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Egypt

Egypt’s ousted President Hosni Mubarak has died in Cairo at the age of 91.

Hosni Mubarak spent three decades in office before being ousted by the military in 2011.

The former president was found guilty of complicity in the killing of protesters during the revolution. That conviction was overturned and was freed in March 2017.

Hosni Mubarak’s death was confirmed by Egyptian state news on February 25. Earlier in the day, the Al-Watan website reported that he died at a military hospital.

He underwent surgery in late January and was photographed with his grandson as he recovered.

On February 23, however, Hosni Mubarak’s son Alaa said that the former president remained in intensive care.

Born in 1928, Hosni Mubarak entered the air force as a teenager and went on to play a key role in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

He became president less than a decade later, following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, and played a key role in the Israel-Palestinian peace process.

However, despite the billions of dollars in military aid Egypt received during his time in office, unemployment, poverty and corruption continued to grow.

Discontent boiled over in January 2011, after similar protests in Tunisia led to the overthrow of the president there. Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down 18 days later.

Just over a year after Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow, Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist politician, won Egypt’s first democratic presidential election.

Mohamed Morsi lasted less than a year in office. Amid mass protests, he was ousted in a military coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

General Sisi went on to win two presidential elections. Mohamed Morsi died in prison in 2019.

In 2012, Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment over the deaths of some of the 900 protesters who were killed by security forces during the uprising a year earlier.

He and his two sons were also convicted of corruption.

However, the more serious charges against Hosni Mubarak were later overturned and he was released in 2017.

Former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been sentenced to three years in prison for insulting the judiciary.

Mohammed Morsi already holds other jail terms including a life sentence.

The ousted leader is awaiting a retrial on a separate charge of conspiring to commit terrorist acts, for which he was previously sentenced to death. The death sentence was lifted on appeal.

Mohammed Morsi was overthrown by the military in 2013 and has been detained since. He is currently in a high-security prison.

He has also been fined a million Egyptian pounds ($56,000) relating to a speech given in 2013.

Image source Wikimedia

Mohamed Morsi Death Sentence Overturned by Egypt’s Court of Cassation

On December 30, other 17 co-defendants, including fines for political blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah and broadcaster Tawfiq Okasha, have been sentenced.

Mohammed Morsi has previously rejected the authority of the courts, and in his first trial shouted from the dock that he was being “forcibly detained”.

Since then the former president has been forced to sit in soundproof glass cages in courtrooms, which officials say are designed to prevent him disrupting proceedings.

Mohammed Morsi was overthrown by the military following mass protests a year after he took office as Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

The authorities subsequently launched a crackdown on supporters of Mohammed Morsi and the Islamist movement to which he belongs, the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt’s ousted President Hosni Mubarak has been released from jail, six years after being overthrown.

Hosni Mubarak, 88, left a military hospital in southern Cairo and went to his home in the northern suburb of Heliopolis, his lawyer said.

The former was ordered freed earlier this month after Egypt’s top appeals court cleared him over the deaths of protesters in the 2011 uprising.

Hosni Mubarak became president in 1981 after Anwar Sadat’s assassination.

He had been at Maadi Military Hospital since 2013, when he was transferred there on bail from Torah prison.

Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in 2012 of complicity in the killing of protesters who died at the hands of security forces in February, 2011.

Another trial was held and a judge decreed in May 2015 that Hosni Mubarak could be released from detention.

However, the government of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was reportedly reluctant to free Hosni Mubarak because of the public backlash that might accompany such a move.

Abdul Fattah al-Sisi served as Hosni Mubarak’s military intelligence chief and led the military’s overthrow of his democratically elected successor, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013.

In all, more than 800 people are believed to have been killed as security forces clashed with protesters in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other cities around Egypt during the 18-day uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to resign.

The death sentences against Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi and five other Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been overturned by the country’s highest court of appeal.

Egypt’s Court of Cassation ordered that the six men face a retrial in connection with a mass prison break during the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak.

Twenty-one life sentences for other Brotherhood members were overturned.

Mohamed Morsi was elected president in 2012 but was removed by the military in 2013 after protests against his rule.

Although the former president is no longer at risk of execution, he is serving three lengthy prison sentences relating to other convictions.

Mohamed Morsi and more than 100 other people were sentenced to death in May 2015 after being convicted of colluding with foreign militants – from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Lebanon’s Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement – to organize a mass prison break.Mohamed Morsi sentenced to 20 years in jail

He was being held at Wadi Natroun prison in January 2011 when armed men overcame the guards, freeing thousands of inmates.

