The President of the Chamber of Commerce in Jeddah, Saleh Kamel, has announced that the Sudanese government is going to establish a free zone in which Saudi Arabia will have access to 2 million acres of land for agricultural use. The land is in an area close to Port...

The President of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, Khadija Riadi, has stressed her belief that the struggle for human rights is a universal struggle, and that Palestinian prisoners are part of this struggle. As such, the issue should attract the necessary sense of importance and urgency from everyone....

The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth claims that the Israeli government is looking at the possibility of sending military support to South Sudan. The unit would integrate with the activities of the United Nations in the country. The newspaper reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry and police service are giving...

A senior Sudanese minister has said that Khartoum will not negotiate or enter into dialogue with South Sudan until the issue of Juba’s aggression in Heglig is resolved. Dr. Amin Hassan Omar insisted that the territorial integrity of Sudan must be maintained by the withdrawal of the Sudan People’s...

Mustafa Osman Ismail, an adviser to the Sudanese President, said on Wednesday that his government will not return to negotiations with South Sudan as long as the SPLM and its army are occupying parts of Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile, as well as supporting and providing shelter to...

The Minister of Health for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza is visiting South Africa to give the government, trade unions and pro-Palestine activists details of the growing health crisis in the besieged territory. It is believed that this is the first ministerial level delegation from Gaza to visit the...

The First Vice-President of Sudan, Ali Osman Taha, has renewed his country’s commitment to fully liberate every inch of the Sudanese borders, and to firmly defend it against aggression which he deemed a moral and constitutional obligation to preserve the country’s sovereignty and dignity. In his address to the...

World renowned author Alice Walker has refused to give permission to an Israeli company, Yediot Books, to publish her award-winning novel, The Color Purple. Citing Israel’s “apartheid policies”, Ms Walker wrote in a letter dated 9 June, “It isn’t possible for me to permit this at this time for...

The Israeli government has been plunged into unprecedented panic by claims that the number of African migrants entering the country via Egypt is increasingly out of control. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the migrants a “serious national threat to the character of the Zionist state”. At the beginning of...

South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has pulled the plug on the Israeli deputy ambassador to South Africa, Yaakov Finkelstein. This is yet another blow to Israel-South Africa relations that have recently become tense. Finkelstein was due to speak at UKZN later on today, Monday (21 May 2012), but...

Students and representatives of Palestinian civil society youth organisations have appealed to the Student Council of Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand (“Wits”) to adopt a resolution to boycott Israel during its annual meeting. Wits is one of the largest universities in South Africa. The global boycott, divestment and sanctions...

The King of Morocco has told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that he condemns the “suspicious and unacceptable provocations which target the sacred values of Islam”, a reference to the US-made film which denigrates Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. King Mohammed VI also passed on his condolences...

Sudan’s Minister of Information has accused Israel of bombing an arms factory in Khartoum overnight on Tuesday, using four aircraft. Strong blasts rocked the military industrial facility in the suburbs of the capital. The government-affiliated Sudanese Media Centre reported that the Yarmouk ammunition factory was hit in the attack....

An Egyptian delegation of civil society activists is visiting Khartoum in solidarity with the people of Sudan against the recent bombing of a factory in the city. Israel is suspected of carrying out the attack. The delegation’s coordinator, Dr. Jamal Abdul Salam, said that the visit has been arranged...

Algeria’s Foreign Minister, Mourad Medelci, has revealed that his country and Tunisia have adopted a common position rejecting foreign military intervention in northern Mali. Following a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart, Rafik Abdul Salam, in the Tunisian capital, Medelci said, on Tuesday, that the two countries would seek to...

The King of Moroccan has instructed the Moroccan army to set up a field hospital in Gaza as soon as possible. King Mohammed VI gave the order following a serious escalation in Israeli aggression against the beleaguered Palestinian territory. A spokesman for the Royal Palace, Abdul Haq Almurini, told...

The Qatari newspaper Al-Arab used its editorial on Wednesday to highlight and denounce the double standards of the situations in Mali and Syria and the international response to each. It referred specifically to the French military intervention in Mali while the Paris government basically turns a blind eye to...

Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly approved on Wednesday the new government headed by a leader of the El-Nahda Movement, Ali Al-Areed, with 139 votes out of 217. The new government that Al-Areed announced he had formed last Saturday has preserved the tripartite alliance between the El-Nahda Islamic Movement, the Congress...

The Tunisian army and police force have clashed with Islamic militants near the border with Algeria, a security source has revealed. There are no reports of any casualties or injuries. According to Tunis Afrique Presse news agency, a security source said, “The clashes took place with a Salafi militant...

Algeria’s Foreign Minister, Mourad Medelci, announced on Monday that his country is willing to act as a mediator between Iran and Bahrain in the best interest of the two states. Speaking at a joint press conference with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa, Mr Medelci said that he...

A Libyan military official announced on Saturday that his country had scuppered an attempted military revolt planned by affiliates of the deposed colonel, Muamar al-Gaddafi. Authorities arrested 17 culprits, the Lebanese daily, Al-Saffir, reported. The head of the Military Council for the city of Sabha, Ahmed al-Ataybi, said: “A...

The Tunisian public was surprised to hear the news that its national Taekwondo team would participate in a match against the Israeli national team, which is considered a form of normalisation with Israel. This participation has caused the issue of normalisation with Israel to resurface in Tunisia. Once the...

Libyan Prime Minister, Ali Zaidan, has dismissed rumours about NATO intervention in Libya. “This is biased and conspiratorial propaganda circulated to ruin the work of the government,” he said. The Libyan news agency, WAL, reported that during a meeting with police and judicial officials, Zaidan said: “Libyans are watching...

Deputy chief of union for Egyptians living and working abroad Mohamed al-Rayyan has revealed that money transfers by Egyptians overseas has reached $19billion. At the meeting of the Human Resources Development Committee in Al-Shura Council, Al-Rayyan said that Egyptians started working in the trade of services, tourism and insurance...

The Egyptian government has signed four cooperation agreements with Chinese companies to develop and improve the economic area northwest of the Gulf of Suez. During a press conference, Minister of Investment, Osama Saleh, confirmed that the total amount of investments to be made by the companies amounts to $500...

The Egyptian president’s office said on Sunday that Mohammed Morsi has reached an agreement with senior judges to freeze the proposed law that would have forced around a quarter of them to retire. In a statement, President Morsi’s spokesman said that it was also agreed to host a conference...

On Monday, Egypt withdrew from Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) talks being held in Geneva asserting that a number of countries were not seriously acting to establish a Middle East free of nuclear weapons. In a statement issued on Monday, Egypt’s foreign ministry said that it had ended its participation...

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has raised its tolls for shipping with immediate effect. The new tolls will reflect increases of between 2 and 5 per cent, depending on the size, type and load of the vessels using the link between the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Oil tankers and...

The political fallout from an attack by the Sudanese Revolutionary Forces 300 miles from the capital Khartoum is increasing. The attack on Umm Ruwaba took place last Saturday. Several political factions in Sudan have expressed their anger at the apparent inaction of the Sudanese army in the face of...

The Nigerian opposition and mass media have expressed their anger over a $40m contract between Nigerian President Jonathan Goodluk and an Israeli company to spy on citizens, especially journalists, through the Internet, Egyptian newspaper Al-Shorouk said on Friday. Several Nigerian newspapers, including the widespread daily Punch, reported “this unprecedented...

Algeria and Egypt have agreed to establish a bilateral contact group to strengthen their bilateral security cooperation. The agreement came at the conclusion of talks on Monday, which took place in the Algerian capital, under the chairmanship of Ambassador Hussein Abdul Karim, Egypt’s assistant foreign minister for legal affairs...

Leader of the Tunisian Al-Nahda movement, Sheikh Rashid al-Ghannouchi, has congratulated the Tunisian army and police for thwarting “terrorist acts” in the country and denounced calls for jihad. Al-Ghannouchi said “The one who wants to do jihad has to go to Palestine.” On the official Facebook page of his...

Egypt’s Minister of Defence has ruled out a return of the army to the streets in a military coup against President Mohamed Morsi. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi dismissed the calls from some political groups for such a move. He called for “understanding” and warned that the alternative could be “extremely...

