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The glamorous young wife of Gamal Mubarak, son of the Egyptian president, is set to become the first lady of the Middle East if, as expected, her husband becomes Egypt’s next leader. ***Gamal’s 27-year-old wife Khadija, a wealthy society beauty with a business degree from the American University in Cairo, has kept a low profile and refused all interviews since their wedding two years ago. She rarely appears in the glossy magazines that chronicle Cairo’s elite and is seldom photographed at social events. That may be about to change if her husband stands for president. In a rare public appearance...

Egypt on Tuesday stepped up pressure on Barack Obama, US president, to bring out his own initiative on the Arab-Israeli conflict, even as the government of Benjamin Netanyahu signalled a change of position on the central issue of settlements. On a visit to the White House, Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s president, urged Mr Obama to present a blueprint of his own for Middle East peace, Egyptian officials said. “We cannot afford wasting more time, because violence will increase,” Mr Mubarak said at a joint press appearance in the Oval Office. Referring to what he said were Israeli proposals for an accommodation...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama won lavish praise from his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday and spoke of an "extraordinary opportunity" for making peace in the Middle East, saying he was encouraged by U.S. efforts to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Seated next to President Hosni Mubarak, who was making his first visit to the U.S. capital in five years, Obama thanked his Egyptian counterpart for joining him in trying to construct a deal that has eluded world leaders for more than six decades. Returning the compliment, Mubarak asserted that Obama's speech to the Muslim world — delivered in...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is trying to restore Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak as the U.S. ace-in-the-hole in its decades-long effort to forge an elusive peace among Israel and the Arabs. After a serious falling out over Bush administration pressure on human rights and democracy in Egypt, Mubarak is back in the U.S. capital for the first time in more than five years to meet with Obama on Tuesday. The relationship is far from healed, despite Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton having eased back on those touchy issues and Egypt showing greater willingness to help with the...

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, several hours before his scheduled meeting on Monday with U.S. President Barack Obama, said that the Arab world will not make any gestures towards Israel until a regional treaty is signed. A Middle East peace pact must include Israeli agreement on the Arab demand for the right of millions of foreign Arabs to immigrate to Israel and the demand that the Palestinian Authority have control over all of eastern Jerusalem, Egyptian officials said.

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama will welcome Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak August 18 to discuss the Middle East peace process, the "war on terrorism," and other issues, the White House said Monday. "The two leaders will discuss the full range of issues of common concern -- including Middle East peace, combating extremism and other regional threats, and promoting reform across the Arab world -- as well as how to strengthen the bilateral relationship," spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement. "The president looks forward to building on his discussions with President Mubarak during his visit to Cairo on June...

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will not be among 3,000 people to attend U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic speech shortly after noon Thursday, a possible bad omen for the American leader trying to win respect in the Muslim world. The official reason for his absence is the death of his 12-year-old grandson, but the child died in mid-May after health complications. Mubarak’s eldest son Jamal will stand in for his father, according to the independent Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm. Jamal is viewed as the future heir to take over as president of Egypt.

President Barack Obama’s forthcoming address to the Muslim world in Cairo will be next week’s headline-hogging foreign policy event. Yet as far as long-term U.S. strategy in the Middle East is concerned, Obama’s address will be second fiddle to a far more consequential — even if less publicized — event: his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. For the administration, this will be a critical opportunity for assessing Mubarak’s physical health and, in turn, the probability of political upheaval in Egypt in the near future. Since the sudden death of his 12-year-old grandson on May 18th, Mubarak has made only...

On Friday night, prominent Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour was attacked in Giza, sustaining first-degree burns to his face and losing 20% of his hair after a young assailant sprayed him with flames from a pesticide aerosol. Naturally, the immediate suspect is the Egyptian government, which has persecuted Nour and his Ghad party relentlessly since Nour finished a distant second to President Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 elections. However, many analysts have been reluctant to accuse the regime of ordering the attack for three key reasons:

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak congratulated Israel on its 61st anniversary of statehood Wednesday. In a letter of greeting sent to President Shimon Peres he wrote, "I am pleased to express my congratulations for Independence Day". Mubarak added, "At this opportunity I would like to express anew my expectation for the return of the Middle East peace process to a path that will lead to an end to the violence and bloodshed, in a manner that will allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that will exist alongside Israel in peace and security." Aside from the Egyptian president, Peres has...

