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Egypt
Egypt has bombed ISIS targets in Libya, hours after the group published video showing the apparent killings of 21 Egyptian Christians.
State TV said the dawn strikes had targeted camps, training sites and weapons storage areas.
Libyan officials said Egypt had hit targets in the militant-held city of Derna in co-ordination with Libya.
A video emerged on February 15 showing militants forcing a group of men to the ground and decapitating them.
Islamic State militants claim to have carried out several attacks in Libya, which is in effect without a government.
The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all Coptic Christians, were seized in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya, under the control of Islamist groups.
The video of the beheadings was posted online by Libyan jihadists who pledge loyalty to ISIS. The victims were all wearing orange overalls as in previous videos of ISIS executions. It was one of the first such videos to come from an ISIS group outside its core territory in Syria and Iraq.
Egypt did not give the locations of the strikes, but reports said that Egyptian jets had taken part in co-ordinated air strikes on Derna.
Libyan Air force commander Saqer al-Joroushi told Reuters that Libyan planes had bombed targets in Sirte and Bin Jawad.
Earlier, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt had the “right to respond” against ISIS, whom he described as “inhuman criminal killers”.
“Egypt and the whole world are in a fierce battle with extremist groups carrying extremist ideology and sharing the same goals.”
Egypt has declared seven days of national mourning.
Leading international condemnation, the United States called the killings “despicable” and “cowardly”.
Libya is home to a large community of both Muslim and Coptic Egyptians, with most working in the construction sector.
In the first kidnapping in Sirte, in late December, a group of Coptic Christians was abducted at a fake checkpoint while trying to leave the city.
Days later, militants raided a residential compound in Sirte and separated Christians from Muslims before handcuffing their captives and taking them away.
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Al-Jazeera reporter Peter Greste was freed from Egypt prison and deported on February 1.
After 400 days behind bars, Peter Greste landed safely in Cyprus, on his way to his native Australia.
Peter Greste will not rest until his colleagues are released from prison in Egypt, his family says.
He was arrested in 2013 and tried on charges that included spreading false news and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood.
Two al-Jazeera colleagues, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, remain jailed.
Mohamed Fahmy, who holds dual Egyptian and Canadian citizenship, may be freed after having his Egyptian nationality revoked, presidential sources said.
But there are still concerns about Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian who holds no dual nationality.
Peter Greste spoke about his concerns for his colleagues to his family after his release.
Speaking at a press conference in the Australian city of Brisbane, brother Andrew Greste said: “We want to acknowledge that Peter’s two other colleagues are still there.”
His father Juris Greste said that they felt very deeply for those left behind.
Andrew Greste also thanked all those who had supported his brother and worked for his release.
“We are small cogs in this massive campaign,” he said.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Peter Greste had told her in a telephone conversation that he was eager to return to his family in Brisbane.
“He was immensely relieved and he was desperate to come home to Australia and reunite with his family,” said Julie Bishop.
“From my discussion with him, he was very keen to be back on a beach and lying in the sun in Australia.”
The three journalists had been accused of collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi by the military in 2013.
All the defendants denied the charges against them and said their trial was a sham.
Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison and Baher Mohamed to 10. Their convictions were overturned on January 1, but the men remained in custody pending a retrial.
Peter Greste’s release on Sunday came after a long international campaign.
His family said that he would return to Australia when he felt ready.
His mother, Lois Greste, said she had been quietly dreaming about this moment.
The first hints of Peter Greste’s release came in November, when President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said he was considering granting pardons to the two foreign al-Jazeera journalists.
He had earlier signed a decree on repatriating foreign prisoners.
Peter Greste’s release was eventually confirmed by a statement issued by the Egyptian interior ministry.
According to campaign group Reporters Without Borders, there are currently 165 journalists imprisoned around the world, in countries including China, Iran, Eritrea, Egypt, Uzbekistan and Russia.
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Tutankhamun’s blue and gold braided beard on the burial mask of the pharaoh was stuck on with epoxy after it was knocked during cleaning, say staff at Cairo museum.
However, conservators at the Egypt museum in Cairo gave differing accounts of the exact circumstances.
It is not clear whether the mask was damaged during cleaning or if the beard was removed because it was loose.
The 3,000-year-old artefact, with other relics from the boy king’s tomb, is among Cairo’s biggest attractions.
An inquiry is under way into what happened to one of Egypt’s greatest treasures.
Instead of being taken to a conservation lab, the repair was performed quickly to put the mask back on display, conservators say.
One of the museum conservators said quick-drying glue was used to re-attach the beard to the famed mask.
A second one who was present at the time of the repair said the glue had dried on the mask and that a colleague used a spatula to remove it, leaving scratches.
