Egypt

Source : Hamza Hendawi | AP
CAIRO | 26 Apr 2011

A majority of Egyptians believe laws in their country should observe the teachings of Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, according to the results of an opinion poll by a US-based research center.

The results also show that Egyptians, who have shifted toward religious conservatism over the past 40 or so years, are open to the inclusion of religious parties in future governments. Only a minority, however, sympathize with fundamentalist religious parties, according to the results.

Source : Jewish Journal
Cairo | 04 Apr 2011

Egypt’s new foreign minister said the days of Israel getting cheap gas and strategic benefits are over.

In an interview Sunday on Egyptian television, Nabil al-Arabi said Egypt will demand that Israel pay the difference between the reduced prices it received and market value on the natural gas it purchased under deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Source : Opheera Mcdom | REUTERS
KHARTOUM | 28 Mar 2011

Egypt will recognize South Sudan as an independent state after it voted to secede from Khartoum, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby said on his first visit abroad since an uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak.

The new government also said it would introduce a new proposal to Nile Basin nations to try to overcome a stalemate on sharing the river’s waters, as a seven-minister delegation headed by Egypt’s prime minister arrived on Sunday in Khartoum.

Source : Maggie Michael | AP
CAIRO | 21 Mar 2011

Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved changes in the constitution, opening the way for parliamentary and presidential elections within months, according to final results from a landmark referendum announced Sunday. Opponents fear the swift timetable could boost the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood and members of the former ruling party.

Source : Reuters
Cairo : 19 Mar 2011

Egyptians began voting on Saturday in a referendum on constitutional amendments which the military rulers hope will open the door to elections within six months.

A high turnout is expected for the vote, the first in living memory whose outcome has not been known in advance.

The referendum has divided Egypt between those who say the constitution needs a complete rewrite and others who argue that the amendments will suffice for now.

Source | Al Jazeera
Cairo | 28 Feb 2011

Arab League chief Amr Moussa, a popular career diplomat, has confirmed that he plans to run in Egypt's presidential election expected later this year.

Moussa, a former foreign minister, declared his candidacy on Sunday, a day after a constitutional reform panel appointed by the country's new military rulers recommended far-reaching reforms.

Source | Al Arabiya
Cairo | 18 Feb 2011

For the first time since he was banned from leading weekly friday prayers in Egypt 30 years ago, prominent Muslim scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi will lead thousands in the weekly prayers from Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday.

Sources told Al Arabiya that a military force will accompany the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars from his home to Tahrir Square, provide security for the prayers and accompany him back to his residence.

Source | Agencies
Cairo | 28 Jan 2011

Tens of thousands of Egyptians joined protests on Friday to call for the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo and other major cities including Alexandria, Mansoura, Suez and Aswan, Reuters witnesses and other reports said.

Demonstrators on Friday gathered in a neighbourhood near a Cairo presidential residence, witnesses reported.

There was no official figure from the authorities.

Source | REUTERS
CAIRO | 20 Jan 2011

Egypt’s highest Islamic authority, Al-Azhar, said on Thursday it was freezing all dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church over what it called Pope Benedict’s repeated insults toward Islam.

Benedict this month condemned attacks on churches that killed dozens of people in Egypt, Iraq and Nigeria, saying they showed the need to adopt effective measures to protect religious minorities.

Source | AP
CAIRO | 26 Sep 2010

Egypt's Coptic Christian leader Pope Shenouda III apologized in a television interview Sunday to any Muslims who were offended after his top bishop reportedly disputed the authenticity of some verses of the Qur'an.

The remarks come during a period of heightened tension in Egypt between the majority Muslims and a Christian minority that feels discriminated against.