Mohamed Morsi and his co-defendants, including the Brotherhood’s general guide Mohammed Badie, were also found guilty of the murder and kidnapping of guards, damaging and setting fire to prison buildings and looting the prison’s weapons depot.

In June 2015, a court upheld the death sentence against Mohamed Morsi and 98 others after consulting Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Shawi Allam.

It was not immediately clear why the Court of Cassation overturned the sentences on November 15, but Brotherhood lawyer Abdel Moneim said it had applied the law correctly.

Mohamed Morsi has also been sentenced to life in prison for allegedly conspiring to commit terrorist acts with foreign organizations and to another 40 years for allegedly leaking state secrets and sensitive documents to Qatar.

The former president was sentenced to 20 years after being convicted of ordering the unlawful detention and torture of opposition protesters during clashes with Brotherhood supporters outside a presidential palace in Cairo in December 2012.

Mohamed Morsi’s prosecution has taken place amid a wider crackdown on the Brotherhood, which President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has outlawed and vowed to wipe out. Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of people imprisoned in the past three years.

His supporters have said the trials are politically motivated and attempts to give legal cover to a coup. They claim they are based on unreliable witnesses and scant evidence.

Also on November 15, the Court of Cassation approved the decision to release Hosni Mubarak’s two sons from prison, the state-owned Mena news agency reported.

In October 2015, a lower court ruled that the time Alaa and Gamal Mubarak had spent in temporary detention exceeded the legal limit.

Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, who were arrested soon after the 2011 uprising, were sentenced along with their father to three years in prison for embezzlement in May 2015.

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sahara

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Be honest – have you ever thought about going on a trip to the Sahara Desert? It might be on the bucket list of a few adventurous souls, but hardly in the minds of your average holidaymaker. But, you miss out at your risk. The sprawling desert is an incredible place, and there is a lot more to it than endless sand dunes and mirages. And, it is so big it is spread across twelve countries – each with their unique personality. Here are five essential experiences that you should check out if you get the chance.

The Nile

Egypt’s River Nile is pretty much the lifeline for the many towns and cities that inhabit the Sahara. And, of course, it goes close to the Sahara’s most ancient buildings – the temples of Luxor and Karnak. But, don’t stop there. Moving out, you will hit the world famous Timbuktu, and even follow the river down to the Red Sea. In Africa, the Nile is known as the giver of life – and it’s easy to see why.

The wildlife

When you think of a desert, you don’t think of somewhere teeming with life. But, the Sahara has some incredible creatures that call it home. They are tough little things, too, capable of surviving some of the harshest conditions on the planet. It’s well worth taking a wildlife trip one night with an expert to see if you can catch a glimpse of the locals. You might see a monitor lizard or the cute looking Fennec Fox. There are plenty of other, too. Conservationinstitute.org have a good insight on what to expect.

The bustling cities

Cities in the Sahara are a lot more advanced and comfortable than you might think. El Aaiun, for example, is a beautiful place with plenty of luxury to retreat from the harsh, dry, atmosphere of the desert surrounding it. The likes of tripadvisor.com have rundowns of the fantastic hotels available – and they might just surprise you.

The amazing oasis towns

The Sahara is so big; it shouldn’t be surprising there are so many amazing little towns there. Of course, you can’t go there expecting a raging nightlife and all mod cons, but they are well worth a visit. They are the perfect place to stay when you are planning trips out to the dunes, too. Oasis towns tend to be in the major countries, such as Morocco and Egypt. Some are quaint little places full of a sleepy atmosphere while others are far more colorful affairs. Check out Ksar Ghilane in Tunisia or Tamanrasset in Algeria.

The sand

It’s easy to write off the sheer volume of sand in the Sahara – but it needs to be seen to be believed. The size of the dunes can be mountainous, and many of them will look completely different the next day. If you get the chance, head out with an experienced guide and see it for yourself. It is a little eerie seeing a landscape change before your eyes – and it’s very much alive. You may even find yourself a meteorite if you are lucky.

Have you been to the Sahara? Let us know about your experiences in the comments section below!

A bridge linking Saudi Arabia to Egypt will be built over the Red Sea, King Salman has announced.

In a statement, King Salman of Saudi Arabia says the bridge would boost commerce between the two allies.

The royal made the announcement on April 8 during the second day of his visit to Cairo.

Photo Getty Images

Photo Getty Images

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have supported Egypt with billions of dollars since President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi took power in 2013 following mass street protests.

Saudi Arabia regards Egypt as a crucial partner in efforts to build a bloc of friendly Sunni Muslim states as a bulwark against growing regional influence of Shia-led Iran.