The director of the Egypt Museum, Mahmoud Al Hawagi, confirmed that a translucent adhesive material had appeared on the burial mask.
The ministry of antiquities was now investigating how this happened, he added.
The conservators spoke on condition of anonymity, but they agreed that orders for a quick fix must have come from above.
The Egypt Museum is among Cairo’s top tourist sites, but in some areas ancient artefacts lie unprotected from the public.
Tutankhamun’s burial mask was discovered in 1922 along with the pharaoh’s nearly intact tomb and sparked worldwide interest in archaeology and ancient Egypt.
Egypt’s Court of Cassation has overturned the convictions for embezzlement of former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons and ordered a retrial.
Hosni Mubarak, now 86, was jailed for three years in May after being found guilty of fraudulently billing the government for $14 million of personal expenses.
However, the Court of Cassation found legal procedures were not followed properly.
Hosni Mubarak’s lawyer says the former president would soon be released from detention at a Cairo military hospital.
It was the last remaining case keeping Hosni Mubarak behind bars.
Charges of conspiring in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule in 2011 were dropped in November.
The former president and his sons – Alaa, 53, and Gamal, 51 – were also cleared of two separate corruption charges.
The Court of Cassation, Egypt’s top appeals court, announced that it had overturned the three men’s convictions for embezzlement and ordered a retrial at a brief session on January 13.
At the original trial, prosecutors alleged that Hosni Mubarak and his sons had billed the government for more than 100,000 Egyptian pounds of personal expenses – including utility bills, interior design, landscaping, furniture and appliances – for several private homes and a public palace that was fraudulently transferred to their ownership.
Other expenses included renovating a villa, and building a new palace wing to accommodate one of Hosni Mubarak’s granddaughters and a mausoleum for a grandson who died, they said.
Evidence submitted by the prosecutors included more than a thousand original and forged receipts.
When a new court is assigned for the retrial, the judges could order Hosni Mubarak to be freed because no convictions against him remain.
Egyptian media report that Hosni Mubarak had been expected to be released from the military hospital at Maadi on January 17 even if the embezzlement conviction was upheld because he has been in custody since April 2011.
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Exodus: Gods and Kings has been banned in Egypt because of what censors described as “historical inaccuracies”.
The head of the censorship board said these included the film’s depiction of Jews as having built the Pyramids, and that an earthquake, not a miracle by Moses, caused the Red Sea to part.
Exodus: Gods and Kings stars Christian Bale as Moses.
There have also been reports that the film is banned in Morocco.
Although the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre (CCM) had given the film the green light, Moroccan business website Medias24.com said that officials had decided to ban the movie from being screened the day before its premiere.
According to the book of Exodus, Jewish slaves were led to freedom by Moses after God inflicted a series of plagues on Egypt.
The Pyramids are believed to have been built about 1,000 years before the story of the Exodus.
The Biblical story tells how the Red Sea was parted by a miracle performed by God through Moses, allowing the Jewish people to escape from the pursuing Egyptian army.
Exodus: Gods and Kings, which cost a reported $140 million to make, took $24.5 million on its debut weekend.
The Biblical epic overtook the third installment of The Hunger Games, following three weeks at number one. However, it has had mixed reviews.
The film’s opening fell well short of other modern Biblical films, including Darren Aronofsky’s Noah which took $43.7 million on its opening weekend in March and 2004’s The Passion of the Christ, which took $83.3 million.
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Canada has decided to shut its embassy in Cairo due to “security concerns”, a day after the UK closed its own diplomatic mission in the Egyptian capital.
It is not clear if Canada’s measure is linked to a video in which a man believed to be a Canadian militant urges attacks against his home country.
The video – released on December 7 – refers to the killing of Canadian soldiers and an attack on parliament in Ottawa.
Canada is part of a coalition fighting Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said in a statement on December 7 that Canadians must remain vigilant.
“That is why we are taking part in the coalition that is currently conducting air strikes against ISIL [ISIS], and supporting the security forces in Iraq in their fight against this terrorist scourge,” he said. Countries in the coalition often refer to ISIS or ISIL.
A message posted on the Canadian Cairo embassy website reads: “The ability to provide consular services may occasionally be limited for short periods due to unsettled security conditions.”
No other details have been given to explain the closure.
The British embassy in Cairo was first shut down on December 7 and remains closed amid ongoing fears over security, the Foreign Office says.
In Egypt, militants mainly based in the Sinai peninsula have stepped up attacks on soldiers and police since the military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi last year.
Jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has pledged allegiance to ISIS.
The ISIS video released on Sunday features a Canadian fighter identified as Abu Anwar al-Canadi, according to Site Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online.
Canadian media have identified him as John Maguire, an Islamist convert from near Ottawa. They said he was reportedly under investigation after travelling to Syria to join IS in January 2013.