CAIRO (AFP) – President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday confirmed an invitation to Israel's right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come to Egypt, but without his firebrand Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "The Israeli prime minister might come to see us in May," Mubarak said, confirming Israeli statements that Netanyahu had been invited to visit the Jewish state's most important Arab ally "in the next few weeks." "Some say... that he will bring his foreign minister with him," Mubarak said during a speech to mark the end of Israel's 15-year occupation of the Sinai peninsula in 1982 "The Israeli prime minister is...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - U.S. President Barack Obama has invited the leaders of Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to Washington for separate consultation meetings on the Middle East peace process. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday that the dates of Obama's meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are being worked out. "With each of them, the president will discuss ways the United States can strengthen and deepen our partnerships with them, as well as the steps all parties must take to help achieve peace between Israelis...

CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday called on citizens to join a national strike protesting the policies of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled the country for nearly three decades. The Islamist group "calls on the people of Egypt on April 6 to express their anger and objection to the policies of the regime which has squandered the country's riches, neglected its national security and removed Egypt from its role as leader and pioneer (of the region)," a statement said.

When Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir arrived in Cairo yesterday noon for talks with President Hosni Mubarak it was his second overseas trip since the arrest warrant indicting him for war crimes and crimes against humanity was issued on 4 March by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The message Al-Bashir is sending by making consecutive trips to Asmara and Cairo is, his aides say, one of "defiance" against the ICC warrant. Official Sudanese statements suggest Al-Bashir's defiance may well extend to the annual Arab summit in Doha on 30 March despite orchestrated appeals by the masses and an unprecedented religious edict...

During her first visit to Egypt, as Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton's statements were understood as green light to Mubarak regime for more killing of Egyptian Copts. Afterwards, the regime didn't waste time, and immediately committed more crimes of killing Christian Copts. Contrary to President Obama calls for Human Rights respect, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played down the value of raising human rights concerns. In a press conference held in Egypt last month, she set aside a reporter's question about an official state department report that noted "serious abuses" of human rights in the Egypt. Implicitly undermining the...

A former FBI special agent told law enforcement and Homeland Security personnel that a network of Islamic organizations are working to incrementally implement Islamic law in the United States. During a presentation at the Bedford County Emergency Management Agency, former FBI agent John Guandolo briefed members about groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which he claims is working with other Islamic groups to slowly implement Shariah, also known as Islamic law, which encompasses all areas of life. Guandolo worked in the FBI since 1996, including nine years as a member of its SWAT team. After 9/11, he worked in the...

Egypt is demanding Iran bring to justice the authors of an advertisement calling on Iranians to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The advertisement was published by the Iranian Fars News agency on Sunday by a student group.

Hamas must not be allowed to win its conflict with the Israel Defense Forces, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told a delegation of European foreign ministers in a closed conversation Monday.

Demonstrators carry pictures of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak as they shout slogans in front of The Interests Section of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Tehran December 8, 2008. Demonstrators were protesting Egypt's ties with Israel. (REUTERS/Stringer) The regime-run news agency, Fars News reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran has announced a one million dollar reward for individuals who assassinate the president of Egypt. The news agency wrote: "The ceremony for the designation of the reward for the revlutionary execution of the filthy traitor, Husni Mubarak has been organized through the justice-seeking movement of the (militant Basij) students as...

The IDF's Cast Lead offensive in the Gaza Strip may have severely harmed Hamas's military capabilities and weakened its tight grip on the area, but it has also further undermined the credibility of the "moderate," pro-Western Arab regimes. Many of the "moderate" Arab leaders, including the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas, were not afraid to alienate the Arab street by blaming Hamas for the latest cycle of violence. Some of them are even reported to have gone as far as quietly urging Israel to pursue its military operation until Hamas is removed from power. Since the beginning of the operation, the...

Egypt's president struck back against critics throughout the region and said he would not fully open the crossing into the Gaza Strip unless the Palestinian Authority was in control of the border to preserve Palestinian unity. Egypt has come under heavy criticism in the Arab world over its refusal over the past year to open the Rafah crossing, which has helped complete an Israeli blockade of the territory. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also visited Egypt just before the assault, leading many to accuse Egypt of giving a green light to the attack. "We will not deepen the division and that...

