Libya blast denounced THE FOREIGN Ministry offered its condolences to the Libyan people in the wake of the bombing in Benghazi, according to a statement issued by ministry spokesman Amr Rushdi on Tuesday. A Libyan official says a car bomb exploded outside a hospital in the eastern city of Benghazi, killing at least nine people. At least a dozen people were wounded in Monday's blast. The car was in a parking lot next to the hospital, the official added. Libya has seen an upsurge in violent incidents in recent days, as the government struggles to exert its authority over armed militias two years after the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Bombs exploded outside two police stations in Benghazi last Friday. There were no reports of casualties from those attacks.
Judaising condemned FOREIGN Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr strongly condemned on Monday the Israeli practices aiming to change the character of Jerusalem and erase the Islamic and Arabic identities of the Holy City. Amr emphasised the importance of stopping all illegal practices which represent a flagrant violation of international legislation and rules of international law. He warned of the consequences of the continuation of such violations, especially the increasing raids of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli settlers accompanied by Israeli security entered Al-Aqsa neighbourhood two days in a row last week. Amr said he told the Egyptian delegation at the United Nations to continue the efforts that were started by the Arab bloc to bring attention to Israeli violations and provocations. He hailed the Arab League decision taken after an extraordinary session of permanent members of the Arab League held at the request of Palestine and Jordan on Sunday. The statement issued after the meeting called for “a serious political and diplomatic movement, not just to renew solidarity with the people of Jerusalem, but also for an effective international movement to force Israel to stop its continued violations against the occupied Palestinian territories”.
Egypt in Mali MOHAMED Kamel Amr, the foreign minister, has expressed Egypt's desire to support efforts to rebuild Mali following the conflict between government forces and Islamist rebels in the north of the country. In a statement to a ministerial group formed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Amr said that on the occasion of Egypt's presidency of the OIC, it is keen to give special importance to address the crisis in Mali on the political, humanitarian and security levels. Amr emphasised Egypt's desire to provide the correct image of Islam and show that there is no connection between Islam and terrorism. While he pointed out that Mali is adopting a transitional roadmap, the minister called on the various parties in Mali to uphold the national interest “above all else”. He added that there was no substitute for national dialogue to reach a comprehensive settlement to the crisis. Amr said that Egypt is willing to provide support for the upcoming elections in Mali, which are scheduled for July. He added that Egypt is capable of providing such support due to the experience it gained in holding elections after the 25 January Revolution.
Morsi's jailbreak ISMAILIA Misdemeanour Court has adjourned the case of the Wadi Al-Natroun prison break to 19 May to hear the testimonies of the Ministry of Interior and intelligence officials. Judge Khaled Mahgoub ordered the General Intelligence and Military Intelligence to provide the court with all documents, phone call records and video tapes it may have related to the case. Wadi Al-Natroun prison was broken into on 29 January 2011, four days after the revolution began, and 430 prisoners escaped including Mohamed Morsi who was detained at the time on political charges and who later became president. Judge Mahgoub also ordered the arrest of the Wadi Al-Natroun warden Brigadier Adli Abdel-Hamid to give his testimony about the incident. Prosecuting lawyers are accusing the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hizbullah of orchestrating the jailbreak, which reportedly led to the release of members from both groups — along with Egyptian Islamists. The privately-owned Egyptian daily Al-Tahrir reports that Morsi was released along with three of his top aides, and cites the former chief of investigations at Wadi Al-Natroun as describing the escape as “well-planned and coordinated”. Lawyers are seeking to question Morsi about the jail break. However, last week, Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim said there was no official record to prove that Morsi was ever in Wadi Al-Natroun prison, leading to huge controversy about the issue. Morsi had told Al-Jazeera satellite channel recently in an interview that he escaped Wadi Al-Natroun along with other prisoners, including leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood, after unknown assailants attacked the prison and set prisoners free.