In the video John Maguire urged Muslims to follow the example of the recent attacks in Canada.
An Egyptian court has dismissed charges against former President Hosni Mubarak for conspiring in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising due to a technicality and lack of jurisdiction.
Hosni Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal were also cleared by Chief Judge Mahmoud Kamel al-Rashidi of corruption charges related to exporting gas to Israel.
In 2013, an appeals court overturned an initial life sentence given to Hosni Mubarak in 2012 on technical grounds.
Hosni Mubarak, 86, will not be released as he is serving a three-year sentence for embezzling public funds.
He denies all the charges against him.
Hosni Mubarak had been accused along with the former police commanders of involvement in the killing of 846 demonstrators during the 2011 revolt that ended his three-decade rule. Only 239 of the deaths were considered by the court, the presiding judge said.
In 2012, Hosni Mubarak – along with former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly – was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for complicity in the deaths of demonstrators during the 2011 revolt that eventually forced him to resign.
In January 2013, the Court of Cassation upheld an appeal by the two men against their convictions on technical grounds and ordered a retrial.
In August, a court ordered Hosni Mubarak’s release from prison and transfer to a military hospital in Cairo, where he is being held under house arrest.
Hosni Mubarak’s Islamist successor Mohamed Morsi lasted only a year in power following elections before being ousted by the military in July 2013.
The move followed four days of mass anti-government protests and Mohamed Morsi’s rejection of an ultimatum from the generals to resolve Egypt’s worst political crisis since the 2011 upheaval.
The former army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, was later elected as the country’s new president.
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Cairo’s Court of Cassation has set the appeals hearing of three jailed al-Jazeera journalists for January 1, 2015, says Mohamed Fahmy’s family.
Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste were jailed for seven years on June 23, 2014.
They were accused of spreading false news and supporting the Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood.
The court will either uphold the verdict or call for a retrial.
It is thought the Court of Cassation will take one or two sessions to deliver its ruling.
Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed were sentenced to seven years in jail in Egypt
If the court rejects the sentences, the case will return to the criminal court for a retrial.
Should it uphold the verdict, the only other alternative is for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to offer a pardon.
Egyptian-Canadian bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, Australian correspondent Peter Greste and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were arrested on December 29, 2013.
At the sentencing in June 2014, Mohamed Fahmy received a further three years on charges of possessing “unlicensed ammunition”.
Eleven other defendants, including three foreign journalists, tried in absentia at the same time received 10-year sentences.
The sentencing of the three sparked an international outcry and raised concerns over growing media restrictions in Egypt.
Journalists around the world held silent protests against their imprisonment.
Qatar-base al-Jazeera was banned from operating inside Egypt after the authorities accused it of broadcasting reports sympathetic to former President Mohamed Morsi and the now banned Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera has consistently denied the allegations.
However, Qatar has supported the Brotherhood and is unpopular with Egypt’s government.
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The restoration of Coptic Christian Church Virgin Mary in Cairo has been completed after 16 years.
Also known as the Hanging Church because it is seated above a 2nd Century Roman fortress, it was home to the Coptic pope until the 13th Century.
PM Ibrahim Mahlab and Coptic Pope Tawadros II attended the opening ceremony at the church.
Christians make up about 10% of Egypt’s mainly Muslim population.
Egypt’s PM Ibrahim Mahlab and Pope Tawadros II attended the opening ceremony at the Coptic Christian Church in Cairo
Many Christians were sympathetic to the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi last year and dozens of churches were damaged in the ensuing violence.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called for Christians and Muslims to be united and is said to have a good relationship with Pope Tawadros.
Ibrahim Mahlab said the restoration, which cost more than $5 million, was delayed by engineering challenges posed by subterranean water courses.
He was taken on a tour of the church to learn more about the renovation process.
The church is in a compound close to Cairo’s first mosque and one of the oldest synagogues.
Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi is being charged with handing over national security documents to Qatar, the state prosecutor says.
Relations between Egypt and Qatar have been strained since the military ousted Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 after protests against his one-year rule.
Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group to which he belongs.
He faces several trials for charges including espionage. He has called the court illegitimate.
Several other Muslim Brotherhood leaders, as well as hundreds of ordinary members, have already been sentenced to death.
A crackdown by the authorities over the past year has seen more than 1,400 people killed and 16,000 others detained, rights activists say.
Mohamed Morsi is being charged with handing over Egypt’s security documents to Qatar
Mohamed Morsi will be tried for having “handed over to Qatari intelligence documents linked to national security… in exchange for $1 million”, the prosecutor said in a statement quoted by AFP news agency.
He was accused of passing on the files via Doha-based TV network Al Jazeera.
