Egypt activists condemn revival of emergency law
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian activists and politicians accused the ruling military leaders of breaking a promise to end emergency law, after authorities said they would reintroduce special security courts following an attack on the Israeli embassy.
Eight months after protesters toppled President Hosni Mubarak and the military took power on an interim basis, many supporters of the protest movement say they are concerned that the military rulers are backsliding on reform pledges.
Israeli envoy leaves after Cairo embassy attack
CAIRO (Reuters) – Israel flew its ambassador home on Saturday after Egyptians stormed the building housing the Israeli mission in Cairo, plunging Egypt’s ruling army deeper into its toughest diplomatic crisis since taking over from Hosni Mubarak.
The United States, which has poured billions of dollars of military aid into Egypt since it made peace with Israel in 1979, voiced concern about the violence after protesters hurled embassy documents and the Israeli flag from windows.
Egyptian protesters pull down Israel embassy wall
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian activists destroyed a wall around the Israeli embassy and set police cars on fire in Cairo on Friday after thousands demonstrated at Tahrir Square to push for a timetable for reforms and an end to military trials for civilians.
Activists who spearheaded an uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak on February 11 have been piling pressure on the ruling military council to fix a date for parliamentary and presidential elections and to get rid of senior officials who served under Mubarak.
Egyptians demolish Israel embassy wall at protest
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian activists demolished a wall around the Israeli embassy in Cairo Friday after thousands demonstrated at Tahrir Square to push for a timetable for transition to democracy and an end to military trials for civilians.
Activists who spearheaded an uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February have been piling pressure on the ruling military council to fix a date for parliamentary and presidential elections and to get rid of officials who served under Mubarak.
Syria-based TV Gaddafi’s only means of communication
CAIRO (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s chosen way to communicate with the world since he went on the run is through a Syrian-based television station owned by a former Iraqi politician living in exile in Syria.
Gaddafi’s whereabouts are not known to his enemies but he has assailed them in several defiant and colourful speeches on Arrai TV since he was overthrown on August 23.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar Islamic authority blossoms in the Arab Spring
(A man prays at Al-Azhar mosque, March 10, 2010/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)
Egypt’s highest religious authority, Al-Azhar, is emerging from the shadow of ousted President Hosni Mubarak as it tries to salvage a prestige tarnished by decades of submission to strongman leaders. From within its tall, crenellated walls, Al-Azhar’s sheikhs spent more than 1,000 years studying Islam’s holy texts and interpreting their meaning for the faithful, building an authority unrivalled in the Muslim world.
Some of its lustre dimmed when President Gamal Abdel Nasser brought it under the authority of the state in 1961. Forty years on, Al-Azhar’s sheikhs were being dragooned into supporting the harsh security regime that cemented Mubarak three-decade rule. With its reputation shackled to that of an unpopular leader, Al-Azhar waned just as firebrand preachers with less religious learning began spreading their dogmatic strain of Islam using the Internet and satellite TV.
Witness accused of false testimony in Mubarak trial
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian prosecutors accused a police officer of giving false testimony on Wednesday in an often heated session in the trial of Hosni Mubarak over his role in the killing of protesters.
Lawyers acting for families of some of the 850 people killed in the uprising that ousted the Egyptian president have complained that some police witnesses changed their accounts and accused the prosecution of failing to build a strong case.
Egypt Islamic body blossoms in Arab Spring
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s highest religious authority, Al-Azhar, is emerging from the shadow of ousted President Hosni Mubarak as it tries to salvage a prestige tarnished by decades of submission to strongman leaders.
From within its tall, crenellated walls, Al-Azhar’s sheikhs spent more than 1,000 years studying Islam’s holy texts and interpreting their meaning for the faithful, building an authority unrivalled in the Muslim world.
Mubarak back in court over protester deaths
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court trying Hosni Mubarak over the killing of protesters who ousted him convened on Wednesday to hear more testimonies after police witnesses suggested this week that neither he nor his interior minister gave orders to shoot.
Mubarak, who has been in hospital since April and attended all three court sessions on a stretcher, arrived by helicopter, state TV said. Cameras have been barred in court.
Egypt’s Mubarak back in court over protester deaths
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court trying Hosni Mubarak over the killing of protesters who ousted him will hear more testimonies on Wednesday after police witnesses suggested this week that neither he nor his interior minister gave orders to shoot.
One of the lawyers representing families of victims voiced frustration with the witnesses at Monday’s session — attended by Mubarak lying on a hospital trolley in the defendant’s cage — saying they had given different answers before the trial.
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