Timeline Egypt
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ABZU: http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/ABZU/ABZU_REGINDX_EGYPT.HTML
USDS: http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/bgnotes/nea/egypt9503.html
USDS: http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/business/com_guides/1999/nea/99egypt.html
USLC: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/egtoc.html
Egypt is about 3 times the size of New Mexico.
(SSFC, 10/9/05, Par p.27)
The god Sia was invoked to protect the genitals of the dead.
(SFEC, 1/11/98, Z1 p.8)
145Mil BC-65Mil
BC Researchers in 2009 said fossils from this
period, unearthed in what later became the Sahara desert, revealed a
once-swampy world divided up among a half-dozen species of unusual
and perhaps intelligent crocodiles. They lived during the Cretaceous
period, when the continents were closer together and the world
warmer and wetter. They were given snappy names, such as: BoarCroc,
RatCroc, DogCroc, DuckCroc and PancakeCroc.
(Reuters, 11/19/09)
94Mil BC In 2001 fossils of a large sauropod were
discovered in Egypt near the remote Bahariya oasis. A Univ. of
Pennsylvania team named it Paralititan stromeri (tidal giant of
Stromer) after a German scientist who had studied the area.
(SFC, 6/1/01, p.A1)
40Mil BC The whale species Basilosaurus (king
lizard) isis was discovered in 1904. Paleontologists found bones of
this creature in the 1830s in Louisiana. Fossils were found by U of
Mich. paleontologist P.D. Gingerich in Egypt in 1989. With tiny hind
limbs too weak to support its body on land, Gingerich believes it
spent its entire life in the ocean. It reached about 40 feet.
(LSA., p. 36)(PacDis, Winter/’96, p.15,16)
40Mil BC In 2005 the successful excavation of an
unusually complete and well-preserved skeleton of the 40
million-year-old fossil whale Basilosaurus isis was completed in
Egypt. The 18 meter (50 feet) skeleton was found in Wadi Hitan in
the Western Sahara of Egypt. The first Basilosaurus fossil was found
in 1905 but no full skeleton has been discovered until now.
(MT, 4/05)
80000BC In 1983 an international expedition of
American, Polish and Egyptian anthropologists in the Aswan region
unexpectedly came upon the skeleton of a prehistoric man thought to
be about 80,000 years old, the oldest human skeleton ever found in
Egypt. Early modern humans were present in the Levant between
130,000-80,000 BP.
(http://tinyurl.com/2l2rmz)(www.athenapub.com/8shea1.htm)
5200BC-4500BC In 2008 Egypt’s supreme council of
antiquities said a team of US archaeologists had discovered the
ruins of a city dating back to this period of the first farmers in
the Fayyum oasis.
(AFP, 1/29/08)
c5100BC A slate plaque from pre-dynastic Egypt was
carved with scenes of battlefield carnage on one side and leaf
munching antelope on the other. It was part of an exhibit at the
Guggenheim.
(NYT, 6/7/96, p.B9)
5000BC In 2008 archeologists reported the
discovery of a farming village in Egypt’s Faiyum Oasis, 50 miles
south of Cairo, that dated to about this time. Residents grew wheat
and barley, and raised sheep, goats and pigs.
(SFC, 2/13/08, p.A11)
c5000BC A complex of slabs and stones in southern
Egypt that may date this far back was found during field work that
ended in 1997. The site included 10 slabs, some 9 feet tall, 30
rock-lined ovals, 9 burial sites for cows, and a "calendar circle"
of stones. They were thought to have been constructed by
cattle-herders and used for astronomical observations.
(SFC, 4/2/98, p.A6)
5000BC-3500BC The predynastic period of Egypt.
(R4,1998)
4241BC The Egyptian calendar was established.
(WSJ, 1/5/05, p.B1)
3600BC In 2005 a team working for five years in
the area of Kom El-Ahmar, Egypt, known in antiquity as
Hierakonpolis, excavated a complex thought to belong to a ruler of
the ancient city who reigned around this time. Archaeologists
unearthed seven corpses believed to date to the era, as well as an
intact figure of a cow's head carved from flint.
(AP, 4/22/05)
3600BC-3500BC An Egyptian cemetery of working
class inhabitants at Hierankopolis of this time showed evidence of
mummification.
(AM, 9/01, p.13)
3500BC-3100BC In Egypt the "Knife of
Gebel-el-Arak" was made with an ivory handle carved with hunting and
battle scenes. It is now in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
3300BC-3200BC In 1998 clay tablets were reported from this
date from the tomb of an Egyptian king named Scorpion. The tablets
had writing that recorded linen and oil deliveries as a tithe to the
king. The tomb was in a cemetery at Gebel Tjauti in Suhag province,
some 250 miles south of Cairo. Egyptologists John Coleman Darnell
and wife Deborah discovered the tableau in 1995.
(SFC, 12/15/98, p.C5)(SFC, 4/16/02, p.A4)
3250BC King Scorpion ruled Upper (southern) Egypt.
Evidence of wine was found in his tomb and scientists believed it
was produced in Jordan and transported by donkey and boat to Egypt.
(AM, 5/01, p.54)(SFC, 10/27/05, p.A2)
c3100BC In the protodynastic period of Egypt
"Scorpion" ruled and was followed by Narmer. In 2002 Jan
Assmann authored "The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time
of the Pharaohs.
(R4,1998)(SSFC, 4/28/02, p.M4)
3100BC Menes, the legendary first pharaoh of
Egypt, ruled upper Egypt from Nekhen before he conquered lower Egypt
and moved his capital to Memphis.
(NG, May 1985, p.586)
c3100BC The upper and lower kingdoms were united
to form the 1st Dynasty of Egypt. The fertile Nile Valley and
prevailing environmental conditions led to the formation of villages
along the river—Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the
north. These villages grew into 'kingdoms' centered around Naqadah
(later Hierakonopolis) in the south and Behdet (later Buto) in the
delta. According to tradition, the upper and lower kingdoms were
united into one centralized government by King Menes around 3100BC.
However, modern scholars are unsure whether King Menes was actually
several kings, including Narmer and Aha. Menes' reign lasted a
substantial 62 years before being killed by a hippopotamus (again
according to tradition). The 1st dynasty lasted until about
2890BC.
(HNQ, 11/2/00)
3100BC-2770BC The Archaic Period of Egypt. Narmer
united Egypt and hieroglyphic writing developed.
(eawc, p.1)
3100BC-2700BC In Egypt the limestone "Stele of the
Serpent King" has a bas-relief of a falcon in profile above a nearly
abstract curving stroke of a snake. It is now in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
c3050BC-2890BC In Egypt Hor-Aha ruled and was
followed by Djer, Djet, Den, Anedjib, Semerkhet, and Qa'a. These
rulers comprised the 1st dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/egyptdynasties.html)
3000BC The Egyptians used reed brushes on papyrus
to write hieroglyphics.
(SFC, 7/26/04, p.F4)(K.I.-365D.p.31)
2980BC Egypt’s tomb of King Den, dated to about
this time, was later found to show evidence of mummification.
(AM, 9/01, p.13)
2890BC-2686 This is the period of Egypt’s 2nd
Dynasty. Hotepsekhemwy ruled and was followed by Raneb, Nynetjer,
Weneg, Seth-Peribsen and Khasekhemwy.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2772BC In Egypt the 365 day calendar was
introduced.
(eawc, p.1)
2686BC-2181BC This is the period of Egypt’s 3rd
Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2686BC-2668BC Sanakhte, the older brother of
Djoser, founded Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2686BC-2181BC Chairs in the early dynasties of
Egypt stood on what looked like animals' legs. Low reliefs of
Egypt’s Old Kingdom, now in the French Louvre, enumerate an ideal
meal to be taken to a tomb.
(SFC, 5/11/96, p.E-4)(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2668BC-2649BC Djoser (Dzoser, Zoser) was the 2nd
ruler of Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty. The first step pyramid was designed
for Dzoser by Imhotep.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2650BC-2180BC Egyptian wall paintings included
information on beer production. In 2004 Japan’s Kirin Brewery
produced a beer dubbed “The Old Kingdom Beer.”
(WSJ, 10/14/04, p.A1)
2649BC-2643BC Sekhemkhet was the 3rd ruler of
Egypt’s 3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2643BC-2637BC Khaba was the 4th ruler of Egypt’s
3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2637BC-2613BC Huni was the 5th ruler of Egypt’s
3rd Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2620BC-2500BC A polychrome stele of Egyptian
Princess Nefertiabet depicts her dining in a one-shoulder
leopard-skin gown. It is now in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2620BC-2500BC An Egyptian painted limestone statue
of a "Seated Scribe" dates to this period. It is now in the French
Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2601BC In Egypt Nik’ure, the son of a pharaoh,
died and left what was later recognized as the oldest Last Will and
Testament. "Being of sound mind and body…" He left his wealth to his
wife, 3 children and to another woman.
(SFEC, 8/6/00, Z1 p.2)
c2600BC Tombs of the priest Kai were built about
this time in Egypt. In 1999 they were found in a cemetery west of
Cheop's pyramid.
(SFC, 5/27/99, p.A18)
2613BC-2589BC Snefru (Snofru), son of Huni, was
the 1st king of Egypt’s 4th Dynasty. Snefru’s scribes left a
description of 40 ships bearing timber arriving to Egypt from
Byblos. On Mar 9,1925, the Egyptian Ministry of Public Works
announced the discovery of the 5,000-year-old tomb of King Sneferu.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.156)(HN,
3/9/98)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2589BC-2566BC Khufu (Cheops), son of Snefru and
Queen Hetepheres, ruled as the 2nd king of Egypt’s 4th dynasty.
Khufu built the Great Pyramid. It rose about 100 feet. Two more were
built for his 2 wives, Henutsen and Meryetes. Laborers reportedly
went on strike to get a daily ration of garlic.
(eawc, p.1)(SFC, 1/3/98,
p.A8)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2566BC-2558BC Djedefre (Radjedef) succeeded his
father Khufu and ruled as the 3rd king of Egypt’s 4th Dynasty
(2528BC-2520BC).
(R4,1998)(Arch, 7/02,
p.9)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2558BC-2532BC Khafre ruled as the 4th king of
Egypt’s 4th dynasty. His pyramid is the 2nd largest on Egypt’s Giza
Plateau. The Sphinx was built under his rule. In 1996 a 4,500
year-old perfectly intact alabaster statue of Pharaoh Khaefre was
part of a 1996 show on loan from Cairo at St. Petersburg,
Florida. In 2002 Christine Zivie-Coche authored "Sphinx:
History of a Monument."
(WSJ, 1/16/96, p. A-16)(WSJ, 1/10/03,
p.W7)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2550BC In 2006 a scientist proposed that beginning
about this time Egyptians started to use cast concrete in their
pyramids. His evidence was taken from samples of the Khufu pyramid.
The proposal was controversial in that concrete was later used to
restore pyramids.
(SFC, 12/1/06, p.A12)
2532BC-2504BC Menkaure ruled, son of Khafre, as
the 5th king in Egypt’s 4th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2504BC-2500BC Shepseskaf, son of Menkaure, ruled
as the 6th king in Egypt’s 4th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2500BC A 330-foot-tall Egyptian pyramid was
erected about this time and came to be known as the ‘Bent’ pyramid,
located outside the village of Dahshur. In 2009 travelers were given
access to its inner chambers.
(SFC, 3/17/09, p.A2)
c2500BC The tomb of an Egyptian child from about
this time was found to contain toys that included miniature pins and
balls and a wicket, the first evidence of bowling.
(SFC, 7/28/97, p.A3)
2500BC By this time the Sahara desert looked much
as it does today.
(ATC, p.109)
2498BC-2491BC Userkaf, grandson of Djedefre, ruled
as the 1st king of Egypt’s 5th dynasty. He built a pyramid complex
at Saqqara.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty5.html)
2494BC Pharaoh Khafre, builder of the second
largest of the Giza Pyramids, died around this time.
(AP, 10/18/10)
2491BC-2477BC Sahure ruled as the 2nd king of
Egypt’s 5th dynasty. He built a pyramid complex at Abusir. He
established an Egyptian navy and sent a fleet to Punt and traded
with Palestine.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty5.html)
2477BC-2467BC Neferirkare, brother of Sahure,
ruled as the 3rd king of Egypt’s 5th dynasty. In 1893 local farmers
discovered hieratic papyrus at his pyramid complex consisting of
some 300 fragments.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty5.html)
2467BC-2460BC Shepseskare ruled in Egypt,
according to the Turin King-list, for 7 years. Some seal impressions
dated to his reign have been found at Abusir.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2460BC-2453BC Neferefre ruled as the 5th king of
Egypt’s 5th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2453BC-2422BC Niusserre (Nyuserre) ruled as the
6th king of Egypt’s 5th dynasty. In 1893 local farmers discovered
hieratic papyrus at his pyramid complex consisting of some 300
fragments.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2422BC-2414BC Menkauhor ruled as the 7th king of
Egypt’s 5th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2414BC-2375BC Djedkare ruled at the end of the 6th
dynasty.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/04_06/05.html)
2400BC The earliest reference to circumcision
dates back to around 2400 B.C. A bas-relief in the ancient burial
ground of Saqqara depicts a series of medical scenes, including a
flint-knife circumcision and a surgeon explaining, "The ointment is
to make it acceptable," likely referring to some form of topical
anaseptic.
(LiveScience.com, 8/28/12)
c2400BC In Egypt the bas-reliefs lining the
Mastaba of Akhethetep depict the rural life of a prosperous
landowner. The chapel is in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
2375BC-2345BC Unas ruled at the end of Egypt’s 6th
dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2355BC-2195BC This is the period of Egypt’s 6th
Dynasty.
(AM, 7/05, p.14)
c2350BC Akhethetep, a high ranking official, lived
about this time. His mastaba tomb is located in Saqqara, Egypt.
(AM, 11/04, p.72)
2345BC-2333BC Teti ruled Egypt as the 1st king of
the 6th dynasty. In 2008 archeologists discovered a pyramid in
Saqqara dating to about this time. It was said to belong to Queen
Sesheshet, the mother of King Teti.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)(AP,
11/11/08)
2345BC-2181BC In Egypt the "Striding Figure of
Meryrahashtef," a 22.5 inch nude statue of a minor 6th dynasty
official, was made.
(WSJ, 1/16/02, p.A14)(Arch, 9/02, p.61)
2333BC Userkare ruled in the 6th dynasty of Egypt
between Teti and Pepi. He is believed to be a proponent of the group
that killed Teti.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/kings/0602_userkare/history.html)
2332BC-2283BC Pepi I ruled as the 3rd king of the
6th dynasty. A pyramid of Queen Ankh-sn-Pepi, wife of Pepi I, was
discovered in 2000. The "Pair Statue of Queen Ankh-Nes-Meryre II and
her son Pepi II Seated" was part of an Egyptian show on view at the
NY Met in 1999.
(WSJ, 9/21/99, p.A24)(SFC, 4/3/00,
p.A10)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2283BC-2278BC Merenre I ruled as the 4th king in
Egypt’s 6th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2278BC-2184BC Pepi II ruled in Egypt as the last
king of the 6th dynasty and the last significant king of the Old
Kingdom.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2183BC Merenre II followed Pepi II as ruler of
Egypt. He ruled for just over a year and was murdered. Nitocris, his
sister-wife, took rule.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty6.html)
2183BC-2181BC Nitocris (Nitiqret), the
wife-sister-wife of Merenre, ruled Egypt.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty6.html)
2181-2161 Egypt’s 7th and 8th dynasties
ruled during this period. Wadjkare ruled in Egypt’s 7th dynasty and
was followed by Qakare. Eusebius has a 7th Dynasty that consisted of
five kings of Memphis, who reigned for 75 days and an Eighth Dynasty
that consisted of five kings of Memphis, who reigned for 100 years.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasties7-10.html)
2181-2040 Egypt’s First Intermediate Period. It
began with the collapse of the Old Kingdom due to crop failure and
low revenues due to pyramid building projects. This seemed to
coincide with a period of cooling and drying.
(eawc, p.2)(Econ, 12/20/03,
p.114)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2160BC-2140BC Egypt’s 9th and 10th Dynasties ruled
over this period from the capital at Herakleopolis. Pharaohs
included Meryibre, Merykare, Kaneferre, and Nebkaure.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2134BC-2117BC Intef I (Antef I) ruled in Egypt’s
11th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2134BC-1991BC Period of Egypt’s 11th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2117BC-2069BC Intef II (Antef II) ruled in Egypt’s
11th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2080BC The beginning of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom.
[see 2100BC-1700BC]
(NG, 9/98, p.16)
2069BC-2060BC Intef III (Antef III) ruled in
Egypt’s 11th Dynasty for 8 years.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2060BC-2010BC Mentuhotep I (Nebhetepre), son of
Theban Inteff III, ruled for about 39-51 years in Egypt’s 11th
Dynasty.
(http://tinyurl.com/9nr3e)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2040BC-1782BC In Egypt the period of the Middle
Kingdom began with its capital at Thebes. It lasted to 1782BC. About
this time "The Plea of the Eloquent Peasant" was written calling for
a benevolent ruler.
(eawc, p.2)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
2010BC-1998BC Mentuhotep II, son of Mentuhotep I,
ruled in the 11th Dynasty of Egypt for about 12 years.
(http://tinyurl.com/b97e3)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
c2000BC An Egyptian painting on an interior tomb
wall depicted 6 men scrubbing, wringing and folding a cloth.
(SFC, 10/11/97, p.E3)
2000BC It was later believed that emeralds were
first mined in Egypt about this time.
(WSJ, 2/7/07, p.A12)
2000BC About this time the Egyptians domesticated
the cat in order to catch snakes. Advances in astronomy enabled the
Egyptians to predict the annual flooding of the Nile.
(eawc, p.2)
2000BC In Egypt a Red Sea port was active around
this time at Wadi el-Jarf, nearly 110 miles south of Suez. An
exploration team found its remnants in 2013.
(SFC, 4/12/13, p.A2)
2000BC-1790BC The wooden statue of chancellor
Nakhti and carved face of governor Hapidjefai date to Egypt’s Middle
Kingdom. They are now in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
1997BC-1991BC Mentuhotep III, the last king of the
11th Dynasty of Egypt. He was the son of Imi, a secondary wife of
either Mentuhotep II or III. His name is missing from most king’s
lists.
(http://tinyurl.com/e37kx)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1991BC-1962BC Amenemhet I (Amenemhat I) founded
Egypt’s 12th Dynasty of Egypt and ruled for some 30 years. In 2007
Prof. Jahi Issa and Salim Faraji authored “The Origin of the Word
Amen: Ancient Knowledge the Bible Has Never Told,” in which they
argued that the word Amen is derived from a pre-dynastic Egyptian
culture found in the Sudan with roots in the ancient name for
pharaoh, Amen, spelled in some cases as Amun.
(http://www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)(SSFC, 12/2/07,
p.A2)
1991BC-1783BC Egypt, time of the Twelfth Dynasty,
the peak of the Middle Kingdom when the Pharaohs won back some of
the power which the monarchs of the Old kingdom had enjoyed. It
ended with the Middle Kingdom in 1786BC. During the period power was
somewhat distributed through the social classes. Religion shifted
from a wealth-based system to one based on proper conduct.
(eawc,
p.3)(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1980BC-1971BC Sesostris I (Senusret I) became
co-regent with Amenenhet I.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1971BC-1929BC Sesostris I (Senusret I) ruled
during Egypt’s 12th dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1929BC-1926BC Amenemhet II ruled in the 12th
Dynasty of Egypt as co-regent with his father Sesostris I.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1926BC-1892BC Amenemhet II held sole rule during
Egypt’s 12th Dynasty.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1900BC-1500BC During this period a Semitic group
of nomads migrated from Sumer to Canaan and then on to Egypt. They
were led by a caravan trader, the Patriarch Abraham, who became the
father of the nation of Israel. Ishmael was a son of Abraham had by
Hagar. Isaac was a son of Abraham by Sarah. Hebrews trace their
lineage through Isaac, Arabs through Ishmael.
(eawc, p.3)(NW, 11/02, p.55)
c1898BC-1866BC In Egypt the Sphinx of Tanis was
made. It was later moved to Paris.
(WSJ, 10/7/98, p.A20)
1897BC-1878BC Sesostris II (Senusret II), son of
Amenenhet II, ruled as co-regent in Egypt’s 12th Dynasty.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
c1890BC Sinuhe, a professional soldier of high
rank in Egypt, serving in the army of Amenemhat II was faced with a
change in political power and left Egypt. He fled to Byblos, where
he was befriended by a local ruler named Ammienshi, who governed the
land of Retenu. He later returned to Egypt, now ruled by Senusret.
(L.C.-W.P.p.21-32)
1878BC-1841BC Senusret III (Sesostris III) ruled
as Egypt’s 5th king in the 12th Dynasty. He built a funerary complex
to link himself with Osiris, lord of Abydos. Khakaure was
Senwosret’s throne name.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1842BC-1797BC Amenemhet III ruled as Egypt’s 6th
in the 12th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
c1800BC In Egypt walls of limestone were marked
with alphabetic inscriptions in the Wadi el-Hol (Gulch of Terror).
In 1993 the graffiti markings were discovered by Egyptologist John
Coleman Darnell and his wife Deborah and later traced to Semitic
people, possibly mercenary soldier scribes or Canaanite workers,
living in the area.
(SFEC, 11/14/99, p.A6)(SFC, 11/23/99, p.B10)
1798BC-1786BC Amenemhet IV ruled in the 12th
Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1790BC Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep IV sent a
major expedition to Punt during the 8th year of his reign. In 2010
scientists used mummies of baboons to identify the region of Punt as
either the lowland area of eastern Sudan or the area where
Ethiopia and Eritrea confront each other.
(SFC, 5/8/10, p.A8)
1785BC-1782BC Queen Sobeknefru (Nefrusobek) ruled
in the 12th Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1782BC-1779BC Wegaf ruled at the beginning of
Egypt’s 13th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1782BC-1650BC Egypt’s XIII Dynasty was marked by a
period of decay, loss of unity, and many short-lived rival Pharaohs.
This lasted through the Sixteenth Dynasty. Over 70 kings are listed
in this dynasty and their dates are not well known.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/13.html)
1782BC-1570BC Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period.
Also dated from 1640-1540.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/13.html)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
c1760BC Hor ruled in the early part of Egypt’s
13th Dynasty.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1750BC-1540BC The Hyksos from Syria and Palestine
occupied Egypt and introduced the horse and chariot. Taking
advantage of the unsettled state of Egypt, Asiatic invaders from
Palestine entered Egypt and set themselves up as kings, even
adopting Pharaonic titles and customs. The Jewish historian Josephus
claims to quote the words of an Egyptian chronicler, Manetho, in
describing this period of foreign rule. The Hyksos, whoever they
were, had a 'blitz-weapon' - the horse drawn chariot which they had
copied from the horse-rearing Mitanni of northern Mesopotamia. And
the Mitanni in turn got the horse from Persia, together with the art
of riding it. In 2005 Arthur Cotterrell authored “Chariot,” a
history of the chariot.
(eawc, p.3)(WSJ, 6/17/05, p.W6)(L.C.-W.P.p.55-56)
1.75k BC - 1.32k BC Ipepi (Apophis) ruled as a
Hyksos 17th Dynasty king of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/15.html)
c1747BC Khendjer, a Hyksos king, ruled in northern
Egypt.
(R4,1998)(http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/history12-17.htm)
c1745BC Sobekhotep II ruled in the 13th Dynasty of
Egypt.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1741BC-1730BC Neferhotep I ruled in the 13th
Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1730BC-1720BC Sobekhotep IV ruled in the 13th
Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
c1720BC The Hyksos in northern Egypt dominated the
Delta and founded their capital Avaris (Tanis).
(http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/history12-17.htm)
1720BC-1715BC Sobekhotep V ruled in the 13th
Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1704BC-1690BC Ay ruled in Egypt’s 13th Dynasty. He
was succeeded by Neferhotep II and Nehesy in the 14th Dynasty.
(R4,1998)(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/11_13/12.html)
1696BC-1686BC Neferhotep, the 22nd king of the
13th Dynasty, ruled Egypt. He was the son of a temple priest in
Abydos. In 2005 archeologists unearthed a statue of him. His name
means "beautiful and good."
(AP, 6/5/05)
1674BC Sheshi, a Hyksos ruler, conquered Memphis
(Egypt). Shesi ruled at the beginning of the 15th Dynasty and was
succeeded by Yakubher, Khyan, Apepi I, Apepi II, Anather in the 16th
Dynasty, Yakobaam, Sobekemsaf II in the 17th Dynasty, and Intef VII.
The Hyksos invaded Egypt in horse-drawn chariots.
(WH, 1994,
p.13)(http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/history12-17.htm)
1664BC-1559BC Egypt was ruled for a century by the Hyksos, a warrior
people from Asia, possibly Semitic in origin, whose summer capital
was in the northern Delta area. In 2010 an Austrian archaeological
team used radar imaging to determine the extent of the ruins of the
one time capital of Egypt's foreign occupiers underneath the green
farm fields and modern town of Tel al-Dabaa.
(AP, 6/20/10)
1663BC-1555BC The period of Egypt’s 15th Dynasty.
In Egypt the 15th, 16th and 17th dynasties ruled simultaneously.
(http://tinyurl.com/cgmpy)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)(http://tinyurl.com/avkno)
c1650 Egypt’s 14th Dynasty
kings ruled mostly from the Western Nile Delta. Their dates are not
well known and they may have been contemporary with the 13th
Dynasty.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/14.html)
1640BC-1540BC Egypt’s 2nd Intermediate Period.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/index.html)
c1633BC Tao I ruled in Egypt’s 17th Dynasty. In
Egypt the 15th, 16th and 17th dynasties ruled simultaneously.
(http://tinyurl.com/avkno)
1600BC In Egypt a revolution against Hyksos rule
began in the south and spread throughout the country.
(eawc, p.3)
1.575k BC - 1.532k BC Ipepi (Apophis) ruled as a Hyksos 17th Dynasty
king of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/15.html)
1.574k BC Tao II ruled in the 17th Dynasty of
Egypt.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1573BC-1570BC Kamose ruled as a Hyksos 17th
Dynasty king of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/18_20/index.html)
1570BC-1546BC Ahmose, Pharaoh of Egypt, ruled in
Egypt’s 17th Dynasty. His sister-wife was Queen
Ahmosep-Nefertary. During his reign he defeated the Hyksos led by
Apophis. Ahmose engaged the Hyksos at their city of Avaris, and the
city of Sharuhen for three years.
(L.C.-W.P.p.64)(AM, 7/01,
p.52)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1570BC-1070BC Egypt’s New Kingdom Period. Thebes
(which encompassed the site known today as Luxor) was the chief city
of Egypt. Pharaohs began to abandon royal pyramids in favor of
hidden tombs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. A bust of the
Royal scribe Meniou was made in limestone during Egypt’s New
Kingdom. It is now in the French Louvre.
(AM, 7/01, p.58)(WSJ, 1/29/98,
p.A16)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1570BC-1070BC Egyptian wall paintings included
information on beer production. In 2004 Japan’s Kirin Brewery
produced a beer dubbed “The New Kingdom Beer.”
(WSJ, 10/14/04, p.A1)
1551BC-1524BC Amenhotep I (Ahmenophis), son of
Amasis I (Ahmose), ruled at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty of
Egypt. Inscriptions indicate that he engaged the Nubians in
the land of Kush. Some of the southern foes were evidently
cave-dwellers (troglodytes), since the inscription goes on to say
that 'His majesty captured the Nubian Troglodyte in the midst of his
army.
(NG, 9/98,
p.17)(L.C.-W.P.p.66)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1550BC During the beginning in Egypt’s 18th
Dynasty the Opet Festival celebrated the Theban triad of the sun and
creator Amun, his consort Mut, and their son Khonsu.
(Arch, 7/02, p.36)
1550BC-1295BC During Egypt’s
18th Dynasty private people began building small pointy pyramids
above their tombs.
(Arch, 9/02, p.56)
1532BC-1522BC Khamudi (Aseth) ruled as a Hyksos
15th Dynasty king of Egypt.
(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/14_17/15.html)
1524BC-1518BC Tuthmosis I (Thutmose I) ruled at
the beginning of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1518BC-1504BC In Egypt Tuthmosis II ruled in the
18th Dynasty. Hatshepsut was married to her sickly half-brother when
she was about 12.
(ON, 10/99,
p.7)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1504BC-1450BC Tuthmosis III, a son of one of the
lesser wives of Tuthmosis I, ruled in the 18th Dynasty. In the 15th
cent. BCE Thutmose III led his army from Egypt to Megiddo and
outflanked the chariots of the Canaanite forces that had revolted
against him. [see 1471BC]
(WSJ, 4/17/97,
p.A20)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1500BC The Egyptian “Book of the Dead” dates to
about this time.
(Econ, 12/22/12, p.24)
c1500BC Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and
established a calendar with Egyptian features but based on a seven
day week. The later 8-day Sukkot festival commemorates the fall
harvest and the wandering of the Hebrews in the Sinai desert after
the Exodus. In 1998 Jonathan Kirsch authored "Moses: A Life." Miriam
was the sister of Moses and led the celebration following the
crossing of the Red Sea. [see 1280BC]
(K.I.-365D, p.58)(SFEC,10/19/97, p.A26)(SFEC,
12/13/98, BR p.5)(WSJ, 4/7/00, p.W17)
c1500BC Egyptian tombs show paintings of
apparently Cretan messengers and merchants, called by the name
Keftiu, bearing Cretan goods: and in addition we find the actual
tangible goods themselves, deposited with the Egyptian dead.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.17)
c1500BC A boy named Djehuti-Irdis (13) died in
Thebes. In 2000 a biopsy confirmed that he died of pneumonia.
(SFC, 1/3/01, p.A13)
1500BC In 2009 Spain's scientific research agency
(CSIC) announced that a tomb decorated with 3,500-year-old paintings
was discovered in Luxor by Jose Manuel Galan, a Spanish
Egyptologist. The person was in the service of the 18th dynasty
Queen Hatshepsut, the most powerful female pharaoh and who ruled for
21 years from 1479 to 1458 BC.
(AFP, 3/17/09)
1500BC-1000BC Nubia was colonized by Egypt.
(MT, 10/95, p.10-11)
1479 Thotmosis II died. He was
succeeded by Queen Hatshepsut and his step-son Thotmosis III. Queen
Hatshepsut, the only woman to have reigned as a pharaoh, ruled Egypt
as 18th Dynasty regent for Thutmose III. Her name translates
as "The Foremost of Noble Ladies." In 1996 Joyce Tyldesley authored
"Hatshepsut, The Female Pharaoh."
(AFP, 4/21/06)(ON, 10/99, p.8)(AP,
6/5/05)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1479BC-1425BC Thotmosis III ruled as pharaoh of
Egypt. His initial reign was under the guidance of his mother, Queen
Hatsheppsut.
(AFP, 4/21/06)
1471BC Tuthmosis III of Egypt built rafts on
the Lebanese coast, put them on wagons, and transported them to the
Euphrates in order to cross the river and defeat the King of
Mitanni. This was his eighth campaign in the thirty-third year of
his reign. This was well over 250 miles. He died in the fifty-fourth
year of his reign. An inscription at Napata in Nubia tells us about
this.
(L.C.-W.P.p.87-89)
c1470BC The 97-foot obelisk at Karnak, Egypt, was
erected as part of a sun dial and cast its shadow on a temple of the
sun god Amun Ra.
(AM, 3/04, p.42)
1461BC Egyptians erected a 68.5 foot obelisk in
Heliopolis. The Romans moved it to Alexandria in 14BC. An earthquake
soon after 1300 left it lying prone on the coast.
(ON, 6/20/11, p.9)
1458BC In Egypt Queen Hatshepsut, mother of
Tuthmosis III, died. Tuthmosis III, in his early thirties, declared
war on the Prince of the Syrian city of Kadesh, who had organized a
confederacy in Palestine and Syria. Tuthmosis defeated the Syrians
following an 8 month siege of Megiddo. In 2007 Egyptian
archaeologists said the mummy of an obese woman, who likely suffered
from diabetes and liver cancer, has been identified as that of Queen
Hatshepsut, Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh. Hatshepsut, who
ruled Egypt in the 15th century B.C., was known for dressing like a
man and wearing a false beard. But when her rule ended, all traces
of her mysteriously disappeared, including her mummy. Discovered in
1903 in the Valley of the Kings, the mummy was left on site until
2007, when it was brought to the Cairo Museum for testing.
(ON, 3/01, p.11)(AFP, 4/21/06)(AP, 6/27/07)
1427BC-1401BC Amenhotep II
(Amenophis II), son of Tuthmose III, ruled in the 18th Dynasty. In
the same Giza stele which describes his prowess with a 33-foot oar,
there is an account of his skill as a archer. There is no doubt that
he did conquer the Asiatic powers of Djahi, Retenu, Mitanni, and
'God's Land'.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenhotep_II)(L.C.-W.P.p.91-92)
1425BC Tuthmosis III died. During the last two
years of his reign he became a coregent again, with his son,
Amenhotep II, who would succeed him. When he died he was buried in
the Valley of the Kings as were the rest of the kings from this
period in Egypt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III)
1401BC-1391BC Tuthmosis IV, son of Amenhotep II,
ruled in Egypt’s 18th Dynasty with his son as co-regent.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_IV)
c1400BC The Temple of Hatshepsut was built in
Luxor.
(SFC,11/20/97, p.B2)
1400BC The tomb of Kha Mirit from this time was
later put on display in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy.
(SSFC, 1/22/06, p.E6)
1391BC Amenhotep III (Amenophis III), son of
Tuthmose IV, began ruling Egypt about this time and continued to
about 1351. His reign marked the culmination of the 18th Dynasty. In
2010 a red-granite top half of his statue was discovered at the site
of his funerary temple in the southern city of Luxor.
(AFP,
10/2/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenhotep_III)
1350BC-1336BC Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) ruled
during the 18th Dynasty Amarna Period of Egypt. He became concerned
about abuses in the Osiris cult. He posited a new monotheistic
religion dedicated to the worship of the sun. His wife was
Nefertiti, daughter-in-law of Amenophis III and Queen Tiye. He moved
the capital from Thebes to El-Amarna. After his death the capital
was moved back to Thebes, and his successor, a young boy named
Smenkhkare reigned for three years. The city of Amarna later
vanished.
(NG, 9/98, p.17)(WSJ, 7/17/00,
p.A33)(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1350BC The 1st recorded smallpox epidemic took
place during an Egyptian-Hittite war. Hittite warriors caught the
disease from Egyptian prisoners. The king and heir were fatally
infected and the empire fell apart.
(SFC, 10/19/01, p.A17)(NW, 10/14/02, p.46)
1345BC Tutankhamen (King Tut), Egypt’s boy king,
was born. His wet nurse was named Maia.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A7)(USAT, 1/20/04, p.6D)
1345BC The Ebers Papyrus indicated the medical use
of willow bark. It contained salicylic acid, an ingredient of modern
aspirin.
(SSFC, 10/24/04, p.M6)
c1340BC A bust of Nefertiti was made that later
ended up in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.
(SFC, 7/7/96, T5)
1336BC-1334BC The period of the 18th Dynasty under
Smenkhkare.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1334BC-1325BC Tutankhamen (10), son of Akhenaten,
was Pharaoh of Egypt. Aye became regent while Tut was growing up and
effectively ruled the country.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A7)
c1330BC The capital of Amarna was abandoned. In
2004 it was reported that black plague bacteria was found in the
remains of fossilized fleas from Amarna.
(AM, 7/04, p.12)
1330BC A memorial to the servant who suckled
Tutankhamen was reported found by French archeologists in 1997 at
the Saqqara necropolis 13 miles south of Cairo. Hieroglyphics and a
relief that showed a woman with breast and nipple exposed pay
tribute to Maya, "who fed the body of a god."
(SFC,12/897, p.A18)
1323BC Tutankhamen died about this time at age 19.
It was later suspected that the young prince was killed on his way
to Egypt under the orders of Ay or Horemhab. Howard Carter
discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922. In 2005 a CT scan
indicated that Tut was not murdered by a blow to the head, nor was
his chest crushed in an accident. His death remained a mystery. In
2005 a researcher reported evidence that analysis of wine jugs found
in his tomb indicated that the wine was red. In 2007 his face was
made public for the first time. In 2010 scientists reported that a
study of his mummy revealed that King Tutankhamun suffered from a
cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane,
and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by
malaria.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A7)(SFC, 10/27/05, p.A2)(AP,
11/4/07)(AP, 2/16/10)
1323BC-1321BC King Ay succeeded Tutankhamun. In
1931 a ring was found by Percy Newberry in a Cairo antiquities shop
that bore an inscription indicating that Aye and Ankhesenaten were
married.
(SFC, 1/25/97,
p.A7)(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/18_20/18.html)
1321BC Aye died after three years on Egypt’s
throne and the walls of his tomb showed another woman, Tiy, as his
wife.
(SFC, 1/25/97, p.A7)
1321BC-1295BC A soldier named Horemhab succeeded
King Ay. Some regard him as the last Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty
while others think he was the founder of the 19th. Horemhab is
thought to have prevented the dynastic marriage of Ankhesnamun, the
widow of Tutankhamun, to prince Zananza, son of the Hittite king,
Suppilliliumas. Documents discovered at the Hittite capital of
Boghaz-Koy in Turkey prove beyond doubt that the young queen was
writing to Suppililiumas imploring him to send her one of his sons
so that she might make him King of Egypt.
(L.C.-W.P.p.107-110)(NG, May 1985,
p.598)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty18e.html)
1315BC-1201BC In 2010 the intricately decorated
tomb and coffin of Ken-Amun, the overseer of the royal records
during the 19th Dynasty (1315-1201 B.C.), was found near Ismailia,
75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Cairo.
(AP, 4/14/10)
1295BC-1294BC Ramesses I, the son of a military
commander named Seti, began Egypt’s 19th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty18e.html)
1294BC-1279BC Sethi I (Seti I), son of Rammeses I
and the father of Rammeses II, ruled during Egypt’s 19th Dynasty. He
restored the ancient gods of Egypt, such as Amun-Re, Ptah, Seth, and
Osiris. At Abydos he built a splendid temple to Osiris. Sethi claims
to have inflicted a victory against the Hittite king, Mursillis II,
the successor to Suppililiumas, at the towns of Yenoam and
Bethshael. Seti overran Palestine, made peace with the Hittites in
Syria, opened mines and quarries, and enlarged the Temple of Amun-Re
at Karnak. His tomb was discovered in 1817.
(NG, 9/98, p.17,19)(AM, 7/01,
p.56)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty18e.html)
1292 Horemheb, the last pharaoh
of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, died about this time and was buried in the
Valley of the Kings.
(Arch, 9/02,
p.61)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horemheb)
1292BC An Egyptian scribe documented that a couple
of construction worker twins went off a beer binge. They left their
wives at home to chase available women and didn't show up for work.
Their brother-in-law was the chief engineer on the job and did not
fire them.
(SFEC, 4/20/97, Z1 p.5)
1280BC-1200BC Moses lived about this time. We
cannot be certain when Moses lived except that it was obviously
before the Jews settled in Palestine, when they were still
wanderers. The general opinion seems to be that it was at some time
within the period of Ramesses and his son. The father-in-law of
Moses was a Midianite. Moses reportedly died at Mount Nebo.
(L.C.-W.P.p.123)(MT, Spg. '97, p.11)(WSJ,
5/11/00, p.A24)
1279BC-1213BC Ramesses II (the Great) ruled
during Egypt’s 19th Dynasty. Seti I named him co-ruler early in his
life. His capital city was Qantir, 75 miles north of Cairo. A
detailed map of the city was created in 1998. His colossal statue,
removed from Memphis, now greets the visitor when he leaves Cairo's
main railway station. There are huge statues of Ramesses in the
Luxor temple... and most gigantic of all, the seated colossi at Abu
Simbel. He enlarged the Karnak temple on a scale which makes human
beings... look and feel like ants. The tomb of Queen Nefertari, wife
of Ramses II, Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty, was discovered in 1904.
Ramesses II built a fortress temple named Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham (the
rest house of the mother of vultures).
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty19.html)(L.C.-W.P.p.104,113)(V. Sun,
11/3/95, p.A-20)(Econ, 12/19/09, p.133)
1279BC-1213BC In Egypt the vizier Khay
worked under the reign of Ramesses II. In 2013 Belgian scientists
reported that a 49-foot pyramid in Luxor belonged to Khay. It was
built in the courtyard of an earlier tomb, discovered in 2009, which
contained fragments of wall paintings dating back to 1479-1427 BC.
SFC, 2/22/13, p.A6)
1275BC Pharaoh Ramses II took back the coastal
kingdoms of Canaan, Phoenicia and Amarru from their Hittite
overlords.
(ON, 12/11, p.1)
1275BC Ptahmes, the mayor of Memphis, served about
this time as army chief, overseer of the treasury and royal scribe
under Seti I and his son and successor, Ramses II. Archeologists in
2010 discovered the tomb of Ptahmes at Saqqara. Foreign expeditions
in 1885 had made off with pieces of the tomb, whose location was
soon after forgotten.
(AP, 5/30/10)
1274BC Pharaoh Ramses II, in the fifth year
of his reign, moved to meet and destroy the forces of the Hittite
king, Muwatalli II, grandson of Suppililiumas. Ramses left his
mark on a cliff face by the Nahr al Kalb (Dog River) when he marched
north from Egypt to battle the Hittites. In the Battle of Kadesh
some 70,000-100,000 armed men clashed in fury... The battle lasted
two days... and was decisive in that the Hittite advanced no
further. The Hittites fought off the invading Egyptians. This
reflected the power gained from trading metals abundant in Turkey.
(L.C.-W.P.p.116-119)(NG, Aug., 1974, p.157)(ON,
12/11, p.1)
1272BC Hittite King Muwatalli II died. Ramses II
launched his 3rd invasion into the Levant, but was unable to
reassert permanent control.
