Egypt

Egyptians vote on divisive constitution

Cairo: Egyptians voted on Saturday on a constitution promoted by its Islamist backers as the way out of a prolonged political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab world's biggest nation. Queues formed outside polling stations in Cairo and other cities and soldiers joined police to secure the referendum process after deadly protests during the build up. Street brawls again erupted on Friday...  

Egypt opposition urges 'no' vote on constitution

Cairo: Egypt's main opposition alliance called for a "No" vote in the referendum on a disputed constitution rather than a boycott, hours after Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's government forged ahead by starting overseas voting in diplomatic missions for expatriates. The opposition's decision did not dispel the atmosphere of a nation in crisis, deeply polarized over the referendum that has stoked three weeks of turmoil on the streets. The opposition still...  

Egyptian army to host unity talks as crisis deepens

Cairo: Egypt's army chief will host national unity talks on Wednesday, seeking to end a growing political and economic crisis in the Arab world's most populous nation. The meeting scheduled for 1430 GMT was called in response to a wave of protests since President Mohamed Morsi awarded himself sweeping powers on November 22 to push through a new constitution shaped by his Islamist allies, which is due to go to...  

Gunmen attack Egyptian opposition protesters

Cairo: Masked gunmen attacked opposition protesters camped out at Cairo's Tahrir Square early on Tuesday, firing birdshot at them and wounding nine people, security officials said. The attack stoked tensions just hours ahead of rival mass rallies in the Egyptian capital by supporters and opponents of the country's Islamist president over a disputed draft constitution. The charter has vastly polarized the nation and triggered some of the worst violence since...  

Egypt's president behaves like his predecessors

Cairo: The freshly scrawled graffiti depicting Mohammed Morsi as a pharaonic Saddam Hussein tells the tale of high hopes dashed with record speed: Barely six months after becoming Egypt's first democratically elected president, the Islamist is widely accused of abandoning pledges of inclusive government for doctrinaire and authoritarian ways. Some say it should come as no surprise: heavy-handed rule has a history in Egypt and in much of the region...  

Egypt President cancels decree that sparked protests

Cairo: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has cancelled a decree that gave him sweeping powers and sparked huge protests, but did not delay a referendum on a constitution as his opponents had demanded. The announcement came from the spokesman for politicians and other figures who took part in a national dialogue on Saturday convened by the Islamist president. But the main opposition group stayed away, so the talks had little credibility...  

Morsi to authorise army to take on security role

Cairo: Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi, facing street protests over his attempts to push through a new constitution, will soon authorise the armed forces to help police keep order, the state-run newspaper al-Ahram reported on Saturday. The daily said the cabinet had also approved a legal measure. The armed forces would help 'maintain security and protect vital state institutions' and would be given powers of arrest, but it was not clear...  

Protesters surge around Egypt's presidential palace

Cairo: Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters surged around the presidential palace on Friday and the opposition rejected President Mohamed Mursi's call for dialogue to end a crisis that has polarised the nation and sparked deadly clashes. The Islamist leader's deputy said he could delay a December 15 referendum on a constitution that liberals opposed, although the concession only partly meets a list of opposition demands that include scrapping a...  

Obama calls Morsi over Egypt deaths

Washington: US President Barack Obama called his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Morsi expressing concern over death of protesters and emphasised on ending violence. "The President emphasised that all political leaders in Egypt should make clear to their supporters that violence is unacceptable," White House said on Thursday after the phone call, noting Obama expressed his deep concern about the deaths and injuries of protesters in Egypt. "He welcomed President Morsi's call...  

Egypt:100,000 protest outside president's palace

Cairo: More than 100,000 Egyptians protested outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Tuesday, fueling tensions over Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi's seizure of nearly unrestricted powers and the adoption by his allies of a controversial draft constitution. The outpouring of anger across the Egyptian capital, the Mediterranean port of Alexandria and a string of other cities pointed to a prolonged standoff between the president and a newly united opposition. Morsi's...  

Egyptian papers suspend publication in protest

Cairo: Several independent Egyptian newspapers suspended publication on Tuesday as protesters prepared for marches amid mounting anger over the hurried drafting of the country's new constitution adopted by an Islamist-led panel. The media protest involved at least eight influential dailies and was part of a planned campaign of civil disobedience that could bring in other industries and build on an ongoing strike by Egypt's judges. The country's privately owned TV...  

Egypt's top court shuts down, blames protesters

Cairo: Protests by Islamists allied to President Mohamed Mursi forced Egypt's highest court to adjourn its work indefinitely on Sunday, intensifying a conflict between some of the country's top judges and the head of state. The Supreme Constitutional Court said it would not convene until its judges could operate without "psychological and material pressure", saying protesters had stopped the judges from reaching the building. Several hundred Mursi supporters had protested...  

Egypt's president sets date for constitution vote

Cairo: Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi called on Saturday for a referendum in two weeks on a disputed draft constitution, as tens of thousands of his supporters celebrated the decision. Morsi set the date as December 15 in a nationally televised speech to the Islamist-led assembly that hurriedly approved the draft charter amid widening opposition from secular and Christian groups. Egypt's Constitutional Court was due to rule Sunday on whether to...  

Hamas complains to Egypt after Israeli army kills Gazan

Gaza: Hamas accused Israel on Saturday of violating the shaky, Egyptian-brokered Gaza truce of November 21 after Israeli troops killed a Palestinian taking part in a protest at the enclave's border fence. Medical officials said the 21-year-old man had been among six Palestinians wounded by gunfire during Friday's demonstration near southern Rafah, and had later died in hospital. The Israeli military said the Palestinians had tried to vandalise the fortified...  

Egypt assembly seeks to wrap up constitution

Cairo: The assembly writing Egypt's constitution said it could wrap up a final draft later on Wednesday, a move the Muslim Brotherhood sees as a way out of a crisis over a decree by President Mohamed Mursi that protesters say gives him dictatorial powers. But as Mursi's opponents staged a sixth day of protests in Tahrir Square, critics said the Islamist-dominated assembly's bid to finish the constitution quickly could make...  

Egypt mass protests challenge Islamist president

Cairo: More than 100,000 people flocked to Cairo's central Tahrir square on Tuesday, chanting against Egypt's Islamist president in a powerful show of strength by the opposition demanding Mohammed Morsi revoke edicts granting himself near autocratic powers. Waving Egypt's red, white and black flags, crowds of protesters marched across Cairo to stream into the iconic plaza, as opposition to the decrees issued last week turned into a broader expression of...  

Egypt's Islamists seek to defuse crisis over decree

Cairo: Egypt's ruling Islamists tried to defuse a political crisis on Monday, with President Mohamed Morsi backing a compromise over his seizure of extended powers and his Muslim Brotherhood calling off a planned demonstration. Morsi provoked outrage last week that led to violent protests when he issued a decree that put beyond judicial review any decision he takes until a new parliament is elected, drawing charges he had given himself...  

Egypt's president stands by his decrees

Cairo: Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi told the country's top judges on Monday that he did not infringe on their authority when he seized near absolute powers, setting the stage for a prolonged showdown on the eve of mass protests planned by both supporters and opponents of the Islamist leader. The uncompromising stance came during a meeting between Morsi and members of the Supreme Judiciary Council in a bid to resolve...  

Egypt President Mursi to meet judges over power grab

Cairo: Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will meet senior judges on Monday to try to ease a crisis over his seizure of new powers which has set off violent protests reminiscent of last year's revolution which brought him to power. Egypt's stock market plunged on Sunday in its first day open since Mursi issued a decree late on Thursday temporarily widening his powers and shielding his decisions from judicial review, drawing...