King Salman’s visit comes amid recent strains in the relationship, with Abdul Fattah al-Sisi taking a less hard-line stance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Riyadh seeking more support from Cairo for its war against rebels in Yemen.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the bridge would be named after the Saudi king.

“I agreed with my brother his Excellency President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to build a bridge connecting the two countries” King Salman said.

“This historic step to connect the two continents, Africa and Asia, is a qualitative transformation that will increase trade between the two continents to unprecedented levels” he added.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said it marked “a new chapter on the road of Arab joint action”.

A Red Sea bridge linking Saudi Arabia and Egypt has been proposed several times before but has failed to become a reality.

Previous estimates for the bridge project suggested a cost of around $3-4 billion, but no further information has yet been released for the latest plan.

King Salman is currently on a five-day visit to Egypt, where he is expected to announce more trade and co-operation agreements.

Evidence grows for a hidden chamber in King Tutankhamun’s tomb, Egyptian officials say.

Experts say they are “90% sure” that there is a hidden chamber in the tomb.

Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry said it had carried out scans to gather more information about the theory.

Archaeologist Nicholas Reeves from the University of Arizona believes Tutankhamun’s remains may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Queen Nefertiti’s tomb.

The remains of Tutankhamun, who may have been her son, were found in 1922. He died 3,000 years ago aged 19.

At a press conference with the Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty on November 28, Nicholas Reeves said: “Clearly it does look from the radar evidence as if the tomb continues, as I have predicted.”

“The radar, behind the north wall [of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber] seems pretty clear. If I am right it is a continuation – corridor continuation – of the tomb, which will end in another burial chamber,” he said.

Mamdouh el-Damaty said the scans would now be sent to Japan for further analysis.Tutankhamun's Tomb Scans Support Hidden Chamber Theory

Dr. Nicholas Reeves developed his theory after the Spanish artistic and preservation specialists, Factum Arte, were commissioned to produce detailed scans of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

The scans were then used to produce a facsimile of the 3,300-year-old tomb near the site of the original Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

While assessing the scans last February, Dr. Nicholas Reeves spotted what he believed were marks indicating where two doorways used to be.

The archaeologist says he believes Nefertiti may lie inside.

Tutankhamun’s tomb was the most intact ever discovered in Egypt. Close to 2,000 objects were found inside.

However, its layout has been a puzzle for some time – in particular, why it was smaller than those of other kings’ tombs.

Dr. Nicholas Reeves believes there are clues in the design of the tomb that indicate it was designed to store the remains of a queen, not a king.

His theory has yet to be peer-reviewed and leading Egyptologists have urged caution over the conclusion.

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Russia has suspended all flights to Egypt following indications that the crash near Sharm el-Sheikh was caused by a bomb.

President Vladimir Putin made the announcement after UK investigators said they believed a bomb was put in the plane’s hold prior to take-off, killing all 224 people on board.

Militants linked to ISIS say they downed the plane.

The Metrojet Airbus A321 was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg when it came down in Sinai on Saturday. Most of the victims were Russian.

Militants from the Sinai Province group, linked to ISIS, have not said how they destroyed the plane. ISIS has called for a war against both Russia and the US over their air strikes in Syria.

Photo Reuters

Photo Reuters

UK officials received intelligence based on intercepted communications between militants in the Sinai Peninsula, indicating an explosive device may have been put inside or on top of the luggage just before the plane took off.

Experts in Moscow are investigating pieces of debris from the crash site, Russian officials say.

Russia is also working to repatriate as many as 45,000 Russian holidaymakers currently in Egypt – and an official said it could take up to a month to bring them home.

Since November 4, several countries have joined Britain in restricting travel to Sharm el-Sheikh. They include Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

Tourism contributed more than 12% to Egypt’s economy in 2013 and the latest measures will hit it hard, analysts say. One in five foreign tourists in Egypt is Russian.

According to Egypt’s PM Sharif Ismail, a technical fault was the most likely to cause Russia’s Kogalymavia plane crash in Sinai dismissing claims from Islamic State militants that they were responsible.

An investigation is under way after all 224 people on board were killed.

However, three airlines – Emirates, Air France and Lufthansa – have decided not to fly over the Sinai Peninsula until more information is available.

The plane’s black boxes have been found and sent for analysis, officials said.

The Kogalymavia Airbus A-321 came down early on October 31, shortly after leaving the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the Russian city of St Petersburg.

Egypt’s civil aviation minister Hossam Kamal said there had been no sign of any problems on board the flight, contradicting earlier reports that the pilot had asked to make an emergency landing.