Violent Riots Hit Egypt http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/violent-riots-hit-egypt/  PJM Cairo: Angry demonstrators have been clashing with police as a nationwide strike has turned into a protest against the government of President Hosni Mubarak.April 8, 2008 - by "Sandmonkey" Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers Joyous rioting in the streets. Stores destroyed. Government buildings ransacked. Pictures of the long-ruling tyrannical leader of this middle-eastern country were stepped on. The footage of what was taking place was simply exhilarating, with people expressing the hatred they felt toward their ruler for the first time in over a quarter-century. If you think I’m describing Iraq after the...

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak gave an indication that he may not attend next month's Arab Summit due to the interference of Syria into Lebanon's politics. In an interview broadcast initially in Bahrain, Mubarak said that the political crisis in Lebanon had its roots in Damascus, and that Bashar Assad needs to end his interference. Otherwise, the summit would be pointless: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Syria was part of the problem in Lebanon, calling on Damascus to help resolve the 15-month crisis before hosting an Arab summit next month. "The summit will be held in Syria and Syria is linked to...

A top Hamas delegation crossed into Egypt Thursday to meet up with Egyptian officials wanting to make clear that no further breaches of its border with the Gaza Strip will be tolerated, a security official said. The Hamas delegation, led by Mahmoud Zahar, came at the Egyptian request, after they received reports that the Islamist organization was planning to forcibly reopen the borders again at the end of the month, the official said speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "The Egyptians will tell Hamas bluntly that the old self-restraint manner is over and that...

What if Gaza were to conquer Egypt? The possibility is not as remote as it may seem just by glancing at the map. Egypt has more than 50 times the population of its former colony and 2,800 times the landmass. But Gaza is sovereign Hamas territory, Hamas is the Palestinian branch of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and Egypt -- not Israel -- is the country that has most to fear from a statelet that is at once the toehold, sanctuary and springboard of an Islamist revolution. No wonder liberal Egyptians are reacting with near-hysterical alarm to last Wednesday's demolition of the...

The Palestinian Authority has warned the Egyptians against striking a deal with Hamas over controlling the Rafah border crossing separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, a senior PA official in Ramallah said Monday. The official told The Jerusalem Post that the warning, which came on the eve of the visit of a high-level Hamas delegation to Cairo for talks on the issue of the border, was delivered to the Egyptians by the PA leadership in the past 48 hours. PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who is scheduled to visit Cairo Wednesday, will reiterate his opposition to giving Hamas any role at...

The United States expressed concern Wednesday about tens of thousands of Palestinians pouring into Egypt from Gaza across a broken barrier erected at the border. "We are concerned about that situation and frankly I know the Egyptians are as well," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. David Welch, the assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, has talked to Egyptian authorities about the situation, Casey said, but he didn't offer details. He said the Egyptians take border security seriously and that he has no indication the situation has affected Israeli-Palestinian relations for now. Tens of thousands of Palestinians...

Israeli defense officials blasted Egypt on Wednesday after it allowed Palestinian pilgrims returning from Mecca to cross into the Gaza Strip through the Hamas-controlled Rafah border crossing. The officials told the Jerusalem Post that at least two dozen senior Hamas members were part of the group of pilgrims crossing the border and were believed to be carrying tens of millions of dollars which they collected in Saudi Arabia. In addition, some of the Hamas members were believed to have traveled through Iran for military training. Among the group of pilgrims were former ministers in the Hamas government, as well as...

At the end of a rare visit to Egypt, a senior Iranian envoy said Tuesday the two regional Muslim heavyweights are making progress in normalizing diplomatic relations, cut nearly three decades ago over regional policy disagreements. "There is no major problem and everything is moving forward," Ali Larijani, from Iran's powerful National Security Council, said after talks here with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Larijani, who is also a close aide to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, described the talks as "positive and constructive." Teheran cut diplomatic ties after Cairo signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1979...

Egypt effectively condoned Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, and has since stood by and allowed Hamas to build an army, MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) wrote in a letter to the US Senate on Sunday. "Egypt's de facto behavior in the field supports Hamas," he said. Steinitz wrote the letter at the request of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), with whom he chairs a joint US-Israeli committee on defense and foreign policy. "As long as Egypt is not required to pay a real price for this behavior, weapons and financial aid will continue to flow into the hands...

