The last phase of the turbulent trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity resumed on Monday with a boycott by the deposed Iraqi leader and key members of the defence team. The Iraqi high tribunal said it would continue to hear the defence’s closing arguments with or without Saddam or his lawyers.
A daytime gun battle in the capital between Sunni insurgents and Shi’ite militiamen prompted the Iraqi government to tighten the Baghdad curfew on Friday as 22 people died in two bombings. The street fighting on Haifa Street on Baghdad’s west side broke out after militiamen loyal to Shi’ite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army came under attack from Sunni Arab gunmen.
No image available
/ 3 February 2006
Many people were feared dead on Friday when an Egyptian ferry with about 1 400 on board, including many Muslim pilgrims, sank in the Red Sea during a crossing from Saudi Arabia to Egypt. Twenty bodies were recovered amid fears of a much higher death toll, while survivors were battling for their lives in lifeboats in heavy seas.
No image available
/ 10 December 2005
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which control one in five parliamentary seats after spectacular gains in recent polls, says it is ready to break a long-standing taboo and engage in contacts with Washington, which welcomed the results of Egypt’s month-long parliamentary polls.
No image available
/ 2 December 2005
Egypt’s opposition Muslim Brotherhood cried foul on Friday after a slump in its performance in the latest round of parliamentary polls, which were marred by violence and widespread voter obstruction. None of its 49 candidates involved in the third and final phase of voting had won outright.
No image available
/ 9 November 2005
Egyptians started voting on Wednesday in parliamentary polls expected to see President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling party retain its grip on power, amid accusations of mass fraud from the opposition Muslim Brotherhood. Thousands of polling stations opened for the first round of the initial phase in legislative elections that will last a month.
No image available
/ 20 October 2005
Makarem al-Deiri is standing for election to the Egyptian Parliament next month after a long academic career, but she makes no bones about her view that a woman’s place is in the home. The 55-year-old mother of seven insists there is no point arguing for sexual equality, as such a demand ”goes against nature”.
No image available
/ 27 September 2005
President Hosni Mubarak vowed to deliver on pledges for reform when he was sworn in Tuesday for a fifth term in office after sweeping to victory in Egypt’s first contested presidential poll. ”I will work with the utmost determination towards the implementation of the programme I proposed during the electoral campaign,” Mubarak said after taking the oath of office in a ceremony in Parliament.
No image available
/ 10 September 2005
Incumbent Hosni Mubarak has swept to victory in Egypt’s first contested presidential poll, with almost 90% of the vote, but with less than one-quarter of voters turning out and opponents charging the results were rigged. Official results gave the 77-year-old leader a whopping 88,5% of the vote in Wednesday’s election.
At a school in a popular district of Cairo, a man urges Egyptians to vote on a key electoral reform, crying ”Your vote matters! Say yes to democracy” — but many polling stations on Wednesday remained deserted amid opposition calls for a boycott of the referendum to allow for Egypt’s first-ever contested presidential race.