(ON, 12/11, p.2)
1270BC At Abu Simbel, Egypt, Ramses II constructed
The Great Temple in his own honor and the Small Temple in honor of
his wife Nefertari. Engulfed by sand over the centuries, the temples
lay hidden until discovered by a Swiss traveler in 1813. The temples
are moved under a 4 year UNESCO project when in 1964 the
rising waters behind the Aswan High Dam threaten to drown them.
(NG, May 1985, p.591)
1267BC Hattusili became king of the Hittites after
he deposed his nephew Mursili, the son of King Muwatalli. Mursili
fled to Egypt and sought asylum from Ramses II.
(ON, 12/11, p.2)
1261BC Egyptian and Hittite diplomats concluded
the Treaty of Kadesh, the world’s first known int’l. peace accord.
(ON, 12/11, p.2)
c1250BC-1200BC Under the direction of Moses the
Hebrew people returned to Canaan from Egypt after wandering for
several years in the Sinai desert and began the conquest of Canaan.
The conquest took some hundred years and after victory they parceled
the land of Canaan into tribal territories under a government known
as an amphictyony.
(eawc, p.5)
1248BC Pharaoh Ramses II, about this time, took
one of Hittite King Hattusili’s daughters as one of his many wives.
(ON, 12/11, p.2)
1213BC Ramesses II (the Great) Pharaoh during
Egypt’s 19th Dynasty, died. In 1976 his mummy was shipped to Paris,
where it was treated with radiation and chemicals for protection
against bacteriological damage.
(NG, 9/98,
p.16,22,32)(www.ancient-egypt.org/history/18_20/19.html)
1213BC-1203BC Maremptah (Merenptah), the
13th son of Rammeses, ruled during Egypt’s 19th Dynasty. He is
mainly attested to by three great inscriptions, including 80 lines
on a wall in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, a large stele with 35
readable lines from Athribis in the Delta and the great Victory
Stele from his ruined mortuary temple at Thebes, with 28 lines.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty19a.html)
1203BC-1200BC Amenmesse (Ammenemes) about this
time led Egypt as the 5th ruler of the 19th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty19a.html)
1200BC-1194BC The period of the 19th Dynasty under
Seti II.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty19a.html)
1194BC-1188BC The period of the 19th Dynasty under
Siptah.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty19a.html)
1187BC-1185BC Queen Tawosret (Taweseret) ruled
during Egypt’s 19th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty19b.html)
1186BC-1184BC The period of the 20th Dynasty under
Sethnakhte (Setnakht).
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1184BC-1153BC The period of the 20th Dynasty under
Ramses III. After Ramessu III ascended the throne of Egypt, he
fought back two major attacks from the northern countries. Ramses
III defended his kingdom from foreign invasion in three separate
wars, reorganized Egyptian society into classes based on occupation
and built a funerary temple based on the Ramesseum. Ramses, son of
Setnakht, twice defended Egypt against invasions from Libyan tribes
and in his 8th year from a coalition of migrants referred to in
records as the "Sea Peoples." The great Battle against the Sea
Peoples was captured in a magnificent picture which Ramesses III
caused to be sculpted on the walls of his great temple at Medinet
Habu in Thebes.
(L.C.-W.P.p.104,126)(R.M.-P.H.C.p.21)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
c1182BC Ramessu III beat back a more formidable
attack by northern countries. An inscription describing this war was
engraved on the second pylon of the temple of Medinet Habu. The
inscription describes how the northerners were disturbed, and
proceeded to move eastward and southward, swamping in turn the land
of the Hittites, Carchemish, Arvad, Cyprus, Syria, and other places
of the same region. The Hittites and North Syrians had been so
crippled by them that Ramessu took the opportunity to extend the
frontier of Egyptian territory northward... the twofold ravaging of
Syria left it weakened and opened the door for the colonization of
its coast-lands by the beaten remnant of the invading army.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.23)
c1179BC Ramessu III beat back a Libyan invasion in
his fifth year, this invasion was accompanied by war galleys from
the northern countries.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.22)
c1176BC "Peoples of the sea" arrived to the
Lebanese coast (c1200-1182). They came probably from the Aegean.
They toppled the Hittites, destroyed Ugarit on the Syrian coast and
swept south to Egypt where Ramesses III stopped them.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.174)
1175BC Rameses III built his temple palace at
Medinet Habu.
(eawc, p.5)
1153BC Ramesses III of Egypt died, and was
succeeded by a series of weak ghost-kings.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1153BC-1147BC The period of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty
under Ramses IV, son of Ramesses III.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1147BC-1143BC The period of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty
under Ramses V, son of Ramesses IV and Queen Ta-Opet. His mummy
indicates that he died of smallpox at about age 35.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1143BC-1136BC The period of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty
under Ramses VI.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1136BC-1129BC The period of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty
under Ramses VII.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1129BC-1126BC The period of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty
under Ramses VIII.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1126BC-1108BC The period of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty
under Ramses IX.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1108BC-1099BC The period of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty
under Ramses X. During his reign workers went on strike for wages
not paid.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1094BC-1064BC The period of Egypt under Ramses XI.
He was the last king of the 20th Dynasty and the New Kingdom. Upon
his death Hrihor and Smendes divided Egypt between themselves.
Hrihor, the high priest of Amon ultimately usurped the sovereignty
and become founder of the Twenty-first Dynasty. In Lower Egypt, the
Tanite noble Nesubenebded, in Greek Smendes controlled the
Delta.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.29)(Arch, 5/05, p.21)
1085BC After 1085 BC, Egypt split between a
northern 21st dynasty claiming national recognition reigning from
Tanis and a line of Theban generals and high priests of Amun who
actually controlled the south from Thebes. Relations between the two
authorities were peaceful. The Tanites were driven from power by
Libyan warriors who established their own 22nd Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty20.html)
1080BC-945BC High priests ruled Egypt from the
capital of Thebes.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1075BC Wenamun, a priest of Amun, moved from Egypt
to Byblos during the rule of Ramesses XI. This was recorded in the
Golenischeff papyrus found in 1891CE at El Khibeh in Upper Egypt. It
is the personal report of the adventures of an Egyptian messenger to
Lebanon. Zakar-Baal was governor of Byblos.
(www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Luxor)
1969BC-945BC This is the period of Egypt’s 21st
Dynasty. The capital moved from Tanis to Libyan, to Nubia, to
Thebes, to SAIS, and then back to Nubia and Thebes.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
1069BC-664BC A black-bronze statue of the
falcon-faced god Horus, now in the French Louvre, dates to this
time.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
1069BC-525BC Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period.
(www.ancientroute.com/IndexPharCh.htm)
1064BC-1038BC Smendes ruled as the 1st king of
Egypt’s 21st Dynasty.
(Arch, 5/05, p.21)
1034BC-981BC Psusennes I was the 2nd king of Egypt’s 21st Dynasty.
(Arch, 5/05, p.21)
c1000BC A brightly colored papyrus of this time
depicting a Theban housewife's life after death was found by Herbert
Winlock at Thebes in 1912.
(WSJ, 12/27/95, p. A-8)
1000BC Bone lesions in the mummified body of the
priest of Ammon from a tomb of the Egyptian 21st dynasty, have been
recognized as probably caused by tubercle bacilli.
(WP, 1951, p.5)
1000BC About this time Kush became independent
from Egypt.
(Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.167)
1000BC A clay tablet, described as an
Akkadian-language letter, dating to about this time was placed on
display in 2011 in Jerusalem. The letter was from the Canaanite King
Abdi-Heba to the king of Egypt. It was found in excavations of a
site from the First Temple period.
(SFC, 6/21/11, p.A6)
993BC-984BC Amenope was the 4th king of Egypt’s 21st Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
984BC-978BC Osochor was the 5th king of Egypt’s 21st Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
978BC-959BC Siamun was the 6th king of Egypt’s 21st Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
959BC-945BC Psusennes II was the 7th and last king of Egypt’s 21st
Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
948BC-927BC The Egyptian
Pharaoh Shishak (Sheshonq) founded Egypt’s 22nd Dynasty. He
destroyed many Israelite cities, including Rehov, Megiddo and Hazor.
Sheshonq I supported Jeroboam against King Solomon's son, Rehoboam.
(WSJ, 12/31/97, p.A4)(SFC, 4/11/03, p.A9)(Arch,
5/05, p.21)
945BC-712BC Period of Egypt’s twenty-second
dynasty. It is often referred to as the Libyan Bubastite Dynasty.
Manetho lists the kings of this Dynasty as being from Bubastis which
is located in the eastern delta
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
924BC-909BC Osorkon I ruled
Egypt as the 2nd king of the 22nd Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
909BC-894BC Takelot I ruled
Egypt as the 3rd king of the 22nd Dynasty. His reign saw the
beginning of another fragmentation into 2 power bases.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
894BC-883BC Shoshenq II ruled
Egypt during the 22nd Dynasty. He is thought to have been co-regent
during the period between Osorkon I and Takelot I.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
883BC-885BC Osorkon II ruled
Egypt as the 5th king of the 22nd Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
880BC There was a very high
inundation of the Nile in the 3rd year of the reign of Osorkon II.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
841BC-815BC Takelot II ruled
Egypt as the 6th king of the 22nd Dynasty.
(Arch, 5/05, p.21)
845BC During the 15th year of
the reign of Egypt’s Takelot II there was warfare in the north and
south and great convulsion broke out in the land.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
835BC-783BC Shoshenq III ruled
Egypt as the 7th king of the 22nd Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
800BC The twenty-fifth dynasty,
as noted by Manetho, consisted of three Ethiopic kings. The seat of
the empire was originally at Gebel Barkal, or Napata. They
subsequently conquered the whole of Egypt. The first monarch of this
line was called Sabaco by the Greek writers; the second Sebechos, or
Suechos, his son; the third was Tarkos or Taracus.
(RFH-MDHP, A. Layard, 1853, p.62)
800BC-700BC Bubastis was
the capital of 8th century BC Egypt.
(AM, 7/04, p.12)
783BC-773BC Pami (Pemay) ruled
Egypt as the 8th king of the 22nd Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
773BC-735BC Shoshenq IV ruled
Kush as the 9th king of Egypt’s 22nd Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
750BC-719BC Piye (Piankhy)
ruled Kush (Nubia). In 722 he extended his rule to Egypt. Kashta,
ruler of Kush, had begun a campaign against Egypt. With the help of
his son, Piankhy, he was successful and Piankhy became pharaoh of
Egypt. The Nubian King Piye conquered the weakened and disunited
Egypt and became the first of several Nubian Pharaohs who ruled a
unified Egyptian and Nubian state for the next century.
(eawc, p.7)(MT, 10/95,
p.10-11)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
740BC-725BC Pedubaste I was a
1st king of Egypt’s 23rd Dynasty. Egypt’s rule in this period is not
very clear.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
735BC-712BC Osorkon IV ruled
Egypt as the 10th and final king of the 22nd Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
732BC Tiglath-pileser III, an
Assyrian, took Damascus and killed Rezin. He then captured many
cities of northern Israel and took the people to Assyria. The
Egyptian troops had at one time joined forces with Damascus, Israel
and some other states to resist Shalmaneser III at Qarqar.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
725BC-720BC Tefnakhte I, a
prince of western Egypt, ruled as the 1st king of the 24th Dynasty,
known as the Sais Dynasty. He attempted to stop an invasion by
organizing other Northern Kings with him against invaders from the
south. This southern force was comprised of Piankhi’s Nubian forces
that wanted to gain control of all of Egypt. The four northern
armies under Tefnakht, Osorkon IV of Tanis, Peftjauabastet of
Hernopolis, Nimlot, and Input of Leontopolis all enjoyed a
relatively easy time in their conquering of the people down to the
south, but Piankhi was actually drawing them down. When Tefnakht's
forces finally reached Memphis they were massacred and Tefnakht
conceded to Piankhi. Tefnakht and the four other leaders were
allowed to remain governors of their territories under the new
Pharaoh Piankhi.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
722BC Hoshea, the king of
Israel, sent messengers to Osorkon in Egypt. He was requesting help
against Assyria’s Shalmaneser V. No help was sent. Samaria was
captured and the Israelites were taken away to Assyria. The
Assyrians conquered Israel and left nothing behind. The Hebrew
kingdom of Judah managed to survive. Descendants of the Israelites
not exiled by the Assyrians were later known as the Samaritans.
(eawc, p.7)(WSJ, 10/13/00,
p.W15)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
722BC Piye (Piankhy) marched
north from Nubia and began his conquest of Egypt where he founded
the 25th Dynasty. He consolidated his rule over Egypt and Kush and
became the 1st king of the 25th Dynasty. It has been suggested that
he revived pyramid building for royals in Egypt, a tradition that
had gone extinct for over eight centuries.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)(Arch, 9/02,
p.55)
720BC-715BC Wahkare Bakenranef ruled in Egypt as
the 2nd king of the 24th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
712BC-698BC Shebaka of Nubia ruled in Egypt. Some
consider him the 1st king of the 25th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
710BC Hanunu of Gaza was in the
revolt against the king of Assyria which led to the battle of
Raphia, the first struggle between Egypt and Assyria. Hanunu, the
king of Gaza, fled to Sebako (Shebaka), king of Egypt; but returned
and, having made submission, was received with favor.
(R.M.-P.H.C.p.71)
700BC A three foot tall bust of
Pharaoh Shabako was on loan from Cairo at St. Petersburg, Florida.
(WSJ, 1/16/96, p. A-16)
698BC-690BC Shebitku, nephew of Shebaka, ruled in
Egypt as the 2nd king of the 25th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
690BC-664BC The Nubian Pharaoh
Taharka, brother of Shebitku, ruled over the upper Nile
Nubian-Egyptian state. A sculpture of the Cushite king was
discovered in the basement of "God's House Tower," an archeological
museum, in England in 2000.
(MT, 10/95, p.10-11)(SFC, 2/16/00,
p.A8)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty21.html)
671BC Esarhaddon [of Assyria]
recorded a victory over lower Egypt at the cliff face of the Nahr al
Kalb (Dog River), between Beirut and Byblos.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.157)
664BC-610BC Psammetichus ruled
in Egypt as the 1st king of the 26th Dynasty. He did not gain
control of Egypt until his 9th year of rule.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
c662BC The Assyrian Empire collapsed and Egypt
enjoyed about a century of independence.
(eawc, p.7)
c660BC Governor Ment (Mentuemhet) served as
governor of Upper Egypt, mayor of Thebes, and 4th prophet of Amun.
(SFC, 5/4/05, p.E5)
657BC-525BC Period of Egypt’s
Dynasty 26.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
655BC Psammetichus, 26th
Dynasty king, gained control of Egypt in his 9th year of rule.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
654BC-657BC Tantamani (Tanwetamani) ruled in
Egypt as last Cushite king and the last of the king of the 25th
Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty25.html)
640BC In Egypt a burial chamber
at the necropolis of Saqqara dating back to this time was uncovered
in 2009. The chamber contained 8 sarcophagi.
(WSJ, 2/12/09, p.A9)
610BC-595BC Nekau II (Necho),
son of Psammetichus I, ruled in Egypt as king of the 26th Dynasty.
Under his rule Palestine became an Egyptian possession.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
609BC The biblical king Josiah
of Judah was slain on Har (Mt.) Megiddo (root of Armageddon) about
this time when he was betrayed by Pharaoh Necho, whom he had
approached to stop from going to war on the side of the Assyrians
against the Babylonians.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.180)(WSJ, 4/17/97,
p.A20)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
606BC In Cairo, Egypt, the Ben
Ezra Synagogue was established.
(WSJ, 3/15/00, p.A1)
600BC Lady Gautseshenu died
about this time in southern Egypt. In 2011 a CT scan of her mummy,
performed at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY,
indicated that she was about 16 years old at the time of her death.
(SFC, 4/29/11, p.A7)
595BC-589BC Psammetichus II
(Psamtik II), son of Nacho II, ruled in Egypt as a 26th Dynasty
king. Psamtik II built the temple of Hibis in the al-Khargah oasis,
310 miles south of Cairo. It was built to worship Amun and contained
statues of Amun's wife, Mut.
(SFC, 7/16/99,
p.D3)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
593BC The Nubians were defeated
by a resurgent Egyptian dynasty after which they moved their capital
from Napata to Meroe.
(Arch, 9/02, p.56)
589BC-570BC Apries, son of
Psamtik II, ruled in Egypt as a 26th Dynasty king.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
574BC-570BC Apries, 26th
Dynasty king Egyptian ruler, conducted campaigns against Cyprus and
Phoenicia.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
570BC Feb, General Amasis
(Ahmose II), proclaimed Pharaoh of Egypt by his soldiers, defeated
Apries and his Aegean mercenaries and forced his retreat.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
570BC Oct, General Amasis
(Ahmose II) defeated King Apries a 2nd time and took control of a
united Egypt. Apries sought refuge abroad and later turned up at the
court of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
570BC-526BC Amasis (Ahmose II),
proclaimed Pharaoh by his soldiers, ruled Egypt as the 5th king of
the 26th Dynasty. Amasis consolidated Greek merchants to the area of
Naukratis. This made for easier control, and created a lucrative
income for the crown in the form of taxes. After an attempted
invasion by Chaldeans he formed an alliance with the Chaldeans,
Croesus of Lydia and Sparta.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
567BC Apries, former ruler of
Egypt, marched on Egypt at the head of a Babylonian army, but once
again, Amasis defeated him, this time capturing the former king.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
565BC-545BC The island of
Cyprus was under Egyptian control.
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.20)
548BC The Greek Temple of
Apollo was destroyed. Amasis, ruler of Egypt, is said to have
financed its rebuilding.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
546BC The Persians destroyed
Egypt’s alliance with the Chaldeans, Lydia and Sparta by first
capturing Lydia then the Chaldeans.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
539BC Babylon, under Chaldean
rule since 612BC, fell to the Persians. Cyrus the Persian captured
Babylon after the New Babylonian leader, Belshazaar, failed to read
"the handwriting on the wall." The Persian Empire under Cyrus lasted
to 331BC, when it was conquered by Alexander the Great. Cyrus
returned some of the exiled Jews to Palestine, while other Jews
preferred to stay and establish a 2nd Jewish center, the first being
in Jerusalem.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.174)(eawc, p.8,9)
c539BC Cyrus the Great founded Persia’s
Achaemenian Empire which he expanded into India, Libya and Egypt.
Pasargadae was his first capital. Persepolis was the heart of his
empire.
(SFEC, 7/5/98, p.T4)
526BC-525BC Psammetichus III
ruled for a short time as the last king of Egypt’s 26th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty26.html)
525BC Cambyses, king of Persia,
met and defeated the Egyptians in front of their city at Pelusium
just a few weeks after the death of Pharaoh Amasis. This marked the
beginning of Egypt’s 27th Dynasty. Psammetichus III tried to revolt
against Cambyses and was killed.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty27.html)
525BC-522BC Cambyses II, son of
Cyrus and ruler of Persia, served as the 1st ruler of Egypt’s 27th
Dynasty. Cambyses added to his Persian empire by conquering Egypt.
During his rule an army sent to Siwa Oasis was overcome by sandstorm
and buried. Herodotus said the army numbered 50,000 men. A Jewish
document from 407 BC known as 'The Demotic Chronicle' speaks of the
Cambyses destroying all the temples of the Egyptian gods. Herodotus
informs us that Cambyses II was a monster of cruelty and impiety.
(eawc.edu, p.9)(Arch, 9/00,
p.18)(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty27.html)
522BC Aug, Cambyses II, son of
Cyrus of Persia and the 1st ruler of Egypt’s 27th Dynasty, died from
a dagger wound in Syrian Ecbatana.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty27.html)
522BC A revolt broke out in
Egypt following the death of Cambyses, but it was put down by a
Persian general named Darius, who succeeded Cambyses.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty27.html)
522BC Darius the Great
(558-486), son of Hystaspes, succeeded Cambyses as emperor of
Persia. He engaged in many large building programs including a
system of roads and instituted the first postal system.
(WUD, 1994, p.367)(eawc.edu, p.9)(ON, 4/04, p.9)
520BC-486BC Darius, ruler of
Persia, occupied Egypt and is considered the 2nd ruler of the 27th
Dynasty. During his rule a canal from the Nile River to the Red Sea,
probably begun by Necho I in the 7th century BC, was repaired and
completed.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty27.html)
518BC Darius visited Egypt and
put to death its satrap, Aryandes.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty27.html)
510BC-490BC In Egypt the temple
of Hibis was rebuilt during the reign of Darius.
(SFC, 7/16/99, p.D3)
c500BC In 2004 Egyptian archeologists uncovered
the limestone sarcophagus of Badi-Herkhib, the elder brother of a
governor of Bahariya, who lived around 500 B.C.
(AP, 12/12/04)
486BC Darius (b.550), ruler of
Persia, died. His preparations for a 3rd expedition against Greece
were delayed by an insurrection in Egypt. He was succeeded by his
son Xerxes.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_I)
486BC-465BC Xerxes the
Great (b.519BC), king of Persia, ruled Egypt as the 3rd king
of the 27th Dynasty. His rule extended from India to the lands below
the Caspian and Black seas, to the east coast of the Mediterranean
including Egypt and Thrace. Persia’s great cities Sardis, Ninevah,
Babylon, and Susa were joined by the Royal Road. East of Susa was
Persopolis, a vast religious monument. To the north of Persia were
the Scythians.
(V.D.-H.K.p.49)(eawc,
p.11)(http://tinyurl.com/d2gayf)
465BC Xerxes the Great, king of
Persia, was assassinated.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerxes_I_of_Persia#In_the_Book_of_Esther)
465BC-424BC Artaxerxes, son of
Xerxes I, ruled Persia in the Achaemenis dynasty and Egypt as the
4th king of the 27th Dynasty.
(WSJ, 4/10/09,
p.W13)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_I)
460BC Herodotus turned back in
frustration at the first cataract at Aswan. He stated: "Of the
source of the Nile no one can give any account."
(NG, May 1985, p.629)
455BC Artaxerxes, ruler of
Persia, put down a revolt in Egypt.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty27a.html)
423BC-404BC Darius II, son of
Artaxerxes, ruled Persia and Egypt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire)
410BC Darius II, ruler of
Persia, quelled a revolt in Media but lost control of Egypt.
(http://cojs.org/cojswiki/Darius_II_Nothus,_423-404_BCE)
405BC Persian rule of Egypt
ended.
(eawc, p.9)
404BC-399BC Amyrtaios
(Amyrtaeus), believed to be a Libyan, ruled Egypt following the
death of Darius II from Sais as the 1st and only ruler of the 28th
Dynasty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyrtaeus)
399BC-393BC Nepherites served
as the 1st ruler of Egypt’s 29th Dynasty. During his rule he entered
into an alliance with Sparta against the Persians.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepherites_I)
393BC-380BC Hakoris (Hakor)
served as the 2nd or 3rd ruler of Egypt’s 29th Dynasty. There is
some confusion because a king named Psammuthis ruled in 393BC.
During Hakoris’ reign there was a 3 year war with Persia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakor)
380BC Nepherites II, son of
Hakoris, served as the 4th and final ruler of Egypt’s 29th Dynasty.
He reigned for only 4 months before being overthrown.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
380BC In Egypt a giant stone
was set at the Nile’s exit into the Mediterranean by order of
Pharaoh Nektanebo I. A smaller stela noted the name of the city as
Herakleoin. The city was submerged by an earthquake around 800CE. In
2001 the stones were pulled from the sea.
(SFC, 6/8/01, p.A9)
380BC-362BC Nectanebo served as
the 1st ruler of Egypt’s 30th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
373BC The Persian army moved to
attack Egypt. They abandoned the effort when the Nile flooded over
the Delta.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
365BC-360BC Teos, son of
Nectanebo, served as the 2nd ruler of Egypt’s 30th Dynasty. He
failed in an attempted attack on Persia and was deserted by the
Egyptians and Greek mercenaries. He fled to Persia where Artaxerxes
II gave him refuge.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
360BC-343BC Nectanebo II served
as the 3rd and final ruler of Egypt’s 30th Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
343BC Artaxerxes III of Persia
led a successful campaign against Egypt and Nectanebo II fled to
Ethiopia. Artaxerxes appointed Pherendares as satrap of Egypt and
returned to Babylon laden with treasures.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
343BC-332BC In Egypt the
Persians ruled for a 2nd time.
(eawc, p.13)
343BC-338BC Artaxerxes III
(Ochus), king of Persia, served as 1st ruler of Egypt’s 31st
Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
338BC Artaxerxes III (Ochus),
king of Persia, was murdered by his own commander Bagoas.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
338BC Arses, the youngest son
of Ochus, succeeded his father as king of Persia. He served as the
2nd ruler of Egypt’s 31st Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
336BC Arses, king of Persia and
ruler of Egypt’s 31st Dynasty, was murdered by his commander Bagoas.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
332BC Alexander entered Egypt
and founded Alexandria. A fishing village at the site was called
Rhakotis. In 2007 archeologists found evidence of urban settlement
at Alexandria dating back to about 1,000 BC.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)(AP, 7/26/07)
331BC Alexander left Egypt and
left Cleomenes of Naukratis in charge. This position was later
claimed by Ptolemy. When Alexander died, Ptolemy's generals divided
the kingdom.
(www.crystalinks.com/dynasty29.html)
330BC Alexandria became the
capital of Egypt.
(SSFC, 5/9/04, p.A17)
323BC Jun 10, Alexander died In
Persia at Babylon at the age of 32. His general, Ptolemy, took
possession of Egypt. Apelles was a painter in Alexander's court. He
had been commissioned by Alexander to paint a portrait of Campaspe,
Alexander's concubine. Apelles fell in love with Campaspe and
Alexander granted her to him in marriage. In 1984 Curtius Quintas
Rufus authored "the History of Alexander." In 1991 Peter Green
authored "Alexander of Macedon, A Historical Biography."
(V.D.-H.K.p.62)(BS, 5/3/98, p.12E)(WSJ, 2/11/00,
p.W6)(ON, 1/01, p.11)(WBO)
323BC-285BC Ptolemy I Soter,
son of Lagus and commander under Alexander, ruled Egypt as the first
king of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Under his rule the library of
Alexandria was commissioned.
(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)(http://tinyurl.com/bodry)
323BC-30BC The Ptolemy and his descendants ruled
over Egypt. This era came to be known as the Ptolemaic period. At
the ancient library of Alexandria Callimachus of Cyrene was the
first to catalog writings alphabetically.
(Enc. of Africa,1976, p.167)(SFC, 11/4/96,
p.A11)(SFEC, 11/10/96, Parade p.13)
c300BC In 2005 a well-preserved and colorful mummy
from the 30th pharaonic dynasty was unveiled at Egypt’s Saqqara
pyramid complex.
(SFC, 5/4/05, p.A1)
c300BC-200BC Scientists of the Univ. of Calif.
Berkeley expedition of 1899 uncovered hundreds of crocodile mummies
encased and stuffed with papyrus covered with writings from the
ruins of the city of Tebtunis. The site dated from the 3rd century
BCE when Ptolemy the Great ruled Egypt.
(SFC, 12/4/96, p.A4)
290BC Ptolemy I of Egypt
authorized the construction of the Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria.
It became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
(www.unmuseum.org/pharos.htm)
285BC-246BC Ptolemy II
(b.c309BC, Philadelphus) of Macedonia served as the 2nd king of
Egypt’s Ptolemaic Dynasty. During his reign (285-247) he founded the
Cyprian port of Famagusta and built a canal to link the Nile to the
gulf of Suez.
(NG, 8/04,
Geographica)(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)
279BC The Pharos at Alexandria
was constructed. The lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the
World, was toppled by an earthquake in 1303CE. It was rediscovered
by archeologists in the waters off Alexandria in 1996.
(SFEC, 4/5/98, Par p.20)(SFC, 11/4/96,
p.A11)(WSJ, 10/10/01, p.B1)
246BC Jan 9, Ptolemy II
Philadelphus, 2nd king of Egypt’s Ptolemaic Dynasty, died.
(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)
246BC-222BC Ptolemy III
Euergeter served as Egypt’s 3rd ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. In
2010 archeologists discovered a temple, thought to belong to Queen
Berenice, wife of King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd
century B.C. Archeologists believed that the temple might have been
dedicated to the ancient cat-goddess Bastet.
(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)(AP, 1/19/10)
222BC-205BC Ptolemy IV
Philopater served as Egypt’s 4th ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty.
(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)
205BC-180BC Ptolemy V Epiphanes
served as Egypt’s 5th ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. He became
ruler at age 5 following the death of his father. He married
Cleopatra I and died at age 29 while putting down insurgents in the
Delta. His wife became regent for their young son.
(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)
c200BC The Egyptian priest Hor cared for the ibis
galleries. His writings explained that hundreds of people were
involved in the animal mummification business at Saqqara.
(AM, 9/01, p.29)
c196BC The Rosetta Stone, found in 1799, was
inscribed about this time. It affirmed the rule of Ptolemy V (age
13) in 3 languages.
(WSJ, 6/5/01, p.B1)
c190BC-120BC Hypsicles of Alexanderia,
mathematician. He wrote “On the Ascension of Stars,” in which he was
the first to divide the Zodiac into 360 degrees.
(SSFC, 5/9/04,
p.A17)(www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/TLAstronomy.htm)
180BC-164BC Ptolemy VI
Philometor served as Egypt’s 6th ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. His
regent mother died around 176BC and Ptolemy ruled under the control
of his guardians, Eulaeus and Lenaeus.
(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)
164BC Ptolemy VI Philometor
went to Rome and left Egypt under the rule of his brother Ptolemy
VII Euergetes II Physcon.
(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)
163BC-145BC Ptolemy VI
Philometor was called back to Egypt and agreed to split their rule.
Physcon assumed rule of the western province of Cyrenaica and
Philometor ruled Egypt.
(www.crystalinks.com/ptolemaic.html)
69BC Cleopatra (d.30BC),
daughter of Ptolemy XII, was born. She was queen of Egypt from
51BC-49BC, 48BC-30BC. During her reign she declared earthworms to be
sacred and her subjects were forbidden to kill them.
(http://tinyurl.com/bpjprn5)(WSJ, 9/9/96,
p.A16)(SFC, 10/29/98, p.A13)
51BC-49BC Cleopatra was queen of Egypt from
51BC-49BC and 48BC-30BC.
(WUD, 1994, p.276)
50BC Jun-50BC Aug, The "Zodiac
of Dendera," a map of the stars of this period, was carved in stone.
It is now in the French Louvre.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
48 BC Sep 28, On landing in
Egypt, Pompey was murdered on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt.
(HN, 9/28/98)(MC, 9/28/01)
48BC The library at Alexandria
was ravaged by fire during the fighting between Caesar and Ptolemy
XIII.
(WSJ, 6/1/00,
p.A1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria)
31BC Sep 2, The Naval Battle of
Actium in the Ionian Sea, between Roman leader Octavian and the
alliance of Roman Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.
Octavian soundly defeated Antony's fleet which was burned and 5000
of his men were killed. Cleopatra committed suicide. The rivals
battled for control of the Roman Empire in the naval battle of
Actium, where Cleopatra, seeing Antony's navy being outmaneuvered by
Octavian's, ordered her 60 ships to turn about and flee to safety.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.18)(HNPD, 7/30/98)(MC, 9/2/01)
30BC Aug 30, Cleopatra, the
7th and most famous queen of ancient Egypt, committed suicide about
this time.
(AP, 8/30/97)
30BC Rome gained control over
Egypt. The wheat fields of Egypt became one of Rome's main sources
of food. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.
(Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.168)(SFC, 11/4/96,
p.A11)
27BC An earthquake hit Egypt
and devastated the temple of Amenhotep III in Luxor, which dated to
about 1389.
(AP, 4/26/11)
25BC Strabo, a geographer and
scholar from Alexandria, made the most comprehensive map of the
known world.
(SFC, 12/1/98, p.A10)
96 Jul 1, Vespasian, a Roman
Army leader, was hailed as a Roman Emperor by the Egyptian legions.
(HN, 7/1/98)
150 Claudius Ptolemy, a Roman
citizen of Egypt, authored his “Almagest” about this time. It was a
mathematical and astronomical treatise, written in Greek, on the
apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths. Ptolemy of
Alexandria published his theory of epicycles, the idea that the
moon, the sun and the planets moved in circles around the Earth.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almagest)(Econ,
2/7/04, p.75)
168 Claudius Ptolemy (b.~90), a
Roman citizen of Egypt, died about this time. As a geographer and
mapmaker he collected information from travelers and constructed
maps of the then known world. His maps were forgotten as the Roman
Empire declined and were not rediscovered until the early 1400s.
Robert Newton in his book "The Crime of Claudius Ptolemy" (1977),
called him "the most successful fraud in the history of science."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius_Ptolemy)(ATC, p.15)(NH, 6/97,
p.43)(LAT, 3/30/05)
249 Apollonia of Alexandria
died. She was among group of virgin martyrs who suffered in
Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to
the persecution of Decius. According to legend her torture included
having all of her teeth violently pulled out or shattered. She thus
became popularly regarded as the patroness of dentistry.
(Econ, 2/16/13,
p.83)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Apollonia)
270 Zenobia of Syria proclaimed
herself "Queen of the East" and attacked Roman colonies adjoining
her and conquered Egypt.
(ON, 7/00, p.1)
272 Roman emperor Aurelian sent
an army to attack Zenobia’s troops in Egypt and was repulsed.
(ON, 7/00, p.1)
300-400 As long ago as the 4th century, an
Egyptian scientist named Papp suggested there should be a science
called heuristics to solve inventive problems.
(www.mazur.net/triz/)
317 Aug 7, Flavius Julius
Constantius II, Emperor of Egypt, Byzantium, Rome (337-61), was
born.
(MC, 8/7/02)
340-360 The Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the
Christian Bible, was written in the middle of the fourth century and
contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament.
For most of its history it resided at St. Catherine’s Monastery
built (527-565) on Egypt Mt. Sinai. It left the monastery in the
19th century for Russia, in circumstances that were later disputed.
(Econ, 7/18/09,
p.82)(www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/codex/default.aspx)(Econ, 3/26/05,
p.80)
347 May 14, Pachomius, Egyptian
monastery founder, abbot (Coenobieten), died.
(MC, 5/14/02)
365 Jul 21, An earthquake,
whose epicenter was in Crete, leveled the Egyptian Port of
Alexandria as well as the Roman outpost of Leptis Magna in Libya.
Some 50,000 people died. The ancient Egyptian city, known as
Leukaspis or Antiphrae, was hidden for centuries after it was nearly
wiped out by the tsunami. When Chinese engineers began cutting into
the sandy coast to build the roads for a new resort in 1986, they
struck the ancient tombs and houses of the town founded in the
second century B.C.
(www.earthscape.org/r2/jos/vol1-1june1997/pg55.html)(AM, Mar/Apr 97
p.18)(AP, 9/8/10)
c300-400 Ammon Scholasticus, Greek lawyer, worked
in Panopolis. In 1997 Prof. William H. Willis (d.2000) of Duke Univ.
completed an archive of his papers: "The Archives of Ammon
Scholasticus."
(SFC, 7/19/00, p.B2)
415 Archbishop Cyril of
Alexandria sent a mob of religious police to stop Hypatia, an
eccentric pagan ascetic and scholar. The mob kidnapped her, dragged
her to a church, stripped and tortured her with broken shards of
pottery. Her body parts were then butchered, put on public display
and burnt to a crisp. In 2004 Jonathan Kirsch authored "God Against
the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism."
(SSFC, 3/21/04, p.M1)
490 Oct 29, Petrus Mongus,
patriarch of Alexandria, died.
(MC, 10/29/01)
527-565 Emperor Justinian built the St. Catherine
monastery in Egypt’s Sinai Desert to house the bones of St.
Catherine of Alexandria, who was tortured to death for converting to
Christianity. The site was thought to be the place where Moses saw
the Miracle of the Burning Bush.
(SFEC, 8/28/98,
p.T6)(http://interoz.com/egypt/Catherines.htm)
600-700 The library at Alexandria disappeared in
the 7th century.
(WSJ, 6/1/00, p.A1)
628 Apr 3, In Persia, Kavadh
sued for peace with the Byzantines. He handed back Armenia,
Byzantine Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt.
(HN, 4/3/99)
632-661 The Rashidun Caliphate, also known as the
Rightly Guided Caliphate, comprising the first four caliphs in
Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death. At its height,
the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant,
Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and
Central Asia in the east. It was the one of the largest empires in
history up until that time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun_Caliphate)
641 Fustat was established as
an encampment for the Muslim Arab conqueror of Egypt. The city
reached its peak in the 12th century, with a population of
approximately 200,000. It was the center of administrative power in
Egypt, until it was ordered burned in 1168 by its own vizier,
Shawar, to keep its wealth out of the hands of the invading
Crusaders. The remains of the city were eventually absorbed by
nearby Cairo, which had been built to the north of Fustat in 969
when the Fatimids conquered the region.
(SSFC, 7/24/11,
p.F7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fustat)
642 Sep 17, Arabs conquered
Alexandria and destroyed the great library. Omar, the second caliph,
successor of Mohammed, conquered Alexandria, then the capital of
world scholarship.
(V.D.-H.K.p.103)(MC, 9/17/01)
676 Cairo was built by the
Arabs only 1300 years ago. The name comes from the Egyptian "El
Qahir," the name of the planet Mars.
(Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.165)(SFEC, 8/17/97, Z1
p.2)
c800 An earthquake sent the
Nile port cities of Herakleion, Canopus and Menouthis into the
Mediterranean Sea.
(SFC, 6/8/01, p.A1)
828 Venetian merchants stole
the relics of Saint Mark from a Coptic church in Alexandria and
brought them home in triumph.
(Econ, 12/23/06, p.125)
912 Egyptian singer Nehmes
Bastet died about this time. In 2012 Egyptian and Swiss
archaeologists reported a roughly 1,100 year-old tomb of a female
singer in the Valley of the Kings. It was the only tomb of a woman
not related to the ancient royal families ever found in the Valley
of the Kings. The singer's name, Nehmes Bastet, means she was
believed to be protected by the feline deity Bastet. At the time of
her death, Egypt was ruled by Libyan kings, but the high priests who
ruled Thebes were independent.
(AP, 1/15/12)
969 Named El Qahira -"the
victorious," Cairo gained power from its position beside the
Nile.
(NG, May 1985, p.603)
969 By this time the Fatimids
had conquered most of North Africa and claimed Cairo as their
capital. The Shiites gained control of Egypt.
(ATC, p.91)(SSFC, 2/8/04, p.M2)
975 Al-Azhar University in
Egypt was founded and became the chief center of Arabic literature
and Sunni Islamic learning in the world. As of 2008 it was world's
second oldest surviving degree granting university.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Azhar_University)
1000-1100 Sicily was in the possession of the
Fatimid caliph of Cairo.
(Econ, 12/20/03, p.68)
1006 May 1, A supernova was
observed by Chinese and Egyptians in constellation Lupus.
(MC, 5/1/02)
1009 In Jerusalem the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre was burned by Muslims under Caliph Hakim of
Egypt.
(WSJ, 5/7/01, p.A20)(WSJ, 1/27/07, p.W13)
1029-1094 Al-Mustansir, ruler of most of North
Africa. He was the wealthiest of the Fatimid caliphs and was based
in Cairo.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)
1070 A famine forced
Al-Mustansir to send the women of Cairo to Baghdad to escape
starvation.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)
1099 Aug 12, At the Battle of
Ascalon 1,000 Crusaders, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, routed an
Egyptian relief column heading for Jerusalem, which had already
fallen to the Crusaders.
(HN, 8/12/99)
1169 Mar 23, Shirkuh,
Kurd General, vizier of Cairo, Saladin's uncle, died.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1174 Nureddin, the ruler of
Syria died. Saladin, the vizier of Egypt, married Nureddin’s widow
and assumed control of both state. The Ayyubids under Saladin spent
the next decade launching conquests throughout the region and by
1183, the territories under their control included Egypt, Syria,
northern Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and the North African coast up
to the borders of modern-day Tunisia.
(ON, 6/07,
p.5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayyubid_dynasty)
1177 Nov 18, Saladin marched
north from Egypt with 26,000 light cavalry intent on capturing the
Kingdom of Jerusalem.
(ON, 6/07,
p.5)(www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_ramleh.html)
1180 The Kingdom of Jerusalem
under Baldwin IV reached a truce with Egypt under Saladin.
(ON, 6/07, p.6)
1187 Oct 2, Sultan Saladin
captured Jerusalem from Crusaders.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(1187))
1193 Mar 3, Saladin [Salah
ed-Din]) Yusuf ibn Ayyub (52), Kurdish sultan of Egypt and Syria
(1175-1193), died.
(WUD, 1994 p.1261)(SC, 3/3/02)(SSFC, 9/29/02,
p.M6)
1201 Jul 5, An earthquake in
Syria and upper Egypt killed some 1.1 million people.
(www.geohaz.org/member/news/signif.htm)
1204 Dec 13, Maimonides
(b.1135), Spanish-born Jewish scholar, died in Cairo. His books
included the “Mishnah Torah,” the single most important Jewish book
after the Bible and Talmud, and “Guide for the Perplexed.” In 2005
Sherwin B. Nuland authored “Maimonides.”
(www.newadvent.org/cathen/09540b.htm)(SSFC,
10/23/05, p.M1)
1219 Nov 5, The port of
Damietta (later in the UAR) fell to the Crusaders after a siege.
(HN, 11/5/98)
1219 St. Francis d’Assisi
journeyed to Egypt and met with the sultan to work for peace.
(SSFC, 9/29/02, p.D2)
1244 Oct 17, The Sixth Crusade
ended when an Egyptian-Khwarismian force almost annihilated the
Frankish army at Gaza.
