Egypt cracks down on new student protests
CAIRO — Egyptian security forces are tightening their crackdown on student activism by arresting scores of students at the start of the school term in an effort to crush a renewed wave of protests against the military-backed government that took power last year.
Qatar’s support of extremists alienates allies near and far
CAIRO — The visiting sheik told his audience of wealthy Qataris in Doha that to help the battered residents of Syria, they should not bother with donations to humanitarian programs or the Western-backed Free Syrian Army.
Strikes in Libya broaden fight for Arab power
CAIRO — Twice in the last seven days, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have secretly launched airstrikes against Islamist-allied militias battling for control of Tripoli, Libya, four senior U.S. officials said, in a major escalation of a regional power struggle set off by Arab Spring revolts.
Libyan rioters charge parliament building
CAIRO — Dozens of armed rioters stormed into the Libyan Parliament in Tripoli on Sunday, setting fire to the grounds, looting furniture and wounding a prominent lawmaker in a spasm of anger at the clotted and chaotic transition after the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi.
Video shows Egypt police arresting two journalists
Mayy El Sheikh contributed reporting.
Morsi calls trials ‘illegitimate,’ and case in Egypt is delayed
CAIRO — As Egypt’s new military-led government consolidates its power, Mohammed Morsi, the deposed president, went on trial Monday, facing charges of inciting the murder of protesters, but he rejected the court’s authority and proclaimed himself to be the country’s legitimate ruler.
Abductors briefly seize Libyan prime minister
CAIRO — Libya’s prime minister, Ali Zeidan, was briefly kidnapped from a Tripoli hotel Thursday in an apparent act of retaliation for his supposed consent to the capture of a suspected al-Qaida leader by American Special Forces.
Libya condemns US for seizing terror suspect
TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya’s fragile interim government condemned the United States on Sunday for what it called the “kidnapping of a Libyan citizen” from this capital city a day earlier, and Libyan lawmakers threatened to remove the prime minister if the government was involved.
Egyptian court bans Muslim brotherhood
CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Monday ordered the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood and the confiscation of its assets, sharply escalating a broad crackdown on the group in the three months since the military ousted its ally, Mohammed Morsi, from the presidency.
Egypt’s interior minister survives assassination attempt
CAIRO — A powerful bomb blasted through a convoy of cars carrying the interior minister along a residential street Thursday, raising fears of a widely predicted turn toward terrorist violence by supporters of Egypt’s ousted president, Mohammed Morsi.
Document shows Abbas’ desire to resume Israeli talks
CAIRO — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority is so eager to return to peace talks with the Israelis that he may soften his demand that Israel’s president publicly pledge to halt construction of new settlements on Palestinian land before such negotiations can resume.
Egypt’s president agrees to limit scope of decree
CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi agreed Monday to scale back a sweeping decree he had issued last week that raised his edicts above any judicial review, according to a report by a television network allied with his party. The agreement, reached with top judicial authorities, would leave most of Morsi’s actions subject to review by the courts but preserve a crucial power: protecting the constitutional council from being dissolved by the courts before it finishes its work.
Lebanon and Jordan move to contain Syria-related violence
BEIRUT — Lebanon and Jordan moved aggressively Monday to squelch the spread of violence from Syria’s deadlocked civil war, the most significant register yet of alarm over the strife spilling over Syrian borders.
Assassination highlights rifts facing Syria rebels
BEIRUT — The assassination of a Syrian rebel fighter linked to al-Qaida called new attention Thursday to the ideological differences among the Islamists fighting the government of President Bashar Assad and threatened to set off new strife among the rebels.
Tunisia cracks down again on protestors defying a ban
CAIRO — The 6-month-old government of Tunisia cracked down with tear gas and batons Monday on thousands of protesters who filled a central artery of the capital in defiance of a new ban on demonstrations there.
Egypt uses Israeli treaty as bargaining chip
CAIRO — The Islamist party that leads the new Egyptian Parliament is threatening to review the 1979 peace treaty with Israel if the United States cuts off aid to the country over a crackdown on U.S.-backed nonprofit groups here.
US eyes business opportunities in Libya as the embassy reopens
TRIPOLI, Libya — The United States formally reopened its embassy in Libya Thursday as the returning ambassador said that his government was cautiously optimistic about the country’s future and already trying to help U.S. companies exploit business opportunities there.
Police accounts favor Mubarak in Egypt trial
CAIRO — The criminal prosecution of former President Hosni Mubarak stumbled badly Monday after four senior police officials denied that he had ordered Egyptian security forces to use live ammunition against demonstrators challenging his rule.
In Arab world, Osama bin Laden’s confused legacy
BEIRUT — The words were not uncommon in angry Arab capitals a decade ago: Osama bin Laden was hero, sheik, even leader to some. But after his death, a man who once vowed to liberate the Arab world was reduced to a footnote in the revolutions and uprisings remaking a region that he and his followers had struggled to understand.
NATO strikes Gadhafi office compound, Italy joins the fight
TRIPOLI, Libya — NATO warplanes struck Moammar Gadhafi’s compound here early on Monday and also bombed a state television complex in an escalation of the air campaign to aid the rebellion against his four decades in power.
Raped Libyan woman gets support through TV network
TRIPOLI, Libya — Eman al-Obeidy says the government of Moammar Gadhafi victimized her twice. First members of his militia kidnapped and repeatedly raped her. Then his state television network attacked her as a thief and a prostitute.
Egyptian army renounces use of force, officials offer talks
CAIRO — The government of Egypt’s authoritarian president, Hosni Mubarak, shook Monday night, first as the Egyptian Army declared that it would not use force against protesters demanding his ouster, and then as Mubarak’s most trusted adviser offered to talk with the political opposition.
Financial Giants Donating Little to Obama & Democrats
The Wall Street giants that received a financial lifeline from Washington may have no compunction about paying big bonuses to their dealmakers and traders. But their willingness to deliver “thank you” gifts to President Barack Obama and the Democrats is another question altogether.
Technology Leaves Fingerprints on the Stimulus Bill
To rally support for his administration’s economic recovery bill last week, President Barack Obama invited about a dozen chief executives, seven of them from technology and energy companies, to the Oval Office.
After Romney Bows Out, McCain Emerges As Likely GOP Choice
Sen. John McCain of Arizona all but sewed up the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday after Mitt Romney withdrew from the race, saying the war in Iraq and the terrorist threat made it imperative that the party unite.