American tourists kidnapped in Egypt: Gunmen take two women hostage in Sinai. UPDATE: The women have been released. Read the story here. CAIRO — Gunmen in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula kidnapped two American women on Friday in an apparent attempt to hold them for ransom, security sources said. Security in the isolated desert region has deteriorated since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising last February.
South Sinai’s Red Sea coast is a major tourism hub for Egypt. The two tourists were among a party of five travelling from Saint Catherine’s monastery in central Sinai to the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh when a vehicle carrying men armed with machineguns stopped their small bus, the sources said. The gunmen first took all the tourists’ money and valuables and then, as an apparent afterthought, grabbed the two women, forced them into their vehicle and fled into the mountains, the security officials said. Two army and police search parties had gone into the area to try to track them down, the officials said. © Thomson Reuters 2012.
Blast hits gas pipeline between Egypt, Jordan, Israel. 2 kidnapped Americans released in Egypt, authorities say. From Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Ivan Watson, CNN February 3, 2012 -- Updated 1618 GMT (0018 HKT) NEW: The two hostages have been freed, an official saysThe Americans had been kidnapped in the Sinai peninsula, authorities saidAnother group was abducted this week (CNN) -- Two American tourists who were kidnapped in the southern part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula were freed Friday, a security official said. They had been abducted by unknown Bedouins, said Gen. Mohamed Naguib, head of security in the region. The kidnappers had demanded that some detainees be released and retried, but it is unclear if these calls were met. Earlier Friday, the country's tourism minister said on Al Hayat Egyptian TV that authorities had located the kidnappers and were negotiating with them.
The abductions came several days after kidnappers held a larger group for a day. A group of armed Bedouins had blocked the road on which they were traveling. "Thankfully, we got them back last night," he said. "Its scary. Egypt to try 43 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, over funds. CAIRO (AP) — Ignoring a stern U.S. threat, Egypt on Sunday referred 43 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, to trial before a criminal court for allegedly using illegal foreign funds to foment unrest. The decision marked a sharp escalation of the dispute between Cairo and Washington over Egypt‘s crackdown on U.S. -funded groups promoting democracy and human rights. The two countries have been close allies for more than three decades, but the campaign against the organizations has angered Washington and jeopardized the $1.5 billion in aid Egypt is set to receive from the U.S. this year.
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Egypt‘s foreign minister that failure to resolve the dispute may lead to the loss of American aid. “We are doing our best to contain this but … we cannot actually exercise any influence on the investigating judges right now when it comes to the investigation,” Mr. All 43 have been banned from leaving the country. The decision to move Mr. US seeks 'clarification' on Egypt activist trials. Egyptians cancel meetings with U.S. lawmakers after aid warnings. Muslim Brotherhood Warns U.S. Aid Cut May Affect Egypt’s Peace Treaty With Israel. Egyptian students shout anti-military slogans during a protest at Cairo University on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. Egyptian authorities accuse U.S. and other foreign-funded non-governmental organizations of fomenting protests in the country. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) (CNSNews.com) – A top Muslim Brotherhood official has warned that any cuts in U.S. aid to Egypt could affect Cairo’s peace treaty with Israel – the latest sign that Egypt’s emerging political forces intend to call Washington’s bluff over the diplomatic dispute triggered by a crackdown on non-governmental organizations .
Egyptian judges have referred 16 Americans and 27 others linked to NGOs for trial, accusing them of using foreign funds to encourage disruptive protests. Among the targeted NGOs whose assets and funds have been seized are the U.S. government-funded International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute. Egyptians don’t want US aid Sen. Highway bill stalled in Senate over Paul's Egypt amendment - The Hill's Floor Action. Republican firebrand Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday suggested he plans to continue his delay of the Senate's business unless he is granted a vote on his amendment to strip Egypt of foreign aid for 30 days in retribution for the country's detention of 19 American pro-democracy workers.
Several Democrats have blasted Paul, although not by name, in the last two-days, claiming his demand for a vote on the amendment is not germane and delaying a "jobs bill. " For example on Monday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said such dilatory tactics were "beneath the United States Senate of America" without naming Paul specifically.
Paul fired back from the floor on Tuesday, saying that the situation in Egypt requires the upper chamber's urgent attention. "I don't think this is too much to ask the Senate, to spend 10 minutes [voting]," Paul said. The Paul amendment would strip Egypt of all foreign aid for 30 days or until it releases the 19 pro-democracy workers. Key US Republican seeks 'punitive action' on Egypt. News from The Associated Press. CAIRO (AP) -- A homemade bomb exploded near a traffic police post on a bridge over the Nile River in central Cairo early Tuesday, wounding two policemen and a civilian, security officials said. Police sealed off the blast site on the al-Galaa bridge in the Dokki neighborhood, and a bomb disposal team combed the area to make sure there were no other explosive devices, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Egypt's MENA state news agency said two policemen were wounded in the explosion, but made no mention of a civilian casualty. Such discrepancies are common in the aftermath of similar attacks. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. Islamic militants have carried out a series of bombings - with both crude devices and more sophisticated ones - in recent months targeting Egypt's security forces. The military-backed government already has declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization. Egypt trial on U.S. democracy activists set for February 26. Scores killed in Egypt football violence - Middle East. At least 73 people have been killed in clashes after a football game in the northern Egyptian city of Port Said, medics say. About 1,000 others were injured in Wednesday's violence, including police. At least two players suffered light injuries. Fans of the winning al-Masry team flooded the field seconds after the match with al-Ahly, Egypt's top team, was over.
