Latest Cairo Stories

By Mohammed Abbas and Samer Elatrash CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt plans to expel about 650 Sudanese, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday, despite assuring the United Nations' refugee agency it would not do so after at least 27 refugees were killed last week when police ended a protest. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Fatma el-Zahraa Etman said the Sudanese would be repatriated by boat on Thursday. "There are 645 Sudanese who are going to go back to Sudan. They are leaving by boat on Thursday ... They...

By Mohammed Abbas and Samer Elatrash CAIRO (Reuters) - The United Nations' refugee agency has received assurances from Egypt that Sudanese refugees would not be deported to Sudan despite media reports to the contrary, a spokesperson for the agency said on Tuesday. Egypt's state owned Al-Ahram newspaper said in Tuesday's edition that an unspecified number of refugees were being held in a military camp near Cairo airport in preparation for deportation within two days. "There are various...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Ten died and around 30 were injured on Friday after Egyptian police dispersed thousands of Sudanese protesters in Cairo, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) said. "There was a stampede amongst the protesters which led to 30 being injured ... They were taken to hospital where 10 of them died," MENA said quoting a security source.

By Jonathan Wright CAIRO (Reuters) - With a mixture of black comedy, sexual titillation and old-fashioned patriotism, film director Mohamed Amin has struck a chord with Egyptian audiences with his new fantasy political film "The Night Baghdad Fell." At screenings in the Cairo film festival this month and at a preview for journalists on Tuesday evening, audiences clapped and cheered at the tale of a plucky Egyptian family which defies all the odds to build a secret weapon to deter U.S....

By Mohammed Abbas CAIRO (Reuters) - The Arab world's first regional parliament held its inaugural meeting in Cairo on Tuesday but officials say it could be many years before the new institution gains enough clout to influence events in the region. The 88 members, four from the parliaments or advisory councils of each Arab League member, met at the league's Cairo headquarters for a session addressed by Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The interim...

By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's opposition Islamists increased their seats in parliament nearly six-fold after an election marred by violence, but President Hosni Mubarak's party retained a big majority, official results showed on Thursday. A rights group said at least eight people were killed on Wednesday in clashes with security forces who cordoned off polling stations in areas with strong Muslim Brotherhood support. The Brotherhood says it won 11 seats, bolstering its...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Police firing live rounds killed two men near a provincial capital north of Cairo on Wednesday, raising the death toll in parliamentary election clashes to at least four, a security source said. Mohamed Karam al-Taher, 25, was shot by live fire in the town of Abu Hammad, near the capital of Sharqiya governorate Zagazig, the official security source in Sharqiya, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. He added that Mohamed Mahdi Gazer, 16, was killed in al-Khatawiya,...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Police firing a live round killed a man in a town north of Cairo on Wednesday, raising the death toll in parliamentary election clashes to at least three, a security source said. Mohamed Karam al-Taher, 25, was shot by live fire in the town of Abu Hammad, near the capital of Sharqiya governorate Zagazig, the official security source in Sharqiya, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. The Interior Ministry has so far said only two people have died in shootings and...

By Mohammed Abbas KAFR EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Voters fought with riot police restricting access to the polls in the last stage of Egyptian elections on Thursday and the Muslim Brotherhood said the government was trying to limit Islamist gains in parliament. One man was shot to death outside a polling station where police were holding voters back, the third death in the elections. Rights activists said police shot the man, but the authorities denied it. The Muslim Brotherhood has...

By Mohammed Abbas KAFR EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Voters fought with riot police restricting access to the polls in the last stage of Egyptian elections on Thursday and the Muslim Brotherhood said the government was trying to limit Islamist gains in parliament. One man was shot dead outside a polling station where police were holding voters back, the third death in the elections. Rights activists said police had shot the man, but the authorities denied it. The Muslim Brotherhood has...