When the allegations emerged in August, Al Jazeera told Reuters: “Any information Al Jazeera receives is handled with the highest standard of journalistic ethics. We do not therefore comment on sources, or pass information to governments.”
Last June, a court in Egypt sentenced three Al Jazeera English journalists to between seven and 10 years in prison after convicting them charges including of spreading false news.
The three journalists have strenuously denied the charges and plan to appeal.
The court decision was criticized by journalists and human rights groups, who have campaigned for their release.
Israel announces it has expanded its ground offensive in Gaza, with residents reporting the heaviest shelling since the conflict began 13 days ago.
In a statement, Israel’s military said “additional forces” had joined “the effort to combat terror” in Gaza.
Four Palestinians died, including two children and the son of a senior Hamas official, in new airstrikes on Sunday, July 19.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due to arrive in Qatar later to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Ban Ki-moon’s visit is part of a regional tour aimed at helping Israelis and Palestinians “end the violence and find a way forward”, the UN said.
The death toll continued to rise at the weekend, with the number of Palestinians killed now at more than 350 – the vast majority of them civilians.
Israel has expanded its ground offensive in Gaza
Five Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians have died since PM Benjamin Netanyahu launched the military offensive on July 8.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sent ground troops into Gaza on Thursday after 10 days of heavy air and naval barrages failed to stop rocket fire from Gaza.
Israel says the ground operation is necessary to target a Hamas tunnel network, which it says it could not do only from the air.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday during a gunfight with Palestinian militants who had used tunnels to cross into Israel to launch an attack, the IDF said.
Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, an IDF spokesman, said the ground offensive was being expanded “to restore security and stability to Israel’s residents and citizens”.
Residents in Gaza reported hearing explosions throughout the night on Saturday.
An airstrike in the suburb of Shejaiya targeted the house of Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, killing four people including his son and daughter-in-law, Palestinian doctors said.
Meanwhile, the UN warned that it was running out of supplies to help more than 50,000 Palestinians who have sought shelter at its schools in Gaza.
A UN official said the number of people fleeing was much higher than expected, with both the Israeli and Egyptian borders closed to Gazans.
Diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire involving, among others, Egypt, Qatar, France and the UN, have failed to make any progress.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius met Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, but said that attempts to agree a ceasefire had failed.
“Sadly I can say that the call for a ceasefire has not been heard, and on the contrary, there’s a risk of more civilian casualties that worries us,” he told press.
Qatar is expected to host a meeting between President Abbas and Ban Ki-moon on Sunday before the UN chief continues on to Kuwait, Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan.
Mahmoud Abbas is also due to meet Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in a bid to convince the Islamist group to agree to Egyptian efforts to end the fighting.
Hamas rejected an Egypt-brokered ceasefire last week, saying any deal with Israel must include an end to a blockade of Gaza.
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Egypt launched an initiative on Monday to halt Israel-Palestinian conflict.
On Tuesday, Israel has accepted the truce proposal for the conflict with Gaza.
Hamas, which controls Gaza, has not formally responded. But its armed wing has rejected the plan as a “surrender”.
Under the terms, the ceasefire should begin immediately, followed by a series of meetings in Cairo with high-level delegations from both sides.
Palestinian officials say at least 192 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes launched eight days ago to stop militants firing rockets into Israel.
There have been no Israeli air strikes into Gaza since the 09:00 truce, but at least one rocket has been fired from Gaza into Israel.
Egypt launched an initiative to halt Israel-Palestinian conflict
Israel’s security cabinet, convened by PM Benjamin Netanyahu, voted to approve the truce on Tuesday morning, minutes before the proposed time for it to come into effect.
Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the IDF, Israel’s military, said: “In accordance with the government directives, the IDF now holds fire. We remain alert and preserve high preparedness levels, both defensive and offensive. If the Hamas terror organization will fire at Israel, we shall respond.”
For now, Hamas sources are saying its attacks will “increase in ferocity and intensity” unless Israel releases prisoners and co-operates with Egypt to lift economic restrictions on Gaza.
That is not encouraging but does not mean that a deal will not ultimately be done – just that it will not be easy, our correspondent says.
Meanwhile the casualty figures continue to mount.
Three people were killed in Khan Younis, south of Gaza, on Tuesday morning, shortly before Israel accepted the proposed truce.
Of the 192 now reported dead by the Palestinian health authority, the UN estimates that over three-quarters were civilians.
An estimated 1,400 Palestinians have been injured.
Israel disputes the Palestinian casualty figures, saying they were based on Hamas sources and were not objective.
At least four Israelis have been seriously injured since the violence flared, but no-one has been killed.
Israeli sources said at least three rockets landed in and around the southern Israeli city of Eilat overnight.
Reports suggest they may have been fired from the Sinai peninsula in Egypt rather than from Gaza.