An Egyptian official had previously said that before the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers, the pilot had said the aircraft was experiencing technical problems and he intended to try to land at the nearest airport.

Russian and French investigators have joined the Egyptian-led probe, along with experts from Airbus, which is headquartered in France.Egypt Sinai plane crash

A criminal case had been opened against Kogalymavia for “violation of rules of flight and preparation for them”, Russia’s Ria news agency reported.

Police have searched the company’s offices.

Kogalymavia spokeswoman Oksana Golovina insisted the 18-year-old plane was “fully, 100% airworthy” and added that the pilot had 12,000 hours of flying experience.

In Sinai itself, where jihadists groups are active, militants allied to IS made a claim on social media that they brought down flight KGL9268.

However, Egyptian PM Sharif Ismail dismissed the claim, saying experts had confirmed that a plane could not be downed at the altitude the Airbus 321 was flying at.

Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov told Interfax news agency that “such reports cannot be considered true”. No evidence had been seen that indicated the plane was targeted, he said.

Egypt’s civilian aviation ministry said the plane had been at an altitude of 31,000ft when it disappeared.

Security experts say a plane flying at that altitude would be beyond the range of a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile (Manpad), which Sinai militants are known to possess.

However, German carrier Lufthansa said it would avoid flying over the Sinai peninsula “as long as the cause for today’s crash has not been clarified”.

On Saturday evening, Air France-KLM and Emirates said they were following suit.

British Airways and easyJet said their routes were regularly reviewed, but that they had no plans to alter their routes to and from Sharm el-Sheikh.

A Russian plane with more than 220 people on board has crashed in central Sinai, the office of Egypt’s prime minister has confirmed.

The Airbus A-321 had just left the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for the Russian city of St Petersburg.

The plane wreckage has been found in the Hassana area. It disappeared from radar screens when travelling at 31,000ft, Egyptian officials said.

Egyptian officials said most on board are likely to have died.

The plane was operated by the small Russian airline Kogalymavia, based in western Siberia.

Russian authorities say it was carrying 217 passengers, 17 of them children, and seven crew. Most were Russian tourists.

Initially there were conflicting reports about the fate of the plane, some suggesting it had disappeared over Cyprus.Russian plane crash in Egypt

The office of Egyptian PM Sharif Ismail confirmed in a statement that a “Russian civilian plane… crashed in the central Sinai”.

It added that Sharif Ismail had formed a crisis committee to deal with the crash.

Media reports say at least 40 ambulances have been sent to the scene.

The Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said in a statement that flight 7K 9268 left Sharm el-Sheikh at 06:51 Moscow time and had been due into St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport at 12:10.

The authority added that the aircraft failed to make scheduled contact with Cyprus air traffic control 23 minutes after take-off and disappeared from the radar.

Egypt’s civilian aviation ministry said the plane had been at an altitude of 31,000ft when it disappeared.

Live flight tracking service Flight Radar 24’s Mikail Robertson confirmed the altitude.

A centre to help relatives of the passengers has been set up at Pulkovo airport, Tass news agency quoted St Petersburg city officials as saying.

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The families of the Mexican tourists who were accidentally killed by the Egyptian security forces are travelling to Egypt.

Twelve people were mistakenly killed by Egyptian army in an anti-terror operation on September 13.

Egypt says it mistook the tourists for Islamist militants, whom its forces were pursuing in the Western Desert.

The country has apologized, but has insisted the group were in a restricted area. Local sources deny the claim.

Photo AFP

Photo AFP

Egypt has been battling Islamist militants for years, with attacks escalating since the 2013 ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Until recently most of the fighting has taken place in the Sinai Peninsula with occasional attacks taking place in Cairo and other cities.

Egyptian officials put the number of Mexicans killed at eight, but Mexico has so far only confirmed two dead.

They are Luis Barajas Fernandez and Maria de Lourdes Fernandez Rubio.

The relatives of Rafael Bejarano Rangel, another Mexican who was part of the tour group, said they had been told by tour organizers that he was among those killed.

Ten people, among them six Mexicans were also injured in the attack.

The tour group had been travelling in a convoy of four 4x4s near the Bahariya oasis, a popular tourist location. The organizers said they had stopped for a picnic when the group was attacked.

The interior ministry said an Apache helicopter targeted the tourists “by mistake”.

Egypt’s ambassador to Mexico City, Yasser Shaban, said the tourists’ 4×4 vehicles resembled those used by the militants the security forces were chasing.

According to relatives, Rafael Bejarano Rangel was the one who had been organizing the trips from Mexico to Egypt for a decade.

