Holy Land clerics bless Palestinian UN bid
JERUSALEM: Priests in the Holy Land used their sermons on Sunday to give their blessing to the Palestinians' bid for United Nations membership. The retired Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel…
130 Copts abandon Orthodox Church over divorce rights
CAIRO: The Coptic Orthodox Church was served with court papers relaying the decision by 130 Copts to abandon the Church, leaving them without belonging to a recognized sect. The decision…
Oxfam rings alarm bell on hunger in Yemen
SANAA: One in every three Yemenis goes hungry every day because of months of political stalemate that has pushed the economy to the verge of collapse and the government towards…
Israel faces holiday palm shortage as Egypt bans export
JERUSALEM: An Egyptian decision to ban the export of closed palm fronds used in an upcoming Jewish festival is forcing Israel to seek ways to make up the shortfall, its…
Turkey strives for alliance with Egypt: top diplomat
WASHINGTON: Turkey's top diplomat predicted in an interview published Sunday that his country would form an alliance with a reformed Egypt, creating a new democratic axis of power in the…
At least 20 killed in anti-Saleh march in Yemen
SANAA: At least 20 protesters were killed in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, when security forces opened fire on one of the biggest demonstrations against President Ali Abdullah Saleh…
Ex-Egyptian ambassador to Israel, Bassiouni, dies
CAIRO: Mohammed Bassiouni, a former Egyptian ambassador to Israel, has died in Cairo. He was 74. Egypt's MENA state news agency quoted his son Hatem as saying Bassiouni died Sunday…
US ambassador highlights importance of economic opportunities in democratic transitions
CAIRO: In her first address to the American Chamber of Commerce last Thursday, US Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson said that democratic transitions rely on economic opportunities. “Egyptians today are…
MENA at risk of natural disasters, says report
CAIRO: By 2050, the number of people exposed to storms and earthquakes, particularly in coastal areas, could more than double to 1.5 billion, a report said. This is also true…
Ayman Nour’s retrial adjourned to Oct. 16
CAIRO: The Appeals Court adjourned Sunday the retrial of presidential hopeful and opposition leader Ayman Nour to Oct. 16, when a verdict is expected. Nour was previously found guilty of…