Tag: Egyptian

A court sentenced once feared Egyptian interior minister Habib al-Adly to 12 years for corruption on Thursday in the first trial of an official...

CAIRO - An Egyptian court dissolved the former ruling National Democratic Party on Saturday and ordered its funds and property to be handed to the government, a judicial source said. "The administrative court issued a ruling to dissolve the NDP and seize its money, and its headquarters and buildings will be handed to the government," the source said. The NDP, the party of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, was fighting for its survival after protests forced the strongman to resign on

CAIRO - Egypt has ordered Hosni Mubarak and his sons to be questioned over violence against protesters and alleged corruption, as the ousted president defended his reputation after protests calling for him to be put on trial.
Interior Minister Mansur Essawy said "all measures would be taken to ensure the safety of Mubarak and his sons" Alaa and Gamal when they go in for questioning, but warned that they could face arrest if they refuse to show up. "If the former president and his

CAIRO - More than 2,000 people gathered across the Egyptian capital on Friday to demand more political reform, including a speedy trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, state news agency MENA said. One thousand protesters gathered in Tahrir square, epicentre of Egypt's uprising, chanting nationalist slogans and calling for Mubarak and other former government figures be tried for graft. They also called for the release of political prisoners. Tahrir square in central Cairo has become

CAIRO - Two men were killed during clashes in Egypt between Muslims and Christians, which also saw Muslims set fire to a church in the village of Sol, south of Cairo, a security official said on Saturday. "Two people were killed, and the Shahedain church set on fire in clashes between two families," the official told the MENA news agency.
The violence was triggered by a feud between the families, which disapproved of a romantic relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim

CAIRO - Egypt's new Prime Minister Essam Sharaf on Friday vowed to respond to demands for democratic change as he addressed thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square a day after his appointment.
"I am here because I get my legitimacy from you... I will exert all my effort to respond to your demands," Sharaf told the flag-waving supporters in the square, the centre of protests that toppled president Hosni Mubarak last month.
The premier was named by the country's new

CAIRO - Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq unexpectedly resigned on Thursday, sparking celebrations from protesters who demand a purge of the remnants of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime.
The country's military rulers said he would be replaced by Essam Sharaf, a former transport minister who joined the rallies in Cairo's Tahrir Square that led to Mubarak's resignation on February 11. Strongman Mubarak appointed Shafiq in the dying days of his rule in a bid to quell the

CAIRO - Egyptian military has set a vote on constitutional change provisionally for March 19 as a prelude to a parliamentary election in June followed by a presidential poll to usher in full democracy, army sources said on Tuesday.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, running the Arab world's most populous nation since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak on February 11, is sticking to a short timetable to open a new chapter in modern Egyptian history.
"The timeframe the

CAIRO - The Internet activists who triggered Egypt's popular uprising said Monday they had discussed reforms with the country's new military rulers, a day after the generals dissolved Hosni Mubarak's regime.
As the elderly generals and the youthful online campaigners sought to map out the country's future, a wave strikes and protests swept several public and private sector industries as workers pressed demands for pay rises. In the shadow of the Great Pyramid of Giza, hundreds of

CAIRO - Egypt's ruling Higher Military Council hopes to finalise constitutional amendments within 10 days and put them to a referendum within two months, paving the way to democratic elections, members have told youth activists. Wael Ghonim said on his Facebook page that he and seven other activists involved in protests that brought down Hosni Mubarak last week met two members of the council on Sunday evening.
Ghonim, a Google executive who was detained for two weeks during the

CAIRO - Egypt's new military leadership on Saturday vowed to pave the way for democracy and abide by international treaties as the hopeful country celebrated victory on the day after Hosni Mubarak's overthrow. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said the current government would remain in place for a peaceful transition to "an elected civil authority to build a free democratic state," though it set no official timetable.
The streets and squares of downtown Cairo were in the

CAIRO - Several hundred Egyptian protesters attempted to block parliamentary buildings in Cairo on Wednesday as part of their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old regime.
The building was protected by troops backed by armoured vehicles, but there was no violence, with protesters instead staging a sit-in to blockade the lower house, just as others have occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Parliament is dominated by Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party

CAIRO - Tens of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square for an 11th day of protest on Friday calling for an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. On what they called the "Day of Departure", the crowd bowed in prayer and listened to a cleric declare: "We want the head of the regime removed". "Leave! Leave! Leave!" they chanted.
The mood was buoyant in the square, the epicentre of the protests, thronged by people from all walks of life, young

KARACHI - The local bourse lost its early positive spurt to close 103 points down at 12,359 level. The SBP unexpectedly maintaining the interest rates at 14 percent and provided the initial positive impetus with the market climbing 132 points, but fear of foreign selling due to weak international markets following the Egyptian crisis and the below par result of Lucky Cement soon took a toll on the market.
The KSE-100 index closed at a level of 12,359.36 with the loss of 103.34

PARIS - Countries around the globe stepped up evacuation of foreign tourists and workers from Egypt on Monday as anti-government protestors called for further pressure to make beleaguered President Hosni Mubarak quit. In Washington, Assistant Secretary of State Janice Jacobs said at least 2,400 Americans in Egypt have asked US officials for help in leaving as the first 42 landed in Cyprus.
"We want to make sure that anyone who needs our help is getting that, and so, yes, I do

BRUSSELS - The EU's energy commissioner broke ranks on Monday when he labelled the Egyptian authorities' handling of mass street democracy protests as careless beyond belief. While European Union foreign ministers meeting at the same time deliberately shied away from criticising President Hosni Mubarak's regime, focusing on the need for elections, German commissioner Guenther Oettinger spoke bluntly.
"We are all very worried about what is happening in Egypt, with the images"

CAIRO - Hundreds of Egyptian demonstrators calling for economic and political reforms broke through police barriers on Tuesday and began marching in Cairo's streets, in a protest inspired by Tunisia's uprising. Protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court in downtown Cairo and held large signs that read "Tunisia is the solution" amid massive police deployment, an AFP correspondent said.
Chanting "Down with Mubarak" --in reference to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who has been