Egyptian security forces have mistakenly killed 12 people, including Mexican tourists, during an anti-terror operation, Egypt’s interior ministry says.

The tourists were travelling in four vehicles that entered a restricted zone in the Wahat area of the Western Desert, a ministry statement said.

Ten Mexicans and Egyptians were also injured and are being treated in a local hospital.

The ministry said it had formed a team to investigate the incident.

Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned the incident and said he had “demanded an exhaustive investigation by the Egyptian government”.

The Mexican foreign ministry confirmed that at least two of its nationals had been killed and said it was working to confirm the identities of the other victims.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said Mexico’s ambassador in Egypt, Jorge Alvarez Fuentes, had visited the local hospital and spoken to five Mexicans who were in a stable condition.

Photo Reuters

Photo Reuters

The statement from Egypt’s interior ministry said the four vehicles the tourists were travelling in were “mistakenly dealt with” during a joint military police and armed forces operation.

It said the incident happened on September 13 in an area that “was off limits to foreign tourists”, but it did not give an exact location.

The group of tourists was preparing to camp out in the vast Western Desert when they came under fire.

According to the interior ministry’s statement, the security forces were pursuing Islamic militants in the desert, and targeted the four vehicles which were away from the main road with an Apache helicopter, which shot and hit the four vehicles.

The tour company transporting the tourists “did not have permits and did not inform authorities”, tourism ministry spokesman Rasha Azaz told the Associated Press.

The vast Western Desert area is popular with foreign sightseers, but is also attractive to militants.

The area – which borders Libya – is a gateway to the long border and weapons are available on the other side.

On September 13, ISIS in Egypt claimed it had “resisted a military operation” in the desert.

A group claiming to be affiliated with ISIS also said on the same day that it was present in Farafra.

The insurgency in Egypt gathered momentum after the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013 following protests against his rule.

The government says hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed, many of them in attacks claimed by ISIS’ Sinai Province affiliate.

Up until recently most of the fighting has taken place in the Sinai Peninsula with occasional attacks taking place in Cairo and other cities.

Egypt is preparing to inaugurate a major expansion of the Suez Canal, deepening the main waterway and providing ships with a 22 mile channel parallel to it.

Foreign leaders are due to attend an inauguration ceremony on August 6, promoted by Egypt’s government as an occasion for national pride.

The expansion aims to increase the traffic handled by the canal.

The Egyptian government hopes the revenues will boost the economy – but analysts have questioned the projections.Suez Canal expansion 2015

They point out that the volume of world trade has not been growing at the pace needed to deliver the sums Egypt hopes to collect.

Takings from Suez could also be hit by an expansion of the Panama Canal, due to be completed in 2016, which will compete for traffic along the Asia-North America route.

Many Egyptians have questioned whether the money could have been better spent on welfare or other infrastructure work.

The project is estimated to have cost $8.2 billion.

The expansion will allow for two-way traffic along part of the route, as well as for larger vessels overall. The construction of the new lane began in 2014, on the orders of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Security has been tightened for the inauguration ceremony amid fears of attack by militants allied to Islamic State (ISIS).

The militants, based in the Sinai Peninsula, have killed hundreds of people since the military overthrew the Islamist government of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The original canal, opened in 1869, currently handles 7% of global sea-borne trade.

The waterway connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, providing the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.

Suez Canal’s nationalization led to a brief war in 1956, pitting Egypt against the UK, France and Israel.

At least 15 people, including two children, have been killed on the Nile on July 22 when a cargo vessel hit their chartered boat, medical and security sources said.

Family and friends of a young couple had hired the boat for an engagement party and were sailing north of Cairo when it was hit, eyewitnesses said.Nile ferry crash 2015

Five of the party were rescued from the river but at least six were still missing on July 23.

The interior ministry said the bodies of four babies had been recovered. Several passengers are still missing.

The captain of the cargo boat has been arrested, police say.

It is not clear if the couple thought to be celebrating their engagement were among the dead.

Traffic had been heavy along the Nile, where many Egyptians had been celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Egyptian Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat has been killed in a bomb attack on his car in Cairo, officials say.

Hisham Barakat died of his wounds in hospital after the bombing in the suburb of Heliopolis.

According to state media, at least eight others were also hurt in the attack.

Hisham Barakat has referred thousands of Islamists to trial since the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Hundreds of Islamists have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment, as part of a crackdown on supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Jihadist militants have meanwhile stepped up their attacks on Egypt’s security forces.Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat killed in Cairo

Hisham Barakat is the most senior figure to have been targeted for assassination since a 2013 attempt on the life of the then-interior minister.