(HN, 10/17/98)
1244 Sheikh Abu el Haggag,
Tunisian born Sufi, died in Luxor, Egypt. His family was from Mecca
and traced its lineage to Mohammed. He founded a Sufi mosque in
Luxor and is buried there. An annual celebration in Luxor, called
the Moulid, celebrates his birthday. Egyptologists believe this
event is related to the ancient Opet Festival from the 18th Dynasty.
(Arch, 7/02, p.36)
1250 Feb 8-1250 Feb 11, The
Battle of Al Mansurah was fought between crusaders led by Louis IX,
King of France, and Ayyubid forces led by Emir Fakhr-ad-Din Yussuf,
Faris ad-Din Aktai and Baibars al-Bunduqdari.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Al_Mansurah)
1250 Apr 6, Louis IX
(1214-1270), King of France, lost the Battle of Fariskur, Egypt, and
was captured by Muslim forces .
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Al_Mansurah)
1250 Apr 30, King Louis IX of
France was ransomed for one million dollars. The Mamluk dynasty
exacted 240 tons of silver for his release.
(HN, 4/30/98)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R4)
1250 May 2, Toeransa, sultan of
Egypt, was murdered.
(MC, 5/2/02)
1250 The Mamelukes, a military
class initially composed of slaves, seized control of the Egyptian
Sultanate and ruled until 1517.
(WUD, 1994, p.869)
1260 Oct 23,Koetoez, Turkish
sultan of Egypt, was murdered.
(MC, 10/23/01)
1289 Apr 29, Qala'un, the
Sultan of Egypt, captured Tripoli.
(HN, 4/29/98)
1291 May 18, Acre, the last
major stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to the
hands of Al-Ashraf Khalil and his forces from Egypt and Syria after
a siege of 43 days. It had been in the hands of the Franks for 100
years. Egyptian Mamelukes (Mamluks) occupied Akko (Acre). The
crusaders were driven out of Palestine. Khalil, al-Ashraf Salah
ad-Din, the Mamluk King, conquered Akko and put an end to the
Crusader’s rule in the Holy Land.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Acre_%281291%29)(Arch, 7/02,
p.19)
1303 In Egypt the Pharos
Lighthouse at Alexandria was toppled by an earthquake.
(SFEC, 4/5/98, Par p.20)
1300-1400 The nose of the Sphinx was lost in the
14th century.
(SFC, 5/26/98, p.A8)
1250-1382 The Bahri Mamluks ruled Egypt.
(SSFC, 7/24/11, p.F7)
1382 The Bahri Mamluks, rulers
of Egypt, were succeeded by the Burji dynasty, another group of
Mamluks.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahri_dynasty)
1382 Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406)
arrived in Cairo following a turbulent political career in Tunis. He
is best known for his Muqaddimah (known as Prolegomenon in English),
which was discovered, evaluated and fully appreciated first by 19th
century European scholarship.
(SSFC, 7/24/11,
p.F7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Khaldun)
1442 Al-Maqrizi (b.1364),
Egyptian historian, died. His work included a history of Cairo.
Maqrizi had begun a large work called the Muqaffa, an encyclopedia
of Egyptian biography in alphabetic order. Another Egyptian
historian, al-Sakhawi, believed this would require eighty volumes to
complete, but only sixteen were written.
(SSFC, 7/24/11,
p.F7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Maqrizi)
1487 Lorenzo the Magnificent
ordered a giraffe from Africa and a cardinal’s hat for his
13-year-old son from Pope Innocent VIII. In return for the hat
Lorenzo promised the hand of his eldest daughter for the Pope’s
illegitimate son along with a nice loan. The giraffe was procured
from Sultan Qaitbay, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt. Pope Innocent
promised to get Queen Anne of France to hand over Djem, the exiled
brother of Qaitbay, for use as a pawn. Lorenzo promised to give the
giraffe to Anne. In 2006 the story was covered by Marina
Belozerskaya in her book “The Medici Giraffe.”
(WSJ, 8/19/06, p.P9)
1504 Venetian ambassadors
proposed to Turkey the construction of a Suez Canal.
(TL-MB, p.8)
1516 Aug 24, At the Battle of
Marj Dabik, north of Aleppo, the Turks beat Syria. Suliman I (Selim
the Grim), the Ottoman Sultan, routed the Mamelukes (Egypt) with the
support of artillery capturing Aleppo and Damascus. This opened the
way to 400 years of Ottoman Turkish rule over most of the Arab
world.
(PC, 1992, p.169)(Econ, 11/14/09, p.101)
1517 Jan 20, Ottoman sultan
Selim I captured Cairo. The center of power transferred then to
Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire retained the Mamluks as an Egyptian
ruling class.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamluk_Sultanate)
1517 Apr 13, Osman’s army
occupied Cairo. Tuman Bey, the last Mameluke sultan of Egypt, was
hanged.
(MC, 4/13/02)
1517 The Mamelukes lost power.
(WUD, 1994, p.869)
1680 Leavened bread was
developed in Egypt.
(SFC, 9/18/99, p.B3)
1680 Hykos tribesmen wore
sandals and successfully overcame barefoot Egyptians.
(SFC, 9/18/99, p.B3)
1769-1849 Mehemet Ali, viceroy of Egypt
(1805-1848).
(WUD, 1994, p.892)
1783 Jun 8-1784 Feb, A series
of 10 eruptions from the Laki Craters on Iceland changed atmospheric
conditions in most of the Northern Hemisphere. This also generated a
cascade of events that led to record low levels of water in the Nile
River and brought famine to the region. By 1785 a sixth of Egypt’s
population had either perished or fled.
(http://tinyurl.com/y9xemq)(Econ, 12/22/07,
p.134)
1798 May 19, A French armada of
335 ships carrying nearly 40,000 men set sail for Alexandria, Egypt,
which Napoleon planned to conquer. In 2008 Paul Strathern authored
“Napoleon in Egypt.”
(WSJ, 11/17/08, p.A17)
1798 Jul 1, Napoleon Bonaparte
took Alexandria, Egypt. In 1962 J.C. Herold authored "Bonaparte in
Egypt." A corps of 150 civilian artists and scientists traveled with
Napoleon’s troops to Egypt. In 2007 Nina Burleigh authored “Mirage:
Napoleon’s Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt.”
(SFC, 9/11/97, p.E3)(HN, 7/1/98)(ON, 12/99,
p.4)(SFC, 12/14/07, p.E3)
1798 Jul 7, Napoleon
Bonaparte's army began its march towards Cairo, Egypt, from
Alexandria.
(HN, 7/7/98)
1798 Jul 21, Napoleon Bonaparte
defeated Murad Bey and his Arab Mameluke warriors on the outskirts
of Cairo at the Battle of the Pyramids, thus becoming the master of
Egypt.
(WSJ, 11/17/08, p.A17)
1798 Jul 23, Napoleon captured
Alexandria, Egypt.
(MC, 7/23/02)
1798 Aug 1, Admiral Horatio
Nelson routed the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile at Aboukir
Bay, Egypt. Nelson's fleet of 14 ships led the attack on Napoleon's
fleet in Abu Qir Bay, capturing six and destroying seven of the 17
French vessels. The flagship of Napoleon's fleet, L'Orient, sank in
the battle. It was uncovered by a French team in 1998. More than
1,500 Frenchmen and 200 British soldiers reportedly died in the sea
battle.
(AP, 4/19/05)
1799 Feb 10, Napoleon Bonaparte
left Cairo, Egypt, for Syria, at the head of 13,000 men.
(AP, 2/10/99)
1799 May 20, Napoleon Bonaparte
ordered a withdrawal from his siege of St. Jean d'Acre in Egypt.
Plague had run through his besieging French forces, forcing a
retreat. Napoleon, in pursuance of his scheme for raising a Syrian
rebellion against Turkish domination, appeared before Acre, but
after a siege of two months (March–May) was repulsed by the Turks.
(HN,
5/20/00)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre,_Israel)
1799 Jul 17, Ottoman forces,
supported by the British, captured Aboukir, Egypt from the French.
(HN, 7/17/99)
1799 May 28, Napoleon ordered
the retreat of all troops back to Egypt from Jaffa. The march lasted
17 days with one week to cross the Sinai.
(ON, 12/99, p.4)
1799 Jul 11, An Anglo-Turkish
armada bombarded Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops in Alexandria Egypt.
The attack was ineffective.
(HN, 7/11/00)
1799 Jul 25, On his way back
from Syria, Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Ottomans at Aboukir,
Egypt.
(HN, 7/25/98)
1799 Aug 22, Napoleon slipped
through the British blockade of the Egyptian coast and returned to
France.
(ON, 12/99, p.4)
1799 Pierre Bouchard
[Boussart], an officer in Napoleon‘s army, discovered the Rosetta
Stone in the city of Rosetta [Rashid], Egypt. The Rosetta Stone is a
tablet with hieroglyphic translations into Greek. The stone is black
basalt... and bears three texts: the uppermost is in early Egyptian
hieroglyphic; the middle one in the Neo-Egyptian demotic script
often used in writing papyri; and the lowermost text is Greek.
Deciphering the stone, the work of English physicist Thomas Young
and then French archaeologist Jean-Francois Champollion, led to an
understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. Champollion
published memoirs on the decipherment in 1822.
(NG, May 1985, R. Caputo, p.584)(RFH-MDHP,
p.182)(HN, 7/19/98)(HNQ, 7/7/00)
1800 Mar 20, French army
defeated Turks at Heliopolis, Turkey, and advanced to Cairo.
(MC, 3/20/02)
1801 Napoleon's army in Egypt
surrendered to Turkish and English forces. The French civilian toll
topped 25 of 150, while the military toll topped 25,000 over the
3-year expedition.
(ON, 12/99, p.4)(SFC, 12/14/07, p.E3)
1805 Aug 3, Mohammed Ali became
the new ruler of Egypt.
(HN, 8/3/98)
1805-1848 Mehemet Ali (Muhammad Ali) served as the
viceroy of Egypt.
(WUD, 1994, p.892)(SSFC, 7/24/11, p.F7)
1809-1826 Civilians and soldiers who returned home
from Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt (1798-1801) published during
this period in serial form “Description de l’Egypte” (The
Description of Egypt), the most comprehensive view of Egypt to date.
(SFC, 12/14/07, p.E3)(WSJ, 11/17/08, p.A17)
1811 Mar 1, In Egypt the
Ottoman viceroy Muhammad Ali Pasha massacred the Mameluke leaders of
Egypt for plotting against him. He had invited them to a banquet at
the citadel of Cairo.
(PCh, 1992, p.373)(SC, 3/1/02)
1811 The Turks dispatched
Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali to overthrow the Wahhabis and reinstate
Ottoman sovereignty in Arabia.
(NW, 9/30/02, p.33)
1811 The Mamelukes remained a
powerful influence in Egypt until they were massacred or dispersed
by Mehemet Ali.
(WUD, 1994, p.869)
1814 Jean Francois Champollion
(1790-1832), French scholar, published his 2-volume book “Egypt
Under the Pharaohs.” Income from the book provided him with
royalties to continue his studies on the hieroglyphics of the
Rosetta Stone.
(ON, 8/10,
p.7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Champollion)
1815 Giovanni Battista Belzoni,
Italian hydraulic engineer and vaudeville entertainer, arrived in
Egypt and began to search for tombs of pharaohs.
(NG, 9/98, p.19)
1815 Britain took action
against pirate sheikhs protected by the Wahabis, later rulers of
Saudi Arabia, because ships of the East India Company were attacked
in int’l. waters. Britain allied with the ruler of Muscat and Oman
and Mohamed Ali of Egypt.
(WSJ, 10/9/01, p.A22)
1816 Mohammed Ali Pasha,
Ottoman ruler over Egypt, sent Fredric Cailliaud, a French goldsmith
and mineralogist, to find the Roman emerald mines of southeastern
Egypt.
(AM, 5/01, p.A38)
1817 Nov 22, Fredric Cailliaud
discovered the old Roman emerald mines at Sikait.
(AM, 5/01, p.39)
1817 Giovanni Battista Belzoni
discovered the tomb of Seti I.
(NG, 9/98, p.19)
1819 The government of Egypt
formally presented the obelisk of Alexandria as a gift to Great
Britain. It was first erected in Heliopolis in 1461 BC. The Romans
had moved it to Alexandria in 14BC and it had lain prone since an
earthquake soon after 1300.
(ON, 6/20/11, p.9)
1825 British traveler and
draftsman James Burton sketched tombs of the New Kingdom pharaohs in
the Valley of the Kings.
(NG, 9/98, p.7)
1826 Apr 23, Missolonghi fell
to Egyptian forces.
(HN, 4/23/99)
1826 Jean-Francois Champollion,
French Egyptologist and decipherer of the Rosetta Stone, began
collecting Egyptian artifacts. He convinced Charles X to purchase
the private collections of the French and English consuls in Egypt.
(WSJ, 1/29/98, p.A16)
1827 Oct 20, British, French
and Russian squadrons entered the harbor at Navarino, Greece, and
destroyed most of the Egyptian fleet there. The Ottomans demanded
reparations.
(EWH, 4th ed,
p.770)(www.ipta.demokritos.gr/erl/navarino.html)
1827 John Gardner Wilkinson,
one of the founders of Egyptology, designated the 5th tomb beyond
the entrance to the Valley of the Kings as KV 5. It was later
discovered to be a family tomb, the burial site for many of the sons
of Ramses II.
(NG, 9/98, p.8)
1829 May 10, Thomas Young,
physicist, decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphics, died.
(MC, 5/10/02)
1829 The Obelisk of Luxor, a
gift from Egypt, was transported to the Place de la Concorde in
Paris.
(WSJ, 10/26/99, p.A24)
1836 Edward Lane (1801-1876),
English orientalist, published “Manners and Customs of the Modern
Egyptians,” a classic account of Egyptian society.
(Econ, 7/17/10, SR p.14)
1849 In Egypt the reign of
Ottoman viceroy Muhammad Ali Pasha ended.
(PCh, 1992, p.373)
1859 Apr 25,
Ground was broken for the Suez Canal.
(AP, 4/25/97)(HN, 4/25/02)
1861 Apr 15, Samuel (41) and
Florence Baker (20) left Cairo to search for explorers John Speke
and James Grant.
(ON, 10/01, p.9)
1866 The Egyptian viceroy was
renamed the Khedive.
(WSJ, 7/10/03, p.D8)
1867 Feb 17, The 1st ship
passed through the Suez Canal.
(MC, 2/17/02)
1867-1875 The Suez Canal Co. issued bonds for some
hundred million francs to keep afloat. The Khedive went bankrupt and
the British under Disraeli snapped up the Khedive's shares for £4
million.
(WSJ, 7/10/03, p.D8)
1868 Mar 26, Fuad I, king of
Egypt (1922-36), was born.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1869 Nov 17, The Suez Canal was
opened in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean and the Red seas. The 100
mile canal eliminated a 4000-mile trip around Africa. Empress
Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, together with Ferdinand de
Lesseps, chief architect of the canal, led the first file of ships
from on board the French imperial yacht Aigle. It was financed by
the Rothschild banking empire. In 2003 Zacharay Karabell authored
"Parting the Desert: The Creation of the Suez Canal."
(I&WWI, p.1041)(SFC, 7/12/96, p.A11)(AP,
11/17/97)(MC, 11/17/01)(WSJ, 7/10/03, p.D8)
1871 Dec 24, Giuseppe Verdi's
opera "Aida" had its world premiere in Cairo, Egypt. He completed it
too late to celebrate the 1869 opening of the Suez Canal.
(SFC, 7/12/96, p.A11)(AP, 12/24/97)(PCh, 1992,
p.522)
1877 Jan, Englishmen Sir
Erasmus Wilson donated money to bring the obelisk of Alexandria to
Britain. He hired civil engineer John Dixon to bring it to London.
Dixon designed an iron pontoon ship called the Cleopatra to carry
the obelisk.
(ON, 6/20/11, p.9)
1877 Oct 14, A storm in the Bay
of Biscay caused the British pontoon ship Cleopatra, carrying
the obelisk of Alexandria, to tilt precariously in the sea. 6 seamen
from the tow ship Olga died as they tried to assist the men on the
Cleopatra.
(ON, 6/20/11, p.10)
1878 Sep 21, The obelisk of
Alexandria was erected upright at a public park in London.
(ON, 6/20/11, p.10)
1879 Aug 23, Governor-general
Charles Gordon of Sudan returned to Cairo.
(MC, 8/23/02)
1880 Sadiq Bey, an Egyptian
army colonel, took the first known photographs of Mecca and Medina.
He travelled extensively between 1860-1880 and kept itineraries of
his travels. The photos were sold to the Saudi government in 1998.
(WSJ, 6/19/98, p.W12)
1880 Swedish Egyptologist Karl
Piehl uncovered the tomb of Amenhotep, the deputy seal-bearer of the
Pharaoh King Tuthmosis III (1504BC-1452BC), in the city of Luxor,
about 600 km (375 miles) to the south of the capital Cairo. It later
disappeared under the sand and was rediscovered in 2009.
(Reuters, 3/1/09)
1880 Abi Hasira (b.1807), a
Jewish kabbalist (aka Abu Hassira, Jacoub Ben Masoud, Yaakov
Abuhatzeira) and the son of the chief rabbi of Morocco, died in
Damanhur, near Alexandria, Egypt, following an attempted trip to the
Holy Land. He is revered by some Jews as a mystic renowned for his
piety and for performing miracles. His gravesite became popular with
pilgrims.
(http://tinyurl.com/7pryucu)(AP, 1/4/10)
1881 Jan 22, Ancient Egyptian
obelisk, "Cleopatra's Needle," was erected in Central Park.
(MC, 1/22/02)
1882 Sep 13, British troops
defeated Egyptian forces in the Battle at Tel-el-Kebir.
(http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/battles/egypt/egypt3.htm)
1882 Sep 14, British General
Wolseley (d.1913) reached Cairo.
(http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/battles/egypt/egypt4.htm)
1882 In Egypt a military coup
against the Khedive furnished a pretext for a British invasion.
(WSJ, 7/10/03, p.D8)
1883 Nov 3, A poorly trained
Egyptian army, led by British General William Hicks, marched toward
El Obeid in the Sudan--straight into a Mahdist ambush and massacre.
(HN, 11/3/98)
1885 Richard Burton, British
adventurer and linguist, published his translation of “The Thousand
and One Nights.” The 1835 Cairene manuscripts formed the cornerstone
of the canonical version of the fluid text.
(Econ, 5/15/10, p.54)
1888 An Egyptian farmer
discovered thousands of cat mummies.
(SFEM, 12/15/96, BR p.7)
1889 In Egypt the double statue
of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye was discovered. An Italian team
restored the statue after it was first unearthed, filling in the
missing pieces with modern stonework. In 2011 six missing pieces
from the 3,400-year-old colossal double statue were discovered on
the west bank of the Nile in the southern city of Luxor.
(AP, 1/9/11)
1893 Feb 9, Suez Canal builder
De Lesseps and others were sentenced to prison for fraud.
(MC, 2/9/02)
1893 Howard Carter (18) left
his home in England to draw the pyramids of Egypt.
(ON, 5/00, p.6)
1896 In Egypt Solomon
Schechter, a Romanian-born reader in rabinics at England’s Cambridge
Univ., discovered a cache of hundreds of thousands of documents
collected by the Jews of Fustat (Old Cairo). In 2011 Adina Hoffman
and Peter Cole authored “Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of
the Cairo Geniza.”
(SSFC, 5/29/11, p.G4)
1898 Apr 8, British General
Horatio Kitchener defeated the Khalifa, leader of the dervishes in
Sudan, at the Battle of Atbara. Anglo-Egyptian forces crushed 6,000
Sudanese.
(HN, 4/8/99)(MC, 4/8/02)
1898 Sep 2, Anglo-Egyptian
lines under Gen’l. Kitchener were charged by 50,000 fanatical
Dervishes and were mowed down by howitzers, machine guns and rifles.
Lt. Winston Churchill led one of the last (and most useless) cavalry
charges in history.
(WSJ, 8/25/98, p.A14)
1899 Scientists of the Univ. of
Calif. Berkeley expedition uncovered hundreds of crocodile mummies
encased and stuffed with papyrus covered with writings from the
ruins of the city of Tebtunis. The site dated from the 3rd century
BCE when Ptolemy the Great ruled Egypt.
(SFC, 12/4/96, p.A4)
1905 Mar 9, Archeologists
unearthed the royal tombs of Yua and Tua in Egypt.
(HN, 3/9/98)
1905 Baron Edouard Empain of
Belgium built the model city of Heliopolis near Cairo, Egypt, with
his own elaborate, Indian-inspired palace as its main attraction.
(AP, 5/4/05)
1907 Howard Carter obtained the
patronage of George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon to finance
his archeological excavations in Egypt.
(ON, 5/00, p.6)
1907 In Egypt a mummy known as
KV55 was found. It was named after the number of the tomb where it
was found in the Valley of the Kings. In 2010 DNA and CT scanning
identified the mummy as that of Pharaoh Akhenaten (1350-1336BC).
(AP, 3/12/10)
1908 In Cairo, Egypt, the Café
Riche was founded on Talaat Harb Street, 2 blocks from Tahrir
Square, and became a sanctuary for observers of Egyptian public
life.
(Econ, 12/17/11, p.85)
1910 Mar 28, Pres. Theodore
Roosevelt gave his “Law and Order in Egypt” speech at Cairo Univ.
Sheikh Ali Yusuf, Muslim cleric and popular columnist, had written
an open letter in praise of Roosevelt’s visit, but the president’s
imperious tone soon disappointed Egyptian hopes.
(www.mobipocket.com/EN/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=86377)(Econ,
6/6/09, p.1910)
1910 Production of Egyptian
crude oil was started in the Gulf of Suez.
(Econ, 7/17/10, SR p.9)
1911 Dec 11, Naguib Mahfouz
(d.2006), Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian novelist, was born.
(HN, 12/11/00)(SFC, 8/31/06, p.A13)
1912 Apr 8, Steamers collided
in Nile, drowning 200.
(MC, 4/8/02)
1912 Dec 23, The Aswan Dam in
Egypt began operation.
(MC, 12/23/01)
1913 Frank Shuman, American
inventor, created the first large solar pumping station in Meadi,
Egypt.
(Econ, 6/6/09, TQ p.23)
1916 Jan 3, Three armored
Japanese cruisers were ordered to guard the Suez Canal.
(HN, 1/3/99)
1916 Aug 5, The British navy
defeated the Ottomans at the naval battle off Port Said, Egypt.
(HN, 8/5/98)
1918 Jan 15, Gamal Abdel
Nasser, President of Egypt (1954-1971), was born.
(MC, 1/15/02)
1918 Dec 25, Anwar Sadat
(d.1981), president of Egypt, was born. "There can be hope only for
a society which acts as one big family, and not as many separate
ones."
(AP, 5/9/98)(HN, 12/25/98)
1919 Dec 15, In Cairo, Egypt,
medical student Iryan Yusuf threw a bomb at the car of the prime
minister as he arrived at the Café Riche. The PM survived the
attack.
(Econ, 12/17/11, p.85)
1919 In Egypt the Wafd Party
was founded as a nationalist party to create secular
Muslim-Christian unity in the face of British imperialism. It was
instrumental in the development of the 1923 constitution, and
supported moving Egypt from dynastic rule to a constitutional
monarchy.
(Econ, 6/18/11,
p.54)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wafd_Party)
1920 Feb 11, Farouk I, last
King of Egypt (1936-52), was born in Cairo.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1920s The statue of Ramses II
was found in Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, 15 miles from
Cairo.
(WSJ, 8/21/97, p.A12)
1921 At the Cairo Conference
Britain and France carved up Arabia and created Jordan under Emir
Abdullah; his brother Faisal became King of Iraq. France was given
influence over Syria and Jewish immigration was allowed into
Palestine. Faisal I died one year after independence and his
son, Ghazi I succeeded him.
(HNQ, 6/20/99)(SSFC, 10/14/01, p.D3)
1922 Feb 28, Britain declared
Egypt a sovereign state, but British troops remained. Saad Zaghloul
(1859-1927) brought Egypt independence from Britain.
(HN, 2/28/98)(MC, 2/28/02)(Econ, 7/17/10, SR
p.14)
1922 Mar 15, Sultan Fuad I
issued whereby he changed his title from Sultan of Egypt to King of
Egypt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuad_I_of_Egypt)
1922 Nov 4, British
archeologist Howard Carter was elated when his Egyptian workers
uncovered the top of a stairway cut into bedrock in the Valley of
the Kings. For a decade, Carter had been searching for the tomb of
the young king Tutankhamun, who had ruled Egypt 3,200 years before.
Carter was particularly thrilled at the discovery of the staircase
because his wealthy patron, the Earl of Carnarvon, had agreed to
fund only one more season before abandoning the search. At the
bottom of the staircase was a sealed doorway, which suggested that
the tomb had probably not been robbed. Carter ordered the stairway
filled and telegraphed his patron, "At last have made wonderful
discovery in valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; recovered
same for your arrival; congratulations." On November 26, Carter,
with Carnarvon standing by, drilled a small hole in the tomb's
antechamber. Inserting a candle, Carter peered into the darkness at
the rich funerary goods. When asked by Carnarvon if he could see
anything, the awestruck Carter replied, "Yes, wonderful things."
(NG, May 1985, R. Caputo, p.598)(AP, 11/4/97)
(HNPD, 11/3/98)
1922 Nov 14, Boutros Boutros
Ghali, Egyptian secretary-general of UN (1992-), was born.
(MC, 11/14/01)
1922 Nov 26, Lord Carnarvon and
Howard Carter, archeologists, opened King Tut’s tomb in Egypt.
(HN, 11/26/98)(AP, 11/26/02)
1923 Feb 16, In Egypt the
burial chamber of King Tutankhamen's recently unearthed tomb was
unsealed by archeologist Howard Carter.
(AP,
2/16/08)(www.king-tut.org.uk/curse-of-king-tut/howard-carter-timeline.htm)
1923 Apr 5, George Edward
Stanhope Molyneux Herbert (56), England’s 5th Earl of Lord
Carnarvon, died in Egypt from an infected mosquito bite. He financed
the excavation of the Egyptian New Kingdom Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s
tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Herbert,_5th_Earl_of_Carnarvon)
1923 Arab feminists returned
from a women’s conference in Rome and dumped their head coverings at
the Cairo train station. A whole generation was inspired to follow
suit.
(WSJ, 5/1/97, p.A1)
1924 Jan 3, Howard Carter
opened the doors to the last shrine in the hall, revealing the large
stone sarcophagus of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. The next day Carter
was photographed with Arthur Callender and an Egyptian workman in
the Burial Chamber, looking through the open doors of the four
gilded shrines, towards the quartzite sarcophagus tomb of
Tutankhamun.
(http://tinyurl.com/6crmufa)(www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/4acphot.html)
1924 Jan 26, Saad Zaghloul
(1859-1927) began serving as PM of Egypt and continued to November
24, 1924.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saad_Zaghloul)
1924 Feb 12, Women were banned
from entering the tomb of Tutankhamun which leads to diplomatic
problems with Great Britain and America. Carter wrote a pamphlet to
document interference by authorities and leaves the excavation and
locks the tomb. Pierre Lacau, the French Director of Antiquities,
demands the keys and Carter refuses to give them up.
(www.king-tut.org.uk/curse-of-king-tut/howard-carter-timeline.htm)
1924 Feb 20, Pierre Lacau, the
French Director of Antiquities, was authorized by the Egyptian
Cabinet to reopen the tomb of Tutankhamun and resume work. Howard
Carter refuses its offer to continue his work under Egyptian
control.
(www.king-tut.org.uk/curse-of-king-tut/howard-carter-timeline.htm)(NG,
May 1985, p.598)(SFC, 8/5/96, p.A10)
1924 Nov 22, England ordered
the Egyptians out of Sudan.
(MC, 11/22/01)
1924 Nov 19, Sir Lee Stack, the
Sirdar and Governor-General of the Sudan, was assassinated. This and
subsequent British demands, which Egypt’s PM Zaghloul felt to be
unacceptable, led Zaghloul to resign and to play no further role in
government.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saad_Zaghloul)
1925 Mar 9, Egyptian Ministry
of Public Works announced the discovery of the 5,000-year-old tomb
of King Sneferu.
(HN, 3/9/98)
1928 May 4, Hosni Mubarak,
Egyptian president (1981-2011), was born in the village of Kafr
el-Moseilha in the Nile delta province of Menoufia.
(AP, 7/9/04)(SFC, 2/12/11, p.A4)
1928 The Muslim Brotherhood was
founded in Egypt by Hasan al-Banna (d.1949), a young school teacher
and scouting enthusiast. His plan was to re-Islamicize society by
teaching the fundamentals of Islam in everyday language. He set up
welfare organizations and was famous for his commitment to social
justice. In 1946 a branch opened in Syria and branches began
spreading across the globe.
(WSJ, 9/7/04, p.A20)(Econ, 6/4/05, p.44)(WSJ,
7/12/05, p.A12)(Econ, 6/18/11, p.54)
1928 In Egypt Pierre Montet, a
French archeologist, began excavations at Tanis. He was convinced
that the ruins there were of Pi-Rameses, capital of Rameses the
Great. However it was later determined that many of the artifacts
had been brought there from Qantir by the kings of Dynasties 21 and
22, as they built their new Delta capital. In the late 1930s and
1940s an entire complex of tombs was found intact at Tanis.
(Arch, 5/05, p.18)
1929 Aug 24, Yasser Arafat
(d.2004), leader of the Palestinian Liberation Movement (Nobel
1994), was born in Cairo according to his Cairo birth certificate.
He was the 5th child of Palestinian merchant Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa
al-Husseini. In 1998 Said K. Aburish published his biography
"Arafat: From Defender to Dictator."
(SFC, 11/11/04,
p.A18)(www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Yasser-Arafat)
1929 Egypt and Great Britain
made an agreement on behalf of Britain's African colonies which gave
Egypt the right to most of the more than 100 billion cubic meters of
Nile water that reaches the downstream countries annually.
(AP, 4/14/10)
1931 Apr 22, Egypt signed a
treaty of friendship with Iraq.
(HN, 4/22/98)
1933 Apr 29, Constantine Cavafy
(b.1863), Greek poet, died in Alexandria, Egypt. The 1996 Greek film
"Cavafy" was a profile of the Greek homosexual poet, and a winner of
Greece’s National Film Award for best feature of the year. Cavafy
spent 30 years working as a clerk in the Ministry of Irrigation. In
2006 “The Collected Poems of C.P. Cavafy,” translated by Aliki
Barstone, was published.
(SFC, 6/18/98, p.E4)(SSFC, 6/24/01, DB
p.64)(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kafavis.htm)
1933 Count Byron De Prorok
undertook an archeological expedition from Egypt into Ethiopia. His
book "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" described the venture. He pioneered
the use of motion pictures from 1920. His other books included
"Digging for Lost African Gods" (1926), "Mysterious Sahara" (1929)
and "In Quest of Lost Worlds" (1935).
(AM, 9/01, p.64)
1935 Nov 13, Anti-British riots
took place in Egypt.
(MC, 11/13/01)
1936 Aug 26, The Anglo-Egyptian
Treaty, calling for most British troops to leave Egypt, except those
guarding the Suez Canal, was signed in Montreux, Switzerland. It was
abrogated by Egypt in 1951.
(AP, 8/26/05)
1936 King Farouk ascended to
the throne.
(SFEC,11/9/97, Par p.2)
1937 The Gayer-Anderson Museum
was founded in Cairo, Egypt.
(AM, 3/04, p.34)
1938 Muslim Brotherhood chief
Hassan el Banna (1906-1949), speaking in Cairo, proposed stitching
together the nascent states of the Ottoman empire to form one Muslim
community.
(Econ, 2/18/12, p.49)
1939 Mar 21, In Egypt King
Farouk arrived at Tanis for the opening of the coffin of the 21st
Dynasty King Psusennes I, recently discovered by French archeologist
Pierre Montet. It turned out that this coffin actually belonged to
Sheshonq II of the 22nd Dynasty.
(Arch, 5/05, p.21)
1940 Feb 28, In Egypt King
Farouk arrived at Tanis for the opening of the sarcophagus of the
21st Dynasty King Psusennes I, recently discovered by French
archeologist Pierre Montet.
(Arch, 5/05, p.24)
1940 Apr 17, In Egypt King
Farouk arrived at Tanis and ordered French archeologist Pierre
Montet to open the tomb of King Amenemope, son of 21st Dynasty King
Psusennes I.
(Arch, 5/05, p.25)
1940 Jul 14, A force of German
Ju-88 bombers attacked Suez, Egypt, from bases in Crete.
(HN, 7/14/98)
1940 Sep 12, Italian forces
began an offensive into Egypt from Libya.
(HN, 9/12/98)
1940 Sep 13, Italian troops
under Marshal Graziani attacked Egypt.
(MC, 9/13/01)
1940 Dec 9, British troops
opened their first major offensive in North Africa during World War
II and seized 1,000 Italians in a sudden thrust in Egypt.
(AP, 12/9/97)(HN, 12/9/98)
1941 May 18, An Egyptian
steamer sank.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1942 Feb 4, Sir Miles Lampson,
British high commissioner, staged a virtual coup d’etat against King
Farouk. In 1998 David Freeman wrote a romantic historical novel:
"One of Us," that was loosely set on this background.
(WSJ, 2/25/98, p.A20)
1942 Jun 24, The German Africa
Corps occupied Egypt.
(MC, 6/24/02)
1942 Jun, British Flight
Sergeant Denis Copping (24), made a "fairly flawless emergency
landing" of his American-built Kittyhawk P-40 in the desert of
western Egypt. It was part of General Montgomery's British forces,
mobilized to fight the Afrika Korps of Germany's Rommel. In 2012 the
plane was found almost intact" in a vast sea of sand and rock.
(AFP, 5/12/12)
1942 Jul 27, The advance of
German army was halted in the first battle of El Alamein, Egypt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein)
1942 Oct 23, During World War
II, Britain launched a major offensive against Axis forces at El
Alamein in Egypt.
(AP, 10/23/97)
1942 Oct 24, The 2nd day of
battle at El Alamein (Egypt).
(MC, 10/24/01)
1942 Oct 25, In the 3rd day of
battle at El Alamein (Egypt), the British continued an offensive
move.
(MC, 10/25/01)
1942 Oct 26, In the 4th day of
the battle at El Alamein the Australians made a breakthrough.
(MC, 10/26/01)
1942 Oct 27, In the 5th day of
battle at El Alamein: heavy battles and Australians advanced.
(MC, 10/27/01)
1942 Oct 28, The 6th day of the
battle at El Alamein. British offensive under Montgomery.
(MC, 10/28/01)
1942 Oct 29, In the 7th day of
battle at El Alamein Montgomery led an assault.
(MC, 10/29/01)
1942 Oct 30, On the 8th day of
battle at El Alamein a new Australian assault began.
(MC, 10/30/01)
1942 Oct 31, The 9th day in
battle at El Alamein (Egypt).
(MC, 10/31/01)
1942 Nov 1, The 10th day of
battle at El Alamein (Egypt).
(MC, 11/1/01)
1942 Nov 2, 11th day of battle
at El Alamein, Egypt: British made an assault on Tel el Aqqaqir.
Montgomery defeated Rommel in battle of Alamein Egypt.
(MC, 11/2/01)
1942 Nov 3, The 12th day of
battle at El Alamein (Egypt): Scottish assault.
(MC, 11/3/01)
1942 Nov 4, The 13th day of
battle at El Alamein: Axis Africa corps retreated from El Alamein in
North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by
Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
(AP,
11/4/97)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein)
1942 Nov 5, Richard Carver
(28), the stepson of Britain’s Gen. Montgomery, was captured by the
Afrika Corps, a day after the battle of El Alamein. A year later
after serving time in an Italian prison, he journeyed some 400 miles
to reunite with Gen. Montgomery. In 2009 Tom Carver, his son,
authored “Where the Hell Have You Been” Monty, Italy and One Man’s
Incredible Escape.”
(Econ, 10/24/09,
p.97)(http://tinyurl.com/ykwz9t7)
1943 Nov 22, President
Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese
leader Chiang Kai-shek met in Cairo to discuss measures for
defeating Japan.
(AP, 11/22/99)
1944 Nov 6, British official
Lord Moyne was assassinated in Cairo, Egypt, by members of the
Zionist Stern gang (Lehi).
(AP,
11/6/06)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehi_%28group%29)
1945 Feb 24, Egyptian Premier
Ahmed Maher Pasha was killed in Parliament after reading a decree.
(HN, 2/24/98)
1945 Mar 22, The Arab League
was formed with the adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt. Saudi
Arabia became a founding member of the UN and the Arab League.
(AP, 3/22/97)(WSJ, 11/13/01, p.A14)
1945 Mar 24, Egypt declared war
on Germany.
(HN, 3/24/98)
1945 Oct 20, Egypt, Syria, Iraq
and Lebanon formed the Arab League to present a unified front
against the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.
(HN, 10/20/98)
1945 The Egyptian musical film
"Salaamah" starred Oum Kalsoum (d.1974).
(SFEC, 9/3/00, DB p.53)
1945 Hamas began life as a
branch of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which advocated the creation
of states based ion Muslim law across the Middle East. [see
Palestine 1987]
(Econ, 11/12/05,
p.48)(www.upi.com/inc/view.php?StoryID=18062002-051845-8272r)
1946 Feb 21, Anti-British
demonstrations took place in Egypt.
(MC, 2/21/02)
1946 Egypt’s King Farouk hosted
the 1st Arab summit. The group resolved to thwart the birth of
Israel.
(SFC, 3/26/02, p.A10)
1946 France allowed Haj Amin
al-Husseini, the former mufti of Jerusalem, to escape to Egypt. He
had resided in Nazi Germany and hidden in Paris to avoid answering
for various war crimes.
(WSJ, 11/15/06, p.D14)
1946 French archeologist Pierre
Montet (d.1966) resumed his excavations at Tanis, Egypt, and
continued work there until 1951. In 1958 he published an account of
his discoveries titled “La Necropole Royale de Tanis.”
(Arch, 5/05, p.25)
1947 An Egyptian and Ugandan
water agreement led to the construction of Uganda’s Owen Falls Dam
and authorized Egyptian engineers to monitor Nile water releases.
(WSJ, 8/22/97, p.A1)
1948 May 15, Hours after
declaring its independence, the new state of Israel was attacked by
Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. The first president of
the State of Israel, Chaim Weizmann, took office with the founding
of the nation. David Ben-Gurion was Israel’s first prime minister.
Weizmann, born in Russia in 1874, taught chemistry in England and as
a leading Zionist influenced Britain’s Balfour Declaration of 1917
favoring a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Weizmann settled in
Palestine in 1934 and served as president of Israel from 1948 until
his death in 1952.
(AP, 5/15/97)(HNQ, 6/19/99)
1948 Jul 14, Israel bombed
Cairo.
(MC, 7/14/02)
1948 Oct 14, Large scale
fighting took place between Israel and Egypt.
(MC, 10/14/01)
1948 Oct 18, The Israeli
offensive, Operation 10 Plagues, began the against Egyptian army.
(MC, 10/18/01)
1948 Dec 28, Premier Nokrashy
Pasha of Egypt was assassinated by a member of the outlawed Moslem
Brotherhood because of his failure to achieve victory in the war
against Israel.
(HN, 12/28/98)
1948 The Muslim Brotherhood
opposition party was officially outlawed.
(WSJ, 12/8/95, p.A-1)(WSJ, 9/21/01, p.A16)
1949 Feb 12, Muslim Brotherhood
chief Hassan el Banna (b.1906) was shot to death in Cairo.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_al-Banna)
1949 Feb 24, Israel and Egypt
signed an armistice agreement.
(MC, 2/24/02)
1949 Nov 7, King Faruk
disbanded the Egyptian parliament.
(MC, 11/7/01)
1950 Nov 16, Egyptian king
Farouk demanded the departure of all British troops.
(MC, 11/16/01)
1951 Mar 8, The Int’l. Table
Tennis Federation banned Egypt for refusing to play Israel.
(MC, 3/8/02)
1951 Oct 17, The Egyptian army
fired on British troops.
(MC, 10/17/01)
1951 Nov 18, British troops
occupied Ismailiya, Egypt. [see Jan 20, 1952]
(MC, 11/18/0)
1952 Jan 20, British troops
occupied Ismalia, Egypt. [see Nov 18, 1951]
(HN, 1/20/99)
1952 Mar 1, Egyptian
government-Ali Maher Pasja resigned.
(SC, 3/1/02)
1952 Jul 23, General Mohammed
Neguib seized power in Egypt. There was a revolution in Egypt, King
Farouk I abdicated. Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the monarchy
and established Egyptian sovereignty after 2,300 years of foreign
domination. The revolution was led by the group of Free Officers
headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser and included Kamal Eddin Hussein.
(AP, 7/23/97)(NG, May 1985, p.584)(HFA, '96,
p.34)(TMC, 1994, p.1952)(SFC, 6/22/99, p.A24)
1952 Jul 26, King Farouk I of
Egypt abdicated in the wake of a coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
(AP, 7/26/97)(SFEC,11/9/97, Par p.2)
1952 Jul, Egyptian Prince
Muhammed Abdel Monem (1899-1979) headed a regency committee that
ruled from July 1952 to June 1953, when the new rulers of Egypt
turned the country into a republic. Prince Monem had married Ottoman
Princess Neslihan Sultan in 1940. In 1957 they returned to Istanbul.
(AP, 4/3/12)
1952 Sep 7, General Mohammad
Naguib (1901-1984) formed an Egyptian government and became premier.
Naguib served as Egypt’s 1st president. He was dismissed in Nov,
1954.
