Egypt is set to abolish fuel subsidies within three to five years in a bid to reduce its spiraling budget deficit, a senior minister told Al Arabiya. The government has already ended subsidies on 95-octane gasoline, and plans to cut subsidies on lower-octane fuel over the next few years to prevent the provision of
Egypt’s prime minister was due in Qatar on Tuesday for talks with his country’s biggest Gulf Arab financial backer as Cairo is negotiating for an IMF loan to help ease a deepening economic crisis. Hisham Kandil was to fly to Doha after attending the swearing in of Kenya’s new president in Nairobi, his office
A French force of 1,000 soldiers has begun a sweep of a river valley thought to be a logistics base for armed Islamists near the Malian city of Gao, an AFP journalist accompanying the mission said. Operation Gustav, one of France’s largest actions since its intervention against insurgents in January, will involve dozens of
The death toll in clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo has risen to two, health and security officials said Monday. Another 89 were injured in the clashes outside Cairo’s main Coptic cathedral, which brought Egypt’s growing religious tension to the seat of the church’s pope. The clashes broke out following the funeral of
Egypt has cancelled a controversial proposal to tax share dividends and gains made in takeover deals, a senior advisor told Al Arabiya. The proposals were part of sweeping new tax rules currently being discussed in Egypt, and had rattled markets and corporations in the economically fragile country. Abdullah Shehata, economic advisor to President
The leader of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has urged rebels to fight to establish an Islamic state in Syria, AFP reported. The message came in an online audio message Sunday, in which the Al-Qaeda chief also warned France against its military intervention in Mali. "Let your fight be in the name
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Palestinian Authority leaders Sunday, on a fresh mission to forge a new path forward after a years-long impasse in Middle East peace negotiations, AFP reported. Flying in from Istanbul, the first stop on a 10-day overseas trip, Kerry went to Ramallah, where he held talks with Palestinian
One person was killed on Sunday in clashes at Cairo's Coptic cathedral, after funeral prayers for four Christians during which angry Copts chanted against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, an official said, according to AFP. Fighting between Christians and Muslims, meanwhile, erupted anew in a town north of the capital where sectarian violence killed five
Egypt's highest judicial body has urged the country's top prosecutor to step down, nearly five months after Islamist President Mohammed Mursi appointed him. A statement by the Supreme Judiciary Council carried on Sunday by the official MENA news agency urged Talaat Abdullah to return to being a judge for the sake of the unity
It is not just Egypt’s politicians and experts who are keeping a close eye on loan talks with the International Monetary Fund: ordinary Egyptians suffering the squeeze of a devastating economic crisis are also watching with concern. Sami Mohammed, a 49-year-old civil servant, has been struggling with soaring inflation and says he fears the
