Egypt has refused to allow Dutch MP Raymond de Roon to enter the country.
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said the new regime is "just as barbaric” as the previous one.
The parliamentary foreign affairs commission has decided to cancel the entire visit. It says it up to the Dutch parliament to decide who is in the delegation.
Freedom Party MP De Roon believes he was refused a visa because “Egypt did not like my characterising the expulsion of 95,000 Christians since March 2011 as ethnic cleansing.”
“It would have been better if Egypt had said: come along and we’ll show you there is no ethnic cleansing” he added.
Netherlands helps pay for Egyptian election 'witnesses'
The Netherlands has promised the US Carter Centre 300,000 euros to send people to Egypt to watch over the upcoming elections in November. Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal spoke with his Egyptian counterpart Mohammed Kamel Amr in Cairo on Wednesday.
Cairo says it has no difficulty with what they insist on calling 'witnesses' rather than 'observers'. “They will be given free access to polling centres,” Minister Rosenthal said, as will the press. He says he has no problem with the terminology as he is satisfied with the conditions under which foreign election watchers will be able to operate. The Carter Centre was set up in 1982 and regularly sends observers to monitor elections all over the world.
Hoisting homemade wooden crosses and photographs of bodies they said were crushed by tanks, hundreds of Coptic Christians rallied Wednesday in front of the White House to protest rising violence against minority Christians in Egypt and to demand that the Obama administration pressure Cairo to protect their rights.
Security trucks heading toward Tahrir Square on October 9.
CAIRO: Egypt’s state television announced on Monday that there are no deaths among the military forces after previously reporting there were during the bloody Sunday clashes between the military and Coptic protesters, saying that it was the fault of the news presenter.
Protesters stage silent demonstration on Qasr al-Nile bridge Saturday.
CAIRO: A silent stand-in to honor the victims of state TV violence on October 9 took place on Saturday evening on the iconic Qasr al-Nil bridge where tens of people stood quietly, holding flags that read “mourning” and banners that read “dignity first” and “the people want a fair investigation.”
The non-politicized stand was met with curious questions from passersby, which the participants gladly answered.
Confusion surrounds the fate of the Cabinet following reports that it had placed the matter of its resignation in the hands of the military council
Nada Hussein Rashwan, Ahram Online, Tuesday 11 Oct 2011
Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf (Photo:AP)
Following the deadly clashes that took place in front of the Maspero state television building last Sunday, the Cabinet has placed the matter of its resignation in the hands of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), for their consideration.
Thousands of Egyptians march in Cairo's Tahrir square for Copt's funeral
Egyptian Coptic Christians chanting pro-Christian slogans during the funeral for victims of sectarian clashes, in Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 10, 2011.
Photo by: Reuters
Mourners carry coffin of Mina Daniel, one of 26 killed in clashes between Coptic Christians and military police; Health Ministry says nearly 300 wounded.
Thousands of Egyptians marched in central Cairo's Tahrir square early Tuesday for the funeral procession of a young man who was killed in clashes between mostly Coptic Christians and government troops.
Maikel Nabil Sanad is entering his 42nd day of hunger strike in protest against a three-year sentence imposed by a military court for criticising the army. He spoke to Shahira Amin
It’s Maikel Nabil Sanad’s 26th birthday but he is in no celebratory mood. When I arrive at El Marg prison north of Cairo during visiting hours on Saturday 1 October, I can barely hide my shock at seeing his bony physique. Maikel is wearing a wrinkled blue track suit and on his head is a baseball cap worn backwards in a sign of rebellion. It is clear that Maikel is in extremely frail health. He attempts to stand up to greet me but almost immediately falls back into his chair in sheer exhaustion.
Egypt's First Parliamentary Elections Since Mubarak Announced
Associated Press
Egypt's first parliamentary elections since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak will begin on Nov. 28, the country's military rulers have said in an announcement that was greeted with little fanfare by activists who have grown deeply suspicious of the generals' commitment to change.
The military council, which took over from Mubarak as he stepped down in February, promised it would transfer power to civilian rule within six months, but no date was announced for presidential elections that would bring an end to military rule.
The concerns reflect the broader uncertainty over Egypt's post-Mubarak course under a military council led by a man who served as Mubarak's defense minister for many years. Egypt's new revolutionary groups say the council has done little to dismantle Mubarak's legacy and bring figures of the old regime to account for corruption, human rights abuses and other crimes.