(MC, 9/7/01)(www.presidency.gov.eg)
1952 In Egypt Mohammed Zakaria
Ghoneim found the burial mask of noblewoman Ka Nefer Nefer at the
Saqqara pyramids. It dated back to 1307BC-1196BC. In 1998 St. Louis
bought the mask for half a million dollars from Phoenix ancient Art
gallery in Geneva, which was owned by Lebanese brothers Hicham and
Ali Aboutaam. In 2004 an Egyptian court sentenced Ali Aboutaam in
absentia to 15 years in prison for smuggling artifacts from Egypt to
Switzerland.
(SFC, 11/28/08, p.A24)
1952 Nov 3, Egypt protested
German retribution payments to Israel.
(MC, 11/3/01)
1952 In Egypt some 2,000 vast
estates occupied half the country’s fertile land and millions of
illiterate peasants toiled as sharecroppers.
(Econ, 9/13/08, p.32)
1953 Jan 17, In Egypt all
political parties were dissolved and banned. The ban continued to
1976.
(http://countrystudies.us/egypt/32.htm)(Econ,
12/17/11, p.86)
1953 Jun 18, Egypt was declared
a republic, and the monarchy was abolished, ending the rule of
Muhammad Ali's dynasty. Naguib became the first president and also
prime minister. Nasser became deputy prime minister and minister of
interior.
(http://countrystudies.us/egypt/32.htm)
1954 Feb 23, In Egypt Pres.
Naguib resigned. The popular outcry was so great that Naguib was
reinstated as president. Nasser, however, took the position of prime
minister, previously held by Naguib, and remained president of the
Revolutionary Command Council (RCC).
(http://countrystudies.us/egypt/32.htm)
1954 Apr 18, Colonel Nasser
seized power in Egypt.
(HN, 4/18/98)
1954 Oct 19, Egypt and Britain
concluded a pact on the Suez Canal, ending 72 years of British
military occupation. Britain agreed to withdraw its 80,000-man force
within 20 months, and Egypt agreed to maintain freedom of canal
navigation.
(HN, 10/19/98)
1954 Oct 26, In Egypt a member
of the Muslim Brotherhood attempted to kill PM Nasser.
(http://countrystudies.us/egypt/32.htm)
1954 Oct 29, In Egypt Colonel
Nasser disbanded the Moslem Brothership.
(MC, 10/29/01)
1954 Nov 14, Egyptian Pres.
Naguib was fired and a state of emergency declared. Lt. Col. Gamal
Abdel Nasser (1918-1970), chairman of the RCC, took command.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rulers_of_Modern_Egypt)
1954 In Egypt Youssef Chahine
(1926-2008), filmmaker, directed “The Blazing Sun” with Omar Sharif.
(SFC, 7/29/08, p.B5)
1954 The statue of Ramses II
was moved from Memphis to Cairo. It was divided into 3 pieces and
loaded onto trucks for the move.
(WSJ, 8/21/97, p.A12)
1955 In Egypt Onsi Sawiris
founded a small construction firm. It grew to become the Orascom
business group worth over $12 billion in 2005.
(Econ, 3/12/05, p.62)
1956 Jan 16, Egyptian Pres.
Nasser pledged to reconquer Palestine. His government made Islam the
state religion.
(HN, 1/16/99)(MC, 1/16/02)
1956 Apr 18, An
Israeli-Egyptian cease fire, arranged by UN Gen’l. Sec. Dag
Hammarskjöld, went into effect.
(EWH, 1968, p.1241)
1956 Jun 13, The 74-year
British occupation of the Suez Canal ended. The last British troops
left the Canal base.
(EWH, 1968, p.1241)(PC, 1992 ed, p.953)
1956 Jun 23, Egyptians approved
a new constitution and elected Gamal Abdel Nasser as president. The
new constitution acknowledged the long struggle by women and for the
first time provided them with equal political rights.
(WUD, 1994,
p.1685)(http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/875/eg4.htm)(AP, 6/23/97)
1956 Jul 19-1956 Jul 20, The US
and Britain announced the withdrawal of their aid offers to Egypt
for the construction of the Aswan high dam.
(EWH, 1968, p.1249)
1956 Jul 20, Great Britain
refused to lend Egypt money to build Aswan Dam.
(MC, 7/20/02)
1956 Jul 26, Egypt’s Premier
Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal to provide revenue
for the construction of the high Aswan dam. His speech in
Alexandria, which included the codeword “De Lesseps,” triggered the
army to start the seizure of the canal.
(EWH, 1968, p.1241)(EWH, 1968, p.1249)(Econ,
7/29/06, p.23)
1956 Aug 7, British government
sent 3 aircraft carriers to Egypt.
(MC, 8/7/02)
1956 Sep 11, Britain and France
announced economic pressure on Egypt to accept international control
over the Suez Canal.
(EWH, 1968, p.1242)
1956 Sep 12, British Prime
Minister Eden announced a British, French, US agreement to establish
an association to operate the Suez. Nasser dubbed this as an attempt
to provoke war.
(EWH, 1968, p.1242)
1956 Sep 14, Egypt assumed
complete control over the operation of the Suez Canal.
(EWH, 1968, p.1249)
1956 Oct 14, British and French
officials met as Israel was about to attack Egypt. Anthony Nutting
(d.1999 at 79), a deputy foreign secretary, learned that Prime
Minister Anthony Eden had agreed with the French that once fighting
began, they would send in paratroopers under the guise to separate
the fighting factions, but would actually support Israel, seize the
canal and undermine Nasser. Nutting resigned when British planes
took to the air Oct 31.
(SFC, 2/26/99, p.A25)
1956 Oct 29, During the Suez
Canal crisis, Israel launched an invasion of Egypt's Sinai
Peninsula. Paratroopers under Ariel Sharon dropped into Sinai to
open the Straits of Tiran. The Sinai Campaign, also known as
Operation Kadesh, lasted eight days to November 5, 1956.
(AP, 10/29/97)(Econ, 7/29/06,
p.24)(www.jafi.org.il/education/100/Concepts/d3.html)
1956 Oct 31, Great Britain and
France attempted to take over the Suez Canal. They bombed Egyptian
airfields.
(WUD, 1994, p.1685)(TOH, 1982, p.1956)
1956 Nov 2, The UN passed an
American resolution, 64 to 5, for a ceasefire at the Suez Canal in
Egypt. The General Assembly took up a Canadian suggestion for an
emergency force to monitor the ceasefire. The UN Emergency Force
(UNEF) became the first “blue hat” UN peacekeepers.
(Econ, 7/29/06,
p.24)(www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unefi.htm)
1956 Nov 4, Israel captured the
Straits of Tiran and reached the Suez Canal in Egypt.
(MC, 11/4/01)
1956 Nov 5, Britain and France
started landing troops in Egypt during fighting between Egyptian and
Israeli forces around the Suez Canal. A cease-fire was declared two
days later.
(AP, 11/5/97)
1956 Nov 5, Israel liberated
Sharm-el-Sheikh, reopening Gulf of Aqaba.
(MC, 11/5/01)
1956 Nov 6, Pressure from the
US and USSR effected a cease-fire in the Middle-East. The UN created
an emergency force (UNEF) to supervise a cease fire. Britain’s PM
Anthony Eden called French PM Guy Mollet to tell him that Britain
was aborting operations in Egypt. German chancellor Konrad Adenauer,
meeting with Mollet, remarked that Europe must unite to counter the
influence of the United States.
(TOH, 1982, p.1956)(EWH, 1968, p. 1242)(Econ,
7/29/06, p.24)
1956 Nov 7, Britain’s PM
Anthony Eden surrendered to American demands and stopped British
operations in Egypt’s Canal Zone.
(Econ, 7/29/06, p.29)
1956 Nov 15, The first units of
UNEF arrived to enforce the cease fire in the Suez Canal Zone.
(EWH, 1968, p.1242)
1956 Nov 30, Britain and France
bowed to UN pressure and agreed to leave the Suez Canal. Russia and
the US forced a combined British, French and Israeli operation
against Nasser in the Suez to abort.
(WUD, 1994, p.1685)(TMC, 1994, p.1956)
1956 Dec 3, England &
France pulled troops out of Egypt.
(MC, 12/3/01)
1956 Dec 22, The evacuation of
the Suez Canal was completed by Britain and France.
(WUD, 1994, p.1685)
1956 Dec 29, Salvage crews
began to clear the Suez Canal.
(EWH, 1968, p.1242)
1956 Alfredo Kraus (d.1999 at
71) made his debut as the Duke of Mantua in a production of
"Rigoletto" at the Royal Opera House in Cairo.
(SFC, 9/11/99, p.A19)
1957 Jan 9, British PM Anthony
Eden resigned in the wake of the Suez crises.
(AP, 1/9/99)(Econ, 7/29/06, p.23)
1957 Feb 17, Suez Canal
reopened.
(MC, 2/17/02)
1957 Mar 8, Israeli troops left
Egypt. Suez Canal re-opened for minor ships.
(MC, 3/8/02)
1957 Mar 9, Egyptian leader
Nasser barred U.N. plans to share the tolls for the use of the Suez
Canal.
(HN, 3/9/98)
1957 Apr 10, Egypt reopened the
Suez Canal to all shipping traffic. The canal had been closed due to
wreckage resulting from the Suez Crisis.
(AP, 4/10/08)
1957 Egypt became the first
country in the Arab world to elect a woman to parliament.
(Econ, 10/15/11, p.29)
1957 Indar Jit Rikhye
(1920-2007), UN peacekeeper from India, became chief of staff of UN
forces along the Suez Canal. Prior to this each national liaison
officer reported to their own governments.
(Econ, 6/9/07, p.99)
1957 Albert Metzger, owner of
the Cecil Hotel in Alexandria, was kicked out of Egypt "with only
two suitcases." The hotel had been founded by his father in 1929.
The Cecil palace, which once attracted Alexandria's rich
cosmopolitan elite, was nationalized by late president Gamal Abdel
Nasser after Egypt's nationalist revolution in 1952. In 2007 the
Metzger family regained control of the 86-room four-star hotel run
by French company Accor.
(AFP, 6/21/07)
1958 Feb 1, Syria and Egypt
formed the United Arab Republic. Most Syrians resented the merger,
which was led by the radical Baath (Arab Socialist Resurrection)
party. The union of Syria and Egypt was dissolved in 1961 following
a coup in Syria. Egypt kept the name United Arab Republic until
1971.
(WUD, 1994, p.1555)(HNQ, 6/5/98)(AP, 2/1/08)
1958 Feb 5, Gamel Abdel Nasser
was formally nominated to become the first president of the new
United Arab Republic. Egypt used the UAR name from 1961-1971.
(AP, 2/5/97)(WUD, 1994, p.1555)
1958 Feb 21, Egypt-Syria as UAR
elected Gamel Nasser president with a 99.9% vote.
(MC, 2/21/02)
1958 Mar 2, Yemen announced it
will join the United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria).
(SC, 3/2/02)
1958 Oct 23, USSR lent money to
UAR to build Aswan High Dam.
(MC, 10/23/01)
1959 May 8, A 3-deck Nile
excursion steamer sprang a leak panicking passengers who
capsized the ship. 200 drowned just yards from shore.
(MC, 5/8/02)`
1959 Oct 31, The USSR and Egypt
signed contracts for building the Aswan Dam.
(MC, 10/31/01)
1959 The Grand Sheikh of
Cairo’s al-Azhar University, the foremost seat of Sunni scholarship,
issued a fatwa that officially recognized mainstream Shiism as a
legitimate school of thought.
(Econ, 3/4/06, p.22)
1959 A water agreement between
Egypt and Sudan was based on an annual net yield of 96.2 billion
cubic yards of water and gave Egypt 72.15 billion and Sudan 20.04.
Ethiopia got no allocation and never recognized the treaty.
(WSJ, 8/22/97, p.A1)
1960 Jan 9, The foundation
stone for Egypt’s Aswan High Dam was laid.
(www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/020116/2002011626.html)
1960 Pres. Gamal Abdel Nasser
nationalized the country’s media. Mustafa Amin (d.1997 at 83) and
his twin brother Ali published 5 of the best-selling publications
prior to the seizure and were highly critical of Nasser.
(SFC, 4/14/97, p.A19)
1960 Egypt passed a
Transmission Law that gave the state-run Egyptian Radio and
Television Union (ERTU) the sole right to transmit television
signals out of the country. The law was later use to clamp down on
providers of satellite television.
(SFC, 5/27/08, p.A9)
1961 Syria withdrew from the
UAR following a coup.
(WUD, 1994, p.1555)(HNQ, 6/5/98)
1961-1971 UAR was the official name of Egypt over
this period.
(WUD, 1994, p.1555)
1962 Mar 9, Egyptian Pres.
Nasser declared Gaza belongs to Palestinians.
(MC, 3/9/02)
1964 Jan 17, The PLO charter
was put together with articles that proclaimed Israel an illegal
state and pledged "the elimination of Zionism in Palestine." The PLO
was founded in Egypt. Fatah became the core group of the PLO.
(SFC, 12/11/98, p.A18)(SFC, 4/30/02, p.A8)(SFC,
11/11/04, p.18)
1964 Mar 25, Egypt ended a
state of siege (1952-64).
(MC, 3/25/02)
1964 May 9, Khrushchev visited
Egypt.
(MC, 5/9/02)
1964 May 14, Soviet Premier
Nikita Khrushchev joined United Arab Republic President Gamel Abdel
Nasser in setting off charges, diverting the Nile River from the
site of the Aswan High Dam project.
(AP, 5/14/04)
1964 Waguih Ghali authored
“Beer in the Snooker Club,” a story about life in Cairo shortly
after the fall of King Farouk (1952).
(Econ, 4/26/08, p.108)
1964 In Egypt the first stage
of the Aswan High Dam began harnessing the Nile.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_High_Dam)
1965 Mar 15, Nasser was
re-elected Egyptian President.
(HN, 3/15/98)
1965 Nov 1, In Cairo,
Egypt, a trackless trolley plunged into Nile River drowning 74.
(MC, 11/1/01)
1965 Mustafa Amin was arrested
while meeting an American diplomat in Alexandria and accused of
being an American spy. He was later freed by Pres. Anwar Sadat.
(SFC, 4/14/97, p.A19)
1965 Former King Farouk died at
a restaurant in Rome. The obese monarch was notorious for his
decadent lifestyle. The David Freeman novel "One of Us" is based on
his life and times.
(SFEC,11/9/97, Par p.2)
1966 Jun 19, French
archeologist Pierre Montet (b.1885), renowned for his excavations at
Tanis, Egypt, died in Paris. In 1958 he published an account of his
discoveries titled “La Necropole Royale de Tanis.”
(Arch, 5/05,
p.25)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Montet)
1966 Aug 29, In Egypt Sayyid
Qutb (b.1906), intellectual godfather of radical Islam, was hanged
for treason under Pres. Nasser. Qutb had earlier written: "A Muslim
has no nationality except his belief." He denounced western hedonism
and the decadence of Muslim regimes. Qutb had spent some time in the
US (1948-1951) and authored the 1951 essay “The America I Have
Seen.” While in prison (1954-1964) in Egypt, Qutb authored
“Milestones,” to chart the course of his crushed movement. His
brother Muhammad went into exile in Saudi Arabia where he taught at
King Abdul Aziz Univ. Osama bin Laden was one of his students. In
2010 John Calvert authored “Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical
Islamism.”
(WSJ, 3/22/04, p.A18)(Econ, 2/4/06, p.24)(Econ,
7/17/10, p.86)(Econ, 8/6/11, p.20)
1966 Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel
Prize (1988), published his novel "Adrift on the Nile."
(SSFC, 10/19/03, p.C11)
1967 May 22, Egyptian president
Nasser closed the Straits of Tiran to Israel.
(www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1948to1967_sixday_backgd.php)
1967 Jun 5, The Six Day War
erupted in the Middle East as Israel, convinced an Arab attack was
imminent, raided Egyptian military targets. Syria, Jordan and Iraq
entered the conflict. Jordan lost the West Bank, an area of 2,270
sq. miles. War broke out as Israel reacted to the removal of UN
peace-keeping troops, Arab troop movements and the barring of
Israeli ships in the Gulf of Aqaba.
(AP, 6/5/97)(HN, 6/5/98)(NG, 5/93, p.58)(HNQ,
5/22/00)
1967 Jun 5-1967 Jun 10, Israel
fought the Six-Day War against Syria and captured the Golan Heights,
the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Allegations that
Israeli soldiers killed hundreds of Egyptian prisoners with the
knowledge of national leaders were made by Israeli historians in
1995. Israel occupied Syrian territory. The Gaza Strip and the West
Bank were captured by Israel. Israel annexed the largely Arab East
Jerusalem, which included the Old City, and has since ringed it with
Jewish neighborhoods.
(WSJ, 8/17/95, p.A-1)(WSJ,11/24/95, p.A-1)(WSJ,
5/6/96, p.A-13)(SFC, 6/25/96, p.A10)(SFC, 1/22/98, p.B12)(SFC,
4/24/98, p.A17)
1967 Jun 8, On the 4th day of
the Six-Day War Israel captured the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula
from Egypt, as well as the West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem from
Jordan.
(SSFC, 6/3/07, p.E6)
1967 Jun 10, Israel completed
its final offensive in the Golan Heights in the 6-Day Middle East
War. The next day Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United
Nations-mediated cease-fire. Israel took Gaza and the Sinai from
Egypt, Old Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan
Heights from Syria. In 2002 Michael B. Oren authored "Six Days of
War: June 1967 and the making of the Modern Middle East." Israeli
military historian Arieh Yitzhaki later said that his research
showed Israeli troops killed 300 Egyptian prisoners of war. Israel
said soldiers on both sides committed atrocities. In 2007 Tom Segev
authored “1967: Israel, the War and the Year that Transformed the
Middle East.”
(AP, 6/10/97)(WSJ, 6/5/02, p.D7)(AP,
3/6/07)(Econ, 5/26/07, p.97)
1967 Jun 11, Israel and Syria
accepted a UN cease-fire. The UN brokered a cease-fire between
Israel and the defeated Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, ending the Six-Day
War with Israel occupying the Sinai, West Bank, East Jerusalem and
the Golan Heights. Israel annexed the largely Arab East Jerusalem,
which included the Old City, and has since ringed it with Jewish
neighborhoods.
(HN, 6/11/98)(AP, 6/11/03)(SFC, 6/25/96, p.A10)
1969 Nov 3, The Arab League
brokered a deal in Cairo that gave the PLO in Lebanon refugee camps
freedom of government interference. They reached an agreement that
effectively endorsed PLO freedom of action in Lebanon to recruit,
arm, train, and employ fighters against Israel. The Lebanese Army
protected their bases and supply lines.
(www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_lebanon_cairo_1969.php)(Econ,
6/2/07, p.46)
1969 In Egypt the construction
on the Aswan High Dam, which expanded irrigation, had led to an
increase in bilharzia infection. In this year the government began
to channel its bilharzia interventions into more comprehensive and
organized control programs and projects. During the 1970’s and 1980s
a campaign of multiple drug injections to combat the parasitic
disease led to a massive spread of hepatitis c.
(Econ, 11/4/06, p.54)(http://tinyurl.com/wuwmx)
1970 Jan 28, Israeli fighter
jets attacked the suburbs of Cairo.
(HN, 1/28/99)
1970 Jul 21, The Aswan Dam
opened in Egypt. Over the years the giant dam caused the disruption
of the Nile's flow and destroyed vital mineral deposits. Fishing
industries have been linked to the spread of disease. Formal opening
ceremonies were held Jan 15, 1971.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_High_Dam)
1970 Aug 7, Israel, Jordan and
Egypt agreed to a ceasefire under the terms of the US proposed Roger
Plan. The Roger Plan was originally proposed in a December 9, 1969,
speech at an Adult Education conference. The plan was formally
announced on 19 June 1970.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Attrition)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Plan)
1970 Sep 28, In Egypt Pres.
Gamal Abdul Nasser (b.1918) died of a heart attack. He became
president in 1953. Anwar Sadat replaced Nasser.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser)
1970 Sep 27, A cease-fire
accord was signed in Cairo between the Jordanian army and
Palestinian guerrillas by King Hussein and Yasser Arafat brokered by
the Arab peace committee headed by Bahi Ladgham of Tunisia.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.B4)(http://tinyurl.com/6e3v9s)
1970 Oct 15, Anwar Sadat
(1918-1981) succeeded the late Gamal Abdel Nasser as president of
Egypt. Sadat had worked with Nasser to overthrow Egypt‘s monarchy
and was imprisoned during World War II for his ties to the Germans.
After the revolution in 1952, he held key posts under Nasser
including that of vice president (1964-66 and 1969-70). In 1973, he
led Egypt into a war with Israel, but five years later negotiated
the Camp David Accords with Israeli premier Menachem Begin for which
both men received the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated by
Muslim extremists in 1981.
(SFC, 4/14/97, p.A19)(HNQ,
7/30/00)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Sadat)
1970 Nov 27, Syria joined the
pact linking Libya, Egypt and Sudan.
(HN, 11/27/98)
1971 Jan 15, Egypt’s Aswan High
Dam, 600 miles upstream from Cairo, was formally inaugurated.
(http://tinyurl.com/y4dn83)
1971 Sep 11, Egypt adopted a
new constitution by public referendum. It called for the president
to be chosen by at least two-thirds of MPs, and then confirmed by
referendum. In 2007 a questionable referendum approved 34
constitutional amendments.
(Econ, 9/25/04, p.61)(Econ, 3/31/07,
p.57)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Egypt)
1971 Nov 14, In Egypt Shenouda
III (b.1923) became the Coptic Orthodox Pope and the 116th successor
to Saint Mark the Evangelist.
(Econ, 6/5/10,
p.56)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Shenouda_III_of_Alexandria)
1971 A number of members of the
Egyptian National Assembly were expelled for plotting to overthrow
Pres. Sadat.
(SFC, 6/22/99, p.A24)
1972 Jul 18, Egypt’s President
Sadat demanded that the USSR withdraw all military advisors from
Egypt.
(http://files.osa.ceu.hu/holdings/300/8/3/text/67-5-236.shtml)
1972 In Egypt Hosni Mubarak
was appointed commander of the air force and deputy minister for
military affairs.
(AP, 7/9/04)
1973 Oct 6, The fourth
Arab-Israeli war in 25 years was fought. Israel was taken by
surprise when Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan attacked on the Jewish
holy day of Yom Kippur, beginning the Yom Kippur War. Syria tried to
regain the Golan Heights with a massive attack with 1,500 tanks. The
assault, empowered by Russian equipment, was repulsed by air power.
(WSJ, 5/6/96, p.A-13)(TMC, 1994, p.1973)(AP,
10/6/97)(HN, 10/6/98)(Econ, 3/16/13, p.54)
1973 Oct 15 Israeli tanks under
General Ariel Sharon crossed the Suez Canal and began to encircle
two Egyptian armies.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War)
1973 Oct 16, OPEC, the Arab
oil-producing nations, announced they would begin cutting back on
oil exports to Western nations and Japan. The next day, the five
Arab members of the OPEC committee were joined in Kuwait by the oil
ministers of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, and Syria. The result
was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974 and caused oil
prices to quadruple.
(www.harvardir.org/articles/1659/)(AP,
10/17/97)(WSJ, 7/28/03, p.A8)
1973 Oct 24, The UNSC passed
Resolution 339, serving as a renewed call for all parties to adhere
to the cease fire terms established in Resolution 338. Organized
fighting on all fronts ended by October 26.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War)
1973 Oct 26, Organized fighting
on all fronts of the Yom Kippur ended. Of Israel’s roughly 2,120
tanks, about 840 were destroyed over the 20 days of the war.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War)(Econ, 6/4/11, TQ p.19)
1973 Nov 11, Israel and Egypt
signed a cease-fire.
(www.amichai.com/war/process/73talks.html)
1973 Nov 15-1973 Nov 22, Egypt
and Israel exchanged prisoners of war.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/pows.html)
1973 Dec 21, Israel, Egypt,
Syria, Jordan, US and USSR leaders met in Geneva. The Geneva
Conference of 1973 was an attempt to negotiate a solution to the
Arab-Israeli conflict as called for in UN Security Council
Resolution 338 which was passed after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conference_(1973))
1973 Syria acquired chemical
weapons from Egypt just before war with Israel.
(SSFC, 5/4/03, p.A11)
1974 Jan 18, Israel and Egypt
signed a Separation of Forces Agreement.
(http://tinyurl.com/4z534e)
1974 Feb 28, The United States
and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a seven-year
break.
(AP, 2/28/98)
1974 Nawal El Saadawi of Egypt
authored "God Dies by the Nile," a novel of daughters and wives
abused by men consumed with power.
(SFC, 4/14/03, p.D1)
1975 Mar 29, Egyptian president
Anwar Sadat declared that he would reopen the Suez Canal on June 5,
1975.
(HN, 3/29/98)
1975 Apr 15, Egypt’s Pres.
Anwar Sadat chose Hosni Mubarak to serve as vice president.
(SFC, 2/12/11,
p.A4)(www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=24129)
1975 Jun 5, Egypt reopened the
Suez Canal to international shipping, eight years after it was
closed because of the 1967 war with Israel.
(AP, 6/5/97)
1975 Sep 1, Israel and Egypt
initialed the Sinai II agreement on disengagement. A ceremonial
signing was held in Geneva on Sep 4.
(www.jafi.org.il/education/jafi75/timeline6f.html)
1975 Oct 26, Anwar Sadat became
the first Egyptian president to pay an official visit to the United
States.
(AP, 10/26/97)
1975 In Egypt Lake Nasser
behind the Aswan High Dam was filled.
(NG, May 1985, p.602)
1975-2000 US aid to Egypt totaled some $52 billion
over this period.
(SFC, 12/29/00, p.B4)
1976 Dec 25, Some 100 Moslems,
returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, died when their boat, the
Egyptian SS Patria, sank in the Red Sea.
(HN,
12/25/98)(www.emergency-management.net/ship_acc.htm)
1977 Mar 12, Egypt's Anwar
Sadat pledged to regain Arab territory from Israel.
(http://tinyurl.com/37jrq9)
1977 Apr 4, Egyptian Pres Anwar
Sadat held his 1st meeting with President Jimmy Carter.
(www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/diary/1977/d040477t.pdf)
1977 Nov 19, Egyptian Pres.
Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel. Peace
talks began in the Middle East with Sadat going to Israel.
(TMC, 1994, p.1977)(AP, 11/19/97)
1977 Nov 19, The Libyan flag
was adopted, after Libya left the Federation of Arabs Republic,
which consisted of Libya, Egypt and Syria.
(www.worldflags101.com/l/libya-flag.aspx)
1977 Nov 20, Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to address Israel's
parliament.
(AP, 11/20/97)
1977 Dec 25, Israeli PM
Menachem Begin met Egyptian Pres. Sadat (1918-1981) in Egypt.
(www.washington-report.org/backissues/1098/9810083.html)
1977 Food riots took place in
Egypt and Kamal Addin Hussein, an independent member of the Egyptian
People's Assembly, accused Pres. Sadat of punishing the people.
Hussein was voted out of the Assembly for his statements.
(SFC, 6/22/99, p.A24)
1977 In Egypt agricultural
engineer Shukri Mustafa became the leader of Takfir wal Hijra. The
group began in the 1960s as a splinter group of Muslim Brotherhood,
but did not gain international prominence until 1977. The group’s
ideology was developed in Egypt, where theorists openly advocated
using immigration as a Trojan horse to expand jihad (holy war).
(WSJ, 3/29/04,
p.A16)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takfir_wal-Hijra)
1978 Jan 8, The Israeli
government voted to "strengthen" settlements in occupied Sinai.
(MC, 1/8/02)
1978 Feb 3, Egyptian President
Anwar al-Sadat arrived in Washington DC to discuss the Middle East
peace process with US President Jimmy Carter.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/3/newsid_2525000/2525341.stm)
1978 Jul 18, Cyrus Vance
(1917-2002), US Sec. of State, met with the Egyptian and Israeli
Foreign Ministers at Leeds Castle, England.
(www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/trvl/ls/13038.htm)
1978 Sep 5-1978 Sep 17, US
Pres. Carter, Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt
signed agreements at Camp David, Md. Israel promised to withdraw
gradually from Sinai and to establish some form of autonomous
Palestinian territory on the West Bank. Sadat’s astrologer, Hasan
al-Tuhami, was the only person Sadat trusted. In the Camp David
Accord "Israel was the winner and Egypt the Loser." Thus wrote
Boutros Boutros-Ghali in his 1997 book: "Egypt’s Road to Jerusalem:
A Diplomat’s Story of the Struggle for Peace in the Middle East."
(WUD, 1994, p.1691)(TL, 1988, p.119)(SFC, 6/2/97,
p.D5)
1978 Sep 16, The Grateful Dead
performed at the Great Pyramid of Giza. Hanza El Din (1930-2006),
Nubian oud virtuoso, first played with the Grateful Dead.
(SFC, 5/26/06,
p.B9)(www.archive.org/details/gd78-09-16.sbd.orf.2319.sbeok.shnf)
1978 Oct 12, Representatives of
Israel and Egypt opened talks in Washington.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/time70s.html#1978)
1978 Oct 22, Negotiators for
Egypt and Israel announced in Washington they had reached tentative
agreement on the main points of a peace treaty.
(AP, 10/22/98)
1978 Oct 27, Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were named
winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving
a Middle East accord.
(AP, 10/27/97)
1979 Mar 21, The Egyptian
Parliament unanimously approved a peace treaty with Israel.
(AP, 3/21/99)
1979 Mar 22, The Israeli
parliament approved a peace treaty with Egypt.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/begin_closing.html)
1979 Mar 26, The Camp David
peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the White House. [see Sep 5-17,
1978] Under the historic peace accord, Israel and Egypt agreed to
operate flights between the countries.
(AP,
3/26/97)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords)(AP,
9/16/12)
1979 Mar 31, The Arab League
suspended Egypt following its treaty with Israel.
(www.safarix.com/0131900048/ch08)
1979 Apr 2, Israeli PM Menachem
Begin visited Cairo, Egypt, and met with Pres. Sadat.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/time70s.html#1979)
1979 May 25, Israel began to
return Sinai to Egypt. Under the new peace treaty, Israel returned
the captured Sinai to Egypt. In return, Egypt agreed to leave the
area demilitarized.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/time70s.html)(AP,
1/31/11)
1979 Nov 25, Israel returned
the Alma oil field in A-Tour to Egypt.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/time70s.html)
1979 Dec 25, Egypt began major
restoration of the Sphinx.
(HN, 12/25/98)
1979 The Abu Hassira festival
was made possible after Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel.
Thereafter it has repeatedly drawn angry reactions from residents of
the village. Abu Hassira (Abi Hasira), a renowned Jewish religious
figure from Morocco, fell ill and died in Egypt in 1880.
(AFP, 1/11/12)
1979 Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini cut diplomatic ties with Egypt.
(Econ, 2/12/11, p.29)
1979 The US began financing
Egypt’s military at an annual cost of $1.3 billion.
(Econ, 2/26/11, p.65)
1979-1980 The Islamic Jihad was founded in Egypt
by Palestinian students from the Gaza Strip. Nafez Azzam was one of
the founders. Control was later moved to Iran with training and
funding from Iran, Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Leaders included
Ramadan Shalah and Abdullah Shami.
{Egypt, Palestine, Iran, Syria, Lebanon}
(www.mideastweb.org/Middle-East-Encyclopedia/egyptian_islamic_jihad.htm)(SFC,
6/6/02, p.A12)
1980 Jan 26, Israel and Egypt
established diplomatic relations, in accord with PM Begin’s
agreement with Pres. Sadat on Jan 10 at Aswan.
(http://tinyurl.com/2mk9zf)
1980 Feb 26, Egypt and Israel
exchanged ambassadors for the 1st time.
(http://tinyurl.com/2rsjax)
1980 Mar 23, Shah of Iran
arrived in Egypt.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1980 Jul 27, On day 267 of the
Iranian hostage crisis, the deposed Shah of Iran (1941-1979) died at
a military hospital outside Cairo, Egypt, at age 60.
(AP, 7/27/00)(MC, 7/27/02)
1980 Jul 29, A state funeral
was held in Cairo, Egypt, for the deposed Shah of Iran, who had died
two days earlier at age 60.
(AP, 7/29/00)
1980 Egypt’s Pres. Sadat
allowed Sharia to become the principal source of Egyptian law.
(SFC, 7/15/06, p.E2)
1980-1989 During the 1980s Ayman Al-Zawahri fled
from Egypt after he was sentenced to 3 years in prison for belonging
to an outlawed group. He later met Osama bin Laden and became the
"emir" of the Islamic Jihad.
(SFC, 2/22/00, p.A8)
1981 Jun 17, Riots between
Muslims & Christians in Cairo left 16 people dead.
(www.amcoptic.com/egyptmag/anti.html)
1981 Oct 6, Egyptian Pres.
Anwar Sadat was killed by Islambouli, an Islamic fundamentalist
(Takfir wal Hijra) and Egyptian army lieutenant, at the parade
ground of Nasser City during a ceremony commemorating the Egyptian
crossing of the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
Although authorities were warned of a death plot hours earlier, the
information did not get to the president in time. Abboud and Tarek
el-Zomor were convicted in 1984 of plotting the assassination and of
belonging to the outlawed Islamic Jihad group, but not of actually
killing Sadat. The two were sentenced to 20 years in prison. The
five prime suspects, including the shooter, were captured and
executed. The events are described in a book by Fouad Allam: "The
Brotherhood and I." In 2000 Mohammad Khan produced the film "Days of
Sadat," starring Ahmed Zaki.
(SFC, 4/26/96, p.A-12)(HNQ, 7/12/98)(SFC, 6/5/00,
p.A8)(WSJ, 3/29/04, p.A16)(AP, 3/11/11)
1981 Oct 7, Egypt's parliament
named Vice President Hosni Mubarak to succeed the assassinated Anwar
Sadat. He invoked a state of emergency and tolerated the Muslim
Brotherhood.
(WSJ, 12/8/95, p.A-8)(AP, 10/7/97)(SFC, 9/28/99,
p.C16)
1981 Oct 10, Funeral services
were held in Cairo for Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat, who had been
assassinated by Muslim extremists.
(AP, 10/10/02)
1981 Oct 13, Voters in Egypt
elected Vice President Hosni Mubarak the new president in a
referendum with a 98.5% vote, one week after the assassination of
Anwar Sadat.
(AP, 10/13/97)(AP, 7/9/04)
1981 Oct 14, Hosni Mubarak, the
new president of Egypt, was sworn in to succeed the assassinated
Anwar Sadat. Mubarak pledged loyalty to Sadat's policies.
(AP, 10/14/06)
1981 Oct, Tarek el-Zomor and
his cousin, a lieutenant in the Egyptian army, were arrested for
plotting Sadat's assassination and belonging to the outlawed Islamic
Jihad group, but they did not shoot the president. In 1984 they were
sentenced to 20 years prison, the maximum term under Egyptian law.
Zomor was released from prison in 2005.
(AP, 7/13/05)
1981 Nov 14, In Egypt the
weight of Lake Nasser unexpectedly triggered earthquakes, such
as the 5.2 magnitude quake on Nov 14, 1981.
(NG, May 1985, p.603)(http://tinyurl.com/349x3j)
1981 Construction began on the
Cairo Metro.
(SFC, 1/25/99, p.A6)
1982 In Egypt the Soviet built
turbine blades of the Aswan High Dam cracked. The US gave the
Egyptian government 85 million dollars to replace the blades. It was
expected that the generators be functional by 1990. Heavy
evaporation has caused Lake Nasser to become more saline.
(NG, May 1985, R. Caputo, p.602)
1982 In Egypt the Multinational
Force and Observers (MFO) was created as part of a peacekeeping
mission on the Sinai Peninsula following the 1979 Camp David Accord
between Egypt and Israel.
(SFEC, 12/19/99, Par p.4)
1982 In Egypt the Soviet built
turbine blades of the Aswan High Dam cracked. The US gave the
Egyptian government 85 million dollars to replace the blades. It was
expected that the generators be functional by 1990. Heavy
evaporation has caused Lake Nasser to become more saline.
(NG, May 1985, p.602)
1983 Dec 22, Egyptian president
Mubarak met with PLO leader Yasser Arafat.
(MC, 12/22/01)
1983 An international
expedition of American, Polish and Egyptian anthropologists in the
Aswan region unexpectedly came upon the skeleton of a prehistoric
man thought to be about 80,000 years old, the oldest human skeleton
ever found in Egypt. Early modern humans were present in the Levant
between 130,000-80,000 BP.
(http://tinyurl.com/2l2rmz)(www.athenapub.com/8shea1.htm)
1984 The Muslim Brotherhood
gets into Parliament for the first time through an alliance with
Egypt's Labor Party.
(WSJ, 12/8/95, p.A-8)
1985 Oct 9, The hijackers of
the Achille Lauro cruise liner surrendered after the ship arrived in
Port Said, Egypt.
(AP, 10/9/97)
1985 Nov 23, Egypt Air flight
648 was hijacked to Malta by Palestinian militant Omar Mohammed Ali
Rezaq, a member of the Abu Nidal terrorist group.
(SFC, 7/20/96, p.A6)(SFEC, 10/8/96,
D1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EgyptAir_Flight_648)
1985 Nov 24, The hijacking of
an Egyptair jetliner parked on the ground in Malta ended violently
as Egyptian commandos stormed the plane. Fifty-eight people died in
the raid, in addition to two others killed by the hijackers. Ali
Rezaq of the Abu Nidal terrorist group was imprisoned in Malta for 7
years and then released. The US FBI apprehended him in Nigeria in
1993 and he was convicted by a US federal jury in 1996 and sentenced
to life in prison.
(SFC, 7/20/96, p.A6)(SFEC, 10/8/96, D1)(AP,
11/24/97)
1985 Boutros Boutros-Ghali was
the minister of state for foreign affairs and warned that the next
war in the Middle East would be fought over water.
(NG, 5/93, p.53)
1986 Feb 9, The tomb of
Tutankhamen's treasurer, Maya, was found in Egypt.
(http://tinyurl.com/mfsn7)
1986 Sep 11, Egypt's Pres
Mubarak received Israeli premier Peres.
(http://tinyurl.com/spu4y)
1987 The opera "Aida" was
staged at the Temple of Luxor by the company Opera on Original Site
Inc.
(WSJ, 9/16/98, p.A20)
1987 Voters in Egypt elected
President Hosni Mubarak for a 2nd term.
(AP, 10/13/97)(AP, 7/9/04)
1987 Oct, The Cairo Metro
opened its first line, 26.5 miles long.
(SFC, 1/25/99, p.A6)
1988 Oct 13, Egyptian novelist
Naguib Mahfouz was named recipient of the Nobel Prize for
Literature.
(AP, 10/13/98)
1988 Dec 18, PLO chairman
Yasser Arafat met in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to
discuss how to continue the momentum gained by the first U.S.- PLO
dialogue.
(AP, 12/18/98)
1989 Egypt’s Pres. Mubarak
sacked Defense Minister Abdel-Halim Abu Ghazala, widely popular
among troops and civilians and even talked about as a possible
successor to Mubarak.
(AP, 2/16/11)
1989 Pres. Mubarak's lobbying
culminated in a majority of Arab League foreign ministers endorsing
Egypt's readmission to the league after 10 year absence caused by
Arab rejection of Sadat's peace treaty signing with Israel.
(AP, 7/9/04)
1990 Feb 4, Nine people were
killed as guerrillas attacked a bus carrying Israeli tourists near
Cairo, Egypt.
(AP, 2/4/00)
1990 Aug 5, In Cairo the 19th
Islamic Conference of foreign Ministers adopted the “Cairo
Declaration,” which laid out an alternative view of liberty. The
member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
attached a rider that the application of all human rights should be
subordinated to sharia law.
(Econ, 4/4/09,
p.63)(www.religlaw.org/interdocs/docs/cairohrislam1990.htm)
1991 May, In Egypt Gen. Hussein
Tantawi was appointed chief commander of the armed forces.
(AP, 2/16/11)
1991 Dec 14-1991 Dec 15, At
least 464 people were left dead or missing when an
Egyptian-registered ferry sank in the Red Sea near the port of
Safaga after coral reef tore a hole in a ferry's side.
(SFC, 5/22/96, p.A8)(AP, 2/3/06)
1991 Nawal El Saadawi (b.1931),
Egyptian feminist writer, authored "Daughter of Isis," a detailed
account of her childhood. She left Egypt in 1993 and returned in
1996. In 2002 she authored "Walking Through Fire," a continuation of
her memoir.
(SSFC, 8/11/02, p.M2)
1991 The IMF began extensive
loans to Egypt along with pressure to sell-off state owned
enterprises.
(SFC, 5/9/98, p.A12)
1992 Jan 25, Mahmoud Riad
(b.1917), Egyptian diplomat and sec-gen of Arab League (1972-79),
died.
(www.britannica.com/eb/article-9390991?hook=795127)
1992 Jun 8, In Egypt two masked
gunmen shot and killed writer Farag Foda.
(WSJ, 2/20/98,
p.A16)(www.tkb.org/MorePatterns.jsp?countryCd=EG&year=1992)
1992 Jul 21, Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin met in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak, who said afterward that he'd accepted Rabin's invitation to
visit Israel.
(AP, 7/20/97)
1992 Oct 12, A 5.8 earthquake
hit Cairo and at least 510 people died.
(AP,
10/12/97)(http://io.ingrm.it/amminist/annali/elenean433.htm)
1992 Oct 21, In Dairu a British
nurse died in a bus attack by Islamic extremists.
(SFC,11/19/97, p.C2)
1992 Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel
Prize (1988) winning Egyptian author, published his novel "Sugar
Street." It was the most political and last book of his “Cairo
Trilogy.”
(WSJ, 9/1/07, p.P9)
1992 The radio program
"Nocturnal Confessions" began.
(SFC, 12/2/96, p.A12)
1992 Pres. Mubarek launched a
crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood following civil war in Algeria
triggered by Islamic electoral successes.
(WSJ, 9/21/01, p.A16)
1992 Muslim militants began an
insurgency with attacks largely in southern Egypt to overthrow the
government of Hosni Mubarak. By 1996 more than 920 people had been
killed, mostly police and militants.
