CAIRO, March 5 (Reuters) – An Egyptian lawyer whose
dissenting voice got him thrown out of the Muslim Brotherhood
examines what he calls the group’s hidden radicalism in a book
that has become a best-seller in Cairo.

Tharwat al-Khirbawy’s “Secret of the Temple” has been
dismissed by Brotherhood leaders as part of a smear campaign.

CAIRO (Reuters) – The retrial of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, his sons and top aides will begin next month, an Egyptian court said on Sunday, ordering the politically-fraught hearings over the killing of protesters to start just nine days before elections.

Mubarak, the first Arab ruler to be tried by his people after the uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa, was jailed for life for ordering the killing of demonstrators, but granted a retrial by a Cairo court in January.

CAIRO (Reuters) – An alliance of Egyptian opposition parties decided on Tuesday to boycott parliamentary elections in protest at an election law they say favors the Muslim Brotherhood, increasing the chance that Islamists will sweep the vote.

The boycott by liberal and leftist parties opposed to President Mohamed Mursi aims to undermine the legitimacy of the vote and shows the polarization that has defined Egyptian politics since Hosni Mubarak was toppled two years ago.

CAIRO (Reuters) – An alliance of Egyptian opposition parties decided on Tuesday to boycott forthcoming parliamentary elections in protest at an election law that they say favours the Muslim Brotherhood, increasing the chance that Islamists will sweep the vote.

The boycott by liberal and leftist parties opposed to President Mohamed Mursi seeks to undermine the legitimacy of the vote, pointing to the polarisation that has defined Egyptian politics since Hosni Mubarak was toppled two years ago.

CAIRO (Reuters) – An alliance of Egyptian opposition parties said on Tuesday they would boycott forthcoming parliamentary elections in protest at an election law that they say favours the Muslim Brotherhood, increasing the chance that Islamists will sweep the vote.

The boycott by liberal and leftist parties opposed to President Mohamed Mursi raises the prospect of a parliamentary election fought out mostly between his Muslim Brotherhood and more hardline Islamist groups such as the Salafi Nour Party.

CAIRO (Reuters) – A leading Egyptian leftist party said on Tuesday it would boycott a parliamentary election, joining other groups that have said they will not take part because the vote has been skewed against them by an Islamist-drafted election law.

With Islamist parties including the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party planning nationwide campaigns, boycotts by liberals and leftists will enhance the chances of the Islamists securing a commanding say in the new parliament.

CAIRO, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Egypt will reopen talks with the
IMF next month on a $4.8 billion loan, a minister said on
Monday, and the government laid out plans to reverse a slide in
currency reserves and tackle the dire state of public finances.

A revised government economic reform programme, essential
for securing a lifeline from the International Monetary Fund,
called for a levy on stock market transactions and a flat 25
percent tax rate for Egyptian companies, many of which are
struggling for survival in a national economic crisis.

CAIRO/LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Egypt’s wheat imports are
sharply down this year as it endures economic and political
crisis, but state and private buyers insist they still have
funds to keep the nation supplied with its staple bread.

Egyptian officials and traders acknowledge the government’s
problems with a rising budget deficit and falling currency
reserves, but say the state is allocating priority financing for
wheat imports. They are also pinning some of their hopes on an
increase in domestic production.

CAIRO (Reuters) – President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday called parliamentary elections that will begin on April 27 and finish in late June, a four-stage vote that the Islamist leader hopes will conclude Egypt’s turbulent transition to democracy.

The vote will take place in a country deeply divided between Islamist parties that have come out on top in all elections held since Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 and more secular-minded opposition parties that have struggled to get organised.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will call a parliamentary election starting April 28, a presidential legal adviser told Reuters on Thursday, saying the vote would be held in four stages.

Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers hope the election will mark an end to a turbulent political transition punctuated by spasms of violence that have thwarted his efforts to revive an economy in deep crisis.