“He [Hisham Barakat] has passed away,” Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zind told AFP news agency.

The Egyptian state news agency Mena said that he had died after undergoing critical surgery. A medical official at the hospital told the Associated Press that Hisham Barakat had received multiple shrapnel wounds to the shoulder, chest and liver.

The attack involved a car bomb or an explosive device placed under a parked car near Hisham Barakat’s convoy, bomb squad chief Gen. Mohamed Gamal told AFP.

The explosion sent black smoke rising over the neighborhood and set fire to nearby trees. Images from the scene showed several damaged vehicles and bloodstains on the streets.

At least three civilians were killed, according to Mena. Witnesses said that the blast had been strong enough to shatter the windows of nearby homes.

At the hospital, an injured bodyguard said that the explosion had hit Hisham Barakat’s convoy on the way to the office.

“There was glass flying everywhere. It was as if there was an earthquake,” he said, according to AFP.

Hisham Barakat had received death threats in the past.

The Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) recently called for attacks on the judiciary, after the hanging of six militants.

Al-Jazeera senior journalist Ahmed Mansour has been arrested in Germany at the request of Egypt.

Ahmed Mansour, who works for the channel’s Arabic-language service, was detained as he tried to board a flight from Berlin to Qatar.

Egyptian authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for Ahmed Mansour, a German police official said.

A Cairo court sentenced Ahmed Mansour, 52, to 15 years in prison in absentia in 2014 on torture charges.

Al-Jazeera says the claims made against Ahmed Mansour, who has dual British and Egyptian citizenship, are absurd and false.Al Jazeera Ahmed Mansour detained in Berlin

Ahmed Mansour tweeted on Saturday night: “I am still under arrest at Berlin airport, waiting to be taken before an investigating judge.”

Al-Jazeera reporter that Ahmed Mansour is expected to remain in custody until June 22 when he will go in front of a German judge.

A police spokesman said the arrest was made at 15:20 local time.

He added that the Egyptian-issued arrest warrant accused Ahmed Mansour of committing “several crimes” but he gave no further details.

Al-Jazeera said the Egyptian warrant was previously rejected by international police body Interpol as it did not meet its rules.

In a video recorded while detained, Ahmed Mansour described the incident as a “misunderstanding” and said he hoped it would be resolved quickly.

“It is quite ludicrous that a country like Germany would enforce and support such a request made by a dictatorial regime like the one we have in Egypt,” he added.

“Other countries must not allow themselves to be tools of this media oppression, least of all those that respect freedom of the media as does Germany,” said al-Jazeera acting director General Mostefa Souag.

Relations between Doha and Cairo have been strained by Qatar’s support for the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood organization in Egypt.

Three al-Jazeera journalists, including Australian Peter Greste, were arrested in Egypt in 2013 on charges of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi visited Germany earlier this month and met with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Former Egyptian leader Mohamed Morsi has been sentenced to life in prison for espionage.

Ex-President Mohamed Morsi was accused of spying on behalf of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Lebanese militants Hezbollah and Iran.

The court is yet to decide on whether to uphold death sentences given to Mohamed Morsi and 100 others over a mass prison break in 2011.

Mohamed Morsi’s supporters have described the charges against him as “farcical”.

The former leader was deposed in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule and is already serving a 20-year jail term for ordering the arrest and torture of demonstrators.Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi inside a glass cage during his trial in Cairo earlier this ye

The judge said on June 16 that the Muslim Brotherhood “collaborated with Palestinian Hamas to infiltrate Egypt’s eastern borders and attack prisons”, state TV reported.

Mohamed Morsi was given life, while 16 other Muslim Brotherhood members – including leader Khairat al-Shater – were sentenced to death on charges of delivering secret documents abroad between 2005 and 2013.

In Egypt, a life sentence is 25 years in jail.

A final ruling on Mohamed Morsi’s death sentence for the 2011 prison break is expected after a court recess. It has been awaiting the opinion of Egypt’s highest religious figure, the Grand Mufti.

At least seven people died after a suicide bomber has blown himself up near the ancient Temple of Karnak in the Egyptian city of Luxor, police say.

Local media reported that three assailants were killed in the attack and that four bystanders were injured.Luxor Karnak Temple suicide attack 2015

The assailants reportedly tried to storm a barricade at Karnak Temple, one of Egypt’s most popular tourist sites.