(SFC, 4/18/96, p.a-15)(SFEC,12/28/97, p.A17)
1992 An agreement was made on
sharing water from Nubian sandstone aquifer system, the largest in
the world, located under Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan.
(Econ, 10/9/10, p.87)
1992-1996 Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt served as
the Secretary-General of the UN.
(SFC, 12/14/96, p.A1)
1993 Feb 26, In Cairo a bomb in
a coffee shop killed 3 people and injured 18.
(SFC,11/19/97, p.C2)
1993 Mar 24, Mahmoud
Abouhalima, a cab driver implicated in the 1993 World Trade Center
bombing, was flown back to the United States from Egypt. Abouhalima
was later convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison.
(AP, 3/24/03)
1993 Jun 8, In Cairo, Egypt, a
bomb exploded near a tour bus on Pyramids Road killing 2 people and
wounding 22 others.
(WSJ, 10/11/04, p.A17)
1993 Aug 15, An Egyptian
surrendered peacefully after hijacking a Dutch jet to Germany to
demand the U.S. release Muslim cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman.
(AP, 8/15/98)
1993 Oct 6, Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chief Yasser Arafat held their first
official meeting in Cairo, Egypt, to begin work on realizing terms
of the Israeli-PLO accord.
(AP, 10/6/98)
1993 Oct 26, In Cairo gunfire
at a hotel killed 2 Americans, 1 Frenchman and injured 3 others.
(SFC,11/19/97, p.C2)
1993 Nov 25, Egyptian Prime
Minister Atef Sedki escaped an attempt on his life when Islamic
militants detonated a car bomb near his motorcade. The attack killed
a 5-year-old girl. Yasser al-Siri, a member of the "media committee"
of the Islamic Jihad, was tried and convicted in absentia for the
assassination attempt. Siri fled to the UK and obtained political
asylum.
(HN, 11/25/98)(WSJ, 10/26/01, p.A19)
1993 Dec 10, Mansour El-Kikhia,
former Libyan ambassador to the UN, was kidnapped in Cairo. The US
CIA later reported that he was taken to Libya and executed in early
1994. El-Kikhia’s book “Libya’s Qaddafi: The Politics of
Contradiction” was published in the US in 1997.
(SSFC, 5/21/06, p.E5)(http://tinyurl.com/lnqr5)
1993 Dec 27, In Egypt, a gun
and bomb attack on a tourist bus in old Cairo wounded 8 Austrians
and 8 Egyptians. The militant group Gama’a al-Islamiya claimed
responsibility.
(WSJ, 10/11/04, p.A17)
1993 A 12-mile section of the
Cairo Metro beneath the Nile River was begun. A grand opening was
scheduled for 2000.
(SFC, 1/25/99, p.A6)
1993 Dr. Ayman al-Zawahri
became head of the Egyptian Jihad.
(WSJ, 7/2/02, p.A1)
1994 Jan 10, Talks between
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators resumed in Taba, Egypt.
(AP, 1/10/99)
1994 Feb 23, In Egypt, an
explosion hit a train in Assiut. 6 foreign tourists were hurt. The
militant Islamic group Gama’a al-Islamiya claimed responsibility.
(WSJ, 10/11/04, p.A17)
1994 Mar 4, At Abu Tig
machine-gun fire fatally wounded a German woman on a Nile cruise
ship.
(SFC,11/19/97, p.C2)
1994 Aug 26, In Egypt a
13-year-old Spanish boy was killed and 3 others injured in a tour
bus attack by Islamic extremists at Nag Hammadi.
(SFC,11/19/97, p.C2)
1994 Sep 5, A U.N.-sponsored
population conference opened in Cairo, Egypt, where Norwegian Prime
Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland lashed out at the Vatican and at
Muslim fundamentalists by defending abortion rights and sex
education. 179 nations signed a statement to ensure every woman’s
right to education and health care and to make choices about
childbearing. In 2004 world leaders of 85 nations endorsed the plan
but the US refused because the statement mentioned “sexual
rights.”
(AP, 9/5/99)(SFC, 10/14/04, p.A9)
1994 Sep 27, At Hurghada a
German tourist and 2 Egyptians were killed by Islamic extremists.
Two other Germans were injured in gunfire at a Red Sea resort city,
and one later died.
(SFC,11/19/97, p.C2)
1994 Oct 14, Nobel
Prize-winning writer Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) was stabbed several
times in the neck by a 21-year-old assailant on a Cairo street.
Muslim militants were blamed in the attack. The wound resulted in
the paralysis of his writing hand.
(WSJ, 2/20/98, p.A16)(AP, 10/14/04)
1994 Oct 23, At Naqada a
British man was killed and 3 injured in an attack on a van by
Islamic extremists.
(SFC,11/19/97, p.C2)
1994 Nov 2, In Durunka, Egypt,
more than 475 people were killed when fuel carried by floodwaters
ignited.
(AP, 11/2/99)
1994 Ali Salem, Egyptian
playwright, traveled across Israel and authored “My Drive to
Israel.” I sold some 60,000 copies and angered Egyptian
intellectuals.
(SFC, 12/19/08, p.A24)
1994 In Egypt Youssef Chahine
(1926-2008), filmmaker, directed “The Emigrant.” The film,
about the Old Testament figure of Joseph, was denounced by militant
Islamists and banned.
(SFC, 7/29/08, p.B5)
1994 The government of Egypt
decreed that schoolgirls may not wear the full length veil, niqab,
that covers everything but the eyes.
(SFC, 5/23/96, p. C2)
1994 In Cairo a conference on
population called on improving the lot of women so that they would
have fewer children.
(SFC, 6/30/99, p.A12)
1994 McDonald’s opened its
first Egypt restaurant in Cairo.
(WSJ, 4/10/97, p.A12)
1994 Police Gen’l. Raouf
Khairat was killed. Four people were sentenced to death in 1997 for
crimes including the murder which they denied.
(SFC, 9/16/97, p.A12)
1994-1995 Five Egyptian banks lent out some $370
million of which only $115.6 was paid back. In 2000 a court
convicted 4 parliamentary members in a corruption scandal with
sentences up to 10 years. A total of 31 people were found guilty.
(SFC, 6/26/00, p.A12)
1995 Feb 2, The leaders of
Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians held an unprecedented
summit in Cairo to try to revive the Mideast peace process.
(AP, 2/2/00)(http://tinyurl.com/255pml)
1995 Jun 26, Egypt’s Pres.
Mubarak escaped unharmed after his motorcade came under fire during
a trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was en route to a summit of the
Organization of African Unity. In 1996 an Ethiopian court sentenced
3 Egyptian men to death for the attack.
(SFC, 9/21/96, p.A10)(AP, 7/9/04)(SFC, 2/12/11,
p.A4)
1995 Nov 19, A suicide bomber
self-destructed in the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad and killed 15
others. 59 were wounded. Islamic militants opposed to the Cairo
regime claimed responsibility.
(WSJ, 11/20/95, p.A-1)(MC, 11/19/01)
1995 Dec 7, The ruling party
of Pres. Hosni Mubarak won a 2/3 majority in parliament. Islamic
activists charged vote-rigging. 27 people were killed and about a
1000 opposition activists were arrested. The US gives Egypt more
than 2 bil in foreign aid annually. More than 90% of the population
of 60 mil are Muslims.
(WSJ, 12/8/95, p.A-1)
1995 Dec 21, A train collision
outside Cairo, Egypt, claimed 75 lives.
(AP, 12/20/00)
1995 "Ancient Egyptian Art: The
Brooklyn Museum" is a CD by Digital Collections.
(Civil., Jul-Aug., '95, p.84)
1995 Yousry Nasrallah directed
the Egyptian documentary “On Boys, Girls and the Veil.”
(SFC, 7/15/06, p.E3)
1995 Egypt enacted its first
environmental laws.
(WSJ, 1/19/00, p.A1)
1995 Some 373 people were
killed this year in terrorist attacks.
(WSJ, 1/18/02, p.A1)
1996 Jan, Pres. Hosni Mubarek
brought in a new economic team and named Kamal el-Ganzouri as Prime
Minister. Ganzouri pushed legislation to allow foreigners to buy
Egyptian property and businesses and other changes.
(WSJ, 4/10/97, p.A12)
1996 Apr 17, In [El Giza]
Cairo, Egypt, suspected Muslim militants attacked a group of Greek
tourists in front of the Europa hotel. 18 people were killed and 14
wounded.
(SFC, 4/18/96, p.A-1)(SFC,11/19/97, p.C2)
1996 Jun 18, Parliament
abolished a law that imposed stiff penalties on journalists for
libel and defamation and eliminated a provision that allowed
journalists to be jailed without charge.
(SFC, 6/19/96, p.A10)
1996 Jul, Female circumcision
was banned but the prohibition was not incorporated into the penal
code.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A11)
1996 Aug 31, Torrential rains
threatened Sudan and Egypt with floods.
(SFC, 8/31/96, p.A4)
1996 Oct 16, Two girls, 4 &
3, died from bleeding after being circumcised at their homes by a
government doctor.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A11)
1996 Oct 27, In Egypt a
12-story apartment building collapsed in Heliopolis, a suburb of
Cairo and at least 2 people were killed. The death toll reached 25
and 100 were still missing. The owner had illegally added the last 5
levels.
(SFC, 10/28/96, p.A9)(SFC, 10/30/96, p.A8)
1996 Dec 29, The government
arrested 240 linked to the outlawed Islamic group the "Kotbioun," a
violent branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
(SFC, 12/30/96, p.A8)
1996 The documentary film "Days
of Democracy" was about women in Egyptian politics.
(SFC, 9/6/99, p.B5)
1996 In Egypt Mustafa Mashour
(d.2002 at 81) took over leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. He
had spent 20 years in jail.
(SFC, 11/19/02, p.A23)
1996 In Egypt Abu al-Ila Madi
founded the Al-Wasat Al-Jadid (the New Center) party. It was a split
off from the conservative Muslim Brotherhood and sought to create a
political movement promoting a tolerant version of Islam with
liberal tendencies.
(AP, 2/19/11)
1996 A 2,000 year old cemetery
was discovered at the Bahariya Oasis. An estimated 10,000 bodies
were thought to be there. The place began to be called the Valley of
the Golden Mummies when some mummies were found to be sheathed in
gold.
(SFC, 8/14/99, p.A12)
1997 Jan 11, A new canal was
planned to be cut 150 miles northwest from Lake Nasser.
(SFC, 1/11/96, p.C1)
1997 Jan 21, The al-Ahram
newspaper reported that a 30-member family of beggars was arrested.
They had managed to save $294,000 from illegal begging on the
streets of Suez.
(SFC, 1/22/96, p.C1)
1997 Feb, Ahmed Zayat, an
Egyptian American, took over the Al Ahram Beverages Co. and began to
build a state-of-the-art brewery to produce Egyptian Stella and
Danish Carlsberg Beer.
(WSJ, 4/10/97, p.A12)
1997 Mar 13, Four masked,
suspected Islamic gunmen opened fire in a Christian village in
southern Egypt and killed 14 men before escaping.
(SFC, 3/14/97, p.A16)(AP, 3/13/98)
1997 Jul 22, Six police
officers were killed in an ambush by militants near Minya.
(SFC, 7/26/97, p.A13)
1997 Jul 26, It was reported
that a cease-fire had been proclaimed by 6 imprisoned leaders of the
Gamaa al Islamiya. The government dismissed the cease-fire as empty
talk.
(SFC, 7/26/97, p.A13)
1997 Aug 15, It was reported
that a nurse in Alexandria, Aida Nur el-Din, had killed at least 18
patients so that she would not be disturbed at night.
(SFC, 8/16/97, p.C1)
1997 Sep 16, In Egypt a
state-owned farm-truck carrying up to 120 boys and girls overturned
and killed 29 of them. 23 children from Sa el-Hagar were killed.
(SFC, 9/17/97, p.C4)(SFC, 10/1/98, p.A14)
1997 Sep 18, In Egypt two
gunmen killed 10 people in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in front of the
Egyptian Museum. Of the dead were nine German tourists and a bus
driver and a dozen more were wounded as the tour bus was set afire.
Saber and Mahmoud Abu el-Ulla, a former inmate of a mental hospital
and his brother, were caught, convicted and sentenced to death.
(SFC, 9/19/97, p.A12)(SFC,10/31/97, p.D3)(AP,
9/18/98)
1997 Aug 31, Prince Charles
brought Princess Diana home for the last time, escorting the body of
his former wife to a Britain that was shocked, grief-stricken and
angered by her death in a Paris traffic accident. Princess Diana
(36) and Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed (42) were killed along
with the car’s driver in a car crash in Paris while trying to evade
paparazzi photographers. A bodyguard was severely injured but
expected to survive. It was later learned that the driver had 3
times the legal alcohol limit and was driving at about 110 mph.
(SFEC, 8/31/97, p.A1)(SFC, 9/1/97, p.A1)(SFC,
9/2/97, p.A1)(AP, 8/31/98)
1997 Oct 26, In Egypt Pres.
Mubarek opened the new Peace Canal to carry Nile water to the Sinai
Peninsula. The irrigation of 620,000 acres of desert was planned to
support 1.5 million residents.
(SFC,10/27/97, p.A9)(WSJ, 8/22/97, p.A1)
1997 Nov 17, In Egypt 6 gunmen
killed 62 people, including 58 foreign tourists, at the Hatshepsut
Temple in Luxor. The assailants, members of the Gamaa al-Islamiya,
were all killed. The attack was meant to force the US to release
Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman who was serving a life term for a plot to
bomb NYC landmarks. The assailants, members of the Gamaa
al-Islamiya, were all killed. It was later reported that Mustafa
Hamza ordered the attack and that he was financed by Osama bin
Laden. Mohamed Ali Hassan Mokhlis, a suspected planner of the
attack, was arrested in Uruguay in 1999 and handed over to Egypt in
2003.
(SFC,11/18/97, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/19/97,
p.A1)(SFC,11/22/97, p.C1)(SFC, 5/14/99, p.A15)(AP, 11/17/07)
1997 Dec 15, A court sentenced
a physician, Dr. Rabie Ibrahim Mahgoub, one year in prison and a
fine of $150 for the April death of a 14-real-old girl, Amina
Abdel-Hamid Abu-Elah, who was undergoing circumcision surgery
(called genital mutilation by opponents).
(SFC,12/16/97, p.B2)
1997 Dec 27, Hassan Khalifa was
sentenced to death for the 1993-94 murders of 26 policemen and 8
Romanian nationals. Rifaat Zeidan and Abdul-Hamid Othman, all
members of al-Gama’a al-Islamiya, were sentenced to death in
absentia.
(SFEC,12/28/97, p.A17)
1997 Dec 28, The Health
Ministry banned government certified doctors and health workers from
performing female circumcision.
(SFC, 12/29/97, p.A7)
1997 The Egyptian film
"Destiny" starred Nour el-Cherif and Laila Eloui. It was directed by
Youssef Chahine. It was about the 12th century philosopher Averroes.
(SFC, 9/17/99, p.C6)
1997 A phase out of leaded
gasoline was completed.
(WSJ, 1/19/00, p.A1)
1998 Jan 17, It was reported
that motorists in Cairo were switching to compressed natural gas
(CNG) to fuel their vehicles. It was both cheaper and burned
cleaner. Over 5,000 vehicles had made the switch.
(SFC, 1/17/98, p.A10)
1998 Feb 23, In Afghanistan
Osama bin Laden declared a holy war on the US. Bin Laden announced
the formation of the World Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and
Crusaders. It called on Muslims worldwide to attack Americans. The
Al Quds Al-Arabi newspaper published a statement that announced an
alliance between Dr. Zawahri, head of the Egyptian Jihad, and Osama
bin Laden. "We—with God’s help—call on every Muslim…to comply with
God’s order to kill Americans."
(WSJ, 4/2/02, p.A18)(WSJ, 7/2/02, p.A8)(SFC,
2/22/00, p.A8)
1998 Mar 31, A sweeping press
ban forbade publishing houses from printing in tax-free zones. This
amounted to a temporary de facto ban for over 50 publications that
printed in the Nasr City tax-free zone outside of Cairo.
(SFC, 5/9/98, p.A10)
1998 May 24, Saber and Mahmoud
Abu el-Ulla, a former inmate of a mental hospital and his brother,
were hanged for the Sep 18, 1997, killings of 10 people in Cairo’s
Tahrir Square.
(SFC, 5/25/98, p.A12)
1998 May 25, The conclusion of
a decade long, $2.5 million restoration project on the Sphinx was
celebrated.
(SFC, 5/26/98, p.A8)
1998 May, the government passed
an amendment that governing police that said a current or former
officer could be jailed and fined for divulging information obtained
while on duty, unless permission was obtained from the Interior
Dept.
(SFC, 8/19/98, p.A12)
1998 Jun 17, Sheik Mohammed
Sharawi died at age 87. The popular cleric lectured on Egyptian TV
and his teachings were widely acclaimed. He supported female
circumcision and ruled that women should not be appointed to top
government positions or become judges.
(SFC, 6/19/98, p.B6)
1998 Jun 25, Albanian security
personnel (SHIK) under CIA guidance arrested Shawki Salama Attiya, a
Tirana cell forger. Over the next month they made a successful raids
on more suspected members of the Egyptian Jihad terrorist
organization. The suspected terrorists were turned over to
anti-terrorist officials in Egypt, where they delivered forced
confessions following torture.
(SFC, 8/13/98, p.A16)(WSJ, 11/20/01, p.A1)
1998 Aug 24, In Egypt Abu Nidal
was captured after crossing the border from Libya. He had split from
the PLO in 1974 and was responsible for terrorist bombings in 1985
at the Rome and Vienna airports and a 1986 hijacking of Pan Am
Flight 73 as well as a number of assassinations of PLO figures.
Egypt denied the report of Nidal’s capture.
(SFC, 8/25/98, p.A6)(WSJ, 8/27/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep, In Egypt Brigadier
Gen’l. Hamdi El-Batran was to go on trial for his book "The diary of
an Officer in the Countryside."
(SFC, 8/19/98, p.A12)
1998 Oct 18, In Egypt a train
jumped its tracks in the town of Kafr el-Dawar and at least 47
people were killed.
(SFC, 10/19/98, p.A14)
1998 Dec 1, It was reported
that construction of the $180 million Bibliotheca Alexandria was
proceeding. Completion was expected in Oct, 1999.
(SFC, 12/1/98, p.A10)
1998 Dec 4, From Egypt it was
reported that a new 3rd party, named "Wasat" or middle party, was
emerging. It was an alternative to the fundamentalist Islamic regime
and the secular state.
(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A10)
1998 Dec, Construction of wind
farms on 32 square miles of desert at Zafarana was to begin with
Danish and German financing.
(SFC, 8/25/98, p.A8)
1999 Jan 2, Police arrested 71
suspected Muslim militants over the last 3 days on suspicion of
plotting to kill senior government officials.
(SFEC, 1/3/99, p.A19)
1999 Jan 18, The end of Ramadan
was marked by prisoner releases in Egypt, Palestine and Afghanistan.
(WSJ, 1/18/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 11, Defense Sec.
William Cohen announced $3.2 billion in subsidized arms sales to
Egypt.
(SFC, 3/12/99, p.A16)
1999 Mar 21, Balloonists
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones landed their Breitling Orbiter 3
north of Mut, Egypt, a day after setting their around the world
record.
(SFEC, 3/21/99, p.A21)
1999 Spring, The Islamic Group
announced that it was giving up armed struggle.
(SFC, 6/25/99, p.D3)
1999 Apr 19, It was reported
that Cairo's new governor, Abdul Rahim Shehata, had drafted and
begun a new beautification plan which included moving garbage
sorting and recycling 18 miles away. The move was expected to
seriously impact the livelihood of the Zebaleen, i.e. garbage
collectors.
(SFC, 4/19/99, p.A8)
1999 May 27, In Egypt the
parliament approved powers over private groups with laws of
operating rules and banned private groups from participating in
political activity.
(SFC, 5/28/99, p.D3)
1999 Jun 19, Kamal Eddin
Hussein, revolutionary and former vice-president, died at age 77.
(SFC, 6/22/99, p.A24)
1999 Jul 24, Shoukry Ayyad,
poetry critic, died at age 78. His 20 books on Arabic poetry,
language and theater included "The Hero in Literature and Fables,"
"Music of Poetry," and Language and Creativity."
(SFC, 7/27/99, p.A17)
1999 Jul, The culture ministry
announced plans to move the temple of Hibis (b.~600BCE) to protect
it from rising groundwater.
(SFC, 7/16/99, p.D3)
1999 Sep 4, At Sharm El-Sheikh,
Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority
Pres. Yasser Arafat signed a new deal that ceded West Bank land to
the Palestinians and set up a timetable for peace.
(SFEC, 9/5/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 6, In Egypt Said
Hassan Suleiman (40) inflicted a light wound with a sharp object On
Pres. Mubarak in Port Said. Suleiman was immediately killed by
security guards.
(SFC, 9/7/99, p.A12)
1999 Sep 7, In Egypt police
shot and killed 4 suspected Islamic militants including Farid
Kidwan, leader of al-Gamaa al-Islamiya.
(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A14)
1999 Sep 26, In Egypt a 79%
turnout in weekend referendum gave Pres. Mubarak (71) 94% support
for a further 6-year term. Opposition groups boycotted the vote and
called for democracy and the lifting of the state of emergency in
force since 1981.
(SFC, 9/28/99, p.C16)(AP, 7/9/04)
1999 Oct 12, Ahmed H. Zewail,
an Egyptian chemist at the California Inst. of Tech., won the Nobel
Prize in Chemistry for finding a way to freeze-frame the private
matings of molecules using ultra fast laser probes.
(SFC, 10/13/99, p.A2)
1999 Oct 31, An EgyptAir Boeing
767-300, Flight 990, enroute from New York to Cairo crashed off
Nantucket Island and all 217 people aboard were killed. Captains
Ahmed al-Habashy and Raouf Noureldin were at the controls. Relief
pilot Gamil al-Batouti was suspected to have caused the crash.
(SFC, 11/1/99, p.A1)(SFC, 11/16/99, p.A3)(SFC,
11/17/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/13/01, p.A14)
1999 Dec 31, Violence broke out
in southern Egypt following an argument between a Christian
shopkeeper and a Muslim customer in el-Kusheh.
(SFC, 1/7/00, p.D3)
1999 Sally Tagholm authored
"Ancient Egypt" a children's guidebook to the land of the Pharaohs.
(SFEC, 5/9/99, Par p.10)
1999 During the trial of 107
suspected terrorists defendants reported that agents of Osama bin
Laden had purchased dangerous biological agents through the mail for
as little as $3,865."
(SSFC, 10/21/01, p.A20)
1999 Ayman Al-Zawahri, "emir"
of the Islamic Jihad, was sentenced to death in absentia by an
Egyptian military court for organizing an insurgency against the
government.
(SFC, 2/22/00, p.A8)
2000 Jan 3, A curfew was
imposed in southern Egypt following violence between Muslims and
Christians that left 20 Christians and Muslim dead in the village of
el-Kusheh (Al Kosheh).
(SFC, 1/4/00, p.A12)(SFC, 6/30/01, p.A10)
2000 Jan 27, In Egypt a new law
which expanded women's right to divorce passed the People's
Assembly. Travel freedoms were excised at the last minute.
(SFC, 1/28/00, p.A15)(SFC, 9/28/01, p.D3)
2000 Feb 26, Pope John Paul II
visited the 6th century St. Catherine's monastery in Egypt, built on
the reputed site where Moses encountered the burning bush. He met
with Greek Orthodox Archbishop Damianos and held a short prayer
service in an olive garden outside the monastery.
(SFEC, 2/27/00, p.A20)
2000 Feb, Ahmed Osman Saleh and
Ahmed Ibrahim al-Naggar, members of the Egyptian Jihad, were hanged
for their connections to terrorist cases. They had been pulled out
of Albania in 1998 by Albanian Security (SHIK) working with the CIA.
(WSJ, 11/20/01, p.A10)
2000 May, The government banned
the Socialist Labor Party and shut down its weekly organ, Al Shaab.
(SFC, 10/23/00, p.A10)
2000 Jul 20, In Egypt at least
15 people were killed when a 6-story factory building collapsed in
Alexandria.
(SFC, 7/21/00, p.B10)
2000 Jun 30, Saad Eddin
Ibrahim, sociology professor and pro-democracy advocate, was
arrested on nebulous anti-government charges. He was released Aug
11.
(SFC, 8/12/00, p.A10)
2000 Sep 3, A 2-day meeting of
Arab League foreign ministers opened. Yasser Arafat said he would
not accept a peace deal without control of Jerusalem.
(SFC, 9/4/00, p.B10)
2000 Sep 27, Shereef Fawzi
Mohammad el-Falali (35), a civil engineer, was arrested in
Heliopolis for providing intelligence information to Israel.
(SFC, 11/29/00, p.C7)
2000 Oct 21, Arab leaders met
in Cairo for a 2-day summit where they condemned Israel for violence
and made proposals to deal with Israel.
(SFEC, 10/22/00, p.A1,21)
2000 Nov 15, Election results
were released. The National Democratic Party of Hosmi Mubarak won
388 of the legislature’s 444 (448) elected seats. 12 people died in
the elections and irregularities were charged. 17 seats went to
independents allied with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
(SFC, 11/16/00, p.A16)(WSJ, 11/16/00, p.A1)(WSJ,
9/21/01, p.A16)
2000 Nov 18, Some 2000 women
from 19 Arab countries met in Cairo to push for improved status in
their male-dominated societies.
(SFEC, 11/19/00, p.C16)
2000 Nov 21, Egypt recalled its
envoy from Israel to protest the bombings in Gaza.
(SFC, 11/22/00, p.A18)
2000 Nov 21, At least 11 people
were left dead after robbers escaped with $361,000 from the National
Bank of Egypt in Maragha following a gun battle with police.
(SFC, 11/22/00, p.C6)
2000 Nov, Egypt’s
Constitutional court ruled that men cannot block women from
obtaining passports. Husbands, however could refuse to sign the
passports.
(SFC, 9/28/01, p.D3)
c2000 The new library at
Alexandria opened.
(WSJ, 6/1/00, p.A1)
2000 Tharwat Salah Shehata gave
up as head of the Egyptian Jihad and Dr. Zawahri resumed control.
(WSJ, 7/2/02, p.A8)
2001 Apr 2, Pres. Bush met with
Egypt’s Pres. Mubarak and both pledged to continue searching for an
end to Middle East violence.
(WSJ, 4/3/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 28, Shimon Peres,
Israel’s foreign minister, traveled to Cairo to discuss objections
to the Jordanian-Egyptian Middle East peace initiative.
(SFC, 4/28/01, p.A12)
2001 May 7, It was reported
that Shaaban Abdel Rehim, an Egyptian singer, had a big hit with his
song "I Hate Israel."
(SFC, 5/7/01, p.C1)
2001 May 11, Cairo authorities
arrested 52 males aboard a riverboat restaurant for homosexual
activities. [see Sep 18]
(SFC, 9/19/01, p.B4)
2001 May 21, In Cairo Saad
Eddin Ibrahim, an Egyptian American human rights campaigner, was
sentenced to 7 years in prison of charges of tarnishing Egypt’s
image, accepting foreign money and embezzling funds. His conviction
was overturned Dec 3, 2002.
(SFC, 5/22/01, p.A10)(SFC, 12/4/02, p.A19)
2001 Jun 17, The Cairo weekly
Al Nabaa published a sex scandal along with pictures at the Coptic
Christian Muhariq monastery in Assiut between former monk Adel
Saadallah Gabriel and an unidentified woman. Publisher Mamdouh
Mahran was charged with disturbing the peace. Al-Nabaa was banned
from publishing on July 5 and Mahran faced charges of sedition.
(SFC, 6/30/01, p.A8)(SFC, 7/6/01, p.D4)
2001 Jul 18, A trial began for
52 men arrested on charges of obscene behavior and contempt of
religion. The men were arrested May 11 at the Queen Boat nightclub
in Cairo. On Nov 14, 23 men were sentenced up to 5 years in prison
and 29 were acquitted. In 2002 Pres. Mubarak tossed out the verdicts
against all but 2 of the 52 defendants.
(SFC, 7/18/01, p.A12)(SFC, 11/15/01, p.A19)(SFC,
5/31/02, p.A13)
2001 Aug 24, Pope Shenouda III,
the 117th successor of St. Mark and head of the 12-million member
Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, was denied access to a site in
Marin, Ca., where a new monastery was planned.
(SFC, 8/25/01, p.A10)
2001 Sep 18, In Cairo a
15-year-old boy was sentenced to 3 years in prison for practicing
homosexuality. [see May 11]
(SFC, 9/19/01, p.B4)
2001 Sep 25, Interpol issued a
bulletin for the arrest of Ayman al-Zawahri (50), an Egyptian
surgeon believed to be Osama bin Laden’s closest al Qaeda associate
in Afghanistan.
(SFC, 9/27/01, p.A8)
2001 Oct, The US-Egypt Bright
Star war games involved 23,759 US troops and 43,350 Egyptian troops.
The annual games began 20 years ago. 8 other nations participated
with some 564 soldiers apiece.
(SFC, 1/18/02, p.A29)
2001 Nov 2, A US classified
memo to Congress notified lawmakers that the Bush administration
planned a $400 million arms deal with Egypt that included 53 Harpoon
Block II surface-to-surface satellite guided missiles.
(SFC, 11/27/01, p.A5)
2001 Nov 19, Egypt and Syria
confirmed the extradition of Rifai Ahmed Taha, a former aide to
Osama bin Laden, from Syria to Egypt.
(SFC, 11/20/01, p.A12)
2001 Dec, Ahmed Agiza and
fellow Egyptian Muhammed Alzery were handed over to US agents at
Bromma Airport in Stockholm and taken to Egypt, where they were
tortured as a result. Alzery was released in 2003 without standing
trial, while Agiza was convicted of planning to overthrow the
Egyptian government and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was
freed by Egyptian authorities last year.
(AFP, 7/4/12)
2001 Egypt’s economy expanded
about 3.2% in 2001 and 2002.
(WSJ, 8/6/04, p.A7)
2002 Jan 6, It was reported
that Egypt required female graduates of secondary schools, exempt
from the military draft, to spend 6 months in a service program.
(SSFC, 1/6/02, p.A3)
2002 Jan 21, In Alexandria,
Egypt, a small group of leading rabbis, Muslim clerics and bishops
signed the Alexandria Doctrine, which condemned violence and
insisted that holy places be kept open.
(http://tinyurl.com/2pey69)(Econ, 11/3/07, SR
p.13)
2002 Jan 30, The 3.5-ton
satellite Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUNE), launched in 1992,
broke up in Earth’s atmosphere over Egypt. It had surveyed the
entire Milky Way and beyond and transmitted date until Jan 31 2001.
(SFC, 1/30/02,
p.A2)(www.cbc.ca/health/story/2002/01/31/satellite020131.html)
2002 Feb 6, Egypt won a pledge
for $10 billion in aid from 37 donor nations.
(SFC, 2/8/02, p.A12)
2002 Feb 19, In Cairo, Egypt,
an overcrowded train en route from Cairo to the southern city of
Luxor burst into flames from a gas cannister. It then traveled 2 1/2
miles before the driver stopped. 361 people were killed.
(SFC, 2/20/02, p.A9)(SFC, 2/21/02, p.A8)(AFP,
5/27/04)
2002 Mar 2, Egypt’s Pres.
Mubarek (73) began a 4-day visit to the US.
(SSFC, 3/3/02, p.A19)
2002 Mar 5, Pres. Bush met with
Egypt’s Pres. Mubarek, who called for greater US involvement in
seeking Middle East peace.
(SFC, 3/5/02, p.A11)(SFC, 3/6/02, p.A13)
2002 Mar 9, In Cairo Arab
foreign ministers met and voiced support for a Middle East peace
proposal by Saudi Arabia.
(SSFC, 3/10/02, p.A16)
2002 Mar 18, Van Leo (80),
Armenian-born Egyptian photographer (Leon Boyadjian), died. His
portraits gave Egypt’s beggars, strippers and the elite the look of
Hollywood film stars.
(SFC, 3/22/02,
p.A27)(http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/579/cu6.htm)
2002 Apr 3, Israeli tanks
entered the Wet Bank cities of Jenin, Salfeet and Nablus. At least 1
Israeli soldier and 12 Palestinians were killed. Gunners from
Lebanon’s Hezbollah exchanged artillery and mortar fire with Israeli
troops. Scores of Palestinian gunmen were holed up in the Church of
the Nativity in Bethlehem. The Egyptian government announced a
cutoff of official contacts with Israel. Syria shifted 20,000 troops
in Lebanon toward the Lebanese-Syrian border reportedly in accord
with the 1989 Taif agreement.
(SFC, 4/3/02, p.A1)(SFC, 4/4/02, p.A1,13)(WSJ,
4/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 9, Sec. of State Colin
Powell met with Pres. Mubarek in Egypt and stated that he would meet
with Yasser Arafat. Some 10,000 demonstrated in Alexandria and one
protester was killed by police.
(SFC, 4/10/02, p.A18)(SFC, 4/17/02, p.A14)
2002 May 7, An EgyptAir Boeing
737 with 62 people crashed in bad weather near Tunis. 14 people were
killed.
(SFC, 5/8/02, p.A15)(AP, 5/7/03)
2002 Jun 8, Pres. Bush met with
Egypt’s Pres. Hosni Mubarek, who said Middle East violence would
continue until Israel withdraws from Palestinian territory and hope
for a future is restored to the Palestinian people.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.A12)
2002 Jun 11, Tahseen Basheer
(77), a veteran diplomat who served as official spokesman for two of
Egypt's late presidents died.
(AP, 6/12/02)
2002 Jul 5, In southern Egypt a
minibus and a truck collided head-on, killing all 18 people aboard
the bus.
(AP, 7/5/02)
2002 Jul 30, In Egypt a
military court convicted 16 members of the outlawed Muslim
Brotherhood group, mostly academics and professionals, on charges of
conspiring against the government and sentenced them to up to five
years in prison.
(AP, 7/30/02)
2002 Aug 10, In rural Upper
Egypt 3 gunmen ambushed two vehicles, killing 22 members of a rival
family.
(AP, 8/10/02)
2002 Sep 9, In Egypt a military
court convicted 51 men in one of the country’s biggest cases against
Muslim militants in years and sentenced them to two to 15 years in
prison. The group was dubbed al-Wa’ad (the Promise).
(AP, 9/9/02)(SFC, 9/10/02, p.A11)
2002 Sep 17, Pres. Mubarak
named his son, Gamal, to third most powerful member of NDP's
secretariat despite repeated denials he is not grooming his son to
succeed him as president.
(AP, 7/9/04)
2002 Oct 14, Gen. Adel Labib,
gov. of Qena Province in southern Egypt, ordered a ban on shisha
(water pipe) smoking.
(SSFC, 10/27/02, p.F7)
2002 Oct 16, Egypt inaugurated
the new $230 million Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a modern version of
the ancient library known for a freedom of thought and expression
lacking in today's Middle East. It was funded mostly by Iraq, the
UAR and Saudi Arabia. The planned capacity was 4 million books.
(SFC, 5/30/02, p.D11)(AP, 10/16/02)
2002 Nov, Egypt state
television planned to air a 41-part series titled "Horseman Without
a Horse," about a journalist’s efforts to uncover the truth behind
an alleged Jewish plot to conquer the world. "The Protocols of the
Elders of Zion" were 1st printed in 1897. They were copied from a
novel by Hermann Goedsche and believed to be concocted by the secret
police of Czar Nicholas II. Goedsche claimed a secret group of
rabbis were plotting to take over the world. His story was based on
Maurice Joly’s "Dialogues in Hell Between Machiavelli and
Montesquieu."
(SFC, 10/24/02, p.A9)
2002 Nov 6, A bus carrying
workers home for an Islamic holiday collided with a truck and
overturned east of Cairo, killing 24 people and wounding 25 others.
(AP, 11/6/02)
2002 Nov 12, In Egypt a court
sentenced Mohammed el-Wakil, the news director of a state-owned
television station, to 18 years of hard labor in prison on bribery
and drug charges.
(AP, 11/13/02)
2002 Nov 16, Hussein
Bicar (89), Egypt's well-known portrait artist and painter, died.
(AP, 11/17/02)
2002 Egypt expelled Amr Khaled,
a Muslim minister, for attracting large crowds at Cairo mosques.
Khaled moved to the US and beamed TV programs to Egypt and the rest
of the Arab world. His broadcast aired on Iqra, a Saudi-owned
religious satellite channel and he spoke out against terrorism and
despair.
(SSFC, 2/26/06, p.A15)
2002 Egypt’s economy expanded
about 3.2% in 2001 and 2002. The population stood at about 67
million.
(WSJ, 1/18/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/6/04, p.A7)
2003 Jan 7, In Egypt Orthodox
Christmas was marked for the first time as a national holiday in
this predominantly Muslim nation.
(AP, 1/7/03)
2003 Feb 17, American CIA
operatives snatched Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (Abu
Omar) from his house in Milan and took him to Egypt, where he was
jailed, tortured and released. In 2005 an Italian judge ordered the
arrest of 13 American suspects on charges of kidnapping. In 2009
Nasr asked for euro10 million (nearly $15 million) in damages from
the American and Italian defendants charged in his abduction.
(Econ, 7/2/05, p.48)(AP, 10/7/09)(SFC, 10/8/09,
p.A2)
2003 Feb 27, In Egypt
tens of thousands gathered for an anti-war demonstration in Cairo.
(SFC, 2/28/03, A20)
2003 Mar 1, Arab leaders
held a summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The UAR became the 1st Arab
country to call for Sadam Hussein to step down.
(SSFC, 3/2/03, A8)
2003 Jun 3, In Egypt Arab
leaders met with President Bush as he plunged into the labyrinth of
Mideast peace talks. They pledged to fight terror and violence and
called on Israel to "rebuild trust and restore normal Palestinian
life."
(AP, 6/3/03)
2003 Sep 16, Mohammed Abdel
Qader and his brother were summoned to a Cairo police station by
Captain Ashraf Safwat. Abdel Qader died five days later and an
autopsy gave torture by electric shock combined with a weak heart as
the cause of death.
(AFP, 2/1/07)
2003 Oct 11, A team of 18
doctors in Dallas, Texas, began a complicated separation surgery in
an attempt to give Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, 2-year-old conjoined
twins from Egypt, a chance at independent lives. The 34-hour went
well.
(AP, 10/11/03)(SSFC, 10/11/03, p.A2)(SFC,
10/14/03, p.A3)
2003 Dec 4, Palestinians opened
formal talks in Egypt aimed at forging a cease-fire they hope will
induce Israel to halt its attacks on militants and lead to renewed
peace negotiations.
(AP, 12/4/03)(WSJ, 12/5/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 10, The presidents of
Egypt and Iran met for the 1st time since 1979. Iran's rulers
authorized the signing of a UN nuclear deal.
(WSJ, 12/11/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 22, Egyptian Foreign
Minister Ahmed Maher (68) was attacked by Islamic extremists at the
Al Axsa mosque in Jerusalem. He said the incident would only
strengthen his country's resolve to settle the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
(AP, 12/23/03)(SFC, 12/23/03, p.A3)
2003 Raymond William Baker
authored “Islam Without Fear: Egypt and the New Islamists.”
(SFC, 7/10/04, p.A11)
2004 Jan 2, Kemal el-Sheik
(85), Egyptian film director celebrated for a career that spanned
nearly five decades, died.
(AP, 1/2/04)
2004 Jan 3, An Egyptian Air
Flash, Boeing 737, carrying 148 people, most of them French tourists
on New Year family holidays, crashed into the Red Sea off the resort
of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all on board.
(AP, 1/3/04)(SFC, 1/3/04, p.A3)
2004 Jan 6, Egypt and Iran
agreed to restore diplomatic ties sundered in 1979.
(WSJ, 1/7/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 26, In Egypt an
11-story building collapsed in Nasr City, a Cairo suburb, during a
fire and at least 14 people, mostly firefighters and police
responding to a blaze, were killed.
(AP, 1/27/04)
2004 Jan 29, Egypt expelled
American journalist Charles Levinson. He had written articles on
torture and deaths in Egyptian prisons. Levinson was allowed to
return in February.
(SFC, 2/19/04, p.A14)(SFC, 2/21/04, p.A2)
2004 Feb 9, An Egyptian enraged
at the events in the Middle East stabbed 2 foreign tourists in
Cairo’s historic Ghawriya district.
(WSJ, 10/11/04, p.A17)
2004 Feb 27, In Egypt Izzat
Mohammed Hamid, a clan leader in a southern town, threatened to kill
scores of hostages if police should attempt a rescue. The band
seized the hostages during a shootout with authorities who had been
trying to arrest fugitives wanted for drug trafficking and other
crimes.
(AP, 2/27/04)
2004 Feb 28, Egyptian security
forces attacked gunmen who had taken an estimated 80 people hostage
in a southern Egyptian town. Some of the captives were feared dead.
(AP, 2/28/04)
2004 May 27, In Egypt 5 people
were burned to death and 14 others injured when a gas canister,
carried by a passenger, blew up on a commuter bus in Cairo.
(AFP, 5/28/04)
2004 May, The Muslim
Brotherhood announced its intention to form a human rights
organization with members from other political parties.
(SFC, 7/10/04, p.A11)
2004 Jun 3, The United States
signed an agreement to give Egypt $300 million to compensate it for
"regional unrest" stemming from last year's war in Iraq.
(AP, 6/4/04)
2004 Jun 5, The European
Investment Bank (EIB) granted a loan of 100 million euros (122
million dollars) to Egypt's state-run natural gas holding company
(EGAS) to finance pipeline construction in Jordan.
(AFP, 6/6/04)
2004 Jun 22, In Egypt a 5-story
apartment building collapsed in the southern city of Aswan, killing
at least 13. Eight residents remain missing.