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec 07, 2001 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says he warned the United States that "something would happen" 12 days before the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington. In an interview published Friday by the left-wing Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, Mubarak also said that if the Israeli defense force were to kill Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, it would be a grave mistake. Mubarak did not reveal how he learned in late August of a possible terrorist attack against the United States. He said he was taken aback by the scale of the ...

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, July 31, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice got firm commitments here today from Iraq’s neighbors that they’ll continue to support the Iraqi government and counter forces trying to derail it. (Video) Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meet with President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, July 31, 2007. Gates and Rice are in Egypt to meet with the president and the minister of defense to discuss regional affairs and the United States' long-term relationship with Egypt. Defense Dept....

Negotiations will take place in the Kremlin today between Presidents of Russia and Egypt Vladimir Putin and Hosni Mubarak. The meeting could bring numerous results. The two countries are united in their annoyance with the hegemonic role the United States plays in world politics. Moscow would like to restore at least a fraction of its former glory and Cairo thinks that Russia's return to prominence would make it the center of the superpowers' rivalry again. Military technical cooperation forms the basis of Russian-Egyptian economic relations today. The Egyptian Army is still armed with Soviet weapons, and those need modernization. Last...

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday described Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip as a "coup" and warned that the Islamic movement's conflict with Fatah movement could lead to the creation of two Palestinian entities. According to the AP, Mubarak reassured the Fatah leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of Egypt's support. "We have been following closely the repercussions of the coup over Palestinian legitimacy in Gaza and its grave setbacks on the Palestinian people," Mubarak said. "We feel sad for the shedding of the blood of Palestinians by Palestinian hands, in a fighting that has crossed all red lines ......

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak expressed great concern over the increasing strength of Hamas in talks with senior diplomatic officials on Wednesday, declaring that the organization will never sign a peace agreement with Israel. He said that the Egyptian government is at a loss regarding the future of the Gaza Strip. However, he also proclaimed that Egypt is making great efforts to end the Hamas government and support Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. "With Hamas no way," he reportedly said...

CAIRO, Egypt - An Egyptian court decided in a rare ruling Tuesday that President Hosni Mubarak's order to try 40 of the banned opposition Muslim Brotherhood's top figures before a military court was not valid. The Administrative Court said that the 40 members — 33 of whom are in custody, with seven others being tried in absentia — must be tried before a civilian court. It was not immediately clear whether Mubarak or the government would appeal the ruling. The Muslim Brotherhood considered the verdict a "victory" and described it in a statement posted on its Web Site as an...

Mr Mubarak wants to change election and terror laws Egyptians have begun voting in a key referendum on constitutional changes which the opposition criticise as paving the way for a police state.The 34 amendments include a ban on the creation of political parties based on religion, and sweeping security powers. The government says the changes will deepen democracy in the country and help in the fight against terrorism. Secular and Islamist opposition groups have called on supporters to boycott the referendum. If approved, the changes will allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation...

Charity charged with funneling funds to Iraq Columbia Islamic group, now defunct, is accused of sending $1.4 million during Hussein’s reign. By MARK MORRIS The Kansas City Star A defunct Columbia charity and five officers and associates have been charged with illegally sending more than $1.4 million to Iraq while Saddam Hussein was in power. The 33-count federal indictment, unsealed Wednesday in Kansas City, is the latest assault on a charity that in 2004 was designated a supporter of global terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida and Hamas. At its core, the indictment alleges the Islamic American Relief Agency-USA solicited...

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak firmly condemned Israel's raid into the Palestinian territories on Thursday as he met with Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert to revive the long-stalled Mideast peace process, a news agency said. "Israel's security cannot be achieved through military force but by serious endeavors toward peace," Egypt's state-run MENA news agency quoted Mubarak as telling Olmert during their meeting in this Red Sea resort. Hours before the summit, Israeli troops, backed by armored personnel carriers and bulldozers, raided the West Bank city of Ramallah,

President Hosni Mubarak indicated to Egypt's parliament yesterday that he hopes to stay in office for the rest of his life, presiding over gradual political change. In a speech marking the opening of parliament, he asked members to consider what he termed the "widest range of constitutional amendments since 1980". These would make it easier for officially sanctioned opposition parties to contest the presidency, he said, and would strengthen the powers of parliament and the cabinet. But Mr Mubarak hinted only in vague terms at apossible end to emergency laws. The laws, which he promised last year to scrap, were...

