting those accused of insulting the government while ignoring or
Egypt finance minister hopes to finalize IMF deal this month - (47 days ago)
Egyptian finance minister Al-Mursi Al-Sayed Hegazy said Monday that Egypt hopes to finalize an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8 billion loan before the end of this month "We are going for the spring meeting of the IMF. Hopefully during that it will be finalized," he told reporters ahead of a meeting of Arab finance ministers and central bank governors in
Second field army chief says Sinai residents allowed to own lands - (47 days ago)
Major General Ahmed Wasfy, second field army commander, said on Monday that citizens can own lands in Sinai without complications and that mobile networks will be operated within a few days. In December, Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi banned the private ownership, rental and use of nearly all land on Egypt’s eastern border. Wasfy met with a number of Sinai tribesmen in Ismailia, as
Egypt Ex-chairman of Akhbar al-Youm on watch list for Gifts case - (47 days ago)
Public funds prosecution issued an arrest warrant on Monday for Ibrahim Seada, former chairman of Akhbar al-Youm, in the latest development in the gifts case involving Al-Akhbar Al-Youm Institution for Journalism. On learning that Seada is currently outside Egypt, the prosecution also ordered that his name be placed on a watch list. Seada faces accusations of facilitating the acquisition of
Former top prosecutor requests verdict reasoning - (47 days ago)
Former Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud requested Monday that the Cairo Court of Appeal hand over the reasoning behind its verdict invalidating the appointment of his successor, Talaat Abdallah, in preparation for his return to office. However, judicial sources said the court’s clerk declined to comply, and Mahmoud’s representative immediately submitted a complaint against this
Interior Ministry says it's unable to end Tahrir sit-in - (47 days ago)
The Interior Ministry is unable to end a months-long a sit-in at Cairo’s Tahrir Square, fearing a negative media reaction, Assistant Minister for Cairo Security Ismail Ezz Eddin said. Since the release of a controversial constitutional declaration by President Mohamed Morsy in November, some protesters have been holding a sit-in at the square, the heart of a popular uprising in January 2011
Dar al-Ifta: Using the Quran or prayer call as ringtone is haram - (47 days ago)
Dar al-Ifta issued a fatwa Sunday that said using verses from the Quran or the call to prayer as ringtones for mobile phones is haram, or prohibited in Islam. The fatwa, which Dar al-Ifta announced on its Facebook page, said the Quran is the word of God, which He revealed to the best of His messengers and of man, Prophet Mohamed, and that God has commanded us to respect and venerate it. Thus, it
Report: In March, Egypt had highest rate of protest worldwide - (47 days ago)
In a March report titled “Democracy Indicator,” an Egyptian rights center said Egypt has one of the highest rates of protest, having witnessed 1,354 protests in March, up from 864 in February. According to the report issued by the International Development Center, Egypt has never seen such a high rate of protest before, not even at the peak of the 25 January revolution. In March,
Egypt Ex-Interior Minister referred to criminal court on profiteering charges - (47 days ago)
The Illicit Gains Authority decided Monday to refer former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly to criminal court on charges of illegally acquiring wealth worth LE181 million by abusing his powers. The authority called for sentencing Adly to hard labor in prison and forcing him, his wife Elham Sharshar and his son Sherif to pay back the money. Investigators say Adly owns four palaces in Marina,
Court upholds ruling rejecting Mubarak’s reinstatement - (47 days ago)
The Supreme Administrative Court upheld an earlier ruling that rejected a petition calling for toppled President Hosni Mubarak to be reinstated. The lower Cairo Administrative Court had turned down the petition filed by three lawyers and a number of Mubarak supporters, arguing that the former leader’s resignation was a sovereign action that was not subject to judicial review in general and
Ezz Steel raises prices for the fifth time in four months - (47 days ago)
Ezz Steel raised the price of steel Sunday to LE5,050 per ton from LE4,960 as a result of the dollar's rise against the Egyptian pound, a company official said. The increase is the fifth of its kind since the Ministry of Industry and Trade This recent increase is the fifth of its kind in a row, since the decision of the Industry and Trade Ministry to impose a 6.8 percent per ton as protection
Dozens of Alexandria railway workers stage sit-in - (48 days ago)
Dozens of railway workers and conductors at Alexandria's Masr Station staged a sit-in on Monday in conjunction with a scheduled railway worker protest in Cairo to demand overdue bonuses. Aside from the bonuses, which the workers said were approved a while back but have not yet been paid, sit-in participants also demanded the merger of long-distance and short-distance trains into one
MIDEAST STOCKS-Orascom Telecom bid fails to buoy disillusioned Egypt - (48 days ago)
A buyout offer for Orascom Telecom, Egypts second-largest listed company, failed to buoy a sinking Cairo stock market on Monday - an indication of how negative investors have become about medium-term prospects for the market. A Cyprus-based subsidiary of Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridmans Altimo is making a $3.7 billion offer for all of Orascom Telecom at $0.70 (4.76 Egyptian pounds)