(AP, 6/22/04)(AP, 6/23/04)
2004 Jul 9, In Egypt President
Hosni Mubarak's cabinet resigned and the longtime leader appointed
technocrat Ahmed Nazief (Nazif), a relative outsider, to replace
Atef Obeid as prime minister, further consolidating his power at a
time of growing calls for political, social and economic change.
Half of the 26 regional governors were also replaced.
(AP, 7/9/04)(Econ, 7/17/04, p.47)
2004 Jul 19, An Egyptian truck
driver held hostage for two weeks by insurgents in Iraq was freed
and taken to the Egyptian Embassy.
(AP, 7/19/04)
2004 Jul 23, Iraqi insurgents
in Baghdad kidnapped Muhammad Mamdouh Qutb, a 3rd ranking official
of the Egyptian Embassy, demanding his country abandon any plans it
had to send security experts to Iraq.
(SFC, 7/24/04, p.A13)(AP, 7/23/05)
2004 Jul 26, An Egyptian
diplomat held hostage by militants in Iraq for three days was
released and was in good condition.
(AP, 7/26/04)
2004 Sep 2, Egypt's antiquities
chief revealed a 2,500-year-old hidden tomb under the shadow of one
of Giza's three giant pyramids.
(AP, 9/2/04)
2004 Sep 11, Egypt claimed that
its regional and international clout qualify it for a permanent seat
on an expanded U.N. Security Council.
(AP, 9/11/04)
2004 Sep 11, Petros VII, the
Christian Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, was killed after an army
helicopter that was transporting him and his entourage to a monastic
enclave in northern Greece crashed in the sea. The helicopter
carried 12 passengers and 4 crew.
(AP, 9/11/04)
2004 Sep 15, The Egyptian and
Syrian presidents linked calls by the UN and fellow Arab leaders for
Syrian troops to leave Lebanon to past UN resolutions demanding that
Israeli pull out of the West Bank and Golan Heights.
(AP, 9/15/04)
2004 Sep 19, In northern Egypt
a pickup truck and a minibus collided head on a rural road, killing
13 people and injuring 10.
(CP, 9/19/04)
2004 Sep 22, Six members of the
same family were hanged in Egypt after being convicted for the
revenge-killing of 22 members of a rival family two years ago.
(AP, 9/22/04)
2004 Sep 22, In Iraq kidnappers
seized 4 Egyptians and four Iraqis working for the country's mobile
phone company.
(AP, 9/24/04)
2004 Sep 23, Egypt’s ruling
National Democratic Party ended its annual conference and announced
that income and corporate taxes would be halved with top rates
capped at 20%.
(Econ, 9/25/04, p.61)
2004 Sep 23, In Iraq kidnappers
seized 2 more Egyptian construction engineers working for the
country's mobile phone company.
(AP, 9/24/04)(SFC, 9/25/04, p.A1)
2004 Oct 1, US aid to Egypt for
fiscal 2005 began. The budget request of $535 million was down $40
million from 2004.
(WSJ, 7/14/04, p.A13)
2004 Oct 7, A car bomb at
Egypt’s Taba Hilton killed 34 people on the last day of the Jewish
holiday of Sukkot. The attack was quickly followed by two more car
bombings outside beach-bungalow camps south of Taba. The next day
Israeli officials said they believe al-Qaida was probably behind 3
suicide car bomb attacks targeting Red Sea resorts filled with
Israeli tourists. It was later reported that all 4 bombers who
attacked the resorts escaped on foot minutes before their vehicles
exploded.
(AP, 10/8/04)(SFC, 10/8/04, p.A1)(AP,
10/13/04)(AP, 11/12/10)
2004 Oct 25, Egyptian
authorities said a Palestinian refugee plotted the coordinated
bombings targeting Israeli tourists at resorts in the Sinai and
accidentally killed himself while carrying out the deadliest blast.
Egypt announced it had arrested five of the nine men who bombed Red
Sea resorts almost three weeks ago, saying the attackers used stolen
cars packed with old war-time explosives and a washing-machine
timer.
(AP, 10/25/04)
2004 Oct 27, The Egyptian
government approved the creation of a political party headed by a
young ambitious lawyer, in only the third time that a new party was
authorized there in almost three decades. Al-Ghad became Egypt's
18th party.
(AFP, 10/27/04)
2004 Nov 7, In Egypt a
passenger bus returning from Saudi Arabia collided with a truck,
killing 33 people.
(AP, 11/8/04)
2004 Nov 12, Kings, princes and
presidents from across the world paid a last tribute to Yasser
Arafat at a military funeral in Cairo. Arafat was interned in
Ramallah before a sea of mourners.
(AP, 11/12/04)(SFC, 11/13/04, p.A17)
2004 Nov 13, Egypt released 200
Islamic militants to mark Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan fests.
Egypt newspapers reported that some 700 members of the al-Gama'a
al-Islamiya had been released from prison in recent days. The
Islamist group fought the government in the 1990s but has since
renounced violence.
(Reuters, 11/14/04)(AP, 11/15/04)
2004 Nov 17, Millions of
locusts swarmed into northern Egypt for the first time in 50 years,
prompting authorities to order emergency pesticide spraying to
protect the region's important agriculture industry.
(AP, 11/18/04)
2004 Nov 18, Israeli troops
killed three Egyptian policemen mistaken for Palestinian militants
along the Gaza-Egypt border.
(AP, 11/18/04)
2004 Nov 30, The 28th Cairo
International Film Festival, the biggest in the Middle East, opened
with US and British films excluded from competition for "technical"
reasons.
(AP, 11/28/04)
2004 Dec 5, Egypt freed an
Israeli Arab businessman convicted of spying in exchange for
Israel's release of six Egyptian students.
(AP, 12/5/04)
2004 Dec 8, In Cairo, Egypt,
several thousand Christians who packed a cathedral compound hurled
stones at riot police to protest a woman's alleged forced conversion
to Islam. At least 30 people were injured.
(AP, 12/9/04)
2004 Dec 14, Egypt and Israel
signed a first joint trade accord with the United States since their
historic peace treaty 25 years ago.
(AP, 12/14/04)
2004 Naguib Sawiris, Egyptian
businessman, started the Middle East’s 1st non-government,
non-satellite television station in Iraq.
(WSJ, 4/18/05, p.B1)
2004 In Egypt Kefaya, a loose
gathering of mainly Nasserist and communist activists, was formed.
It struggled to make an impact beyond its street protests since the
regime started loosening the noose slightly on the political scene.
(AP, 12/13/05)
2005 Jan 1, Egypt was forecast
for 3% annual GDP growth with a population at 74.6 million and GDP
per head at $1,030.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.94)
2005 Jan 4, Diplomats said the
U.N. atomic watchdog agency has found evidence of secret nuclear
experiments in Egypt that could be used in weapons programs.
(AP, 1/4/05)
2005 Jan 27, Egypt admitted to
failing to signal a "number of research experiments" to the IAEA,
after diplomats said the agency was investigating an Egyptian lab
that could be used to make plutonium, a nuclear weapons material.
(AFP, 2/14/05)
2005 Jan 31, in Egypt Ayman
al-Nur, the head of an opposition party, denounced his arrest on
forgery charges, telling a court it was a strike against political
reform, while human rights groups said the moves against him could
be a message to other opposition groups.
(AP, 2/1/05)
2005 Feb 1, Egyptian security
forces clashed with Islamic militants in the mountains of Sinai,
killing a suspect in last year's deadly bombings of beach resorts on
the peninsula.
(AP, 2/1/05)
2005 Feb 5, Egyptian police
killed two suspected militants wanted in last year's Sinai bombings
following clashes in Egypt's Sinai peninsula desert.
(AP, 2/5/05)
2005 Feb 6, Four Egyptians
working for a mobile phone company were abducted by gunmen in
Baghdad, and Islamic militants threatened to kill an Italian
journalist Feb 7 unless Italy agrees to withdraw its troops.
(AP, 2/6/05)
2005 Feb 8, In Sharm El-Sheik,
Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas declared that their people would stop all military and
violent attacks against each other, pledging to get peace talks back
on track. The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it would not be
bound by the cease-fire declarations.
(AP, 2/8/05)
2005 Feb 8, Cairo’s 2-week book
fair ended. During the two-week fair, police confiscated leftist
books and arrested three people protesting any renewal of Hosni
Mubarak's presidency.
(AP, 2/9/05)
2005 Feb 14, The UN atomic
monitoring agency said Egypt's nuclear experiments were small, basic
and do not appear part of an attempt to make weapons, praising
Cairo's cooperation with an investigation of the country's now
mothballed clandestine activities.
(AP, 2/14/05)
2005 Feb 19, Libyan leader
Moamer Kadhafi and Egyptian Pres. Hosni Mubarak backed an African
solution to the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region during 2 rounds of
talks in Cairo.
(AFP, 2/19/05)
2005 Feb 21, Over 500 people
rallied in Cairo to protest against a new term in office for
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and against moves to enable his son
Gamal to succeed him.
(AFP, 2/21/05)
2005 Feb 22, A US human rights
advocacy group said the Egyptian government had shown a "shameless"
lack of accountability by failing to name the 2,400 people it had
detained for the Oct 7 Sinai terror attacks. Relatives were not told
where they are held.
(AP, 2/22/05)(WSJ, 2/23/05, p.A1)
2005 Feb 23, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak said that he expects further Syrian troop
redeployments in Lebanon, and he dispatched his intelligence chief
to Damascus to meet with President Bashar Assad to discuss
increasing American and European pressure on Syria.
(AP, 2/23/05)
2005 Feb 25, Atef Sedki (75),
former PM of Egypt (1986-1996), died. He helped steer Egypt toward a
market-oriented economy.
(AP, 2/25/05)
2005 Feb 26, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak ordered a revision of the country's election laws and
said multiple candidates could run in the nation's presidential
elections.
(AP, 2/26/05)
2005 Mar 3, An Arab League
meeting opened in Cairo. An Arab diplomat said Syria has told Arab
countries it needs to keep 3,000 troops and early-warning stations
inside Lebanon to maintain its security despite international
pressure for a full withdrawal. Saudi Arabia told Syria to withdraw
its troops.
(AP, 3/3/05)(SFC, 3/4/05, p.A3)
2005 Mar 9, Egypt’s parliament
agreed to amend the Constitution to allow for 1st time
multi-candidate balloting.
(SFC, 3/10/05, p.A3)
2005 Mar 12, Ayman Nour,
Egyptian opposition leader and presidential hopeful, walked out of
Cairo's central security headquarters and was whisked to the
shoulders of his supporters after posting bail.
(AP, 3/12/05)
2005 Mar 25, In Cairo, Egypt,
the new $30 million, 74-acre Al-Azhar, was inaugurated under the
auspices of Aga Khan.
(SFC, 3/12/05, p.F1)
2005 Mar 27, A Cairo court
sentenced an Egyptian to 35 years in prison after finding him guilty
of spying for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and planning to
assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The court gave Mahmoud
Eid Mohamed Dabbous 10 years in prison for spying for a foreign
state and another 25 years for plotting to kill Mubarak.
(Reuters, 3/27/05)
2005 Mar 27, Egyptian police
detained about 200 members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood,
before and during an attempt to protest outside parliament in favor
of reform.
(AP, 3/28/05)
2005 Mar 27, Ahmed Zaki (55),
one of Egypt's most acclaimed actors, died. He portrayed former
Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat.
(AP, 3/27/05)
2005 Mar, In Egypt protests by
the Kefaya (Enough) Movement drew hundreds across the country to
oppose a fifth term for Pres. Mubarak or plans to let his son Gamal
succeed him.
(www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/27/3122993.htm)
2005 Apr 4, About 300
university students staged a rowdy protest in downtown Cairo calling
for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down and further
democratic reforms.
(AP, 4/5/05)
2005 Apr 7, A bomb blast rocked
a Cairo bazaar popular with foreigners. An American tourist died the
next day from wounds sustained in a bomb blast raising the death
toll to three. Hassan Rafaat Ahmed Bashandi (17-18), was carrying
almost 7 pounds of TNT in a leather bag filled with nails when it
exploded prematurely.
(AP, 4/8/05)(AP, 4/11/05)
2005 Apr 17, Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak and Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi discussed joint projects
to allow their respective countries to benefit from the waters of
the Nile River.
(AFP, 4/17/05)
2005 Apr 17, Egypt's Interior
Ministry identified 4 men it accused of training a bomber who killed
three tourists and himself in a Cairo bazaar.
(AP, 4/17/05)
2005 Apr 26, President Vladimir
Putin started the first visit to Egypt by a Russian head of state in
more than 40 years, in an effort to reinforce Moscow's political and
economic ties with the Arab world.
(AFP, 4/26/05)
2005 Apr 27, Hundreds of
pro-democracy activists protested in 15 Egyptian cities and towns,
drawing out large numbers of riot police who briefly detained 75
protesters.
(AP, 4/27/05)
2005 Apr 30, In Egypt a bomb
blast and tour bus shooting took place near Cairo tourist sites. A
man identified as a suspect in an April 7 bombing blew himself up as
he leapt off a bridge during a police chase. Less than two hours
later 2 veiled women opened fire on a tour bus in a historic part of
Cairo and one of them was killed in a gunbattle with security
guards..
(AP, 5/1/05)
2005 May 1, In Egypt police
detained about 200 people from the home villages of 3 attackers
responsible for a bomb blast and tour bus shooting near Cairo
tourist sites the day before.
(AP, 5/1/05)
2005 May 4, Thousands of
supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic
group, protested across the country in an escalation of the
opposition campaign demanding political reform. Police arrested
hundreds of protesters.
(AP, 5/4/05)
2005 May 8, In Alexandria
Egypt, some 3,000 female supporters of the opposition Muslim
Brotherhood gathered to demand democratic reforms.
(AP, 5/8/05)
2005 May 10, Egypt's parliament
overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment allowing
multicandidate presidential elections for the first time, but the
opposition denounced the reform, saying it won't shake President
Hosni Mubarak's grip on power.
(AP, 5/10/05)
2005 May 18, Egyptian security
detained 56 men in northern Egypt in the latest of a series of
sweeps against the banned but usually tolerated Muslim Brotherhood.
(AP, 5/18/05)
2005 May 18, President Bush
offered his unqualified support for Egypt's political reform process
as he received PM Ahmed Nazief at the White House.
(AP, 5/18/06)
2005 May 19, In Egypt
authorities detained 14 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood
in the south in a crackdown on the large Islamist movement. The
number of detained rose to more than 780.
(Reuters, 5/20/05)
2005 May 20, Ashraf Saeed
Youssef (27), ringleader of 3 recent attacks that targeted Western
tourists in Egypt, died in the Cairo hospital he'd been transferred
to a week ago for treatment after hitting his head several times
against the wall of his prison cell.
(AP, 5/21/05)
2005 May 22, Egyptian
authorities arrested the 4th-highest official in the powerful Muslim
Brotherhood and 25 others. Mahmoud Ezzat, secretary-general of the
Islamist group and head of its Cairo operations, is the
highest-profile Brotherhood arrest since 1996.
(AP, 5/22/05)
2005 May 25, In Egypt police
and plainclothes security men beat and arrested demonstrators
calling for a boycott of a government-backed referendum on
constitutional changes that would clear the way for Egypt's first
multicandidate presidential election.
(AP, 5/25/05)
2005 May 26, Officials
announced that a nationwide referendum to open the way for Egypt's
first multicandidate presidential elections passed overwhelmingly.
(AP, 5/26/05)
2005 Jul 1, Egypt and Israel
signed a commercial agreement committing Egypt to export natural gas
to Israel.
(Econ, 3/28/09,
p.56)(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/egisgas.html)
2005 Jun 7, In Egypt 12 people,
including two children, were killed and 16 injured when a building
collapsed in Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
(AP, 6/8/05)
2005 Jun 17, Egyptian security
forces in the Sinai mountains clashed with suspects in deadly
attacks last year on Red Sea resorts. Security officials said a
soldier and a fugitive were killed and four other soldiers were
wounded.
(AP, 6/18/05)
2005 Jun 22, Egyptian police
opened the streets of north Cairo to political protests against and
in favor of President Hosni Mubarak, giving the opposition a chance
to argue their case with ordinary people.
(Reuters, 6/22/05)
2005 Jun 26, In Egypt some 200
demonstrators gathered outside state security headquarters in Cairo
to protest torture.
(AP, 6/26/05)
2005 Jun 28, Egypt ordered five
public sector company bosses to stand trial in a multi-million
dollar corruption case, one of the biggest of its kind in recent
years.
(AFP, 6/29/05)
2005 Jun 30, The Muslim
Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic group, launched an alliance
devoted to the peaceful removal of President Hosni Mubarak, who has
been in power since 1981. Several other opposition groups promptly
lent their support to what the Brotherhood has called the an
alliance intended "to exercise peaceful pressure on the regime,
through legal and constitutional means, to make it respond to
democratic change."
(AP, 6/30/05)
2005 Jul 2, An Egyptian
judicial report was released that alleged the government forged
turnout figures and forced state employees to fabricate results in a
May referendum to allow first-ever multiparty presidential
elections.
(AP, 7/3/05)
2005 Jul 2, Ihab al-Sherif, an
Egyptian envoy, was kidnapped in Baghdad, weeks after arriving in
the country. He was expected to become Iraq's first Arab ambassador
since Iraq's new government took office. Al-Qaida later announced it
had killed him.
(AP, 7/3/05)(AP, 7/2/06)
2005 Jul 4, Egypt replaced the
editors of all the top state-owned publications in the biggest
reshuffle the media houses have seen in nearly 20 years.
(AP, 7/4/05)
2005 Jul 7, Al-Qaida in Iraq
said in a Web statement that it has killed Ihab al-Sherif, Egypt's
top envoy in Iraq, posting a video of the blindfolded diplomat
identifying himself.
(AP, 7/7/05)
2005 Jul 7, Egypt recalled its
staff to Cairo and said it will temporarily shut its diplomatic
mission in Iraq.
(AP, 7/7/05)
2005 Jul 13, Opposition
movements from across Egypt's political spectrum joined in
opposition to President Hosni Mubarak with calls for a boycott of
September's presidential vote.
(AP, 7/13/05)
2005 Jul 13, Egypt announced it
was launching a campaign for the return of five of its most precious
artifacts from museums abroad, including the Rosetta Stone in London
and the graceful bust of Nefertiti in Berlin.
(AP, 7/13/05)
2005 Jul 15, An official said
police in Egypt said they had arrested Magdy el-Nashar (33), an
Egyptian biochemist, sought in the probe of the London bombings. He
was taken into custody upon his arrival in Cairo from abroad.
(AP, 7/15/05)
2005 Jul 17, Egypt demanded
that institutions in Britain and Belgium return two pharaonic
reliefs it says were chipped off tombs and stolen 30 years ago,
threatening to end their archaeological work here if they refuse.
(AP, 7/17/05)
2005 Jul 19, Egypt said that
Magdy el-Nashar, the detained chemist wanted by Britain for
questioning about the London bombings, had no links to the July 7
attacks or to al-Qaida.
(AP, 7/19/05)
2005 Jul 23, In Egypt a rapid
series of car bombs and another blast ripped through a luxury hotel
and a coffee shop in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik,
killing at least 83 people. The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, a group
citing ties to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the bombings.
The previously unknown Mujahedi Masr or "Holy Warriors of Egypt"
group disputed the claims of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, al-Qaida,
and said five of its own members died carrying out seven explosions.
(AP, 7/23/05)(AP, 7/24/05)(Econ, 7/30/05, p.40)
2005 Jul 23, Kristina Miller
(27) of Peachtree City, Ga., was the only American killed in
the blasts at the Egyptian resort at Sharm el-Sheik.
(AP, 7/27/05)
2005 Jul 24, In Egypt an
explosive detonated as it was being carried by Sami Gamal Ahmad
(33), to the tourist area of Kerdassa, a bazaar of souvenir shops
near the Pyramids of Giza. Ahmad was severely injured.
(AP, 7/24/05)
2005 Jul 26, Investigators have
identified a suicide bomber in the weekend attacks that killed
scores in this Red Sea resort, saying he was an Egyptian with
Islamic militant ties. DNA tests identified him as Youssef Badran,
an Egyptian Sinai resident.
(AP, 7/26/05)
2005 Jul 26, A third previously
unknown Islamist group, Tawhid and Jihad Group in Egypt, claimed
responsibility on the Internet for the bomb attacks on Egypt's Sharm
el-Sheikh resort in which as many as 88 people were killed. It said
it was responsible for bomb attacks that ripped through the resort
town of Taba last October, killing 34 people.
(AP, 7/26/05)(Econ, 7/30/05, p.40)
2005 Jul 28, President Hosni
Mubarak announced his bid to run in Egypt's first multicandidate
elections on Sept. 7, promising new legislation to "besiege"
terrorism and replace the country's much-criticized emergency laws.
(AP, 7/28/05)
2005 Jul 28, Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak called for an extraordinary Arab summit to be held in
Sharm el-Sheikh on August 3, just days after the deadly attacks in
the Red Sea resort.
(AFP, 7/28/05)
2005 Jul 30, In Egypt police
and government supporters beat pro-reform activists with batons,
sometimes kicking them as they on lay the ground, during a protest
against President Hosni Mubarak's announcement that he would run for
re-election for a fifth time.
(AP, 7/30/05)
2005 Aug 1, Egyptian police
cornered a main suspect in the Sharm el-Sheik bombings in his
mountain hideout and killed him in a shootout that also fatally
wounded his wife. The couple's 4-year-old daughter also was wounded.
(AP, 8/1/05)
2005 Aug 14, Egypt’s Interior
Ministry announced that it had identified those responsible for the
July 23 terrorist attack at Sharm el-Sheik.
(SFC, 8/15/05, p.A3)
2005 Aug 15, In Egypt’s the
Sinai Peninsula a crude roadside bomb blasted a vehicle belonging to
international peacekeepers, lightly wounding two Canadians.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2005 Aug 18, Egyptian police
detained Hassan el-Arishi, a suspected mastermind behind the July 23
deadly attacks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik.
(AP, 8/19/05)
2005 Aug 21, Egyptian police
arrested 300 people as security forces deployed 2,100 men backed by
armored vehicles in the Sinai Peninsula for a massive sweep through
the rugged desert region in search of terrorists involved in a
series of recent bombings.
(AP, 8/22/05)
2005 Aug 23, Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak vowed to work towards a long-envisaged free trade
agreement with the US as he called for stronger economic ties with
Washington.
(AFP, 8/23/05)
2005 Aug 24, Egyptian security
forces besieging parts of rugged northern Sinai clashed with gunmen
and arrested 26 people during a massive search for suspects linked
to the recent attacks in the peninsula.
(AP, 8/24/05)
2005 Aug 24, Israel and Egypt
reached an agreement to have 750 Egyptian troops take control of a
volatile Egypt-Gaza border area from Israeli forces.
(AP, 8/24/05)
2005 Aug 25, Two Egyptian
police officers were killed in a bomb blast in the northern Sinai.
(AFP, 8/25/05)
2005 Aug 28, Egyptian
authorities released senior Muslim Brotherhood member Mahmoud Ezzat
after holding him without trial for more than three months. 8 other
jailed members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood also were ordered
freed.
(AP, 8/28/05)
2005 Aug 29, Egypt's
intelligence chief met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to shore up
the strained cease-fire with Israel and discuss freedom of movement
across Gaza's borders.
(AP, 8/29/05)
2005 Sep 3, An Egyptian court
ruled that non-governmental groups will be allowed to monitor the
nation's first multi-candidate presidential election next week.
(AP, 9/3/05)
2005 Sep 5, In Egypt an actor
knocked over a candle on a stage filled with billowing paper,
starting a blaze that killed at least 32 people at the Culture
Palace in Beni Suef.
(AP, 9/6/05)
2005 Sep 5, In Egypt a bus in
Abu Swaylim village collided with a car and then plunged into a
canal, killing 7 people, leaving at least 5 missing and presumed
drowned, and injuring 14.
(AP, 9/5/05)
2005 Sep 7, Egyptians voted in
the country's first-ever contested presidential election, but
charges of fraud and a big boycott rally marred balloting that
longtime leader Hosni Mubarak portrayed as a major democratic
reform.
(AP, 9/7/05)
2005 Sep 8, In Egypt President
Hosni Mubarak took an overwhelming early lead in his country's
first-ever contested presidential race in a ballot marred by low
turnout and widespread reports of voter intimidation.
(AP, 9/8/05)
2005 Sep 9, Pro-government
newspapers trumpeted President Hosni Mubarak's re-election victory
after preliminary results showed he swept Egypt's first contested
race for his job. The turnout was 23%.
(AP, 9/9/05)(Reuters, 9/9/05)
2005 Sep 10, A defiant Egyptian
opposition ratcheted up the pressure on President Hosni Mubarak,
after he was reelected with the votes of only one-fifth of the
electorate.
(AFP, 9/10/05)
2005 Sep 14, Egypt said it had
found an arms-smuggling tunnel under the Gaza border, and
Palestinians crossing the frontier were warned to return by sunset
when passport controls will be reimposed.
(AP, 9/14/05)
2005 Sep 16, Thousands of
Palestinians broke through Egyptian and Palestinian Authority lines
on the Gaza border, pouring into Egypt in defiance of government
attempts to secure the frontier.
(AP, 9/16/05)
2005 Sep 19, Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas said the Gaza-Egypt border will reopen only as part of
an international agreement, quashing speculation Egypt and the
Palestinians might operate a crossing without Israel's blessing.
(AP, 9/19/05)
2005 Sep 20, Egyptian police
stopped Palestinians from returning to Gaza, causing a crowd of more
than 1,000 people to gather near the crossing here, as officials
from the two sides met to discuss the border situation.
(AP, 9/20/05)
2005 Sep 20, A US Air Force
officer taking part in a military exercise was killed in a road
accident in northern Egypt.
(AP, 9/20/05)
2005 Sep 23, In Egypt Seoudi
Ali Salem, a Qatari man participating in an informal car race,
killed five people and injured 32 when his speeding car slammed into
a crowd sitting on a grassy median strip on the airport road. Salem
fled the scene with another driver.
(AP, 9/24/05)
2005 Sep 23, Palestinians took
charge of a border for the first time ever, allowing thousands to
cross between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in a temporary opening of the
frontier.
(AP, 9/23/05)
2005 Sep 28, Egyptian police in
the Sinai peninsula shot dead two men suspected of organizing
bombings which killed 67 people in the Red Sea resort of Sharm
el-Sheikh in July.
(AP, 9/29/05)
2005 Oct 11, In Egypt some
3,000 Islamists students staged a demonstration at Cairo Univ. to
press for increased freedom on campus and free and fair union
elections next month.
(AFP, 10/11/05)
2005 Oct 12, In Egypt a sit-in
by hundreds of Sudanese refugees outside the offices of the UNHCR in
the Cairo entered its 14th day, even as the agency insisted it could
not meet their asylum demands. Some 14,400 Sudanese refugees were
registered in Egypt.
(AP, 10/12/05)
2005 Oct 15, Egyptian
authorities ordered the release of a leading Muslim Brotherhood
figure, Essam el-Erian, and three other members of the banned
Islamic group.
(AP, 10/15/05)
2005 Oct 19, The International
Organization for Migration (IMO) said "Ethiopian women and girls who
migrate to Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen and Saudi Arabia suffer from
maltreatment, physical, sexual and emotional abuses," in a report
based on interviews with 443 women returning from the region.
(AP, 10/20/05)
2005 Oct 21, In Alexandria,
Egypt, thousands of Muslims rioted outside a Coptic Christian church
to denounce a play deemed offensive to Islam, prompting police to
beat protesters and fire tear gas into the crowd. 3 people died and
more than 90 were injured. The play, "I Was Blind But Now I Can
See," tells the story of a young Christian who converts to Islam and
becomes disillusioned. The riot was sparked by the distribution of a
DVD of a play that was performed at the church two years ago.
(Reuters, 10/21/05)
2005 Oct 25, The US deported
Mohammed Abouhalima (41) to Egypt. He had just finished serving an
8-year prison term after being convicted of helping his brother,
Mahmoud, flee New York following the Feb. 26, 1993 attack that
killed six people and wounded more than 1,000.
(AP, 10/27/05)
2005 Oct 28, Egyptian Pres.
Hosni Mubarak held unexpected talks with his beleaguered Syrian
counterpart Bashar Assad to discuss Damascus' crisis with the West
over the killing of a former Lebanese leader.
(AP, 10/28/05)
2005 Nov 1, Two Islamic
militants jailed in the 1981 killing of President Anwar Sadat were
released after more than two decades behind bars. Nageh Ibrahim and
Fouad el-Dawalibi were founding members of al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya,
once Egypt's largest Islamic militant group.
(AP, 11/8/05)
2005 Nov 7, The EU agreed to
monitor a Gaza-Egypt border crossing that serves as the main gate to
the world for Palestinians.
(AP, 11/7/05)
2005 Nov 9, Egyptians cast
ballots in their most robustly contested parliamentary election in
more than 50 years, but no one expected the vote to unseat the
long-dominant party of President Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 11/9/05)
2005 Nov 10, Egypt's ruling
party secured the most seats in the first stage of parliamentary
balloting, but the banned Muslim Brotherhood made its mark as well,
sending 42 candidates to run-off elections.
(AP, 11/10/05)
2005 Nov 12, In Egypt hundreds
of Sudanese refugees staging a sit-in outside UN offices in Cairo
began a hunger strike to press their case for asylum.
(AFP, 11/12/05)
2005 Nov 16, In Egypt the
Muslim Brotherhood won 20% of the overall vote in the first round of
parliamentary elections, according to initial official results
released after a day of intense runoff balloting. The group is
banned but members as individuals doubled their parliamentary seats
to 34. The ruling party won 112 seats.
(AP, 11/16/05)(WSJ, 11/17/05, p.A1)
2005 Nov 19, In Cairo, Egypt,
Shiite and Kurdish delegates stormed out of an Iraqi reconciliation
conference, halting the effort to patch over ethnic and religious
fault lines threatening to drag the country into a full civil war.
(AP, 11/19/05)
2005 Nov 20, Widespread
violence marred the second round of Egypt's parliamentary vote, with
police saying a campaign worker was shot and killed in Alexandria
and witnesses reporting scores of injuries. Police arrested 400
Muslim Brotherhood activists in a crackdown on the Islamist group.
(AP, 11/20/05)(Reuters, 11/20/05)
2005 Nov 21, In Egypt ballot
results showed that the banned Muslim Brotherhood won about a
quarter of the parliamentary seats open in the second round of
balloting despite widespread violence that marred the voting.
(Reuters, 11/21/05)(AP, 11/22/05)
2005 Nov 21, In Egypt Iraqi
leaders backed a Sunni call for a timetable for the withdrawal of
U.S.-led forces and said Iraq's opposition had a "legitimate right"
of resistance. The announcement concluded a reconciliation
conference backed by the Arab League.
(AP, 11/22/05)(SFC, 11/22/05, p.A1)(WSJ,
11/22/05, p.A1)
2005 Nov 21, Egyptian forces
shot dead Salem Khadr al-Shnub, a Bedouin leader in the Sinai
peninsula. He was wanted over his suspected involvement in a string
of deadly bombings in the area. Two of Shnub's relatives, Sallam
Sweilam and Sallam Sallam Sweilam, were also killed in the clashes.
(AP, 11/21/05)
2005 Nov 23, Egypt's
parliamentary polls claimed a 2nd victim when supporters of a
newly-elected MP seized backers of a losing candidate, tied them to
the back of tractors and dragged them through the streets.
(AFP, 11/23/05)
2005 Nov 25, Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas opened the Gaza-Egypt border in a festive ceremony, a
milestone for the Palestinians who for the first time took control
of a frontier crossing without Israeli veto powers and gained some
freedom of movement.
(AP, 11/25/05)
2005 Nov 26, Police detained at
least 140 members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood as Egyptians voted
in a parliamentary runoff.
(AP, 11/26/05)
2005 Nov 27, In Egypt the
outlawed Muslim Brotherhood captured 29 more seats in weekend
parliamentary runoff elections.
(AP, 11/27/05)
2005 Nov 28, Egyptian police
arrested nearly 200 Muslim Brotherhood activists in a crackdown the
opposition Islamist group said was designed to weaken its chances in
parliamentary elections this week.
(AP, 11/28/05)
2005 Nov 30, The Muslim
Brotherhood said Egyptian police rounded up hundreds of Muslim
Brotherhood organizers in the two days before the last stage of
parliamentary elections, bringing the total in two weeks to over
1,600.
(AP, 11/30/05)
2005 Dec 1, In Egypt riot
police battled voters, killing one person and blocking entry to
polling stations in opposition strongholds in the third and final
round of legislative elections.
(AP, 12/01/05)
2005 Dec 2, Election officials
said that Egypt's leading opposition group did not win any seats
outright in the final round of parliamentary voting, which was
marred by violence and police barring thousands from casting
ballots.
(AP, 12/02/05)
2005 Dec 7, In Egypt police
fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds trying to break through
blockades of polling stations in an opposition stronghold, the final
day of parliamentary elections, and a hospital official said two
people were killed.
(AP, 12/07/05)
2005 Dec 8, Preliminary results
in Egypt's elections gave the leading opposition group, the Muslim
Brotherhood, a record 19% of the seats in parliament after a
four-week election that counted 11 fatalities.
(AP, 12/08/05)(Reuters, 12/08/05)
2005 Dec 10, Egypt's justice
minister announced that just 26% of registered voters cast ballots
in the month-long parliamentary elections that ended this week. The
low turnout reflected both voter apathy and fear of violence. The
ruling party won 71% of the seats.
(AP, 12/10/05)
2005 Dec 22, Mohammed Mahdi
Akef, the leader of Egypt's main Islamic opposition group, said the
Holocaust was a "myth," and he slammed Western governments for
criticizing disclaimers of the Jewish genocide.
(AP, 12/22/05)
2005 Dec 24, In Egypt a court
sentenced leading government opponent Ayman Nour to five years'
imprisonment for forgery at the end of a year-long judicial process
that has drawn international criticism and strained Egypt's
relations with the US. Nour was freed in 2009.
(AP, 12/24/05)(AP, 2/18/09)
2005 Dec 27, A conference
underlining the gravity of Egypt's landmines problem kicked off in
Cairo, with delegates appealing for international support in the
mine clearing effort. Egypt is one of the most heavily-mined regions
in the world, a legacy of World War II and the Arab-Israeli wars,
which left the northwestern desert infested with an estimated 22
million mines and other unexploded ordnance (UXOs).
(AFP, 12/28/05)
2005 Dec 30, Egyptian police
turned water cannons on Sudanese war refugees and beat them with
sticks, clearing out a squatters camp in a city park. At least 10
people were killed.
(AP, 12/30/05)
2005 Dec 31, In Egypt President
Hosni Mubarak on Saturday swore in a new Cabinet that retained major
personalities of the previous government, while adding two more
pro-American business figures and installing Egypt's first minister
to wear a headscarf. The government of PM Ahmed Nazif included Aisha
Abdul Hadi, appointed as labor and immigration minister.
(AP, 12/31/06)
2005 Dec 31, In Egypt several
Sudanese migrants injured when police violently cleared a ramshackle
camp died later from their wounds, raising the death toll from the
clash to 25. Sudanese refugees began trickling across the border to
Israel following the clashes.
(AP, 12/31/05)(Econ, 8/25/07, p.45)
2005 Sayed al-Qimani, Egyptian
writer, fearing for his life publicly repented for purported sins
and abandoned writing for some years. His book “Rabb al-Zaman” (God
of Our Time) was marked for banning by the ‘Ulama’, who also sued
him for his views.
(Econ, 8/8/09,
p.53)(www.dayan.org/D&A-Egypt-ami.htm)
2006 Jan 3, A Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman said Egypt will deport 654 Sudanese refugees who were
violently evicted from a protest camp in a Cairo park last week.
(AP, 1/3/06)
2006 Jan 4, Two Egyptian guards
were shot dead at the border with Gaza after armed Palestinians made
a hole in the border wall. Palestinian militants angry at the
jailing of their leader stole two bulldozers and smashed through the
border wall between Gaza and Egypt.
(AP, 1/4/06)
2006 Jan 11, Egypt released 164
Sudanese migrants who were detained last month when police evicted
them from a city park in a violent operation that brought
international condemnation.
(AP, 1/12/06)
2006 Jan 11, In Egypt a tour
bus carrying Australian tourists overturned on a wet highway,
killing six people and injuring at least 24.
(AP, 1/11/06)
2006 Jan 14, Egypt and France
were locked in legal wrangling over a decommissioned aircraft
carrier containing asbestos, leaving the French warship stranded off
the Egyptian coast for the third day running.
(AFP, 1/14/06)
2006 Jan 18, Egypt released 233
Sudanese migrants detained after security forces broke up a protest
camp in a Cairo square last month.
(AP, 1/19/06)
2006 Jan 31, In Egypt 14
tourists from Hong Kong were killed and 30 wounded when their bus
spun off the road along the Red Sea coast in one of the deadliest
crashes involving foreign nationals in recent years.
(AP, 1/31/06)
2006 Jan, In Egypt El-Kabir
(21), a Cairo minibus driver, intervened in an argument between
police and his cousin. Kabir was arrested by police, who sodomized
with a wooden pole and filmed the incident on video. The tape later
made it onto the Internet and in 2007 a judge ordered 2 police
officers into custody pending trial.
(AP, 1/21/07)
2006 Feb 1, Two top Egyptian
officials called on Hamas to recognize Israel, disarm and honor past
peace deals, the latest sign Arab governments are pushing the
militant group to moderate after its surprise election victory.
(AP, 2/1/06)
2006 Feb 3, An Egyptian
passenger ferry carrying 1,408 people, mostly Egyptian workers
returning from Saudi Arabia, sank in the Red Sea overnight. The
35-year-old ship, "Al-Salam Boccaccio 98," went down 40 miles off
the Egyptian port of Hurghada between midnight and 2 a.m. Rescue
boats picked up at least 362 survivors from the ferry that caught
fire and sank in the Red Sea, apparently so fast there was no time
for a distress signal. But more than 1,000 missing passengers and
crew were feared drowned. The report into the sinking found the ship
was overloaded and using forged documents to hide a shortage of
safety equipment. In 2008 an Egyptian court acquitted in absentia
Mamdouh Ismail, the owner of the ferry and his son, of negligence
and corruption. Ismail, is a member of parliament's upper house, and
his son Amr was a top executive in the ferry company. In 2009
Mamdouh Ismail was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and
negligence and sentenced to seven years in prison.
(AP, 2/3/06)(AP, 2/4/06)(AP, 4/19/06)(AP,
7/27/08)(AP, 3/11/09)
2006 Feb 8, Egypt's antiquities
chief announced that American archaeologists from the Univ. of
Memphis have uncovered an 18th Dynasty tomb in Egypt's Valley of the
Kings, the first uncovered there since King Tutankhamen’s in 1922.
The 18th Dynasty ruled from around 1560 B.C. to 1085 B.C.
(AP, 2/9/06)
2006 Feb 9, Two masked gunmen
shot out the tires of a diplomatic vehicle and kidnapped Egypt's
military attache to the Palestinian Authority, in a brazen daylight
abduction just outside the heavily guarded Egyptian mission in Gaza
City.
(AP, 2/9/06)
2006 Feb 11, An Egyptian
diplomat abducted at gunpoint in the Gaza Strip was released.
(AP, 2/11/06)
2006 Feb 14, The Egyptian
parliament approved the two-year postponement of municipal polls
despite objections from opposition Islamists and the US. President
Hosni Mubarak issued a decree last week calling for the delay of the
elections which was passed by parliament's upper chamber on Feb 12
and approved this day in two readings by the lower chamber.
(AFP, 2/15/06)
2006 Feb 16, Egypt confirmed
its first cases of H5N1 bird flu.
(Reuters, 2/17/06)
2006 Feb 22, Imprisoned
Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour asked US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice to look into whether Egypt can benefit from a US
offer to help developing countries develop nuclear energy.
(AP, 2/22/06)
2006 Feb 26, Egypt's
antiquities chief said archaeologists had discovered a pharaonic sun
temple with large statues believed to be of King Ramses II
(1270-1213BC) under an outdoor marketplace in Cairo.
(AP, 2/26/06)
2006 Feb 27, In Egypt an
official said a Liberian-flagged tanker, Grigoroussa 1, lost 3,000
tons of heavy fuel in the Suez Canal after a collision with a quay
caused a leak.
(AFP, 2/27/06)
2006 Mar 3, Egypt arrested
Rashad Bayyumi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, along with 7 members of
Egypt's main opposition group. Bayyumi sits on the Brotherhood's
13-member Guidance Bureau. 3 more members were arrested the next
day.
(AFP, 3/4/06)
2006 Mar 3, Scientists reported
the discovery of a 19-mile wide crater in Egypt’s Sahara desert. The
newfound crater, named Kebira, was likely carved by a space rock
that was itself roughly 0.75 miles wide in an event that would have
been quite a shock, destroying everything for hundreds of miles. It
was discovered in satellite images by Boston University researchers
Farouk El-Baz and Eman Ghoneim.
(http://tinyurl.com/rukmd)
2006 Mar 5, Egyptian security
forces arrested three more members of the Muslim Brotherhood, taking
to 15 the number of Islamists from the banned opposition group
arrested in the last few days.
(AP, 3/5/06)
2006 Mar 10, Tamer Yusri
Yassin, who worked in Qatar and is considered the founder of a group
of 14 people involved in terrorist attacks, was allegedly extradited
to Egypt from Qatar. The next day Qatar denied that Yassin was
extradited. Yassin was one of 14 people referred for trial by the
public prosecutor this week for involvement in two Cairo bombings on
April 7 and April 30, 2005.
(AFP, 3/11/06)(Reuters, 3/12/06)
2006 Mar 13, Pope Benedict XVI
and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks at the Vatican about
Iran, Iraq and the prospects for lasting peace in the Middle East.