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Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak has been sentenced to three years in prison after a Cairo court found him guilty of embezzling public funds.
Hosni Mubarak’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were also convicted and given four-year terms.
The three were also fined $3 million and ordered to repay the $17.6 million they were accused of stealing.
Hosni Mubarak, 86, is also on trial for abuse of power and conspiring in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him to resign.
Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak has been sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling public funds
He was found guilty of the charge relating to the protesters in 2012 along with former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and sentenced to life in prison.
In January 2013 the Court of Cassation upheld an appeal by the two men against their convictions on technical grounds and ordered a retrial.
In August, a court ordered Hosni Mubarak’s release from prison and transfer to a military hospital in Cairo, where he is being held under house arrest.
Public attention in Egypt has largely shifted away from the case since the military overthrew his democratically-elected successor, Mohamed Morsi, in July.
Mohamed Morsi was in turn put on trial on a variety of charges, including incitement to murder, espionage and fraud.
Despite the subsequent return to power of many of their associates, the Mubaraks were charged with embezzlement in February.
They were accused of diverting $17.6 million meant for maintenance of presidential palaces to renovate their own private residences.
They denied the charge and asserted at the trial that the prosecution’s case was “completely unsubstantiated because it never happened”.
For the verdict on Tuesday, Hosni Mubarak sat in the caged dock in a wheelchair, wearing a grey suit. His sons stood beside him in white prison clothing.
It was not clear if the three years Hosni Mubarak and his sons have spent in custody would count towards their sentences, and also if the former president would return to the military hospital or be sent to Torah prison.
An Egypt court has recommended the death penalty for 683 people – including Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie – at a mass trial in Cairo.
The defendants faced charges over an attack on a police station in Minya in 2013 in which a policeman was killed.
However, the judge also commuted to life terms 492 death sentences out of 529 passed in March in a separate case.
Also on Monday, a court banned a youth group that helped ignite the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The decision passed in Cairo to outlaw the April 6 pro-democracy movement was based on a complaint that accused the group of “tarnishing the image” of Egypt and colluding with foreign parties.
Ahmed Maher, the group’s leader, was sentenced to three years in prison in December for violating a law that bans all but police-sanctioned protests.
The cases and speed of the mass trial hearings have drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups and the UN.
The trials took just hours each and the court prevented defense lawyers from presenting their case, according to Human Right Watch.
Families outside the court were not told who of the 529 sentenced in March faced the death penalty (photo Reuters)
The sentences have been referred to the Grand Mufti – Egypt’s top Islamic authority – for approval or rejection, a step which correspondents say is usually considered a formality. A final decision will be issued in June.
Authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists since President Mohamed Morsi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, was removed by the military in July.
Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested.
The verdict was the first against Mohammed Badie in the several trials he faces on various charges along with Mohamed Morsi himself and other Brotherhood leaders.
Of the 683 sentenced on Monday, only about 50 are in detention but the others have a right to a retrial if they hand themselves in.
The group was accused of involvement in the murder and attempted murder of policemen in Minya province on August 14, the day police killed hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in clashes in Cairo.
Defense lawyers boycotted the last session, branding it “farcical.”
The final judgement on the sentencing of the 529 Muslim Brotherhood supporters accused of attacking another police station in the same province on the same day means 37 will now face the death penalty.
Defense lawyer Khaled Elkomy said 60% of those defendants, including teachers and doctors, have evidence that “proves they were not present” when that station was attacked, a statement released by human rights group Avaaz said.
Last month, the UN human rights commissioner condemned the two trials and said they had breached international human rights law.
A spokesman for Navi Pillay said the “cursory mass trial” was “rife with procedural irregularities.”
The government had defended the court’s handling of the first mass case, insisting that the sentences were passed only “after careful study” and were subject to appeal.
At least 1,000 opponents of the military-installed regime have been sentenced since December. As well as the death sentences, the jail terms passed range from six months to life.
The authorities have designated the Brotherhood a terrorist group, blaming it for a series of bombings and attacks. The group has strongly denied the accusations.
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Egypt’s military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has resigned in order to stand for the presidency.
In a widely expected announcement, Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said on state TV he was appearing “in my military uniform for the last time”.
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, 59, led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 after mass opposition protests.
Correspondents say he is likely to win the presidency, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals.
To his supporters, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is a saviour who can end the political turmoil dogging Egypt since 2011 when a popular uprising ended Hosni Mubarak’s three decades of one-man rule.
Egypt’s military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has resigned in order to stand for the presidency
But his opponents hold him responsible for what human rights groups say are widespread abuses, and fear that he wants a return to authoritarianism.
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s announcement came hours after Egypt’s interim authorities ordered the prosecution of 919 suspected Islamists and days after 528 were sentenced to death in a separate case.
