مدونة ام النور omelnor jesus

CAIRO (Reuters) - A committee revising Egypt's constitution after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak is focusing on changes needed to guarantee democratic elections in six months, leaving a complete revamp for later, a committee member said on Sunday. "A new constitution is a long-term goal. Let's first get the flaws out of the system to bring the process along. The say of the people is the most important factor in this process," lawyer Sobhi Saleh told Reuters in an interview. Saleh is the only member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood on the 10-man committee given just 10 days by Egypt's new military rulers to propose amendments to the constitution. The army council that took power when Mubarak stepped down as president on Feb. 11 has suspended the existing constitution, which made it almost impossible for anyone outside Mubarak's party to challenge for the presidency. It formed the constitutional committee last Tuesday to draw...

(AP)  CAIRO - Egypt's top prosecutor requested on Monday the freezing of the foreign assets of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family, announced state TV. Security officials said that the prosecutor general requested the Foreign Ministry to ask other nations to freeze any assets of Mubarak and his family abroad. The president's local assets were frozen soon after he stepped down, they added. The freeze applies to Mubarak, his wife, his two sons and two daughters-in-law, they say. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the press.

Court confirms one death sentence, acquits two people * Egypt had more communal strife than usual in 2010 CAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - An Egyptian court acquitted two men charged with murder and possessing weapons in the case of the killing of six Christians and a Muslim police officer in a shooting in January 2010, the state news agency reported. The emergency state security court also confirmed the death sentence on Mohamed Ahmed Hussein, 39, who was charged in January with the "premeditated murder" of the Christians and the police officer and with "intimidating citizens" in Nagaa Hamady in southern Egypt after mass on the eve of Coptic Christmas. Kurashi Abu Haggag and Hindawi Muhammed Sayyid, who were charged with aiding in the murder and with possession of weapons, were acquitted on Sunday, the state MENA news agency said. Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million people. Both Muslim and Christ...

Industry says opening of banks boosted economy * IMF says recovery depends on tourism rebound By Tom Pfeiffer CAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Egypt would like European Union states to cancel its debts to them but has not made a formal request, the EU's local delegation said, as Egypt's economy showed signs of recovery from weeks of political turmoil. The government has slashed its growth forecast after 18 days of street protests across the country unseated President Hosni Mubarak, scaring off tourists, hitting inward investment and sparking a wave of strikes in banks, industry and government. The economy was worth an estimated $217 billion last year and it relies heavily on foreign investment, tourism and fees from the Suez Canal. A government statistics agency estimates the uprising cost the economy at least $1.7 billion. A spokeswoman for the European Union delegation in Cairo said European Union Ambassador Marco Franco met Finan...

(Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat urged Egypt on Monday to build confidence in its transition to democracy by lifting the country's emergency law and releasing more detainees. U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns said Egypt faced "a moment of extraordinary promise." "It's a moment when Egypt has just begun its story of transition to democracy," he said during a visit to Cairo. "Along the way, we will continue to encourage concrete steps to build confidence to sustain the momentum of the transition ... through careful preparations of the elections to the further release of detainees to the lifting of emergency law," he said.

CAIRO – Some of the young activists who launched the Egyptian uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak said Monday they are skeptical about the military's pledges to hand over power to a democratically elected government. Their concerns came as British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Cairo to meet with top Egyptian officials and "make sure this really is a genuine transition" to civilian rule. In a meeting with Western diplomats in Cairo, the activists appealed to the U.S. and Europe to change their policies toward governments in the Middle East . Many activists in the 18-days of mass protests that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11 complain that Western governments have long supported dictators who back their interests at the expense of local democracy. "It is time that United States and Europe to revise and correct their policies in the region," said Bahey al-Din Hassan, director of the human rights institute that hosted the ...

* Prosecutor asks for freeze on Mubarak assets * Cameron first foreign leader to visit Egypt * British premier did not speak with Brotherhood * Islamists most organised political grouping (Adds cabinet says reports of reshuffle premature) By Yasmine Saleh and Mohammed Abbas CAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor on Monday moved to freeze the foreign assets of Hosni Mubarak, the first sign that the deposed president would be held to account by the rulers to whom he handed power 10 days ago. The prosecutor said in a statement he had asked the Foreign Ministry to use diplomatic channels to request a freeze on foreign assets and accounts held by Mubarak, his wife Suzanne and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, together with their wives. Media reports suggested the former president's wealth may total billions of dollars and some anti-Mubarak protesters accused him of squandering the wealth of the Arab world's most populous nation, but aides insist he has...

Egypt must do more to show democratic future - Cameron "I think they have to do more to show people that those people can have confidence that Egypt is going to have an open and democratic future," he told Sky News. "That will be good for people in Egypt but good for everyone in this region as well." Cameron earlier became the first foreign leader to visit post-Mubarak Egypt.

British Prime Minister Visits Cairo At the same time as Mr. Cameron arrived in Egypt, the country’s top prosecutor on Monday took further steps towards freezing the foreign assets of Mr. Mubarak and his family, state television said. The assets are said to include a townhouse in a tony London neighborhood where the former president’s son, Gamal, lived in the early 1990s while working as a consultant for the Bank of America. The Swiss government last week froze tens of millions of dollars in an account belonging to the family or Mr. Mubarak’s top associates. On Monday, Egypt’s prosecutor general, Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, said he would request that the Foreign Ministry ask other governments to do the same. The A.P., citing unnamed security officials, said that Mr. Mubarak’s local assets had been frozen as soon as his government fell.