(AP, 3/13/06)
2006 Mar 17, Nearly 1,000
Egyptian judges held a half-hour silent protest to demonstrate for
full judicial independence and against the government's order to
interrogate six of their colleagues who criticized recent elections.
(AP, 3/17/06)
2006 Mar 18, Egypt's health
ministry said a 30-year-old Egyptian woman has died of bird flu, the
country's first human victim of the virus.
(Reuters, 3/18/06)
2006 Apr 2, The World Health
Organization (WHO) confirmed that four Egyptians have caught bird
flu, including two who died from the virus.
(Reuters, 4/3/06)
2006 Apr 6, A government
minister said Egypt has found two more people infected with the bird
flu virus, bringing the number of human cases in the country to 11.
(AP, 4/6/06)
2006 Apr 6, A manuscript called
the Judas Gospel, probably copied from the original Greek, was
unveiled. Discovered in the 1970s near Minya, Egypt, the volume,
including the gospel and other documents, was sold to an Egyptian
antiquities dealer in 1978. Researchers ruled that the manuscript is
most likely authentic and declared with confidence that it was
consistent with a date of approximately A.D. 280.
(Reuters, 4/6/06)(LiveScience, 4/8/13)
2006 Apr 10, Egypt’s Health and
Population Minister Hatem el-Gabali said a 12th case of human bird
flu has been found.
(Reuters, 4/11/06)
2006 Apr 14, In Egypt
worshippers at three Christian churches came under attack from
knife-wielding assailants during Mass. Police said one worshipper
was killed and more than a dozen wounded in the simultaneous attacks
in the northern city of Alexandria.
(AP, 4/14/06)
2006 Apr 14, Five publishers,
all members of Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood, were detained
as they prepared to publish material criticizing Egypt's emergency
law.
(AFP, 4/15/06)
2006 Apr 16, In Egypt police
fired live ammunition into the air and lobbed tear gas into rioting
crowds of Christians and Muslims in a third day of sectarian
violence in Alexandria. Egyptian police detained 43 university
students on suspicion of membership in the banned Muslim
Brotherhood, the country's largest Islamic fundamentalist group.
(AP, 4/16/06)
2006 Apr 19, The Egyptian
government said it had arrested a group of 22 militant Islamists
planning bomb attacks on tourist targets, a gas pipeline near Cairo
and Muslim and Christian religious leaders. The statement listed 22
members, led by a 26-year-old humanities student named Ahmed Mohamed
Ali Gabr.
(Reuters, 4/19/06)
2006 Apr 24, In Egypt 3
explosions rocked the resort city of Dahab at the height of the
tourist season, killing 21 people and wounding more than 80. 3 of
the dead were thought to be suicide bombers.
(AP, 4/25/06)(AP, 5/2/06)
2006 Apr 26, In Egypt 2 suicide
bombers struck outside the main base of the multinational
peacekeeping force near the Gaza border in Sinai, killing themselves
but causing no other casualties.
(AP, 4/26/06)
2006 Apr 30, Egypt's parliament
agreed to a two-year extension of emergency law requested by the
government while it prepares replacement anti-terrorism laws.
Egyptian security forces hunting bombers behind attacks last week in
the Sinai peninsula fought gunbattles with suspects and killed 3 of
them.
(AP, 4/30/06)(AFP, 5/2/06)
2006 May 1, Egyptian security
forces fatally shot three men wanted in terrorist bombings that
killed at least 18 people in a coastal Sinai Peninsula resort on
April 24. A police officer was also killed.
(AP, 5/2/06)
2006 May 9, In Egypt Nasser
Khamis el-Mallahi, the leader of an al-Qaida-inspired group wanted
for last month's bombings in Dahab, was killed in a gunbattle in the
mountains of the Sinai Peninsula.
(AP, 5/9/06)
2006 May 11, Thousands of
Egyptian riot police beat pro-democracy activists in Cairo, chasing
and dragging them through the streets to break up a demonstration in
support of judges who blew the whistle on election fraud.
(AP, 5/12/06)
2006 May 12, Gamal Mubarak, the
son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, met secretly with top White
House officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney. Gamal is
widely seen as his father's heir-apparent.
(AP, 5/15/06)
2006 May 18, In Cairo, Egypt,
police beat pro-reform protesters in the streets and arrested more
than 300 for the second week in a row as Egyptian courts dealt new
setbacks to activists seeking greater democracy.
(AP, 5/18/06)
2006 May 20, President Hosni
Mubarak opened the World Economic Forum in a booming Red Sea resort
with a surprisingly tough speech that signaled deepening strains in
the once-ironclad links with Egypt's American allies and
benefactors. PM Ahmed Nazif said the Egyptian government is not in a
hurry to change the country's political system.
(Reuters, 5/20/06)(AP, 5/20/06)
2006 May 21, In Egypt global
business and political leaders focused on dialogue, democracy and
development in the Middle East. 3 major players, Iran, Hamas and
Syria, were absent.
(AP, 5/21/06)
2006 May 25, About 300
pro-reform judges staged a sit-in outside a downtown Cairo
courthouse to demand the independence of Egypt's judiciary as
thousands of riot police watched.
(AP, 5/25/06)
2006 Jun 2, Two Egyptian
security officers were killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli
troops after crossing the border into Israel.
(AP, 6/2/06)
2006 Jun 18, In Egypt 2
brothers who led a gang that held more than 100 people hostage two
years ago were hanged in Alexandria.
(AP, 6/18/06)
2006 Jun 18, China's PM Wen
Jiabao wrapped up a two-day visit to Cairo after meeting with
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and signing 10 oil, natural gas and
telecommunications deals. He was also scheduled to visit Ghana,
Republic of Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
(AP, 6/18/06)
2006 Jun 19, Egyptian
authorities detained 31 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood,
bringing to nearly 700 the number of members arrested since a
crackdown began in March.
(AP, 6/19/06)
2006 Jun 27, Egyptian security
forces shot dead two men named as members of a group behind deadly
bombings in Sinai tourist resorts.
(AP, 6/27/06)
2006 Jul 14, Militants forced
open a border gate between Egypt and Gaza, wounding an Egyptian
officer and letting hundreds of Palestinians who had been trapped on
the Egyptian side of the border to get into Gaza.
(AP, 7/14/06)
2006 Jul 15, Arab foreign
ministers held an emergency summit in Cairo over Israel's expanding
assault on Lebanon, the worst Israeli attack on its neighbor in 24
years.
(AP, 7/15/06)
2006 Jul 18, Egypt and Israel
reopened the Rafah border crossing for the first time in three
weeks, triggering a rush to the border by thousands of Palestinians
who had been waiting in Egypt.
(AP, 7/18/06)
2006 Aug 6, A former official
of Egypt's Gama'a Islamiya said that even if some members of the
Islamist group had joined al Qaeda it was unlikely that most would.
(AP, 8/6/06)
2006 Aug 20, Arab League
foreign ministers convened in Egypt for an emergency meeting to
discuss how to fund reconstruction in war-ravaged Lebanon and defuse
Mideast tensions amid rising discord between moderate Arabs and
Syria, a main backer of Hezbollah.
(AP, 8/20/06)
2006 Aug 21, In northern Egypt
a passenger train barreled into railway station and collided with a
second train outside Qalyoub, killing at least 58 people and
injuring more than 100.
(AFP, 8/21/06)(SFC, 8/22/06, p.A3)
2006 Aug 22, An Egyptian tour
bus overturned in the Sinai peninsula killing 11 people, most of
them Israeli Arabs, and injuring more than 30.
(AP, 8/22/06)
2006 Aug 30, Naguib Mahfouz
(b.1911), Arab writer, died in Cairo. He became the first Arab
writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1988) for his novels
depicting modern Egyptian life. Across the span of 35 novels,
hundreds of short stories and essays, over 20 movie scripts and five
plays, Mahfouz depicted with startling realism the Egyptian
"Everyman" balancing between tradition and the modern world.
(AP, 8/30/06)(Econ, 9/2/06, p.78)
2006 Sep 4, In Egypt a
passenger train collided with a cargo train north of Cairo, killing
5 people and injuring 30 others.
(AP, 9/4/06)
2006 Sep 16, Fouad el-Mohandes
(82), one of Egypt's most beloved comedians, died in Cairo. His
plays and movies made over a half century brought him fans across
the Arab world.
(AP, 9/16/06)
2006 Sep-2006 Oct, In Egypt for
the seventh year running, a mysterious black cloud appeared over
Cairo, triggering serious health concerns for the polluted city's 16
million residents. This year the black cloud coincided with the
month of Ramadan, notorious for its traffic jams.
(AFP, 10/26/06)
2006 Oct 10, A World Health
Organization official said Egypt has detected its first human case
of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus since May in an
Egyptian woman who raised ducks from her home.
(Reuters, 10/10/06)
2006 Oct 16, Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak and Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi held talks on how to
resolve the Darfur crisis in Sudan without intervention from outside
Africa.
(AFP, 10/16/06)
2006 Oct 17, The Italian bank
Sanpaolo won a five-way race for control of Bank of Alexandria, the
first Egyptian bank to be privatized in a selloff worth 1.6 billion
dollars.
(AFP, 10/17/06)
2006 Oct 31, A parliament
speaker said Egypt it will amend its constitution to make it easier
for candidates to run for president, part of long-delayed political
reforms that President Hosni Mubarak plans to carry out next year.
Talaat Sadat (52), the nephew of Egypt's late President Anwar Sadat,
was sentenced to a year in prison for defaming Egypt's armed forces,
after saying in an interview that Egyptian generals had masterminded
his uncle's assassination.
(AP, 10/31/06)
2006 Nov 3, Egyptian police
found more than 3,000 pounds of explosives buried in two caches in
the Sinai desert, one of them near the Palestinian-controlled Gaza
Strip.
(AP, 11/3/06)
2006 Nov 6, In Italy a Milan
court sentenced Rabei Ousmane Sayed Ahmed, the accused mastermind of
the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid, to 10 years in jail for
membership of a terrorist organization. A second Egyptian, Yahya
Mawad Mohamed Rajeh, was sentenced to five years in jail in the
case.
(AFP, 11/6/06)
2006 Nov 7, China and Egypt
agreed to co-operate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, state
media said, in a development that could rile the United States, a
traditional Cairo ally.
(AFP, 11/8/06)
2006 Nov 14, Eighteen Egyptians
were killed when a public bus and a truck collided on a highway
south of Cairo.
(AP, 11/14/06)
2006 Nov 30, In Egypt a state
security court sentenced three Islamic militants to death for their
involvement in suicide attacks that killed 34 people at Sinai
resorts in 2004.
(AP, 11/30/06)
2006 Dec 2, A 50-year-old
battle to evict squatters from one of Egypt's most renowned
archaeological sites, the West Bank of Luxor, ended as authorities
began demolitions. The fate of Qurna's 10,000 residents was sealed
when authorities gave the demolition order for the mud-brick houses
erected over ancient Egyptian tombs.
(AFP, 12/3/06)
2006 Dec 4, Egypt’s Interior
Ministry said police had arrested an American, 11 Europeans and
several others from Arab countries for allegedly plotting terrorist
attacks in Middle Eastern countries including Iraq.
(AP, 12/4/06)
2006 Dec 6, Egypt’s Pres. Hosni
Mubarak arrived in Dublin at the start of a five-day European tour
that will also include France and Germany. He said renewing the
Middle East peace process is top of his agenda.
(AFP, 12/7/06)
2006 Dec 7, Egyptian
authorities expelled two Belgians and eight French terrorist
suspects, but an American and another French citizen remained in
Egyptian custody.
(AP, 12/7/06)
2006 Dec 14, In Egypt police
arrested Mohammed Khayrat el-Shater, the outlawed Muslim
Brotherhood's chief strategist, and at least 140 others in a
crackdown after a protest by uniformed students raised fears the
Islamist political group is creating a military wing.
(AP, 12/14/06)
2006 Dec 16, An Egyptian court
denied Bahais the right to state their religion on official
documents and described them as pro-Israeli apostates, in a landmark
case condemned by rights organizations.
(AFP, 12/16/06)
2006 Dec 16, British PM Tony
Blair arrived in Egypt for Middle East peace talks, saying the next
few days and weeks would be critical in determining whether Israel
and the Palestinians can break their cycle of violence.
(AP, 12/16/06)
2006 Dec 24, An Egyptian woman
died of bird flu, hours after tests confirmed she and two other
members of her extended family had been suffering from the highly
pathogenic virus.
(AP, 12/24/06)
2006 Dec 27, A 26-year-old
Egyptian man died of bird flu, the third member of his extended
family to die of the virus.
(AP, 12/27/06)
2006 Dec 28, Israeli security
officials said Egypt has sent a large shipment of weapons through
Israeli territory to shore up forces loyal to the embattled
Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, an extraordinary show of
support by both countries for his efforts to renew peacemaking with
Israel.
(AP, 12/28/06)
2006 Dec, In Egypt some 18,000
textile workers went on strike at Mahalla over low wages and
purported corruption. They won an annual bonus worth 45 days’ pay.
(SFC, 2/20/07, p.A11)
2006 Film-maker Tahani Rached
made her one-hour documentary "El-Banate Dol" ("Those Girls") based
on the lives of street girls in Cairo, Egypt.
(Reuter, 7/26/06)
2007 Jan 4, Overshadowed by an
Israeli raid into the Palestinian territories, a summit between
Israel and Egypt achieved little in reviving the long-stalled
Mideast peace process, highlighting instead the disagreements
between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
(AP, 1/5/07)
2007 Jan 19, An Egyptian woman
died from bird flu after six days in hospital.
(Reuters, 1/19/07)
2007 Jan 24, Egyptian security
forces arrested seven members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood north
of Cairo in a widening crackdown on the country's largest opposition
movement.
(AP, 1/24/07)
2007 Feb 1, A Lebanese
publisher said the Egyptian government had censored several Egyptian
and foreign titles at its annual book fair, including the classic
novel "Zorba the Greek" as well as books by Czech author Milan
Kundera.
(AFP, 2/1/07)
2007 Feb 11, In Egypt Osama
Hassan Mustafa Nasr, known as Abu Omar, was released. The Egyptian
Muslim preacher had been allegedly kidnapped by CIA agents off the
streets of Milan, Italy, on Feb 17, 2003, and taken to Egypt. It was
reported that since the end of December seven women have been
stabbed by a dark-skinned man in his 20s in Cairo’s Maadi suburb,
whose richer areas are home to numerous embassies and many
foreigners.
(AP, 2/12/07)(AFP, 2/12/07)
2007 Feb 15, In Egypt police
arrested 80 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, in what appeared to
be a pre-emptive strike against the country's largest Islamic group
ahead of elections and a key parliamentary debate.
(Reuters, 2/15/07)
2007 Feb 15, Nadia Abdel Hafez,
an Egyptian woman (37), died of bird flu in a Cairo hospital and a
boy, 5, became the 22nd Egyptian to test positive for the deadly
disease.
(Reuters, 2/16/07)
2007 Feb 18, Egyptian
authorities arrested Mohammed Sayed Saber (35), an Egyptian engineer
from the country's nuclear energy agency, for spying for Israel, but
the arrest was not announced until April 17.
(AP, 4/17/07)
2007 Feb 20, It was reported
that recent strikes in Egypt involved over 35,000 workers at nearly
a dozen textile, cement and poultry plants. Experts said there has
never been a legal strike in Egyptian history.
(SFC, 2/20/07, p.A11)
2007 Feb 21, Security officials
said Egyptian border and security authorities had arrested 23
Palestinians and Egyptians in the Sinai region, including one who
was wearing an explosives belt and had crossed from Gaza to Egypt in
an underground tunnel.
(AP, 2/21/07)
2007 Feb 22, Abdel Kareem Nabil
(22), an Egyptian blogger arrested in 2006, was convicted of
insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak and sentenced to four
years in prison in Egypt's first prosecution of a blogger. Nabil was
convicted for calling Islam a brutal religion in a piece he wrote in
2005 after Muslim worshippers attacked a Coptic Christian church in
Alexandria. In 2009 an Appeals court upheld his 4-year sentence.
Nabil, aka Kareem Amer, was released on Nov 5, 2010, and then
re-arrested, held for 11 days and beaten.
(AP, 2/22/07)(AP, 12/22/09)(AP,
11/17/10)(Reuters, 11/24/10)
2007 Feb 23, Egyptian security
forces discovered approximately 1 ton of explosives hidden
underground near Egypt's border with Gaza.
(AP, 2/23/07)
2007 Feb 28, An Egyptian court
ordered a freeze on the assets of 29 known financiers of the Muslim
brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful opposition movement. An Egyptian
with Canadian citizenship on trial for spying for Israel shouted
from his courtroom cage that a confession had been extracted under
torture.
(AP, 2/28/07)
2007 Feb, An Egyptian publisher
recalled copies of a book written by a controversial feminist after
discovering it "offends religion." Nawal al Saadawi (b.1931), one of
Egypt’s most renowned feminists, authored her play “God Resigns in
the Summit Meeting.” Religious leaders attacked the script without
reading it on the grounds that Islam does not allow criticism of
“God’s work.” In 1965 she lost her job in Egypt’s Ministry of Health
because of her political views. In 1981 she created the Arab Women’s
Solidarity Association, the nation’s first independent women’s
organization.
(SSFC, 5/6/07,
p.F3)(http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/02/07/10102478.html)
2007 Mar 11, Health Ministry
and World Health Organization officials said a 4-year-old Egyptian
boy has contracted the deadly bird flu virus, bringing to 24 the
number of Egyptians who have tested positive for the disease.
(AP, 3/11/07)
2007 Mar 14, In Egypt a
published decree said Mukbil Shakir, head of the Supreme Judicial
Council, has named the country's first female judges despite
opposition from conservative Muslims. Shakir appointed 31 women to
judge or chief judge positions in Egypt's courts.
(AP, 3/15/07)
2007 Mar 18, In Egypt over 100
mainly Islamist lawmakers walked out of parliament to protest
government moves to push through constitutional laws that opponents
fear will entrench the ruling party's grip on power.
(AP, 3/18/07)
2007 Mar 19, Egypt's parliament
approved a controversial set of amendments to the constitution that
the opposition has denounced as a blow to democracy. Critics said
the amendments are meant to ease the succession of Pres. Mubarak’s
son.
(AP, 3/19/07)(WSJ, 3/21/07, p.A1)
2007 Mar 26, Egyptians were
slow to vote in a referendum on constitutional amendments that
opponents condemned as a sham and a setback to democratic progress.
Egyptian human rights groups later said that turnout for the
referendum was only five percent, far lower than the 27 percent
reported by the government.
(AP, 3/26/07)(Econ, 3/31/07, p.57)(AP, 4/11/07)
2007 Mar 27, Egypt’s government
said voters had overwhelmingly approved a set of controversial
amendments to Egypt's constitution, a day after opposition groups
massively boycotted the referendum. Egyptian blogs soon showed cell
video clips of ballot stuffing.
(AP, 3/27/07)(WSJ, 3/30/07, p.A1)
2007 Mar 30, A French architect
claimed to have uncovered the mystery about how Egypt's Great
Pyramid of Khufu was built. Jean-Pierre Houdin said advanced 3D
technology had shown the main ramp which was used to haul the
massive stones to the apex was contained 10-15 meters beneath the
outer skin, tracing a pyramid within a pyramid..
(Reuters, 3/30/07)
2007 Apr 14, The Egyptian state
news agency MENA said that Neo-Nazis had attacked an Egyptian
diplomat in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The Ukrainian government has
said it deeply regrets the incident.
(Reuters, 4/14/07)
2007 Apr 17, Egypt launched
EgyptSat 1, its first remote sounding satellite, from Baikonur
Cosmodrome. The spacecraft was jointly developed by Egypt's National
Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences and the Yuzhnoye
Design Bureau in Ukraine. Israeli officials suspected it to be a spy
satellite. In 2010 ground-controllers lost it.
(http://claudelafleur.qc.ca/Spacecrafts-2007.html)(Econ, 10/30/10,
p.50)
2007 Apr 18, At least 16
Egyptian secondary school students were killed on their way to
school when a truck they were riding in collided head-on with
another vehicle south of Cairo.
(AP, 4/18/07)
2007 Apr 21, In Cairo an
Egyptian-Canadian man was convicted of spying for Israel and
sentenced to 15 years in prison by a special security court.
(AP, 4/21/07)
2007 Apr 29, In Egypt police
arrested two lawmakers and at least 10 other members of the banned
Muslim Brotherhood group as part of an ongoing campaign against the
country's strongest opposition group.
(AP, 4/30/07)
2007 Apr 30, Egyptian
authorities released two Muslim Brotherhood lawmakers but ordered 12
other members of the country's most powerful opposition group
detained.
(AP, 5/1/07)
2007 May 2, An Egyptian court
sentenced Al Jazeera producer Huweida Taha Metwalli to six months in
jail or a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,760) for her part in
producing a feature on torture by Egyptian police.
(AP, 5/2/07)
2007 May 2, Egypt and Japan
agreed to push together in a bid to end the crisis over Iran's
nuclear ambitions, calling for a Middle East free of weapons of mass
destruction.
(AFP, 5/2/07)
2007 May 3, In Egypt a
conference of nearly 50 nations opened at Sharm el-Sheik to rally
international support, particularly from Arab nations, for an
ambitious plan to stabilize Iraq. US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice met Syria's foreign minister in the first high-level talks
between the two countries in years. Hours after the chief military
spokesman in Iraq said Syria had moved to reduce "the flow of
foreign fighters" across its border.
(AP, 5/3/07)
2007 May 6, In Egypt a plane
carrying foreign peacekeepers across the Sinai desert crashed near a
stretch of highway where it had tried to make an emergency landing,
killing eight French soldiers and a Canadian.
(AP, 5/6/07)
2007 May 8, An Egyptian court
decided in a rare ruling that President Hosni Mubarak's order to try
40 of the banned opposition Muslim Brotherhood's top figures before
a military court was not valid.
(AP, 5/8/07)
2007 May 10, In Cairo Israeli
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni held talks with Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak in the first high-level discussion between Israel and
the Arab world on an Arab initiative calling for an exchange of land
for peace.
(AP, 5/10/07)
2007 May 12, Egyptian security
forces arrested 59 Muslims in Bamha accused of setting fire to
Christian homes and shops the previous day in clashes over church
construction that underlined lingering sectarian tensions.
(Reuters, 5/12/07)
2007 May 13, The US said it is
willing to talk to Iran if discussions deal only with Iraq, where
the Bush administration says Tehran is undermining the Baghdad
government and exporting deadly roadside bombs. Iran's foreign
ministry spokesman said that Tehran has agreed to a formal request
from the US to talk about security in Iraq. Vice President Dick
Cheney held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak toward the
end of a regional tour, focusing on ways to stem chaos in Iraq and
on Iran's impact on security in the Gulf.
(AP, 5/13/07)
2007 May 15, Mohammed Sayed
Saber (35). an Egyptian accused of spying for Israel praised the
Jewish state for its advanced technology and claimed documents he
passed on were so outdated they posed no threat to Egypt's security.
(AP, 5/15/07)
2007 May 19, Police arrested 14
members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood as part of Egypt's ongoing
campaign against the country's strongest opposition group.
(AP, 5/20/07)
2007 May 24, Egypt approved the
formation of a new liberal political party headed by a former member
of President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
(AFP, 5/24/07)
2007 May 26, Egyptian
Lieutenant Colonel Ihab Ahmed, a UN peacekeeper, died after he was
shot during a robbery at his residence in El Fasher. Ahmed, part of
a small group of reinforcements sent to Darfur, became the UN's
first casualty since its arrival in the region.
(AP, 5/26/07)
2007 May 29, Egypt's parliament
voted to expel an MP and nephew of late President Anwar Sadat, after
he was declared bankrupt.
(AFP, 5/29/07)
2007 Jun 9, A Cairo court ruled
that a private Egyptian university can not ban a visiting student
from entering its premises in full Islamic veil.
(AFP, 6/9/07)
2007 Jun 9, An Egyptian girl
(10) who contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus died, bringing the
number of fatalities from the disease in the most populous Arab
country to 15.
(Reuters, 6/9/07)
2007 Jun 11, Police barred
voters from polling stations and arrested about 100 opposition
members, as Egyptians chose members of the upper chamber of
parliament in an election marred by violence that killed one person.
President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party won a majority of seats in
elections for Egypt's upper house of parliament. The Muslim
Brotherhood condemned the elections for their unprecedented fraud.
(AP, 6/11/07)(AP, 6/13/07)(Econ, 6/16/07, p.54)
2007 Jun 25, In Cairo a state
security court sentenced Mohammed Sayed Saber (35), an Egyptian
nuclear engineer, to life in prison after convicting him of spying
for Israel. He had been charged with harming the country's national
security by giving stolen documents to Mossad, the Israeli
intelligence agency, in exchange for $17,000.
(AP, 6/25/07)
2007 Jun 27, Egyptian
archaeologists said the mummy of an obese woman, who likely suffered
from diabetes and liver cancer, has been identified as that of Queen
Hatshepsut, Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh. Hatshepsut, who
ruled Egypt in the 15th century B.C., was known for dressing like a
man and wearing a false beard. But when her rule ended, all traces
of her mysteriously disappeared, including her mummy. Discovered in
1903 in the Valley of the Kings, the mummy was left on site until
two months ago, when it was brought to the Cairo Museum for testing.
(AP, 6/27/07)
2007 Jun 27, A Egyptian
state-run news agency said Ashraf Marwan (62), the controversial
son-in-law of Egypt's late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, has died in
London. Marwan was suspected of being a double agent for Israel
during the 1973 war.
(AP, 6/28/07)
2007 Jun 28, Egypt banned all
female circumcision, the widely-practiced removal of the clitoris,
which just days ago cost the life of a 12-year-old girl.
(AP, 6/28/07)
2007 Jun 29, In Egypt 33
students from Cairo's Ain Shams University were detained at a
holiday camp in Alexandria and charged with holding a meeting "aimed
at propagating the Muslim Brothers' ideology."
(AFP, 6/30/07)
2007 Jul 2, Egyptian security
sources said Sherif al-Filali, an Egyptian engineer who was
convicted in 2002 of spying for Israel, has died in jail of a
possible heart attack while serving a 15-year sentence.
(Reuters, 7/2/07)
2007 Jul 13, Some 4,000
Palestinians remained stuck on the Egyptian side of the border with
trouble finding food and shelter, shortages they blamed on local
authorities who are indifferent to their plight.
(AP, 7/13/07)
2007 Jul 14, Egyptian police
said authorities have arrested 35 men suspected of membership in an
al-Qaida- inspired group that planned to carry out attacks in Egypt.
(AP, 7/14/07)
2007 Jul 16, Orascom
Construction Industries S.A.E. of Cairo said it is investing $115
million to acquire a 50% stake in a North Korean cement plant.
(WSJ, 1/16/07, p.A6)
2007 Jul 19, About 2,000 people
protested at the border terminal between Egypt and the Gaza Strip,
demanding the crossing be opened to allow thousands of Palestinians
trapped in Egypt to return.
(AP, 7/19/07)
2007 Jul 22, Egyptian police
shot and killed a Sudanese woman (28) and seriously wounded four
others on the Sinai Peninsula as they tried to sneak into Israel.
They were among 27 Darfur refugees caught by border guards in the
desert after paying 700 dollars (500 euros) to a Bedouin smuggler.
(AP, 7/22/07)(AFP, 7/24/07)
2007 Jul 25, The foreign
ministers of Egypt and Jordan, delegated by the 22-member Arab
League, began a historic visit to Israel to formally present an Arab
peace plan, saying they were extending "a hand of peace" on behalf
of the region.
(AP, 7/25/07)(Econ, 7/28/07, p.48)
2007 Jul 30, Egyptian police
clashed with Bedouins protesting a government order to demolish
their houses along the Palestinian Gaza Strip's border, leaving
dozens injured. Egyptian media have reported a government plan to
force the Bedouins from a 500-foot-wide band of land along the
border to prevent traffickers from digging tunnels used to smuggle
weapons and people into Gaza.
(AP, 7/30/07)
2007 Jul 31, In Egypt US Sec.
of State Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a joint show
of diplomatic force during two days of meetings with Arab allies,
part of an 11th-hour effort to rally diplomatic and practical help
for the US-backed Shiite-led government in Baghdad. The tour opened
talks on a proposed US arms package for Arab states worth more than
$20 billion. US officials extended a 10-year pledge to continue $1.3
billion in annual aid to Egypt’s military. Military aid to Israel
was raised to $3 billion. Weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and 5
smaller monarchies was said to be $20 billion. Total US military aid
to the region over the next decade amounted to $63 billion.
(AP, 7/31/07)(Econ, 8/4/07, p.39)
2007 Aug 8, A report by the
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights detailed 567 cases of police
torture in the last 14 years, of which 167 led to the victim’s
death.
(Econ, 9/1/07, p.38)(www.eohr.org/)
2007 Aug 11, It was reported
that citizen’s in 5 of Egypt’s 26 governorates have been suffering a
dire shortage of drinking water.
(Econ, 8/11/07, p.40)
2007 Aug 20, In Egypt 4 terror
suspects were convicted by a security court and sentenced to life in
prison for their involvement in 3 attacks that killed two French
tourists and an American in April, 2005. Five other suspects,
including two women, received jail sentences that ranged from one to
10 years in prison.
(AP, 8/21/07)
2007 Sep 6, Ayman Ismail
Hassan, one of the key witnesses and co-defendants in the trial of
Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour, was found hanged in his
prison cell in Cairo. "I confessed to forgery under pressure from
officers from state security," Hassan told reporters on June 30,
2005, after his lawyer told the court he had changed his plea to not
guilty.
(Reuters, 9/6/07)
2007 Sep 23, In Egypt thousands
of workers at Ghazl el-Mahalla started a strike, demanding 150-day
shares of annual profits, improved industrial safety, and raising
the monthly bonuses. The strike started by 10,000 workers, has gone
up to 15,000. Ghazl al-Mahallah is the biggest textile factory in
the Middle East, with over 27,000 workers comprising its total labor
force.
(http://tinyurl.com/2o3aup)
2007 Sep 25, A jailed Egyptian
militant committed suicide in his cell. Sayed Ragab Abdullah (45)
had been jailed 15 days ago for alleged membership in an Islamic
militant group.
(AP, 9/25/07)
2007 Sep 29, Egypt’s government
and the striking workers in Mahalla el-Kobra announced a deal ending
the textile worker’s strike after officials agreed to demands for
three months' worth of profit-sharing bonuses.
(AP, 10/2/07)
2007 Sep, In Egypt the Muslim
Brotherhood circulated a draft of its first detailed political
platform. It would bar women and Christians from becoming president
and establish a board of Muslim clerics to oversee the government.
(SFC, 10/11/07, p.A14)
2007 Oct 7, Thousands of angry
demonstrators destroyed the regional headquarters of Egypt's ruling
party in El Arish, demanding government protection from lawlessness
after a downtown shootout between Bedouin tribesmen and local
residents.
(AP, 10/7/07)
2007 Oct 14, In Egypt at least
six people drowned and 15 others were reported missing after the
gangplank on their Nile ferry collapsed.
(AFP, 10/14/07)
2007 Oct 15, An army minibus
slammed into a water tanker truck in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula,
killing 13 soldiers and the civilian driver.
(AP, 10/16/07)
2007 Oct 4, Egypt sent a
high-level protest to dozens of European nations expressing
"astonishment and regret" at their refusal to endorse Cairo's call
for a Middle East nuclear free zone at a conference last month. At
last month's IAEA session, 25 of the 27 EU nations abstained as did
other countries hoping to join the union. In all, 47 nations
abstained. Israeli objections forced a vote in which 53 countries,
Muslim states and their supporters from the developing world, backed
the proposal.
(AP, 10/17/07)
2007 Oct 29, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak announced plans to build several nuclear power plants,
joining several Arab countries in the Middle East that recently have
broadcast their own atomic energy ambitions.
(AP, 10/29/07)
2007 Nov 3, Egypt's ruling
party appointed President Hosni Mubarak's son to an important new
committee in a move seen as further paving the way for the younger
Mubarak to succeed his father.
(AP, 11/3/07)
2007 Nov 4, Cairo, ranked one
of the most polluted cities in the world, was reported to be once
again under the shadow of a highly toxic black cloud which settles
above the huge city every autumn. Exhaust fumes belched by millions
of cars mixed with the hypertoxic emissions of the annual burning of
rice stubble in rural areas of the Nile Delta are a prime cause,
along with the city's ever-expanding population.
(AFP, 11/4/07)
2007 Nov 4, In Egypt the face
of King Tut was unshrouded in public for the first time, 85 years
after the 3,000-year-old boy pharaoh's golden enshrined tomb and
mummy were discovered in Luxor's famed Valley of the Kings in 1922.
(AP, 11/4/07)
2007 Nov 5, An Egyptian court
convicted two police officers and sentenced them to three years in
prison for torturing a bus driver, in a case that came to light
after a video of the abuse was posted on the Internet.
(AP, 11/5/07)
2007 Nov 9, Egyptian border
guards opened fire on Hana Mohamed (24) of Eritrea after she failed
to heed their warnings to stop south of the Rafah border crossing.
The young woman bled to death after being shot in the legs.
(AFP, 11/10/07)
2007 Nov 12, The Egyptian
Initiative for Personal Rights and New York’s Human Rights Watch
released a report saying the Egyptian government refuses to
recognize minority religions and Christian converts in official
state records.
(SFC, 11/16/07, p.A25)(www.eipr.org/en/)
2007 Nov 20, Israel’s PM Olmert
met with Egypt’s Pres. Mubarek and said a peace deal with the
Palestinians can be signed within a year.
(WSJ, 11/21/07, p.A1)
2007 Nov, In Egypt the film
"Heya Fawda" (Arabic for "It's Chaos") opened. It is a rare, frank
look at police torture, corruption and political oppression that
rights groups say is widespread in Egypt. It has been pulling in
viewers and spurring criticism since opening.
(AP, 1/25/08)
2007 Dec 3, Hundreds of civil
servants protested in front of Egypt's Cabinet, demanding wage
increases to cope with rising prices and inflation.
(AP, 12/4/07)
2007 Dec 3, Egypt opened its
border crossing with Gaza to let in Palestinian religious pilgrims
headed for Saudi Arabia, the first time Palestinians have been
allowed to enter Egyptian territory since Hamas militants seized
Gaza in June.
(AP, 12/3/07)
2007 Dec 7, In Zagazig, Egypt,
3 students were killed and dozens injured when a fire broke inside
an Al-Azhar university campus building in the Nile Delta.
(AP, 12/8/07)
2007 Dec 14, Local newspapers
reported that nearly 2,000 Egyptian civil servants have ended a
sit-in outside government headquarters in Cairo after winning a
battle to change their status and increase their salaries.
(AP, 12/14/07)
2007 Dec 17, Nine Egyptians
were killed and seven injured when a car crashed into a group of
people celebrating a religious festival on Egypt's Red Sea coast.
(AP, 12/17/07)
2007 Dec 21, At least eight
Egyptians were killed and 24 others injured when a bus collided
head-on with another vehicle on an intercity road south of Cairo.
(AP, 12/21/07)
2007 Dec 22, In Egypt a
policeman was killed overnight in a shootout with Bedouin tribesmen
smuggling African immigrants into Israel. A minibus fell off a ferry
and sank in the Nile River in southern Egypt, killing 16 people
including six children.
(AFP, 12/22/07)(AP, 12/22/07)
2007 Dec 24, A 12-story
building collapsed in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria,
killing at least 35 people. Shoddy materials, illegal construction
and a culture of corruption were blamed for the deaths.
(AFP, 12/25/07)(AP, 12/30/07)
2007 Dec 25, In Egypt dozens of
Palestinian security men affiliated to Fatah staged a mass break-out
from the camp where they have been held in Rafah. Egyptian police
were able to recapture 40 of them, transferring them to police
stations in the coastal town of Arish.
(Reuters, 12/25/07)
2007 Dec 26, Israeli Defense
Minister Ehud Barak visited Egypt to discuss Israeli allegations
that Egypt was doing too little to prevent arms smuggling to the
Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Egypt rejected Israeli
complaints about weapons smuggling into Gaza.
(Reuters, 12/26/07)
2007 Dec 31, Palestinian
pilgrims broke windows and burned mattresses and blankets in
temporary camps to protest Egypt's refusal to let them return to
Gaza through a crossing controlled by Hamas. A Palestinian woman
(67) died of a heart attack when she was caught amid scuffles. The
standoff over the pilgrims began Dec 29, when some 3,060
Palestinians returning from the hajj in Saudi Arabia arrived by
ferry at the Egyptian Red Sea port of Nuweiba in southern Sinai,
heading back to Gaza.
(AP, 12/31/07)
2007 Dec 31, In Sudan the
African Union transferred authority to a new joint peacekeeping
force with the UN in Darfur. An AU official said Ethiopia and Egypt
will each send 850 troops early in the new year to serve with a
joint UN-AU force in the Darfur region.
(AP, 12/31/07)(Reuters, 12/31/07)
2007 Dec 31, In southern Egypt
a bus plunged into a canal alongside the Nile River, killing 17
passengers and the driver.
(AP, 12/31/07)
2007 Egypt’s population stood
at about 75 million.
(Econ, 8/11/07, p.40)
2008 Jan 2, Egypt allowed more
than 2,000 Palestinian pilgrims to enter the Gaza Strip, drawing a
fierce rebuke from Israel, which had tried to prevent top members of
the militant Hamas from returning home.
(AP, 1/2/08)
2008 Jan 16, Pres. Bush visited
Egypt. Stalled reforms and bitterness over the jailing of hundreds
of dissidents haunted his visit. Bush promised to stay engaged in
pulling Israelis and Palestinians toward a peace pact by the end of
his term.
(AP, 1/16/08)
2008 Jan 17, Members of the
European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing Egypt's human
rights record, even after Cairo summoned EU ambassadors to complain
about the text.
(AFP, 1/17/08)
2008 Jan 18, Egypt angrily
rejected a European parliament resolution criticizing its human
rights record, with Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit saying it
revealed both arrogance and ignorance.
(AP, 1/18/08)
2008 Jan 19, Egyptian police
shot dead a man from Ivory Coast and detained two other African
migrants who were trying to cross illegally into Israel.
(AP, 1/19/08)
2008 Jan 23, Tens of thousands
of Palestinians on foot and on donkey carts poured into Egypt from
Gaza after masked gunmen used land mines to blast down a seven-mile
barrier dividing the border town of Rafah.
(AP, 1/23/08)
2008 Jan 24, A top Israeli
defense official said that Israel wants to relinquish all
responsibility for the Gaza Strip, including the supply of
electricity and water, now that the territory's southern border with
Egypt has been opened.
(AP, 1/24/08)
2008 Jan 25, Egyptian guards
with riot shields formed human chains along the Egypt-Gaza border,
but were unable to stop hundreds of Palestinians from rushing into
Egypt after a bulldozer wrecked another section of fence along the
frontier.
(AP, 1/25/08)
2008 Jan 26, Egyptian riot
police and armored vehicles restricted Gaza motorists to a small
border area of Egypt, in the second attempt in two days to restore
control over the chaotic frontier breached by Hamas militants. At
least 36 Egyptian security personnel have been hospitalized,
including some in critical condition, due to border incidents with
Palestinians.
(AP, 1/26/08)
2008 Jan 27, Egyptian forces
brandishing electrified batons stopped Gaza cars from crossing the
breached border and tightened security at checkpoints to try to
confine Palestinians who moved freely into Egypt for a fifth
straight day.
(AP, 1/27/08)
2008 Jan 28, Egyptian security
forces and Hamas militants strung barbed wire across one of the
openings in the Egypt-Gaza border, a sign that a days-long breaching
of the frontier may be nearing an end.
(AP, 1/28/08)
2008 Jan 29, A Cairo court
ruled to allow Egyptian Bahais to leave their religion blank on
official documents, in effect restoring their access to jobs,
schools and medical and financial services.
(AP, 1/29/08)
2008 Jan 29, Cars and trucks
traveled freely across the border from Gaza to Egypt for a seventh
day. Egyptians living near the breached border with Gaza warned that
chaos was brewing and demanded the crisis be resolved.
(AP, 1/29/08)
2008 Feb 1, Hundreds of Hamas
supporters protested on the breached Gaza-Egypt border to demand it
remain open, while Egyptian troops poured cement and laid down metal
spikes in a new attempt to halt the influx of Gazans.
(AP, 2/1/08)
2008 Feb 2, Hamas agreed to
Egyptian calls to control the flow of Palestinians through the
breached Gaza border and expects Egypt to seal remaining gaps in the
frontier wall.
(AP, 2/2/08)
2008 Feb 3, Egyptian troops
closed the last breach in Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, ending
11 days of free movement for Palestinian residents of the blockaded
territory.
(AP, 2/3/08)
2008 Feb 4, Egyptian forces and
Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire at the Gaza-Egypt border, killing
one person and wounding 59 others a day after Cairo closed the
breached frontier with the Hamas-run enclave.
(Reuters, 2/4/08)
2008 Feb 7, In Egypt at least
29 people, including children, were killed and 16 injured in a
traffic pileup blamed on early morning fog southeast of Cairo.
(AP, 2/7/08)
2008 Feb 9, Egypt's highest
civil court ruled that 12 Coptic Christians who had converted to
Islam could return to their old faith, ending a yearlong legal
battle over the predominantly Muslim state's tolerance for
conversion.
(AP, 2/9/08)
2008 Feb 11, A Cairo appeals
court acquitted Howayda Taha, an Al-Jazeera journalist sentenced to
six months over a film that highlighted torture in Egyptian police
stations, but it still upheld a fine against her.
(AFP, 2/11/08)
2008 Feb 15, Two international
rights groups said Egyptian police have stepped up arrests of
persons suspected of having HIV, detaining four men this month in a
crackdown that violates basic human rights.
