Egypt

By Reuters | Cairo | 29 Apr 2012

Mohamed ElBaradei and other prominent Egyptians on Saturday launched a party which he said would one day govern the country, offering a new choice to voters seeking alternatives to Islamist parties that now dominate parliament.

Though ElBaradei pulled out of the race for Egyptian presidency in January, his role in the new Dustour Party shows the Nobel Peace Prize winner and political liberal still aims to play a leading role in the future of the country of 80 million.

By Aya Batrawy | AP | 24 Apr 2012

Egyptian authorities have denied permission to eight American nonprofit groups to operate locally, including a center headed by former President Jimmy Carter that monitors elections, a ministry official says.

Source : Agencies | Cairo | 23 Apr 2012

Egyptian energy companies have terminated a deal to supply Israel with natural gas.

An Israeli partner in the business made the step public on Sunday but an Egyptian firm said the decision to cancel the deal had been made on Thursday.

The Egyptian decision was announced in Israel by Ampal-American Israel Corporation, partner in the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG), which operates a cross-border pipeline supplying gas to Israel.

By Reuters | Cairo | 21 Apr 2012

Tens of thousands of Egyptians demanded yesterday that their military rulers stick to a pledge to hand over power by mid-year after a row over who can run in the presidential election raised doubts about the army’s commitment to democracy.

Two leading Islamist candidates, one representing the Muslim Brotherhood who was seen as the frontrunner, were among those disqualified this week from a vote that starts on May 23-24, drawing a storm of criticism from supporters and the candidates.

By Reuters | Cairo | 17 Apr 2012

Ten Egyptian presidential candidates, including Hosni Mubarak's spy chief, a Muslim Brotherhood leader and an Islamist preacher, lost appeals on Tuesday against disqualification from the race, shaking the political landscape weeks before the historic vote.

The disqualifications include top Mubarak aide Omar Suleiman, the Brotherhood's Khairat al-Shater and Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a popular preacher.

By Reuters | Cairo | 01 Apr 2012

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, in a policy U-turn, said it would back its deputy leader for president, an endorsement that guarantees Khairat Al-Shater a place among the frontrunners after the group initially said it would not field a candidate.

The Brotherhood said it changed tack after reviewing other candidates in the race and after parliament, where its Freedom and Justice Party controls the biggest bloc, was unable to meet “the demands of the revolution,” a reference to its mounting criticism of the ruling army’s handling of the transition.

By Reuters | Gaza | 23 Mar 2012

Israel allowed nine fuel tankers to cross into the Gaza Strip yesterday to ease a severe power shortage triggered by a dispute over supplies between Egypt and the enclave’s Hamas rulers.

The delivery of around 450,000 liters of industrial diesel was the first to Gaza’s only power station coming via Israel in almost a year after Hamas softened its resistance to accepting supplies from its Jewish neighbor.

Source : Reuters | 23 Mar 2012

The Obama administration on Friday formally released $1.3 billion in military aid for Egypt despite Cairo's failure to meet pro-democracy goals, saying U.S. national security required continued military assistance.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waived congressional conditions imposed late last year that tied U.S. aid to progress in Egypt's transition to democracy following the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

By Associated Press | Cairo | 14 Mar 2012

At least 500 Egyptians have taken the first step to run for president, a sign of the excitement generated by the country’s first presidential elections in which the outcome is in doubt, election officials said yesterday.

They said the 500 have obtained applications to officially declare their candidacy for the vote, which follows last year’s ouster of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

Source : Egypt Independent | Cairo | 13 Mar 2012

In an evening session Monday, the People’s Assembly in Egypt demanded the deportation of the Israeli ambassador, Yaakov Amitai, and the withdrawal of the Egyptian ambassador from Tel Aviv.

The assembly voted unanimously on a statement prepared by the Committee on Arab Affairs, which also called for stopping gas exports to Israel in protest against the brutal attacks committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, considering it a flagrant violation of human rights.