Al-Azhar to discuss sukuk law - (48 days ago)
Al-Azhar’s Council of Senior Scholars will meet next week to discuss the draft law on Islamic sukuk bonds, according to an official source from the council. The meeting will come after a meeting of the Al-Azhar Jurisprudence and Legal Research Committee Monday to discuss the law as well. President Mohamed Morsy referred the law to the council Sunday. The law was approved by the Shura
Egypt to reintroduce deposit operations, cancels repos - (48 days ago)
Egypts central bank said on Monday it intended to reintroduce deposit operations as a way to absorb excess liquidity, starting on Tuesday, in a monetary tightening move that economists said could help fight inflation and support a weakening currency. The central bank said the deposits would have a seven-day maturity with a fixed interest rate of 10.25 percent. It added that repo operations would
Al-Azhar to discuss sukuk law - (48 days ago)
Al-Azhar’s Council of Senior Scholars will meet next week to discuss the draft law on Islamic sukuk bonds, according to an official source from the council. The meeting will come after a meeting of the Al-Azhar Jurisprudence and Legal Research Committee Monday to discuss the law as well. President Mohamed Morsy referred the law to the council Sunday. The law was approved by the Shura
Poll: Most Egyptians oppose recent protests - (48 days ago)
A recent poll by a research center says that most Egyptians do not support protests by anti-regime demonstrators outside the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters and demonstrations by Islamist protesters outside Media Production City.The Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research (Baseera) has found that 74 percent objected to protests outside the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau in Moqattam
ElBaradei slams ban against Iranian tourists in mosques - (48 days ago)
Dostour Party head Mohamed ElBaradei criticized news that Iranian tourists will be prevented from visiting historic mosques in Cairo. On Twitter, ElBaradei wrote, “How come we, Sunnis and Shias, perform pilgrimage together yet we talk about preventing Iranians from visiting some of the houses of God?” “Egypt will not get back on its feet in the absence of sensibility and
Diplomatic delegation visits Egyptian detainee in Guantanamo - (48 days ago)
An Egyptian diplomatic delegation has recently visited the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay to meet the last Egyptian detainee, who has been held there since 2001. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday evening that a delegation from the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, DC visited the prison on 18 and 19 March 2013, where they met with Egyptian citizen Tariq
Egypt's ElBaradei slams ban against Iranian tourists in mosques - (48 days ago)
Dostour Party head Mohamed ElBaradei criticized news that Iranian tourists will be prevented from visiting historic mosques in Cairo. On Twitter, ElBaradei wrote, “How come we, Sunnis and Shias, perform pilgrimage together yet we talk about preventing Iranians from visiting some of the houses of God?” “Egypt will not get back on its feet in the absence of sensibility and
Abouel Fotouh suggests early presidential elections - (48 days ago)
Former presidential candidate and Strong Egypt Party head Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh has called for early presidential elections if the country’s “mismanagement” continues. “If President Mohamed Morsy’s poor management of the country continues, early presidential elections must be held. Although we hope that Morsy completes his presidential term, the
Meshaal may keep office as Hamas elections begin in Cairo - (48 days ago)
Sources at the Palestinian faction Hamas told DPA news agency that the group’s advisory council will convene in Cairo Monday to conduct elections for its political office, with most observers speculating a renewed four-year term for incumbent political bureau leader Khaled Meshaal. Preliminary meetings ahead of the elections kicked off Sunday with a high-level presence on the part
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Ministers in Prime Minister Hisham Qandil's cabinet following the recent reshuffle (new appointees are in italics): 1. Minister of Agriculture Ahmed Mahmoud Ali El-Gizawi2. Minister of Antiquities Ahmed Eissa3. Minister of Aviation Wael Maadawi4. Minister of Communication Atef Helmy5. Minister of Culture
AP— April 15, 2013: Two bombs explode in the packed streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 140.— January 17, 2011: A backpack bomb is placed along a Martin Luther King Day parade route in Spokane, Washington, meant to kill and injure participants in a civil rights march, but is found and disabled before it can explode. White
The convenient marriage between Iran and the Arab left would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, given the traditional ideological paradoxes between patriarchal Persian Shiism, on the one hand, and leftist orthodoxy on the other.Indeed, a casual viewer of Hizbullah's Al-Manar television, or the Iranian-funded Al-Mayadin TV, these days would probably think that the two Shia propaganda
"Abdullah's appointment was done via constitutional decree; it was a sovereign act by the head of the executive and therefore cannot be reversed by court ruling," said one leading FJP/Brotherhood figure. His comments echoed earlier assertions by Brotherhood lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud.The return of former prosecutor-general Mahmoud is "not going to happen," according to several government
