February 3, 2013 CAIRO // Two years ago, Omar Suleiman hurried out the doors of Egypt’s intelligence headquarters to an armoured Mercedes 350 and a BMW X5 idling on a ramp reserved only for the vehicles of the country’s most powerful men. Instead of sliding into the back seat of the BMW, as he had … Continue reading
January 26, 2013 CAIRO // As the world he knew was overturned during the 2011 uprising against the regime of Hosni Mubarak and the investigations that followed, Farouk Hosny sought solace in painting. Mr Hosny, 73, served as Mubarak’s culture minister for 23 years but says he is now “free as never before”, even though … Continue reading
January 25, 2013 CAIRO // Twice, the jailed Habib El Adly turned down requests for interviews from investigators probing the tumultuous events of 2011 that transformed Egypt forever.But several weeks after the first petitions in early August last year, the warden of Cairo’s Tora Prison, where El Adly is being held, sent a message saying … Continue reading
January 23, 2013 CAIRO // Two carriages of a rusting, decrepit train part from the tracks and collide with a stationary cargo train, killing 19 young security recruits. Another train ploughs into a school bus in a village in Upper Egypt, killing 51, mostly children. An eight-storey building collapses in Alexandria, ending the lives of … Continue reading
January 15, 2013 CAIRO // The decision to retry Hosni Mubarak has prompted fears that the former president may never be held legally accountable for his alleged role in the deaths of more than 800 Egyptian protesters nearly two years ago. By accepting an appeal from Mubarak, the Court of Cassation has also opened the possibility … Continue reading
January 4, 2013 CAIRO // The Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, is walking a diplomatic tightrope with the United Arab Emirates as he weighs Cairo’s response to the arrests of several Egyptians accused of links to the Muslim Brotherhood. UAE authorities have arrested a cell of least 10 people since November, according to newspaper reports this … Continue reading
December 27, 2012 CAIRO // Egypt’s new constitution has been called the beginning of a repressive Islamist state, the greatest constitution in the country’s history and a middling document unworthy of the uprising that unseated Hosni Mubarak. It may turn out to be none of these things, but it does set the outlines for the power … Continue reading
December 20, 2012 CAIRO // Erratic government by Mohammed Morsi is sowing doubt and mistrust abroad and threatening the new president’s ability to achieve desperately needed economic recovery. A Swiss court has denied Egypt access to crucial documents related to its investigation into Mubarak-era corruption because of Mr Morsi’s attempts to interfere with the judiciary. … Continue reading
December 7, 2012 CAIRO // Nearly two years ago, the uprising against the regime of Hosni Mubarak saw protesters from across the political spectrum – leftists and Islamists, shop vendors and doctors – fighting in the streets around Tahrir Square against black-clad riot police. They were unified in their disgust with the pitiful results of … Continue reading
November 14, 2012 CAIRO // Egypt’s corruption investigators are examining the sale of a private jet in 2011 by a business tycoon tied to the regime of Hosni Mubarak as part of a money-laundering investigation, officials say. Hussein Salem was in 2011 and 2012 convicted in absentia in several criminal cases by Egyptian courts for obtaining wealth … Continue reading
