As Mubarak turns 80, Egypt faces inflation, unrest

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, now in his 27th year as leader of the Arab world's most populous nation, turns 80 on Sunday with no clear successor in sight. One of the oldest executive heads of state in the world, Mubarak leads a country where more than 60% of the population have never known any other president.

Hike in world food prices sparks deadly riots in Africa

African governments are nervously confronting a mounting wave of often deadly social unrest caused by the soaring cost of food and fuel. Forty people died during price riots in Cameroon in February. There also have been deadly troubles in Côte d'Ivoire and Mauritania and other violent demonstrations in Senegal and Burkina Faso -- where a nationwide strike against price rises is to start on Tuesday.

Egypt summons Danish ambassador over cartoons

The Egyptian government has summoned the ambassador of Denmark in Cairo to protest the reprinting of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad in Danish newspapers, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. The Information Ministry also said it has banned issues of four Western newspapers.

Egypt to copyright the pyramids and antiquities

Egypt is planning to pass a law that would exact royalty payments from anyone found making copies of the country's ancient monuments or museum pieces, including the pyramids. Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said his country wanted to own the copyright to its historic monuments.

Islamic scholar opposes ban on female circumcision

In an act that has sparked outrage among Egyptian women's rights activists, a controversial Islamic scholar filed a lawsuit against the minister of health protesting against a recent ban on female circumcision, a practice referred to by rights groups as female genital mutilation.

Rare glimpse of Tutankhamun's mummy

Egypt put the mummy of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun on display in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings on Sunday, giving visitors their first chance to see the face of a ruler who died more than 3 000 years ago. The mummy's face has high cheekbones and cracked and blackened skin with an intact nose.

Egypt bans Muslim Brotherhood's annual event

The Egyptian government has banned the Muslim Brotherhood's largest annual social gathering for the first time in 20 years, part of a concerted crackdown against the country's opposition. Every year, the Brotherhood invites a group of about 1 500 people to one of Cairo's five-star hotels for a gala dinner.

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