The starting date of the nomination process for the presidential election will reportedly be announced on Sunday, after which no changes may be made to the electoral roll.
The government has yet to set a date for the vote, although earlier this month al-Ahram newspaper cited interim President Adly Mansour as saying that it would be completed by July 17.
Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 election, is the only other candidate to have declared his intention to run.
General Sedki Sobhi, the current chief-of-staff of the armed forces, is expected to be named Field Marshal Sisi’s successor.
If Abdul Fattah al-Sisi becomes president, he will be the latest in a line of Egyptian rulers drawn from the military; a line only briefly broken during President Mohamed Morsi’s year in office.
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An Egyptian court has sentenced to death 529 supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Muslim Brotherhood members were convicted of charges including murdering a policeman and attacks on people and property.
The group is among over 1,200 supporters of Mohamed Morsi on trial, including senior Muslim Brotherhood members.
Authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists since Mohamed Morsi was removed by the military in July. Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested.
They are expected to appeal.
The verdict now goes to Egypt’s supreme religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for approval or rejection.
529 Muslim Brotherhood members were convicted of charges including murdering a policeman and attacks on people and property
Campaigners say that while death sentences are often handed down in Egypt, few have been carried out in recent years.
The final trial session will not be held until April 28, so there is some time left before the sentence is confirmed and there will be time to appeal in that period.
The court in Minya, south of Cairo, issued its ruling after only two sessions in which the defendants’ lawyers complained they had no chance to present their case.
Lawyers have accused the presiding judge of “veering away from all legal norms” and denying justice to the accused, our correspondent adds.
They were convicted, among other charges, of the murder of the deputy commander of the Matay district police station in Minya.
More than 150 suspects were in court for the trial – the others were convicted in absentia, reports say.
The court also acquitted 16 other defendants.
The attacks took place in August after security forces broke up two camps of pro-Morsi supporters in Cairo, killing hundreds of people.
Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military in July 2013 following mass street protests against his government.
A second group of 700 Mohamed Morsi supporters is due to go on trial on Tuesday.
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Gunmen have killed six Egyptian soldiers at a checkpoint in the northern Cairo suburb of Shubra al-Khayma, state media reports.
A security official said two bombs left behind by the attackers had been defused.
The violence comes two days after another soldier was shot dead in an attack on an army bus in eastern Cairo.
Egypt has seen an upsurge in violence since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last July
There has been an upsurge in violence since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last July.
The military has accused Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood of carrying out this latest and previous attacks. The Muslim Brotherhood denies involvement.
The Muslim Brotherhood was designated a terrorist group in December and thousands of its members have been put on trial.
A series of high-profile attacks on security forces in Cairo and the Sinai Peninsula have been claimed by another group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which it says are in revenge for the military-backed government’s repression of Mohamed Morsi’s supporters.
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Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has indicated he will run for Egypt’s presidency.
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was quoted by the state news agency Mena as revealing that “official procedures” regarding his candidacy were expected in the coming days.
It is the clearest indication yet that Abdul Fattah al-Sisi will stand in the election which is scheduled to take place by mid-April.
The field marshal led the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in July.
Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has indicated he will run for Egypt’s presidency
He has been widely expected to resign and declare a presidential bid since the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) gave its public support at the end of January.
Correspondents say Abdul Fattah al-Sisi would be likely to win, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals.
The field marshal commented on his prospective candidacy in a speech at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy in Cairo.
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said he could “not turn his back on calls by the majority of Egyptians for him to run for president”, Mena reported.
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Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi has been accused by prosecutors of leaking state secrets to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
The claim came during the second hearing of his trial on espionage charges.
Prosecutors allege that he and 35 others were involved in a plot to destabilize Egypt. The trial was later adjourned to February 27.
The deposed Islamist leader is facing four separate trials.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters say he and other senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders are the victims of politically motivated prosecutions.
The espionage trail opened on February 16 and on Sunday prosecutors detailed the charges against Mohamed Morsi and his co-defendants.
They were specifically accused of “delivering to a foreign country… national defense secrets and providing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards with security reports in order to destabilize the security and stability of the country”, AFP news agency reported.
The statement read in court did not identify the “foreign country”.
Egyptian prosecutors have accused ousted President Mohammed Morsi of leaking state secrets to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
Mohamed Morsi is also accused of collaborating with the Palestinian movement Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty.
During Sunday’s hearing, Mohamed Morsi was held separately in a soundproof glass cage to prevent him shouting and disrupting proceedings.
Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military last July following mass street protests against his government.
There has since been a severe crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood group, as well as on other activists seen as hostile to the military-backed government.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been declared a terrorist organization and authorities have punished any public show of support for it.