Two of the attackers are believed to have been shot dead by police, but a third passed through barricade and detonated an explosive device.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but jihadist militants have killed hundreds of security forces and government personnel since the military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Last week, two members of Egypt’s tourism and antiquities police force were shot dead on a road near the pyramids at Giza.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will stand trial again over the killing of protesters in 2011, an appeals court has ordered.

Hosni Mubarak, 87, was cleared in a retrial in November 2014 after originally being jailed for life over the death of 800 people during the revolution.

He was separately convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years in jail earlier this year.Hosni Mubarak to be retried over Arab Spring deaths

Hosni Mubarak is currently in the Maadi military hospital in Cairo.

The judge at the Court of Cassation said Hosni Mubarak would be retried on November 5. It will be the third time the case has been heard.

Hosni Mubarak had been convicted of conspiracy to kill in June 2012, but a retrial was ordered on a technicality the following year.

The decision to drop the charges sparked protests, with demonstrators clashing with police near Tahrir Square.

Hosni Mubarak, who was in power for nearly 30 years, stepped down in February 2011 after mass protests against his rule.

The former president has faced a series of trials and retrials over the killings and corruption and the time he has spent in custody means he has already served his three-year jail term for embezzlement.

Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi and more than 100 other people have been sentenced to death over a mass prison break in 2011.

Mohamed Morsi is already serving a 20-year prison term for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters while in power.

Egypt’s religious authorities will now have to give their opinion before the sentence can be carried out.

Mohamed Morsi’s supporters from his Muslim Brotherhood movement have described the charges against him as “farcical”.

He was deposed by the military in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule.

Since then, the authorities have banned the Muslim Brotherhood and arrested thousands of his supporters.

In a separate case on May 16, an Egyptian court banned football fan clubs known as the Ultras, who played a leading role in protests during the 2011 uprising against then-president Hosni Mubarak.

The former president raised both fists in defiance as the sentences were given.

Mohammed Morsi, who escaped from Wadi Natroun prison in January 2011, was accused of colluding with foreign militants in a plot to free Islamists during the mass prison breaks.Egypt's Islamist former president Mohamed Morsi in court

Many of his 104 co-defendants were Palestinians accused of being members of militant group Hamas, and were charged in absentia.

The court also issued rulings on another case, sentencing 16 Muslim Brotherhood members, including deputy leader Khairat al-Shater, to death on spying charges.

Mohamed Morsi, who also faces espionage charges, will be issued a verdict in that case at a later date.

Hundreds of people have been sentenced to death in a crackdown on the Brotherhood following Mohamed Morsi’s removal in 2013.

However, it is thought that only one such death sentence has been carried out so far.

All death sentences must first be sent to the grand mufti, Egypt’s highest religious authority, for his non-binding opinion on whether they should stand.

Convictions are still open to appeal, even if the grand mufti gives his approval.

The death sentence was condemned by Amnesty International, which said it had become a tool “to purge the political opposition”, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who likened it to a return to “ancient Egypt”.

Mohamed Morsi was Egypt’s first freely elected president, but protests began building less than a year into his rule when he issued a decree granting himself far-reaching powers.

The armed forces, led by then-military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

In May 2014, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi became president after securing a landslide victory in presidential elections with a turnout of 46%.

Hosni Mubarak has been sentenced to 3 years in prison on corruption charges after a retrial in Egypt’s capital, Cairo.

The former Egyptian president’s sons, Alaa and Gamal, were given 4 years each in the same case which centers on the embezzlement of $14 million earmarked for renovation of presidential palaces.

The original conviction was overturned on January 13 over legal procedures.

This was the last court case hanging over Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in the 2011 uprising.Hosni Mubarak sentence

Hosni Mubarak and his sons were also fined for the amount embezzled and used to renovate their private residences in Cairo and on the Red Sea coast, as well as a family farm.

The 87-year-old former leader and his sons were present in the courtroom at a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo.

Some of his supporters wore T-shirts with Hosni Mubarak’s face and waved and blew kisses as he entered, the Associated Press news agency says.

They shouted in anger as the judge issued the ruling – which can be appealed against.

It is not clear whether the time Hosni Mubarak has already served will count – or whether he will be sent to jail again.

Egypt’s highest court is also due to decide on June 4 whether to allow an appeal against a lower court’s ruling that dropped murder charges against Hosni Mubarak.

Hosni Mubarak remains at Maadi Military Hospital in Cairo.

Former Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters during his rule.

It is the first verdict Mohamed Morsi has received since his ousting and is one of several trials he faces.

Mohamed Morsi was deposed by the army in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule.

