CAIRO (Reuters) – U.S. officials met members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party, a U.S. diplomat said, after Washington announced it would have direct contacts with Egypt’s biggest Islamist group whose role has grown since U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

Washington announced the plans in June, portraying such contacts as the continuation of an earlier policy. But analysts said it reflected a new approach to the way it dealt with a group which Mubarak banned from politics.

CAIRO (Reuters) – When Egypt’s military ruler was caught on video in a civilian suit strolling through downtown Cairo and speaking to passers-by, Web users swiftly mocked it as a stunt to win support from an increasingly mistrustful public.

State television said images it broadcast on Monday night, two days after Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi gave testimony in court that some lawyers said favoured deposed president Hosni Mubarak, was a chance encounter recorded by a surprised pedestrian. Many Egyptians found that hard to believe.

CAIRO (Reuters) – When Egypt’s military ruler was caught on video in a civilian suit strolling through downtown Cairo and speaking to passers-by, Web users swiftly mocked it as a stunt to win support from an increasingly mistrustful public.

State television said images it broadcast on Monday night, two days after Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi gave testimony in court that some lawyers said favored deposed president Hosni Mubarak, was a chance encounter recorded by a surprised pedestrian. Many Egyptians found that hard to believe.

CAIRO (Reuters) – The Palestinian president’s call for statehood at the United Nations was a step many Arabs feel was long overdue but they expect the dramatic gesture to change little because of a looming U.S. veto.

“This is the first time for us to see this kind of bravery which we are not used to seeing from Mahmoud Abbas,” said Hani Mohsen, an activist in Egypt, where winds of change swept U.S.-ally Hosni Mubarak from power and helped galvanize other Arabs to demand a shake-up of the region’s political order.

CAIRO, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Yields at Egyptian Treasury bill
auctions have hit levels last seen during the 2008 global
financial crisis and traders said on Tuesday they could go
higher still if the government does not secure external funding
for its budget deficit.

The government, which turned down a $3 billion loan package
from the International Monetary Fund in June, has said it will
rely on the local market to plug its financing needs, which have
mushroomed after an uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak
ealry this year.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt and Israel said on Sunday they wanted a return to normal diplomatic activities after the Israeli ambassador flew home following the storming of the embassy in Cairo during violent protests.

Egypt’s army, which took over when Hosni Mubarak was ousted on February 11, has struggled to quell public fury against Israel since five Egyptian border guards were killed last month when Israel repelled cross-border raiders it said were Palestinian.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan meets Egypt’s new military rulers during a visit to Cairo starting on Monday that is likely to be scrutinised by Israel whose once cozy ties with both Muslim states have been shaken.

Erdogan’s trip will be followed by visits to Libya and Tunisia, which, like Egypt, have thrown off long-time rulers, highlighting Turkey’s bid to expand its regional influence.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt and Israel said on Sunday they wanted a return to normal diplomatic activities after the Israeli ambassador flew home following the storming of the embassy in Cairo during violent protests.

Egypt’s army, which took over when Hosni Mubarak was ousted on Feb. 11, has struggled to quell public fury against Israel since five Egyptian border guards were killed last month when Israel repelled cross-border raiders it said were Palestinian.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Security vehicles lined up near the Israeli embassy in Egypt on Sunday after violence there forced Israel to evacuate its ambassador and both sides said they wanted a return to normal diplomatic activities.

Egypt’s army rulers, who took over when Hosni Mubarak was ousted, have struggled to quell public fury against Israel since five Egyptian border guards were killed last month when Israel repelled cross-border raiders.