Other senior Brotherhood figures, including supreme guide Mohammed Badie and his deputy and former presidential candidate Khairat al-Shater, are also facing a raft of charges.
Proceedings in two other trials have already begun.
The first opened in November, with Mohamed Morsi facing charges of inciting the killing of protesters near the presidential palace when he was in office in 2012.
In January, another trial opened concerning Mohamed Morsi’s escape from prison in a jailbreak in 2011, during which police officers were killed.
The fourth trial, which has yet to open, will be on charges of insulting the judiciary.
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Mohamed Morsi’s lawyers have walked out of his trial on charges of espionage and conspiring to commit acts of terror.
The former Egyptian president’s trial has now been adjourned until February 23.
The lawyers withdrew in protest at Mohamed Morsi and other defendants being confined in a soundproofed glass cage.
The Islamist former leader is facing four separate trials, three of which have now opened.
Mohamed Morsi was brought to Cairo’s police academy on Sunday morning by helicopter from the Burj al-Arab prison where he is being held.
In this trial, he and 35 others are accused of working with Lebanese and Palestinian groups to carry out attacks in Egypt.
Mohamed Morsi has been put in the soundproof cage in recent appearances to prevent him shouting and disrupting proceedings.
Mohamed Morsi’s lawyers have walked out of his trial on charges of espionage and conspiring to commit acts of terror
The defendants have said they cannot follow proceedings because of the cage, but the judge insisted that headphones installed inside the dock will allow them to listen.
The cage allows the judge to control when the defendants are heard.
At one point when he was audible, Mohamed Morsi said: “What are you so afraid of? Are you afraid because you have no public support?” Reuters reports.
The court said it would appoint a new defense team.
Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military last July following mass street protests against his rule.
Since Mohamed Morsi was ousted there has been a severe crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood group, as well as on other activists seen as hostile to the military-backed government.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been declared a terrorist organization and authorities have punished any public show of support for it.
Other senior Brotherhood figures, including supreme guide Mohammed Badie and his deputy and former presidential candidate Khairat al-Shater, are also facing a raft of charges,
At least 1,000 people have died in clashes between security forces and pro-Morsi protesters since he was deposed, with thousands more arrested.
In this latest trial, Mohamed Morsi is accused of collaborating with the Palestinian movement Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. If convicted he could receive the death penalty.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters say he and other senior Brotherhood leaders are the victims of politically motivated prosecutions.
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Vladimir Putin has announced he backs Egypt’s military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in his “bid for the presidency”.
Vladimir Putin, meeting Field Marshal Sisi in Moscow to discuss an arms deal, said he was “aware” of his decision to run.
However, there has been no announcement on the matter from the Egyptian side.
General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi last July, and the new constitution calls for an election by mid-April.
Correspondents say Field Marshal Sisi would be likely to win, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals.
Vladimir Putin said: “I know that you, mister defence minister, have decided to run for president of Egypt.
“I wish you luck both from myself personally and from the Russian people.”
Vladimir Putin has announced he backs Egypt’s military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in his bid for the presidency
Field Marshal Sisi is in Russia to negotiate a $2 billion arms deal, after the US suspended some of its annual military assistance in response to Mohamed Morsi’s removal.
Field Marshal Sisi said: “Our visit offers a new start to the development of military and technological co-operation between Egypt and Russia. We hope to speed up this co-operation.”
No details have been released about the military discussions, although Russian media pointed to Egyptian interest in acquiring air defence missiles, MiG-29 jets and helicopters, among other weapons.
Two weeks ago Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) gave its public support to any presidential bid by Field Marshal Sisi.
However, last week, the military issued a denial after a Kuwaiti newspaper quoted the field marshal as saying he would run for the presidency.
The military said at the time that any announcement would “be done via clear and direct statements that cannot be doubted or misinterpreted”.
The 59-year-old former military intelligence chief was appointed head of the armed forces and defence minister by Mohamed Morsi in August 2012.
But after mass protests demanding Mohamed Morsi’s resignation took place on the first anniversary of his taking office, it was the field marshal who gave the president an ultimatum that he would have to satisfy the public’s demands or see the army step in.
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Twenty journalists, including four foreigners, are facing charges in Egypt, prosecutors have said.
The Egyptian journalists are accused of belonging to a “terrorist organization” and the four foreigners are accused of assisting it, or spreading false news.
The defendants include two Britons, a Dutch national and an Australian – believed to be al-Jazeera correspondent Peter Greste.
Earlier, international news networks called for the release of five al-Jazeera journalists.
The 16 Egyptian defendants face several allegations including belonging to a terrorist group, harming national unity and social peace, and using terrorism as a means to their goals.