Health of Imprisoned Egyptian Blogger on Hunger Strike Becoming Critical
By Mary Abdelmassih (AINA)
Dr. Michael Nabil Sanad, the 26-year-old blogger jailed by an Egyptian military court, could die soon in prison, says his family and human rights groups. Reporters Without Borders (RWB) called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to immediately release Michael. According to RWB "If he does not resume drinking, he could very soon die in detention and SCAF would have to take full responsibility."
Mr HUSIC (Chifley—Government Whip) (12:50): I rise in support of the motion that has been moved by the member for Hughes and welcome it as an important stepping stone within the process of, in our own way, providing a voice but also, more importantly, seeing potentially improvements in the quality of lives of Egyptian Copts. Like many Australians, I watched earlier this year the historic people’s revolution unfold on television, which resulted in the departure of President Mubarak from a position that he had held for 30 years. The revolt was praised at the time by leaders worldwide, hoping that it would usher in a new era of peace and democracy for all Egyptians, I stress that—for all Egyptians.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper talks with CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge about how Canada changed after 9/11. (CBC)
"There are other threats out there, but that is the one that I can tell you occupies the security apparatus most regularly in terms of actual terrorist threats," Harper said.
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. - The ceremony had the feel of a funeral.
As upward of 3,000 people convened Saturday to mark the dedication of the Flight 93 National Memorial, there was no forgetting that the fragmentary remains of 40 airline passengers lay just a hundred yards away in a wildflower meadow.
When United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, the impact at close to 600 m.p.h. was so great the plane and its occupants were obliterated. Few body parts were found.
Egyptian blogger and prisoner of conscience Maikel NabilSanadbegan a hunger strike today in protest against his continued imprisonment. Maikel NabilSanadis also refusing to takehis medication,without whichhis health could be at risk.
Twenty-five-year-old Maikel Nabil Sanad began a hunger strike on 23 August 2011, in protest against his continued imprisonment in al-Marg Prison in Qalyubiya governorate, North of Cairo. Some 10,000 Egyptians have been tried by military courts since the armed forces were deployed in Egypt on 28 January. While some of those who were tried in military courts have been released on suspended sentences, no date for Maikel Nabil Sanad’s appeal has been scheduled.
Christian Blogger Jailed for Criticizing Egyptian Military Goes on Hunger Strike
By Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) -- Activist and blogger Dr. Michael Nabil Sanad, 25, began a hunger strike on Tuesday in his cell at Al-Marg prison, in Quliubia province, to protesting the deliberate disregard by the court in setting a hearing for his appeal, presented on July 14 against his prison sentence and the bad treatment he is receiving in prison.
On 10 April 2011 Michael Nabil Sanad was sentenced by a military court to three years imprisonment on charges of "insulting the military and dissemination of false news about the armed forces" in his blog "Son of Ra." The evidence against him was a CD including information from his blog which he had collected from news agencies. Michael Nabil was sentenced in absentia and in violation of legal procedures.
An imam who worked at a Scarborough mosque has been arrested and faces 13 charges in connection with a sexual assault investigation.
Mohammad Masroor, 48, of Toronto, was apprehended August 10 for sexual offences allegedly committed between November 1, 2008 and July 28 of this year. Police have identified five alleged victims, both male and female, and are appealing to others to come forward.
The Dutch parliament on Tuesday voted to ban ritual slaughter in landmark animal rights legislation that has been compared to Nazi persecution of the Jews by the country's Chief Rabbi.
A butcher talks on his mobile phone as a veiled women passes on Halal butchers store in Amsterdam Photo: AP
In a rare show of unity, representatives of one million Dutch Muslims and 40,000 Jews have condemned the prohibition of halal and kosher meat as a violation of their religious freedom.
AP:Hosni Mubarak laying on a hospital bed inside a cage of mesh and iron bars in a Cairo courtroom
Ousted president Hosni Mubarak has denied all charges of corruption and complicity in killing protesters during Egypt's uprising after a court detailed the allegations against him at the opening session of his trial.
The ailing former president lay on a hospital bed inside a cage of mesh and iron bars in a Cairo courtroom as his historic trial began.
WASHINGTON — The US House of Representatives has voted to establish a US envoy to protect the rights of religious minorities in the Middle East and South Asia, amid rising concern over Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan.
While a marathon debate continued Friday on how to avoid US debt default, the House voted 402 to 20 to require President Barack Obama to set up the envoy post. The Senate must follow suit, but senators from both parties have voiced support.
