Recent series of raids and long jail terms fan fears that gay people may be new target of authoritarian government Egypt's gay community fears it is the latest target of the country's authoritarian government following a series of recent raids on gay people. Activists interviewed by the Guardian said they had documented up to nine raids across the country since October 2013 an unusually high rate of...
Claim and counter-claim has attended the delayed publication of a report on the likely impact of the Grand Renaissance dam The opening sentence of Egypt's new constitution describes the country as the river Nile's gift to Egyptians. It is a grand claim, but one that helps explain Egypt's indignation at the ongoing construction of a blockage on the Nile, thousands of miles upstream: the $4.7bn (£2.8bn)...
Claim comes amid widespread anger at crackdown that has seen 16,000 arrested Two male political dissidents claim they were raped in Egyptian police custody in separate assaults that campaigners suspect are indicative of a wider strategy as the brutal crackdown on opposition continues. Plainclothes officers allegedly assaulted Omar el-Shouekh, 19, inside an east Cairo police station on 24 March, minutes...
Animated game version joins tat such as Sisi underpants and Sisi branded fast-food in milking general's cult-like status On Egyptian streets Abdel Fatah al-Sisi the top general who ousted ex-president Mohamed Morsi last summer reached superhuman status months ago. Now the digital world has caught up: developers have released a Sisi-themed arcade-style game for Android users, billing the strongman as...
Amnesty International condemns prosecution of three al-Jazeera journalists charged with spreading false news Amnesty International has condemned the prosecution of three al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt as a "vindictive farce" as the trial resumed on Thursday before being adjourned until later this month. Continue reading... ...
Peter Greste and two other journalists still denied bail in Egypt after evidence shown in trial includes video of trotting horse Three al-Jazeera journalists detained in Egypt said they are being held arbitrarily after the prosecution's case against them turned out to include footage of a trotting horse by Sky News Arabia, a Somalia documentary from the BBC, and excerpts of a speech by a Kenyan government...
Abdel-Rahman Shaheen, who worked for Al-Jazeera, is latest in spate of journalists arrested in Egypt Egyptian authorities have arrested a journalist who worked for Al-Jazeera for allegedly inciting and taking part in violence, the country's official news agency reported. The Mena report said Abdel-Rahman Shaheen, detained in the Suez Canal area, was suspected of taking part and inciting attacks against...
The British Museum's next big exhibition reveals secrets that experts have been able only to guess at until now Spare a thought for the unknown adult mummified in a Theban necropolis more than 2,500 years go. Not only did he suffer the most excruciating, possibly life-threatening dental abscesses, but the embalmer botched the afterlife preparation, leaving bits of brain in his skull as well as a broken...
At least 25 people killed and 56 injured in southern Egypt following four days of violence between local ethnic groups At least 25 people have been killed in a tourist city in southern Egypt following four days of clashes between local ethnic groups, according to government officials. Fighting began on Friday in Aswan between Arab and Nubian families and continued over the weekend despite Egypt's prime...
Social unrest and famine, superstorms and droughts. Places, species and human beings none will be spared. Welcome to Occupy Earth If you're poor, the only way you're likely to injure someone is the old traditional way: artisanal violence, we could call it by hands, by knife, by club, or maybe modern hands-on violence, by gun or by car. But if you're tremendously wealthy, you can practice industrial-scale...
The chants for bread and freedom which rang around Tahrir Square will never be heard in the exclusive shopping mall, luxury apartments and golf course of Uptown Cairo and Emaar Square In mid-February, the developer behind the worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, signed a deal with the Egyptian defence ministry . The agreement clears the way for the construction of Emaar Square, the...
The death sentence handed down to 529 protesters by an Egyptian court ( Report , 24 March) should have produced much more than mumbled regret from the British government. This was a political show trial in which less than half the defendants were present in court. Their defence lawyers were not in the court either. The trial has been condemned by Amnesty International. The protesters were not, as...
Egyptian Islamist group says it will take UK government to court if it tries to restrict its activities Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has hit back against Downing Street's investigation into whether it is on a path towards violent extremism and warned it will take the British government to court if it tries to restrict its activities in the UK. The Brotherhood, whose leader Mohamed Morsi won the 2012...
A battle for the judiciary between the old guard and the Muslim Brotherhood is adding ever more layers of pessimism to my country's future In the days of Hosni Mubarak's long rule, Egypt's National Democratic party of which he was chairman was never a political party, not in the sense that people in the west understand the term. It was a vast collection of interest groups with no real ideology. Socialists,...
David Cameron orders an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood, saying he wants to establish a complete picture of the organisation. Answering questions during a press conference at number 10 on Tuesday, he says the government is committed to encouraging people away from the path of extremism. 'We want to challenge the extremist narrative that some Islamist organisations have put out,' he told reporters...
Foreign affairs analyst believes government inquiry runs risk of unfairly associating community groups with terrorism Reaction in Cairo to news of the British government's planned investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood was a mix of bemusement and concern. In late December four months after the bloody crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi in which hundreds died Egypt's military-led...
The parents of an Australian journalist detained by Egyptian authorities have expressed their disappointment that he and his colleagues were denied bail for a fourth time. Lois and Juris Greste, parents of al-Jazeera reporter Peter Greste, said they had yet to hear any 'tangible evidence' against their son. Peter Greste is accused of helping members of a terrorist organisation, in this case the Muslim...
Review to look into party's alleged links to extremism amid speculation group could be banned in Britain David Cameron has ordered Whitehall officials to launch an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood drawing on assessments by MI5 and MI6. A Downing Street source confirmed that the review would examine allegations that the Muslim Brotherhood was behind the murder of three tourists on a bus in...
Hopes for his release dashed despite phone call from prime minister to Egyptian president The parents of detained Australian journalist Peter Greste say they are dumbfounded by an Egyptian court's refusal to grant him bail. Juris and Lois Greste had hoped their son would be released from jail after the prime minister, Tony Abbott, called interim Egyptian president Adly Mansour last week about the...
From a War on Terror to a war on leaks, now comes America's shadow influence on a media crackdown Today, Egypt resumes its trial of the three al-Jazeera journalists it has held in captivity since December on the grounds that their coverage threatened national security. Media outlets, advocacy groups and foreign governments including the United States have all condemned the arrests and criticized the...