The four foreigners are accused of collaborating with the Egyptians and providing them with information, equipment, and money as well as broadcasting false information and rumors to convince the international community that Egypt was undergoing a civil war.
Eight of the defendants are in detention, while 12 are on the run with arrest warrants issued against them, according to the prosecutor’s statement.
No names are mentioned. But it said the four foreigners were correspondents for the Qatari al-Jazeera news network.
Peter Greste’s appeal against his detention without charge was denied on Wednesday by a Cairo court
“We only know of five people in jail,” said al-Jazeera’s head of newsgathering Heather Allen.
“We don’t know about the full charge. Things are not clear at the moment. We are still waiting for clarity.”
Peter Greste’s appeal against his detention without charge was denied on Wednesday by a Cairo court.
The staff members and journalists of al-Jazeera were arrested in late December following interior ministry accusations of illegally broadcasting from a hotel suite.
Al-Jazeera has said the men were merely reporting the situation in Egypt.
Of the three arrested a month ago, Peter Greste is accused of collaborating with “terrorists” by talking to members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been banned by the military-backed government.
Al-Jazeera Cairo bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy, who is Egyptian-Canadian, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed are accused of the more serious offence of membership of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The al-Jazeera network says it was “surprised” when its reporters were arrested by Egyptian authorities.
Two more of its staff – journalist Abdullah al-Shami and cameraman Mohammad Badr – were arrested in July and August.
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Egypt’s army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been given approval by the country’s top military body to run for the presidency, state media report.
Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected leader, in July.
He is expected to accept the nomination from the Supreme Council for Armed Forces (SCAF) and resign from his military position within days.
Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected leader
Earlier, the interim president promoted him from general to field marshal.
Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is popular with much of the Egyptian public and analysts say he would be expected to win the presidential election, to be held by late April.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people joined a rally in Cairo to mark the anniversary of the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak by calling on Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to stand.
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Former Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi might not appear in court in Cairo because bad weather has prevented his departure from prison, officials say.
Other defendants have arrived at the police compound by helicopter but Mohamed Morsi is still in Alexandria.
Mohamed Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood figures are accused of inciting the killing of protesters outside a presidential palace in 2012.
He was removed by the army last July after demonstrations against his rule.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters have since held regular protests calling for his reinstatement.
Last Friday at least 11 people died in clashes between police and pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators across Egypt.
A helicopter carrying some of the defendants arrived at the National Police Academy complex in Cairo for the hearing early on Wednesday, reporters said.
However state media said Mohamed Morsi’s arrival had been delayed by bad weather. He is being held at the city’s Burj al-Arab prison.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters have held regular protests calling for his reinstatement
Egyptian media said thousands of police were on alert and TV pictures showed some pro-Morsi protesters being arrested as they waved the four-finger salute adopted by supporters of the ousted president.
Mohamed Morsi is due to be asked to appoint a lawyer, which he refused to do during his initial appearance.
He also faces several other charges ranging from fraud to colluding with foreign militants in a terrorist plot.
Mohamed Morsi faces another court hearing at the end of January, accused with some 130 others of murdering policemen during a mass breakout from a Cairo prison in January 2011 shortly before the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.
Human rights groups have dismissed some of the allegations against him as preposterous.
Egyptian officials insist Mohamed Morsi will be given a fair trial but lawyers trying to defend him say they have been denied access to him.
He first appeared in court in early November amid chaotic scenes.
Speaking from behind bars, he insisted he was still the president and was being held against his will.
Mohamed Morsi refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the court and would not wear a prison uniform.
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Three journalists working for the Al-Jazeera broadcaster in Cairo have been arrested by Egyptian police.
The Interior Ministry said the journalists had held illegal meetings with the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
The Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization last week.
The military-backed interim government launched a crackdown on the movement following President Mohamed Morsi’s removal from power.
Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members, including its leadership, have been arrested and many put on trial.
The journalists, who work for Al-Jazeera English, are understood to have been detained late on Sunday night.
Three journalists working for the Al-Jazeera broadcaster in Cairo have been arrested by Egyptian police
They are Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, who holds Canadian nationality, Peter Greste, an Australian, and an unnamed cameraman who is said to have been arrested at home.
The Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement that cameras, recordings and other material had been seized from rooms at a hotel in Cairo.
It accused the journalists of broadcasting news that were “damaging to national security”.
Observers say Egypt’s media environment has been highly charged since Mohamed Morsi’s overthrow.
Several Islamist channels were closed down immediately after the military intervention in the summer. Journalists working for them were temporarily detained.
The latest arrests come after fresh deadly clashes between police and Muslim Brotherhood supporters across Egypt.
Three people were killed – in Cairo, southern Minya province and the Nile Delta – during the violence.
Security forces detained some 265 Muslim Brotherhood supporters, officials said.
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