Members of Egypt’s Shura (Consultative) Council have demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador in protest at the ongoing violations of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem. Calls have also been made for the Egyptian ambassador to be recalled from Tel Aviv. Dr. Ahmed Fahmy, the Shura...

Egypt has renewed its condemnation of Israeli violations in occupied Jerusalem. Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr denounced on Monday Israel’s policies which set out to change the status quo inside for access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and destroy the Holy City’s Islamic identity. “All illegal measures, which constitute severe breaches...

Ayman Nour, head of the Egyptian political party Ghad Al-Thawrah, has called for respect to be shown to Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi. He also re-affirmed the importance of the democratic construction of Egyptian society, calling it the only way to build a modern civil country. During a media seminar...

Rashid al-Ghanouchi, leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda Islamist movement, has warned Tunisian Salafists following the murder of a policeman. Earlier this week, Tunisia’s Interior Ministry said that it had found the corps of a policeman in Jabal Al-Joloud neighbourhood to the south of the Tunisian capital. It said that the...

Egypt has deported 50 Ethiopians after they were caught in the Sinai Peninsula trying to infiltrate across the border into Israel. Official sources at Cairo International Airport said that the fifty were put on an Ethiopian Airways flight to Addis Ababa on Thursday morning. Security staff seized the Ethiopians...

The government of Morocco has announced that it will not invite Israeli scientists to attend a scientific conference in Fez, local newspapers said on Friday. The news was confirmed by the office of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The conference is due to be held in...

A survey by the Pew Research Centre in Washington has shown that the majority of Egyptians are supportive of President Mohammad Morsi’s regime, despite a decline of confidence in the Muslim Brotherhood, to which the President belongs. The poll, published on Thursday, revealed that 30 per cent of Egyptians...

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, said on Sunday that Egypt could achieve great economic renaissance over a short period because of its vast natural and human resources which distinguish it from Malaysia at the time when the latter started its developmental experience. Mahathir Mohamad expressed his gratitude to...

Egypt’s minister of Energy and Electricity, Ahmad Imam, has announced that an electricity project connecting Egypt and Saudi Arabia would allow for the exchange of 3,000 megawatts of energy, with Egypt becoming the central point of regional electricity connection. Imam said that Egypt is currently linked with Europe and...

Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party has accused senior Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan of working to “destabilise” security in the Sinai Peninsula. According to the Deputy Head of the FJP, Issam Al-Aryan, the moves are supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Speaking to London-based Al-Hayat newspaper, Mr Al-Aryan said...

The Egyptian army has arrested a number of suspects believed to have been involved in the kidnapping of soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula, a senior official said on Monday morning. Some of the men wanted for questioning fled the scene and are being pursued by the authorities, having been...

The Speaker of the Egyptian Shura Council, parliament’s upper house, said on Monday that Bahrain’s security is part and parcel of Egypt’s national security. Dr Ahmad Fahmy made his statement as he arrived in the Bahraini capital Manama to participate in a conference of the Association of Senates, Shura...

The Ethiopian government announced on Monday that it will start work soon on diverting the Blue Nile, a move that is expected to spark the anger of the two downstream countries, Sudan and Egypt. The governments in Khartoum and Cairo fear that Ethiopia’s construction of the Renaissance Dam will...

Changing governors is the right of the state president, the Secretary General of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Abdullah Al-Ashaal has affirmed. They are, he added, chosen by President Mohammed Morsi solely on their qualifications and ability to carry out the role. Mr Al-Ashaal said that the...

The Egyptian presidency affirmed on Thursday that it would not allow anything to affect Egypt’s portion of the River Nile, nor would it accept any criticism concerning such a significant issue. An International Tripartite Commission about the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be issued on Saturday. The presidency said it...

Ethiopia announced on Wednesday that it is ready to discuss the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam with Egypt, noting that Egypt’s portion of water would not be affected. The Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy, Olmito Tejano, said: “There is no reason for Egypt to worry about building the Ethiopian Renaissance...

Human rights groups, trade unions and several other major civil society organisations have called for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to exclude Israel. The international diamond regulatory body is meeting in South Africa and is chaired currently by Pretoria’s former ambassador to Washington, Mr Welile Nhlapo. Organisations including South...