Moscow - Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks Thursday with Egypt's Hosny Mubarak called for the Arab nation to be included in the so-called Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators. 'We are united in the need to increase the efficacy of negotiators' efforts in the Middle East. The Quartet will gain if joined by influential regional forces, in which number we, of course, place Egypt,' Putin said according to the Interfax news agency. The Quartet of Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations drew up a multiphase plan for peace - known as the road map...

CAIRO, Mubarak: Muslims must bear responsibility for wrong impressions of Islam Egypt Egypt's president says Muslims face cruel and false accusations about their faith. But he says they also must bear some responsibility for the wrong impressions.

Staten Island Democratic Association's meeting this week featured "guest of honor" criminal defense lawyer Lynne Stewart, a former Islander who is facing charges of terrorism. Ms. Stewart keynote address updated the group on the government's case against her. Ms. Stewart, a former Stapleton resident who graduated from Wagner College, was arrested in 2002 for allegedly providing material support for terrorism, among other charges. New charges have just been filed against Ms. Stewart charging her with conspiracy to commit terrorism by using convicted World Trade Center bomber Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman as "personnel" to carry out her acts. Additionally, she is...

Twenty-five years ago, at 12:40 p.m. on October 6, 1981, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, aged 63, was mortally wounded as he reviewed a military parade commemorating Egypt's "victory" over Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. His attackers, Muslim fundamentalists, tossed two hand grenades and directed automatic weapons fire into the reviewing stand. Sadat's deputy, Hosni Mubarak, was nearby but escaped unscathed. I can't recall where I was that Tuesday in October. Maybe in my office in the shadow of the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. Perhaps at NYU, where I was a graduate student. What particularly fascinates is...

Who says the world lacks leaders? After again expressing his "respect" for Islam, Pope Benedict XVI at his weekly Vatican audience two days ago moved one of his knights forward on the global chessboard of Islamic politics. Amid amped-up security in St. Peter's Square, the pope said: "I trust that after the initial reaction, my words at the University of Regensburg can constitute an impulse and encouragement toward positive, even self-critical dialogue both among religions and between modern reason and Christian faith." Setting aside the impeccable understatement of "the initial reaction"--churches torched world-wide--it is close to thrilling in a world...

Mubarak son offers 'Arab vision' Mr Mubarak serves as a senior member of the ruling party President Hosni Mubarak's son has said Egypt must offer a new political vision for the Middle East - one not imposed from outside, but based on Arab values. Gamal Mubarak, a senior figure in the governing National Democratic Party, urged the rejection of "foreign ambitions" trying to shape the region. The remarks were seen as a reference to efforts by Egypt's US ally to introduce Western-style democracy in the region. Mr Mubarak was speaking at the start of NDP's annual conference in Cairo. "We...

"Resisting the occupier is a legitimate right under the condition that it springs from free will and in accordance to the supreme national interest," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday. In the published interview, he also appeared to soften his stance on Hizbullah, calling the guerrilla group "part of the Lebanese national fabric." Mubarak was among some Arab leaders who initially blamed Hizbullah for carrying out an "uncalculated adventures" when the group kidnapped IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser on July 12, sparking the deadly conflict that lasted 34 days before a cease-fire went into effect Monday. Mubarak...

Egypt to Hamas: Sunday Morning Deadline 05:00 Jul 02, '06 / 6 Tammuz 5766 by Hana Levi Julian Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gave Hamas terrorists until Sunday morning to decide whether to accept his proposal for the release of their hostage, IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit. “The proposal is that the Israeli soldier will be freed immediately and in return, Israel will release prisoners in the near future,” said Palestinian Authority sources quoted by the Haaretz news service. Mubarek has reportedly pushed Syrian President Bashar Assad to pressure exiled Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, whose headquarters are based in Damascus. “At first,...

Hamas has conditionally agreed to free a kidnapped Israeli soldier, but Israel rejected the Islamic group's terms for his release, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told Egypt's leading daily al-Ahram. Mubarak described talks with Hamas as "positive" but said he warned leaders of the group against holding on to their "extreme positions," urging them to pursue a responsible policy. In compliance with Cairo's demands Israel froze a planned incursion into the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday night to give Egyptian mediators more time to secure the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit. Shalit was kidnapped in an attack on an Israel Defense...