Egypt's central security forces continue to use tough tactics against protesters
It was no coincidence that Egypt's uprising began on Police Day last year; protesters' original demands included the resignation of the hated former interior minister, Habib al-Adly, and an end to the abuses committed by his security forces.
Egypt's rulers face backlash after lifting travel ban on Americans
Egypt had portrayed its case against American NGOs as necessary to thwart foreign agents intent on harming the country. Now angry Egyptians say their rulers have caved to US pressure.
In this Feb. 26 file photo, Egyptian protesters chant anti-military ruling slogans during a trial of employees of pro-democracy groups charged with using foreign funds to foment unrest in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt has lifted a travel ban on Feb. 29 for seven Americans charged with fomenting unrest by working for illegally funded pro-democracy groups, signaling an end to the worst crisis in Egypt-U.S. relations in 30 years.
KIRKCALDY; St Marks Coptic Orthodox Church, 264 Links Street; The 20th anniversary of the consecration of the church; Father MARK AZIZ photo; WALTER NEILSON
THE congregation of a Kirkcaldy church will be celebrating this weekend as the church reaches an important historical milestone.
The 20th anniversary of the consecration of St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Links Street will be marked with a Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning followed by a celebratory reception.
CAIRO (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer met Egypt's ruling generals in Cairo Saturday and discussed the case of U.S. pro-democracy activists charged in an investigation that has strained ties between Cairo and Washington.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the first senior U.S. official to visit Cairo since the charges were brought against 43 foreign and Egyptian activists following a probe into civil society groups.
Egypt's post-revolutionary authorities have set it on a collision course with Washington, its erstwhile ally, by deciding to charge 44 NGO workers including 19 Americans with illegal activities.
The security situation in Egypt was high on the agenda of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the scheduled talks in Sofia with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov Photo: AFP/GETTY
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has blasted the use of a controversial movie portraying American Muslims as extremists to help train New York police officers.
The mayor said police chiefs used ‘terrible judgment’ in screening The Third Jihad to nearly 1,500 recruits.
‘As soon as they found out about it, they stopped it,’ added Mr. Bloomberg.
Scroll down for video
Image: In the video, the White House is shown with a black flag flying overhead and the words Islam Will Dominate
The movie – which was played during counter-terrorism training seminars – features scenes of Christians being shot in the head, car bombs exploding and a doctored picture of a black Islamic flag is shown flying over the White House.
Egypt Releases 27 Copts Falsely Detained in Maspero Massacre
By Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) -- The Cairo Criminal Court decided this week to accept the appeal and release, pending investigations, the remaining 27 Coptic detainees arrested in connection with the events of Maspero Massacre on October 9, where 27 Copts were killed and 329 injured (AINA 10-10-2011).
This decision was hailed by the church and the various Coptic rights groups. Besides welcoming the decision of the civilian court as a just verdict considering that the detainees were all innocent, it showed, according to various Coptic organizations, the injustice of the military prosecution's investigations. A view shared among all Copts is that releasing the detainees is not enough, those responsible for the killings should be brought to justice.
Taking a moral stand: Prime Minister David Cameron said it was time to teach right from wrong
David Cameron last night called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to lead a return to the ‘moral code’ of the Bible.
In a highly personal speech about faith, the Prime Minister accused Dr Rowan Williams of failing to speak ‘to the whole nation’ when he criticised Government austerity policies and expressed sympathy with the summer rioters.
Protesters clashed with Egypt's security forces in central Cairo on Sunday after the humiliating police beating of a veiled woman in Tahrir Square triggered widespread outrage in the country's pro-democracy movement.
Egypt's security forces attack a woman in Tahrir Square Photo: REUTERS
At least ten people have been killed in three days of violence as Egypt's generals launched a clumsy and often brutal attempt to end weeks of protests against their rule.
Amid the fresh bloodshed and chaos that turned the centre of the city once more into a familiar scene of mayhem and anger, one incident, captured on film, stoked tensions more than any other.
Footage, widely broadcast on the internet, showed helmeted officers charging towards a veiled woman among the protesters in Tahrir Square earlier in the weekend. Dragging her along the ground, they beat her with their clubs and aimed kick after kick at her limp body.
Amid New Clashes in Cairo, Civilian Advisory Council Suspends Its Work
Ahmed Ali/Associated Press
Egyptian soldiers beat a protester wearing a veil in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday. The graffiti depicts members of the military ruling council and says “Killer.” More Photos »
Egyptian protesters threw rocks and firebombs at military police near Tahrir Square on Friday. More Photos »
The advisory council’s decision followed a renewed outbreak of violence both in the center of Cairo on Friday and at vote-counting centers around the country the previous night. Election monitors said the violence threatened to undermine the credibility of Egypt’s first parliamentary election since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak 10 months ago.
There was a remarkable debate in the House of Lords on Friday, which I don't think was widely reported. But it showed that Christians are coming together in a new way to try to influence foreign policy.
John Patten said: "We are facing religious cleansing in parts of the Middle East and may be entering what might be thought of as an Arab winter for Christians, Jews and other minority groups alike on a scale that we have not hitherto seen."