A security official said the fans chased the players and cornered their supporters on the field and around the stadium,throwing stones and bottles at them. Thousands of supporters covered the field, as seen in a video posted online. "This is unfortunate and deeply saddening. He said most of the injuries were caused by concussion and deep cuts.
Al-Ahly football players were trapped in the changing room along with supporters. 'War, not football' Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt's ruling military council, sent army helicopters to transfer al-Ahly football players and injured fans from Port Said. History of clashes. Egypt: Cairo rages as football disaster bodies come home. Clashes in Egypt as Mourners Unleash Fury Over Soccer Melee. Moises Saman for The New York Times Protesters removed barricades and barbed wire set up by security forces near the Ministry of Interior in Cairo on Thursday. More Photos » In Suez, two protesters were wounded by birdshot and two others by live ammunition, the Health Ministry said, while in Cairo more than 600 were injured by tear gas and stampeding crowds.
The fans, known as ultras, began their demonstration in the capital by directing their fury in part at the Port Said club’s supporters, who attacked a visiting Cairo club, Al Ahly, on Wednesday night. But by the time their march reached the barbed-wire barriers protecting the Interior Ministry, the soccer rivalries were forgotten in a battle against their shared enemy, the police. Rumors that the police had deliberately abetted the violence at the match on Wednesday circulated through the crowd but were impossible to confirm. About 70 people were killed in the riot on Wednesday. In the year since the uprising against Mr. Egypt's Brotherhood says it should govern. Islamists in Egypt halt filming of TV series. Egyptian Christians to be forced to leave?
Text smaller Text bigger Analysts have begun warning that the recent increase in violent protests in Egypt is putting the nation’s millennia-old minority Christian community in great danger, and members may be forced to leave their homeland. “Tolerance is not a characteristic Islamists embrace,” said Michael Rubin, Middle East analyst for the American Enterprise Institute. “Just as Arab nationalists drove Jews out of Arab countries in the 20th century, Islamists will drive Christians out in the 21st. I’m afraid a millennium-old community in Egypt will soon disappear.” The worrisome warnings come in light of the move last year to depose former President Hosni Mubarak, who had a working relationship with the West.
International Christian Concern’s Aidan Clay, who recently returned from a trip to Egypt, says almost anything now can ignite the spark for further violence, including a soccer match. “Islamists are like Koolaid. Clay said Mina’s sister put it well. “‘Anything can happen in Egypt. Alaa Al Aswany: Are They Really Religious? Last summer a friend of mine was driving his elderly mother from the north coast to Cairo and on the way his mother, a diabetic, suddenly felt ill. He looked for a pharmacy and when he found one he went in and found a bearded pharmacist. My friend asked him if he would give his mother an insulin injection. Amazingly, the pharmacist answered, "Sorry, but I don't give injections to women because that's against sharia. Go find your mother a female doctor. " My friend tried his best to persuade the pharmacist, telling him they were in a remote area and it would be hard to find a female doctor, and that his mother, more than seventy years old, surely would not represent a sexual temptation to the pharmacist.
Still, he refused to administer the insulin. The same strange logic turned up this week in the Ministry of the Interior. Didn't they see how their colleagues killed demonstrators and how innocent people were tortured in police stations and in State Security premises? Street battles rage on outside Cairo Interior Ministry - EGYPT. Egyptians protest against a year of army rule. Deadly Egypt soccer riot leaves more than 70 dead. By Sarah El Deeb Andrew Barr/National PostViolence erupted at a stadium in Port Said, Egypt, killing more than 70 people at a soccer match.
At least 74 people were killed and 248 injured after soccer fans rushed the field in the seaside city of Port Said Wednesday following an upset victory by the home team over Egypt’s top club, setting off clashes and a stampede as riot police largely failed to intervene. It was a bloody reminder of the deteriorating security in the Arab world’s most populous country as instability continues nearly a year after former President Hosni Mubarak was swept out of power in a popular uprising.
The melee – which followed an Egyptian league match between Al-Masry, the home team in the Mediterranean city, and Al-Ahly, based in Cairo and one of Egypt’s most popular team – was the worst case of soccer violence in Egypt and the deadliest worldwide since 1996. One player said it was “like a war.” Egypt is not immune to soccer violence. “This is not about soccer.