Refugees ‘held hostage, tortured’ in Sinai: watchdogs
JERUSALEM: Israeli and international human rights watchdogs called on the Egyptian and Israeli governments on Wednesday to act against "torture camps" in the Sinai where refugees are being held for…
UN leader praises Egypt vote
UNITED NATIONS: UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday praised the "generally calm and orderly" Egyptian election and hailed the country's role in the Arab Spring uprisings, his spokesman said. Ban…
Vote counting resumes after brief strike
CAIRO: Employees counting the votes from the first phase of parliamentary elections resumed work early Wednesday after a strike that delayed the process in a number of constituencies. …
1st-round vote result delayed to Thursday, says state TV
CAIRO: The result of a first-round vote in Egypt's first parliamentary election since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak will be announced on Thursday, state television said, a day later than…
Islamists claim lead in Egypt vote count
CAIRO: Islamists claimed Wednesday they were headed for victory in the opening phase of the country's first post-revolution election after two days of peaceful polling that won international plaudits. The…
Counting resumes in Shoubra after order restored
CAIRO: Army forces took control of ballot boxes in Shoubra, part of the first constituency, after head of the judicial committee supervising elections there decided to postpone a counting process…
80 hurt in night clashes at Cairo’s Tahrir Square
CAIRO: A security official says about 80 people were hurt when clashes erupted between protesters and angry street vendors at Cairo's Tahrir Square. The violence broke out after polls closed…
Tardy judges, ballots leave long angry queues in east Cairo
CAIRO: Long queues continued Tuesday in Ain Shams and Matareya as polling stations remained closed or delayed their opening on the second election day. Voters at Matareya Technological Institute left…
A proxy war between Iran and the US
By Sadegh Zibakalam Even before the Americans accused Iran of a plot to assassinate a Saudi diplomat in the United States, relations between Tehran and Riyadh were at a low. Needless…
The problem is not reconciliation
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced last week that he plans to meet the head of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, on November 25 to discuss two issues. First, the leaders will…