He suggested that the American government would never tolerate a government which persecuted homosexuals the way that Christians are persecuted across the Middle East: "We must persuade our rulers to treat religious freedoms as being just as basic as other, much vaunted human rights."
Cambridge University Dons Told Don't Shake Hands With Muslim Or Disabled Students
Huffington Post UK
Cambridge University Told Dons Not To Shake Hands With Muslim Or Disabled Students
Get UK Universities & Education Alerts
Cambridge University has warned its dons not to shake hands with Muslims or students with disabilities for fear of offending them.
The top university has cautioned its academics not to proffer their hand automatically in case the gesture causes an upset. A directive has also gone to admissions tutors which explains that some people are "culturally sensitive" to the traditional British style of greeting.
Question for written answer E-009701/2011to the CommissionRule 117
Mario Borghezio (EFD)
Subject:EU action to defend religious freedom of Coptic Christians
Across the world, Coptic Christians are protesting ever more loudly against the killings which continue to take place in Egypt and which over recent days have claimed dozens of lives.
In contrast, the European institutions are almost completely silent on the subject. Does the Commission not intend to take concrete and decisive steps to remind the Egyptian Government of its duty to protect the Coptic Christian minority, prevent any acts of violence from being perpetrated against its members and ensure that they are able fully to exercise their right to religious freedom?
Secret Video Shows Egyptian Police, Security Staging Attack on Copts
By Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) -- Millions of people world-wide have seen videos of Egyptian Army trucks chasing and crushing Christian protesters under their wheels during the events of the Maspero Massacre on October 9, which claimed the lives of 27 and injured 329 Christians (AINA 10-10-2011).
The ruling military council has denied that military forces used live ammunition against the Maspero protesters, or that personnel intentionally used armored vehicles to run over civilians. After blaming the Copts for using firearms, they later changed their story and put the blame on "unidentified" civilians who infiltrated the demonstrations, targeting both the peaceful protesters and the military police to cause a rift between the military council and the people. In all of its statements the military has cleared the army of any wrong-doings.
Secret Video Shows Egyptian Police, Security Staging Attack on Copts
By Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) -- Millions of people world-wide have seen videos of Egyptian Army trucks chasing and crushing Christian protesters under their wheels during the events of the Maspero Massacre on October 9, which claimed the lives of 27 and injured 329 Christians (AINA 10-10-2011).
The ruling military council has denied that military forces used live ammunition against the Maspero protesters, or that personnel intentionally used armored vehicles to run over civilians. After blaming the Copts for using firearms, they later changed their story and put the blame on "unidentified" civilians who infiltrated the demonstrations, targeting both the peaceful protesters and the military police to cause a rift between the military council and the people. In all of its statements the military has cleared the army of any wrong-doings.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters pressed their demand for an end to army rule in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday and some clashed briefly with police nearby, rejecting the military's choice of prime minister just two days before a parliamentary vote.
Hundreds of demonstrators camped through the night and one group marched to the nearby parliament building early in the morning to protest against the army's appointment of Kamal Ganzouri, a premier under Hosni Mubarak, to form a cabinet.
Egyptian protesters march with a huge flag during a rally at Tahrir Square in Cairo November 25, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah
By Marwa Awad and Tom Perry
CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians demanding an end to military rule packed Cairo's Tahrir square on Friday in the biggest turnout of a week of protests and violence that has killed 41 people.
The military rulers named a veteran former prime minister to head a new civilian cabinet, but that did little to appease the demonstrators who poured scorn on a name from the past.
Egypt Protests: Death Toll Rises As Clashes Between Police, Protesters Continue
Associated Press
Associated Press
CAIRO -- An American film maker has told a colleague by phone that she was arrested by Egyptian police while documenting clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Jehane Nojaim's producer Karim Amer says she was detained and her camera was confiscated.
Tahrir Square crowds vow 'fight to death' for end of military rule
Egypt's ruling junta has slowly transformed from heroes of uprising to the focus of its wrath
Tahrir Square on Sunday night as riot police and troops failed to disperse crowds demanding Egypt’s ruling generals hand over power. Photograph: Mohamed El-Ghany/Reuters
Amid the gloom, the smoke and the deafening chants of thousands around them, the middle-aged couple looked like they had been photoshopped on to the scene. He was wearing a smart jacket, she a dress and a headscarf. They both walked silently forwards across the debris, hand in hand and staring straight ahead. Each was carrying a rock.
Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Agincourt and Liberal Critic for Multiculturalism
It was with great dismay that I learned that Coptic Christian mourners in Egypt were attacked as they marched to Tahir Square to mark the forty day anniversary of the Maspero attack which left at least 26 people dead and hundreds injured.My thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured and I wish them a speedy recovery.
The right to practice one’s religion in peace is a basic human right. The Egyptian authorities must seek out those who perpetrated the Maspero attack and yesterday’s attack on the mourners; bring them to justice and ensure that they bear the full weight of the law.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.