Since then, the authorities have banned his Muslim Brotherhood movement and arrested thousands of his supporters.Mohamed Morsi sentenced to 20 years in jail

Mohamed Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood figures escaped a more serious charge of inciting the killing of protesters, which could have carried the death sentence.

Most of the other defendants were also given 20-year prison sentences.

The group stood accused of inciting supporters to kill a journalist and opposition protesters in clashes outside the presidential palace in late 2012.

As crowds grew outside the palace, Mohamed Morsi ordered the police to disperse them.

They refused, so the Muslim Brotherhood brought in their own supporters. Eleven people died in the ensuing clashes, mostly from the Brotherhood.

Hearing the verdict, Mohamed Morsi and the other defendants gave a four-fingered salute, a symbol of the deadly clearance of Brotherhood supporters at the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque in 2013, AP reports.

Mohamed Morsi himself has rejected the authority of the courts, shouting during his first trial that he was the victim of a military coup.

On April 20, a court sentenced 22 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death for an attack on a police station in Cairo, part of an ongoing crackdown against the Islamist movement.

An Egyptian judge has confirmed the death sentences for the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Badie and 13 others.

They have been sentenced to death for planning attacks against the state.

A US-Egyptian citizen and 36 others have been jailed for life.

Mohammed Badie was sentenced in March and is embroiled in some 40 other trials. The sentences are subject to appeal.

Hundreds of people have been sentenced to death in a crackdown on the Brotherhood following the removal of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

However, so far only one death sentence has been carried out.Mohammed Badie death sentence

The court session was broadcast live on TV.

The sentences are the final phase in the trial which saw Muslim Brotherhood leaders charged with encouraging members of the group to confront the state and spread chaos following the dispersal of protests in 2013.

They were handed down following advice from Egypt’s highest Islamic legal official, the grand mufti.

Two of the defendants were sentenced to death in absentia.

Mohamed Badie was already sentenced to death in a case last year related to attacks on police stations in the southern province of Minya. But the ruling was later overturned and a retrial was ordered.

US-Egyptian citizen Mohamed Soltan was sentenced to life imprisonment for supporting the Brotherhood and transmitting false news.

The son of Brotherhood preacher Salah Soltan, he has been on hunger strike for months and has received attention from local and international human rights organizations.

Critics describe the trials against Brotherhood members as politicized, but the government insists on the transparency and independence of the judiciary.

A rare Red Sea shark attack has killed a German tourist at an Egyptian resort, police say.

The shark reportedly bit off the 52-year-old man’s leg at the knee.

The attack took place on March 22 off the coastal city al-Qusair, the first such incident in five years.Red Sea shark attack oceanic whitetip

The species of shark has not been confirmed. A spate of attacks in 2010 that also led to one death was believed to have been carried out by an oceanic whitetip.

Those attacks forced the closure of part of the major resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for a week.

The area that saw Sunday’s attack witnessed another in 2009 that killed a Frenchwoman.

The German embassy in Cairo said it had been informed of the latest death but could not comment further.

Egypt is one of the world’s leading diving destinations.

Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has been jailed for five years for breaking a protest law and assaulting a policeman.

The blogger was previously given a 15-year jail term, and was freed on bail last year.

Alaa Abdel Fattah gained fame during the 2011 uprising as a campaigner against military trials for civilians.

Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed also appeared in the same court on February 23 at the start of their retrial.Alaa Abdel Fattah jailed for 5 years

The men were freed on bail earlier this month after more than a year behind bars. They are next due in court on March 8.

The journalists are accused of spreading false information and of helping the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization.

Australian Peter Greste, the third journalist in the case, was freed on February 1 and deported to Australia.

Alaa Abdel Fattah was charged under laws that prohibit protests without prior government permission.

The activist was accused of organizing an illegal protest in 2013, and of assaulting a policeman.

Rights groups say the charges are politically motivated and form part of a broader crackdown on dissent under President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, a former army chief.

Other defendants on trial with Alaa Abdel Fattah received sentences ranging from 3 to 5 years.

There was uproar in the courtroom after the verdicts, with supporters of the defendants calling for an end to military rule in Egypt.

Defense lawyers said they would appeal against the ruling.

Rights groups have also criticized the case against the al-Jazeera journalists, describing it as an assault on press freedom.

At their original trial, Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison. Baher Mohamed received an additional three-year sentence on a separate charge involving possession of weapons.

The defendants denied the charges, describing their trial as a sham.

Their convictions were overturned on January 1, when the courts ordered a retrial. Exactly one month later, Peter Greste was released and deported to Australia.

Several students have also been held in the same case. The students deny working for al-Jazeera but it is thought that material filmed on their phones was used by the network.