(AP, 2/15/08)
2008 Feb 16, Egyptian border
guards shot and killed an Eritrean woman and arrested her two young
daughters after they tried to cross illegally into Israel.
(AP, 2/16/08)
2008 Feb 18, Egyptian security
sources said police have rounded up some 500 Palestinians in north
Sinai in the past four days and plan to deport them back into Gaza
shortly.
(AP, 2/18/08)
2008 Mar 3, Egyptian security
forces detained at least 36 members of the Muslim Brotherhood,
Egypt's strongest opposition group, including some likely candidates
in local elections next month. The men were accused of belonging to
a banned group, possessing anti-government literature and organizing
unauthorized meetings. Egypt has arrested more than 230 members of
the Islamist group since mid-February, taking the total number in
detention to well over 550.
(Reuters, 3/3/08)
2008 Mar 4, In Cairo US Sec. of
State Condoleezza Rice said she has released $100 million in
military aid to Egypt after telling the US Congress the money was
necessary for national security reasons. Police arrested 54 members
of Egypt's largest opposition movement, the first day for
registration of candidates for key local council elections.
(Reuters, 3/4/08)(AP, 3/4/08)
2008 Mar 5, In Egypt police
arrested 86 Brotherhood members in several provinces. All faced
charges of belonging to an illegal group and possessing
Brotherhood-related promotional leaflets.
(AP, 3/6/08)
2008 Mar 6, In Egypt police
arrested 26 members of the Muslim Brotherhood in an ongoing
crackdown on Egypt's largest Islamic opposition group ahead of next
month's local election.
(AP, 3/6/08)
2008 Mar 6, Palestinian
militants ambushed an Israeli army jeep on the border with Gaza,
killing one soldier and wounding three. Deputies of Egypt's
intelligence chief Omar Suleiman met with officials from the Islamic
militant Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad in the Egyptian Sinai
city of el-Arish to persuade Hamas to accept a truce that would halt
rocket attacks.
(AP, 3/6/08)
2008 Mar 7, An official said
Egypt is building a 13-foot high concrete and rock wall interspersed
with watch towers along its narrow boundary with the Gaza Strip to
prevent Hamas militants from breaching the border.
(AP, 3/7/08)
2008 Mar 9, In Tanta, Egypt, at
least 5,000 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood
demonstrated against government attempts to block members from
registering their candidacy in April's key local elections.
(AP, 3/9/08)
2008 Mar 13, In Egypt A Muslim
Brotherhood leader said more than 90 percent of Egyptian Islamist
candidates have been prevented from registering for April local
elections due to a crackdown by the regime and a campaign of
obstruction.
(AFP, 3/13/08)
2008 Mar 16, In Egypt 23
people, mostly policemen, were killed when their vehicle smashed
into a truck on the highway between Cairo and Alexandria.
(AP, 3/16/08)
2008 Mar 18, Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak, amid rising public discontent at sky-rocketing food
prices, said in the official Al-Ahram daily that uncontrolled
population explosion is draining the state's budget. A baby is born
every 23 seconds in Egypt, which is the Arab world's most populous
nation with a population of 78 million.
(AFP, 3/18/08)
2008 Mar 18, Egyptian police
fatally shot a Sudanese woman and arrested a second one who was with
an infant as they tried to cross into Israel.
(AP, 3/18/08)
2008 Mar 20, Israeli defense
officials announced they've worked out a tentative deal for Egypt to
become the main electricity supplier to the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 3/20/08)
2008 Mar 22, Egyptian and
European archeologists announced they had discovered a giant statue
of Queen Tiy, the wife of 18th dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep III, on the
south Egypt site of the Colossi of Memnon.
(AFP, 3/22/08)
2008 Mar 24, An American cargo
ship under contract to the US Navy opened fire on a small Egyptian
boat while moving through the Suez Canal. Egyptian authorities said
at least one man was killed. On Aug 28 the US ambassador met with
the family Mohammed Fouad, the man killed, and offered an apology
and 750,000 Egyptian pounds, or about US$140,000. In return, the
family agreed not to sue the US government.
(AP, 3/25/08)(AP, 8/29/08)
2008 Mar 28, A commerce
ministry official said Egypt is to suspend rice exports for six
months to try to meet the demands of its own people hit by soaring
food prices. Hundreds of residents of the ancient city of Luxor
clashed with riot police during a protest against government
attempts to move them to make room for an open-air museum free of
modern buildings.
(AP, 3/28/08)(AP, 3/29/08)
2008 Apr 2, Newspapers reported
that Egypt has ordered the seizure of the March 25 special edition
of the German news magazine Der Spiegel after it was deemed to be
insulting to Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.
(AFP, 4/2/08)
2008 Apr 6, In Egypt thousands
of demonstrators angry about rising prices and stagnant salaries
torched buildings, looted shops and hurled bricks at police who
responded with tear gas in a northern industrial town as part of a
nationwide strike. Three people were killed and more than 150
injured over two days of unrest in Mahalla, the culmination of more
than a year of strikes by workers at a giant state-run textile
factory.
(AP, 4/7/08)(AP, 4/4/09)
2008 Apr 7, The Muslim
Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition force, called on Egyptians
to boycott local council elections due on Tuesday in protest at the
disqualification of most of its candidates.
(Reuters, 4/7/08)
2008 Apr 8, Egypt rushed to
grant bonuses to workers amid riots over food costs. Turnout for
local elections was later reckoned at under 5% under a boycott by
the Muslim Brotherhood.
(WSJ, 4/9/08, p.A1)(Econ, 9/13/08, p.32)
2008 Apr 8, In Palestine’s
Hamas threatened to burst across the Israeli border to end Israel's
blockade of Gaza if Egypt and Israel do not lift their blockade.
(AP, 4/9/08)(WSJ, 4/9/08, p.A1)
2008 Apr 15, In Egypt a
security official said 25 members of the opposition Muslim
Brotherhood have been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.
(AP, 4/15/08)A 2008 report by the Egyptian Center
for Women's Rights says two-thirds of women in Egypt experienced
sexual harassment on a daily basis.
2008 Apr 16, A security
official said Egypt's ruling party has won 92 percent of the votes
in April 8 municipal elections boycotted by the main opposition
group the Muslim Brotherhood.
(AP, 4/16/08)
2008 Apr 17, In Egypt former
President Carter met with a Hamas delegation from Gaza, part of a
series of talks with the Islamic militant group that has drawn sharp
criticism from US and Israeli officials. Carter said he urged Hamas
leaders from the Gaza Strip to stop militants from firing rockets
into southern Israel.
(AP, 4/17/08)(AP, 4/18/08)
2008 Apr 28, Egypt’s official
MENA news agency reported that PM Ahmed Nazif has urged anyone who
can resolve the nationwide problem of price rises to come forward
with ideas.
(AFP, 4/28/08)
2008 Apr 30, In Egypt state
news agency MENA said Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo for
talks with Egyptian security officials have agreed to an Egyptian
proposal for a truce with Israel starting in the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 4/30/08)
2008 May 1, A speeding tourist
bus carrying dozens of Europeans and Canadians overturned, rolled
off an embankment and burst into flames on a desert highway in
Egypt's Sinai peninsula. At least nine passengers were killed and
about 30 wounded.
(AP, 5/1/08)
2008 May 5, Egypt's parliament
endorsed a government bill to raise taxes and fuel prices less than
a week after President Hosni Mubarak announced a 30 percent salary
increase for all government employees.
(AP, 5/5/08)
2008 May 6, Egyptian border
police fatally shot a Nigerian man who was trying to cross illegally
into Israel. Guards also shot three Sudanese men and one woman who
were also trying to sneak into Israel.
(AP, 5/6/08)
2008 May 10, The main border
crossing between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Egypt was
temporarily opened under a deal between the Islamist group and
Cairo.
(Reuters, 5/10/08)
2008 May 12, The Arab Network
for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said that an Egyptian
government-owned Internet service provider on May 4 blocked the
Egyptian Movement for Change - Kefaya website, in the latest
crackdown on the country's cyber dissidents.
(AFP, 5/12/08)
2008 May 15, In Egypt Abdullah
Kamel Mohammed (42) man was sentenced to 1,000 years behind bars
after scamming hundreds of people out of 280 million pounds (around
52 million dollars).
(AFP, 5/15/08)
2008 May 17, In Egypt Pres.
Bush opened two days of talks with a string of leaders in Sharm
El-Sheik by sitting down with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 5/17/08)
2008 May 18, In Egypt Pres.
Bush lectured the Arab world about everything from political
repression to the denial of women's rights but ran into Palestinian
complaints he is favoring Israel in stalled Mideast peace talks. His
message was aimed at the countries in the region where the political
and civil systems are far from free as he ended a five-day Mideast
trip.
(AP, 5/18/08)
2008 May 26, Egypt's parliament
at the request of the government extended emergency law for another
two years or until the government prepares an anti-terrorism law.
(www.ikhwanweb.com/Article.asp?ID=17228&SectionID=0)
2008 May 31, An Egyptian police
official said boxes of ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and
anti-aircraft missiles have been found in a mountain in the northern
Sinai peninsula. He said the weapons were to be smuggled into the
neighboring Gaza Strip.
(AP, 5/31/08)
2008 Jun 5, Egyptian
archaeologists unveiled a 4,000-year-old "missing pyramid" that they
believed to have been discovered by an archaeologist almost 200
years ago and never seen again. The pyramid was thought to have been
built by King Menkauhor, an obscure pharaoh who ruled for only eight
years. The style of the pyramid indicates it was from the Fifth
Dynasty, a period that began in 2,465 B.C. and ended in 2,325 B.C.
(AP, 6/5/08)
2008 Jun 7, In Egypt thousands
of demonstrators fought with police after a protest over flour
rations in a town on the Mediterranean coast. Mustafa Khalil (88), a
former Egyptian prime minister (1978-1980), died. He was an
architect of the 1979 Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and
Israel.
(AP, 6/8/08)
2008 Jun 7, A boat carrying 150
African migrants en route to Europe sank off the Libyan coast. The
Libyan authorities later recovered 40 bodies. The Libyan government
informed the Egyptian government of the incident on June 13 because
they believe that 12 of the passengers were Egyptians.
(AFP, 6/16/08)
2008 Jun 9, Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak warned that the population could more than double to
reach 160 million by 2050, hindering social and economic development
unless something is done about the "urgent" problem.
(AP, 6/9/08)
2008 Jun 13, Amnesty
International said Egypt has deported 400 Eritrean asylum seekers
back to Asmara and plans to forcibly return 1,200 more who are being
held in detention in Egypt, putting them at serious risk of torture.
(AP, 6/13/08)
2008 Jun 15, An Islamic ruling
that Egypt should give some of its oil and gas wealth to the people
has ratcheted up the pressure on the government, already faced with
rising popular discontent over food prices. The Islamic Research
Centre of Cairo's Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam's highest
authority, issued a fatwa or religious edict saying it is a sacred
duty to pay 20 percent of oil, gas and mineral revenues in the form
of alms to the poor known as zakat.
(AFP, 6/15/08)
2008 Jun 17, Egypt's
state-owned news agency said Israel and Hamas have agreed on a truce
to begin June 19.
(AP, 6/17/08)
2008 Jun 24, A lawyer said
prison guards at an Egyptian jail near the Mediterranean city of
Alexandria beat up 17 inmates to force them to end a hunger strike.
An Egyptian security official denied a beating had taken place.
(AFP, 6/29/08)
2008 Jun 30, In Egypt African
Union Commission chief Jean Ping told African leaders at a summit
that Africa must assume its responsibility in crisis-riven Zimbabwe.
(AFP, 6/30/08)
2008 Jul 1, The African Union,
meeting in Egypt, announced that it was extending the mandate of its
force in Somalia for another six months but urged the UN to take
over the peacekeeping mission. The African leaders also called for
dialogue between Zimbabwe's political foes and a national unity
government following President Robert Mugabe's widely discredited
reelection.
(AFP, 7/1/08)(AP, 7/2/08)
2008 Jul 7, In Egypt smugglers
killed a police officer during a shootout on the border with Israel.
(AP, 7/7/08)
2008 Jul 12, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy met his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak, kicking
off a round of diplomacy with Middle East leaders ahead of an
EU-Mediterranean summit. Sarkozy said that Syria and Lebanon will
open embassies in each other's countries for the first time. Syria's
leader cautioned there was still work to be done before that could
happen.
(AP, 7/12/08)(AP, 7/13/08)
2008 Jul 16, In Egypt a truck
ploughed into traffic at a closed level crossing, pushing a bus,
truck and several cars into the path of a passenger train. Four
people died from their injuries overnight bringing the total number
of dead to 41.
(AFP, 7/17/08)
2008 Jul 17, Wikimania 2008
opened in to Alexandria, Egypt, for a 3-day tradecraft meeting. The
gathering of online encyclopedia creators drew some 650 Wikipedians
from 45 countries.
(WSJ, 8/8/08,
p.W1)(http://wikimania2008.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)
2008 Jul 21, Egyptian police
arrested 39 members of the country's largest opposition group, the
banned Muslim Brotherhood during a raid on a camp north of Cairo.
The men, aged 18 to 35, said they were only on vacation. Egyptian
authorities shut down the Cairo office of an Iranian TV network, as
the two nations spar over "Assassination of a Pharaoh," a film that
justifies the killing of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by
Islamic militants.
(AP, 7/21/08)(AP, 7/24/08)
2008 Jul 27, In Egypt Youssef
Chahine (1926), filmmaker, died in Cairo. His 28 films included “The
Blazing Sun” (1954) with Omar Sharif. His 1994 film “The Emigrant,”
about the Old Testament figure of Joseph, was denounced by militant
Islamists and banned.
(SFC, 7/29/08, p.B5)
2008 Jul 28, Lebanese singer
Suzanne Tamim (30) was found stabbed and her throat slashed in
Dubai. On August 8 Egypt banned news coverage of the brutal slaying
following media reports in other papers that said a wealthy Egyptian
businessman ordered 3 men to carry out the killing. On Sep 2 Hisham
Talaat Moustafa, an Egyptian lawmaker and business tycoon, was
arrested in the death Tamim. He was accused of paying a former
police officer $2 million to kill her. On May 21, 2009, Moustafa was
sentenced to death for ordering Tamim’s death. Former officer,
Mohsen el-Sukkary, was also convicted and sentenced to death. In
2010 Moustafa was spared the death penalty after a retrial changed
his original death sentence to 15 years in prison.
(www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=21342)(AP,
9/2/08)(AP, 5/21/09)(AP, 9/28/10)
2008 Aug 1, In southern Egypt
12 people were killed and 16 others wounded when two speeding
passenger buses rammed into a truck.
(AFP, 8/1/08)
2008 Aug 1, Hamas forces seized
about 15 leaders of Fatah in Gaza, upping the stakes in a week of
tit-for-tat arrests between the bitter Palestinian rivals. Fatah
said more than 200 of its men have been seized over the past week.
Five Palestinians died and 18 were wounded in a smuggling tunnel
under the Gaza-Egypt border after Egyptian troops blew up the
entrance.
(AP, 8/1/08)(AP, 8/2/08)
2008 Aug 2, Saad Eddin Ibrahim
(69), an exiled Egyptian human rights activist who also holds US
nationality, was sentenced in abstentia to two years in prison for
defaming Egypt. He was accused him of defaming the country after a
series of articles and speeches on citizenship and democracy in
which he criticized the Egyptian regime. Ibrahim, who founded the
Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Development Studies, was sentenced in 2001
to seven years for "tarnishing Egypt's reputation," before being
freed on appeal after spending 10 months behind bars.
(AFP, 8/2/08)
2008 Aug 30, Egypt opened its
Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, allowing more than 2,500
people to leave the Hamas-controlled territory and about 1,000 to
enter in a goodwill gesture before the holy Muslim month of Ramadan
begins.
(AP, 8/30/08)(Reuters, 8/31/08)
2008 Sep 3, An Egyptian cargo
ship with 25 crew was hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden near
Somalia, making it the 10th vessel to be hijacked in the area since
July 20.
(AP, 9/5/08)
2008 Sep 6, In Egypt massive
boulders fell from the towering Muqattam cliffs onto a shanty town
outside Cairo and buried dozens of homes. The death toll rose on a
daily basis and reached 103 on Sep 19. According to residents, there
could be up to 500 people buried under the hundreds of tons of rock
that fell. In 2010 a court convicted the Cairo deputy governor for
the rock slide that killed 119 people and sentenced him to five
years in prison. The court found Mahmoud Yassin and seven lesser
officials guilty of manslaughter.
(AP, 9/6/08)(AP, 9/13/08)(AP, 9/20/08)(AP,
5/26/10)
2008 Sep 11, Amnesty Int’l.
reported that Egyptian security forces have killed at least 28
immigrants leaving Egypt for Israel, since the first killing in the
summer of 2007.
(SFC, 9/12/08, p.A12)
2008 Sep 15, In Egypt a
speeding truck collided with a tourist bus in Egypt's Sinai
peninsula, killing 12 people and injuring 33.
(AP, 9/15/08)
2008 Sep 19, Masked kidnappers
in Egypt seized 19 hostages including German, Italian and Romanian
tourists in a remote desert area near the Sudanese and Libyan
borders. The kidnappers demanded $15 million in ransom. On Sep 29
Egyptian and Sudanese forces rescued the captives near the
Sudanese-Chadian border.
(Reuters, 9/22/08)(AP, 9/29/08)
2008 Sep 20, A Palestinian was
shot and killed by Israeli soldiers who said they saw him light a
firebomb near a Jewish settlement. Suhayeb Saleh was later
identified by his parents, who said he was 14 years old. Egypt
opened its Gaza border terminal to allow passage of students and
medical patients for 2 days.
(AP, 9/20/08)
2008 Sep 21, Egypt's foreign
ministry said an illegal migrant boat carrying 83 Egyptians headed
for Europe has gone missing off the coast of Greece after leaving
Egypt 3 days ago.
(AP, 9/21/08)
2008 Sep 23, The bodies of 2
Palestinian smugglers were pulled from a tunnel that collapsed along
the Gaza-Egypt border. 3 more bodies were removed the next day. The
five were bringing contraband goods from Egypt into Gaza when an
explosion collapsed the tunnel. Three smugglers survived and were
arrested on the Egyptian side.
(AP, 9/24/08)
2008 Sep 28, Sudanese forces
engaged a group of kidnappers in a gunbattle in northwest Sudan who
had been sent out to get gas and food. Six kidnappers were killed in
the fight, and two captured. The two told the authorities where the
rest of the kidnappers and their captives were hiding. The
kidnappers were believed to be armed desert tribesmen. Kidnappers
released the 19-member European tour group, abducted on Sep 19, into
one car near the Sudanese-Chadian border. The group drove some 200
miles before encountering Egyptian special forces and returning
safely to Cairo.
(AP, 9/29/08)(AP, 9/30/08)
2008 Sep, Egypt’s overall
inflation rate stood at about 23%. The average wage was under $100
per months and some 2.6 million people were unable to cover their
basic food needs.
(Econ, 9/13/08, p.31)
2008 Oct 5, Ahmed Abul Gheit,
the first Egyptian foreign minister to visit Iraq in nearly two
decades, arrived in Baghdad and promised to help Iraq face its
challenges. 11 people, including women and children, were killed
after US forces came under attack by gunfire and a suicide bomber
during a raid in Mosul. There were no casualties among American
forces. Elsewhere in the northern city, gunmen opened fire on
mourners in a funeral tent, killing 5 people and wounding 7 others.
American troops acting on a tip killed Abu Qaswarah (also known as
Abu Sara), the No. 2 leader of al-Qaida in Iraq in a raid in the
northern city of Mosul. The Moroccan was known for his ability to
recruit and motivate foreign fighters.
(AP, 10/5/08)(SFC, 10/6/08, p.A3)(AP, 10/15/08)
2008 Oct 5, In Egypt 13 people
were killed and 24 injured when a bus and a truck collided head-on
south of Cairo.
(AP, 10/5/08)
2008 Oct 8, In Egypt at least
11 people died when an apartment building collapsed in the port city
of Alexandria.
(AFP, 10/8/08)
2008 Oct 14, Egyptian police
shot dead an African migrant and wounded another as they tried to
cross illegally into Israel.
(AP, 10/14/08)
2008 Oct 20, Sister Emmanuelle
(b.1908), a Belgian-born nun who devoted her life to helping the
poor in North Africa and in France, died in France. Madeleine
Cinquin had spent 20 years working with children in a slum in Cairo
as part of a lengthy career helping the dispossessed.
(AFP, 10/20/08)
2008 Oct 25, The United States
announced a pledge of an additional $320 million to the global fight
against bird flu at a conference in Egypt. The US also warned
against complacency in combating the virus, which could mutate and
cause a deadly pandemic.
(Reuters, 10/25/08)
2008 Oct 26, An Egyptian news
agency that transmitted footage of protesters tearing down a
portrait of the president was fined $27,000 for operating unlicensed
equipment, and its owner said he was targeted as a warning to other
media. A judge upheld a complaint by the government against Nader
Gohar, head of the Cairo News Company. The complaint came shortly
after CNC broadcast footage from Al-Jazeera English in April showing
the anti-government protesters.
(AP, 10/26/08)
2008 Oct 31, In southern Egypt
tourist bus overturned, killing six Belgian tourists and injuring 26
other Belgian passengers.
(AP, 10/31/08)
2008 Oct, US customs officials
at Miami International Airport seized a 3,000-yeor-old Egyptian
sarcophagus from a shipment coming from Spain after the importer
could not present proper documentation to prove ownership. It dated
back to the 21st Dynasty (1070-945 B.C.) and belonged to a noble
called Imesy. An investigation found the coffin had been stolen from
Egypt 126 years ago and taken to Spain before it was shipped to the
US. In 2010 it was returned to Egypt.
(AP, 3/12/10)
2008 Nov 1, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak promised to push ahead with economic reform and step
up efforts to combat poverty, despite the impact of the
international financial crisis on Egypt's economy.
(AP, 11/2/08)
2008 Nov 2, Ahmed Al-Mirghani
(67) former head of Sudan’s last democratically elected government
(1986-1989), died in Egypt. In 1989 a military coup led by current
President Omar al-Bashir unseated him.
(AP, 11/3/08)
2008 Nov 7, Egyptian police
arrested 25 Muslim Brotherhood members at a meeting at Faous, in the
eastern Nile Delta.
(AFP, 11/8/08)
2008 Nov 9, Egyptian
authorities denied entry to one of Osama bin Laden's sons and put
him on a plane to Qatar, becoming the third country to reject the
self-proclaimed "ambassador for peace." Omar Osama bin Laden (27)
and his British wife, Zaina Alsabah (52), arrived at Cairo
International Airport over the weekend after he unsuccessfully tried
to seek political asylum in Spain.
(AP, 11/9/08)
2008 Nov 11, Egypt's chief
archaeologist has announced the discovery of a 4,300-year-old
pyramid in Saqqara, the sprawling necropolis and burial site of the
rulers of ancient Memphis. The new pyramid is the 118th discovered
so far in Egypt.
(AP, 11/11/08)
2008 Nov 11, Armed Bedouin
attacked a security checkpoint in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and seized
11 policemen in a restive area near the border with Israel. The
Bedouin tribesmen were angered by a police shooting a day earlier
that killed a suspected Bedouin smuggler in the area.
(AP, 11/11/08)
2008 Nov 20, Egypt held
emergency talks with nations bordering the Red Sea on how to stop
Somali gunmen from hijacking ships. Somali pirates had already
seized at least 80 ships off the Horn of Africa this year.
(SFC, 11/21/08, p.A13)
2008 Nov 23, In Egypt police
fired tear-gas at about 2,000 rioters in the southern town of Aswan
as they protested the police shooting to death of a bird-seller.
(AFP, 11/23/08)
2008 Nov 25, In Egypt the state
news agency MENA reported that Coptic Pope Shenuda III has banned
Egyptian Christians from praying in a church-owned building in Cairo
after sectarian clashes there with Muslims.
(AFP, 11/25/08)
2008 Dec 14, Orascom Telecom,
an Egyptian company, said it will launch 3G mobile telephone service
in North Korea on Dec 15, after winning the contract to build the
advanced network in a country where private cell phones are banned.
(AP, 12/14/08)
2008 Dec 14, Eva Habil (53)
became Egypt's first female mayor. The Christian lawyer, beat five
male candidates, including her younger brother, to become mayor of
the predominantly Coptic Christian town of Komboha in southern
Egypt.
(AFP, 12/14/08)
2008 Dec 14, An Egyptian bus
crowded with passengers, many of them students, veered off the road
into a canal south of Cairo, killing 59 passengers.
(AP, 12/14/08)(AP, 12/15/08)
2008 Dec 19, Egypt's
communications ministry says Internet cables in the Mediterranean
Sea have been cut, causing massive Internet outages.
(AP, 12/19/08)
2008 Dec 22, In Egypt 7 Russian
tourists died when their bus flipped over along the winding mountain
roads north of the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik.
(AFP, 12/23/08)
2008 Dec 24, In Egypt an
Australian teacher (61), who allegedly stuffed his luggage with
2,000-year old animal mummies and religious figurines wrapped as
gifts, was arrested and charged with smuggling antiquities.
(AP, 12/25/08)
2008 Dec 27, Israel began
“Operation Cast Lead” as its warplanes retaliating for rocket fire
from the Gaza Strip pounded dozens of security compounds across the
Hamas-ruled territory in waves of airstrikes, killing nearly 200
people and wounding 270 others in the single bloodiest day of
fighting in years. Gaza militants fired 30 rockets and mortars after
the air offensive began. A missile hit the town of Netivot, killing
an Israeli man and wounding four people.
(AP, 12/27/08)(Econ, 1/10/09, p.24)
2008 Dec 27-2009 Jan 21, In
Egypt security forces arrested at least 860 activists of the Muslim
Brotherhood as public demonstrations mounted during the Israeli
assault on Gaza.
(Econ, 1/17/09, p.48)
2008 A report by the Egyptian
Center for Women's Rights said two-thirds of women in Egypt
experienced sexual harassment on a daily basis.
(AP, 6/7/12)
2009 Jan 1, Somali pirates
seized the Blue Star, an Egyptian cargo ship, and its 28
crewmembers. A Malaysian military helicopter saved an Indian tanker
from being hijacked in the new year's first attacks by pirates in
the dangerous Gulf of Aden. A crew of the French warship "PM L'Her"
dispatch boat intercepted two speedboats carrying 8 Somali pirates
as they were preparing to board a Panamanian cargo ship. The Blue
Star and its crew of 28 were freed on March 5 after a ransom was
dropped from a plane.
(AP, 1/1/09)(AP, 1/2/09)(AP, 3/5/09)
2008 John R. Bradley, British
writer, authored "Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the
Brink of a Revolution."
(AFP, 7/27/08)
2009 Jan 10, Israeli forces
pounded rocket-launching sites and smuggling tunnels in Gaza and
planes dropped leaflets warning of an escalation in attacks, as
Palestinian militants fired at least 10 more rockets at Israel. The
Israeli military said more than 15 militants were killed in
overnight fighting. An Israeli tank shell killed nine people in a
garden outside a home in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya. In
Cairo, Egypt, Palestinian Authority Pres. Mahmoud Abbas urged both
Israel and Hamas to agree to an Egypt-brokered truce. Syria-based
Palestinian militant groups including Hamas rejected the idea of
deploying international observers or troops in Gaza.
(AP, 1/10/09)
2009 Jan 13, Israeli ground
troops closed in on downtown Gaza City, battling Palestinian
militants in the streets of a densely populated neighborhood,
destroying dozens of homes and sending terrified residents running
for cover as gunfire and explosions echoed in the distance. Some 15
rockets and mortar shells were fired toward Israel, causing no
injuries. Egyptian mediators pushed the militant Palestinian Hamas
group to accept a truce proposal for the embattled Gaza Strip in
talks. The UN secretary-general headed to the region to join the
multitrack diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire in Israel’s 18-day
offensive, in which more than 900 Palestinians have been killed,
half of them civilians.
(AP, 1/13/09)
2009 Jan 31, Security sources
said Egypt has begun installing cameras and motion sensors along its
border with the Gaza Strip to try to combat smuggling to the
Hamas-run territory.
(Reuters, 1/31/09)
2009 Feb 12, An Egyptian
security official said police have arrested 40 suspected smugglers
and seized goods in a new crackdown on smuggling into the Hamas-run
Gaza Strip in a crackdown that started last weekend.
(AP, 2/12/09)
2009 Feb 11, In Egypt
archeologist revealed the discovery of a burial chamber 36 feet
below ground at the necropolis of Saqqara dating back to about
640BC.
(WSJ, 2/12/09, p.A9)
2009 Feb 12, Hamas deputy
leader Moussa Abu Marzouk told Egypt's official MENA news agency
that the Islamic militant group has agreed to an 18-month truce with
Israel.
(AP, 2/13/09)
2009 Feb 14, Egyptian Foreign
Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit held talks with Sudanese President Omar
al-Beshir amid reports that the International Criminal Court has
decided to issue a warrant for his arrest..
(AFP, 2/14/09)
2009 Feb 18, A leading Egyptian
dissident, Ayman Nour (44), who was jailed after challenging the
country's longtime president in the 2005 elections, was unexpectedly
freed after years of pressure from the United States.
(AP, 2/18/09)
2009 Feb 20, In Egypt 5 crew
members died when a Ukrainian cargo plane crashed during takeoff,
burst into flames and slid down the runway in the city of Luxor.
(AP, 2/20/09)
2009 Feb 22, In Egypt a group
of French teenagers on a school trip was hit hard by a bombing at
Cairo’s famed 14th century Khan al-Khalili bazaar. The attack killed
a 17-year-old French girl and wounded another 24 people: 17 French,
three Saudis, three Egyptians and a German. Egyptian police soon
arrested three suspects. On May 23 Egyptian authorities said they
had arrested seven people for being part of an al-Qaida linked group
accused of carrying out the attack. They included two Palestinians,
two Egyptians, a British-Egyptian, a Belgian-Tunisian and a
French-Albanian woman, some of whom had entered Egypt as students.
(AP, 2/23/09)(AP, 5/23/09)
2009 Feb 22, The bodies of four
people were found in a smuggling tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border,
a day after another body was discovered in the area. Border
officials said about 1,000 university students and holders of
foreign residency permits were eligible to cross, and by
mid-afternoon, about 600 people had made the trip.
(AP, 2/22/09)
2009 Mar 2, At a donor’s
conference in Egypt Palestinian Pres. Mahmoud Abbas, seeking to
shore up his position against rival Hamas, asked international
donors to funnel millions of dollars through his government to
rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip. The gathering aimed to raise at
least $2.8 billion from 80 donor nations and international
organizations.
(AP, 3/2/09)
2009 Mar 9, A group of Egyptian
army cadets stormed a police station in a southern suburb of Cairo,
leaving at least five policemen and three cadets injured. The attack
came after a local police chief arrested a cadet on March 5 for
loitering on a street corner and refusing to show any ID. The cadet
was taken to the police station, beaten and held overnight.
(AP, 3/11/09)
2009 Mar 9, A cargo ship sank
off the Red Sea coast of Egypt shortly after leaving port, leaving
14 sailors missing. At least 2 crew members drowned. 10 people were
rescued when the 5,600-tonne Ibn al-Battuta went down in the sea off
the port of Abu Dhunaima in Egypt’s Safaga region.
(AP, 3/9/09)
2009 Mar 10, In Egypt rival
Palestinian factions opened talks aimed at coming up with a
power-sharing agreement, hearing a call to forget their contentious
and sometimes bloody past.
(AP, 3/10/09)
2009 Mar 11, Saudi Arabia
hosted the leaders of Egypt and Syria in an effort to persuade
Damascus to move away from Iran and join with US-allied Arab
countries in working to blunt Tehran's influence.
(AP, 3/11/09)
2009 Mar 16, Amr Moussa
(b.1936), former Egyptian Foreign Minister and head of the Arab
League, said AL countries will not carry out an International
Criminal Court request to arrest Sudan's president on charges of war
crimes in Darfur.
(AP,
3/17/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amr_Moussa)
2009 Mar 17, Egyptian security
officials caught 2 Hamas officials returning to Gaza with nearly
$850,000 stuffed into candy tins.
(SFC, 3/18/09, p.A2)
2009 Mar 18, Egypt opened its
border crossing with the Gaza Strip for the second time in two
months to allow medical aid and Palestinians to enter the coastal
territory.
(AP, 3/18/09)
2009 Mar 25, Egypt, one of the
strongest US allies in the Middle East, welcomed Sudan's president
despite an international warrant seeking his arrest on charges of
war crimes in Darfur. Egypt is not an ICC signatory and both it and
the Arab League have backed al-Bashir.
(AP, 3/25/09)
2009 Mar 28, An Egyptian health
ministry spokesman said a two-year-old girl has contracted bird flu,
the 60th reported case since the first outbreak of the disease in
the country in 2006.
(AP, 3/28/09)
2009 Mar 31, Twelve Egyptian
laborers headed for jobs in Jordan were killed and 35 others injured
when their bus overturned in the Sinai peninsula.
(AP, 3/31/09)
2009 Apr 4, Egyptian police
beat and detained at least 18 members of an anti-government protest
group during a demonstration to demand the release of two activists,
Sarah Rezk and Amina Taha. The two 19-year-olds detained April 2 for
allegedly distributing leaflets calling for a national day of
protest on April 6.
(AP, 4/4/09)
2009 Apr 6, Egyptian police
were out in force to deal with a nationwide protest called by
pro-democracy groups, arresting Islamists and seeking to contain
small demonstrations in the capital, Cairo.
(AFP, 4/6/09)
2009 Apr 11, Egypt's Coptic
Orthodox Church for the first time issued a certificate of
conversion to a Muslim-born Christian. It was only the second time
that such a request has been formally made in a country where
converting to Christianity, while not illegal, is practically
impossible. Egypt's Copts, the largest Christian community in the
Middle East, account for an estimated six to 10% of the country's 80
million inhabitants.
(AFP, 4/11/09)
2009 Apr 13, It was reported
that Egypt has cracked a major Hezbollah network and arrested 49
Hezbollah members and sympathizers between November and January.
(WSJ, 4/13/09, p.A8)
2009 Apr 15, Egyptian police
detained three teenage Palestinian men on suspicion of crossing
illegally into Egypt and also found explosives near the border with
Gaza.
(AP, 4/15/09)
2009 Apr 18, In Egypt the
state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported that an Egyptian woman has
contracted bird flu in the second case in the country in as many
days.
(AFP, 4/18/09)
2009 Apr 18, In southern
Egypt Muslim gunmen shot dead two Coptic Christians as they left
church after an Easter vigil, in an apparent five-year-old vendetta.
(AFP, 4/19/09)
2009 Apr 21, Egyptian
antiquities authorities announced that archaeologists exploring the
"Way of Horus,” an old military road in the Sinai, have unearthed
four new temples amidst the 3,000-year-old remains of an ancient
fortified city that could have been used to impress foreign
delegations visiting Egypt. Early studies suggested the fortified
city had been Egypt's military headquarters from the New Kingdom
(1569-1081 BC) until the Ptolemaic era, a period lasting about 1500
years.
(AP, 4/21/09)
2009 Apr 24, In Egypt a woman
(33) died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the third death from the
disease in Egypt this week.
(AFP, 4/24/09)
2009 Apr 29, Egypt began
slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country as a
precautionary measure against the spread of swine flu even though no
cases have been reported here yet.
(AP, 4/29/09)
2009 May 3, Egyptian police
fired tear gas and clashed with irate pig farmers, leaving 12 people
injured as owners resisted the government's attempt to slaughter all
the nation's pigs to guard against swine flu.
(AP, 5/3/09)
2009 May 5, A restricted UN
report said IAEA inspectors detected nuclear particles in Egypt last
year and in 2007. A senior diplomat accredited to the agency said
that it was the first time the traces were reported by the
Vienna-based nuclear monitor.
(AP, 5/6/09)
2009 May 11, Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu was in Egypt for talks seen aimed at showing he
can be a true Middle East peace partner before he heads to the White
House on May 18. Progress in peace negotiations must come before
Arab recognition of Israel, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in
an interview with Israel TV.
(Reuters, 5/11/09)(AP, 5/12/09)
2009 May 14, Egyptian security
forces arrested 14 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood in dawn
raids at their homes.
(AFP, 5/14/09)
2009 May 15, In Egypt a
three-year-old boy from north Egypt tested positive for the deadly
H5N1 strain of bird flu in the second such case in two days. This
brought to 71 the number of bird flu infections in Egypt.
(AFP, 5/16/09)
2009 May 16, In Egypt 13
factory workers were killed when their small pickup truck crashed
head on into a large lorry in southern Egypt.
(AFP, 5/16/09)
2009 May 18, In Egypt a
4-year-old girl died of bird flu, making her the country's 27th
death from the virus since 2006.
(AP, 5/19/09)
2009 May 18, A leading animal
rights group criticized Egypt for using "shocking and cruel" methods
to slaughter the country's pigs over swine flu fears, responding to
a YouTube video that showed men skewering squealing piglets with
large kitchen knives and hitting others with crowbars.
(AP, 5/18/09)
2009 May 21, In Egypt Hisham
Talaat Moustafa, a real estate mogul with ties to Egyptian president
Hosni Mubarak's son, was sentenced to death for ordering the slaying
of a Lebanese pop star in a case that sparked a media frenzy in a
country where the elite is often perceived as being above the law.
Moustafa, a member of the ruling National Democratic Party, was
accused of paying a former Egyptian police officer $2 million to
kill Suzanne Tamim while she was in Dubai. Former officer, Mohsen
el-Sukkary, was also convicted and sentenced to death. On March 4,
2010, the Court of Cassation, the country's highest court of appeal,
overturned his conviction, and ordered a retrial.
(AP, 5/21/09)(AP, 3/4/10)
2009 May 22, In Egypt Ayman
Nour, a prominent Egyptian dissident, was attacked by an assailant
on a motorcycle who ignited a flammable substance in his face,
leaving his head burned. Nour accused elements within the ruling
party of being behind the attack.
(AP, 5/23/09)
2009 May 25, In Egypt a judge
overturned the conviction and two-year prison sentence of Saad Eddin
Ibrahim, an exiled Egyptian-American academic and outspoken critic
of the regime, paving the way for his return home.
(AP, 5/25/09)
2009 Jun 4, Pres. Obama spoke
in Cairo and touched on many themes Muslims wanted to hear in the
highly anticipated speech broadcast live across much of the Middle
East and elsewhere across the Muslim world. Muslims praised Obama's
address as a positive shift in US attitude and tone. But hard-liners
criticized it as style over substance and said it lacked concrete
proposals to turn the words into action.
(AP, 6/4/09)
2009 Jun 7, Egypt's public
prosecutor ordered the return of a shipment of Russian wheat
impounded last month on health grounds. The decision to ship back
the 52,000 tons of wheat, worth 9.6 million dollars (6.8 million
euros), came after an investigation found the grain was contaminated
with insects and unspecified heavy metals.
(AFP, 6/7/09)
2009 Jun 8, In Egypt at least
18 factory workers were killed when their bus collided with a truck
in the Nile Delta.
(AFP, 6/8/09)
2009 Jun 28, Egyptian security
forces arrested a leading member of the opposition Muslim
Brotherhood and three others in pre-dawn raids. Egyptian police shot
dead a migrant and wounded two others as they tried to enter Israel
illegally.
(AFP, 6/28/09)
2009 Jun, In Egypt 75 people
were sentenced to death this month in comparison to just 86 for all
of 2008. In July the Cairo-based Arab Center for the Independence of
the Judiciary and Legal Profession issued a report expressing
concern that the "extravagance" with which the penalty was being
used meant that defendants were not receiving a fair trial.
According to the UN 43% of Egyptians lived on less than $2 a day.
(AP, 7/29/09)
2009 Jul 1, In Germany Marwa
al-Sherbini (32), a pregnant Muslim woman from Egypt, was stabbed to
death in a Dresden courtroom as her young son watched. She was
involved in a court case against her neighbor for calling her a
terrorist and was set to testify against him when he stabbed her 18
times inside the courtroom in front of her 3-year-old son. Her
husband, who was in Germany on a research fellowship, came to her
aid and was also stabbed by the neighbor and shot in the leg by a
security guard who initially mistook him for the attacker.
(AP, 7/6/09)
2009 Jul 7, In Egypt 22 people
were killed in two separate accidents on the notoriously dangerous
road between the capital Cairo and the southern city of Minya.
(AP, 7/7/09)
2009 Jul 9, Egypt’s Interior
Ministry said authorities have arrested 25 militants with links to
al-Qaida on suspicion of plotting attacks on oil pipelines and ships
in the Suez Canal.
(AP, 7/9/09)
2009 Jul 15, In Egypt the
two-day Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) opened in Sharm-El-Sheik. 50
leaders from the 118-nation grouping of mostly of African, Asian and
Latin American nations gathered for their 15th meeting to address
the world's biggest problems, such as terrorism and financial
instability. Cuba's Pres. Raul Castro called for an international
financial system that better takes into account developing countries
interests.
(AP, 7/15/09)
2009 Jul 16, In Egypt 8 Serb
tourists and 3 Egyptians were killed when a truck on the wrong side
of the road hit their coach head-on along Egypt's Red Sea coast.
(AP, 7/16/09)
2009 Jul 26, Egypt's prosecutor
general officially charged 26 suspects, including two Lebanese and
five Palestinians, for spying for the militant group Hezbollah, as
well as plotting terrorist attacks and aiding militants in the Gaza
strip. Some were accused of planning to attack ships on the Suez
canal and tourists in Egypt.
(Reuters, 7/26/09)(AP, 7/26/09)
2009 Aug 13, The crew of two
Egyptian fishing vessels overpowered Somali pirates after being held
hostage for four months and, with machetes and tools, killed at
least two pirates before sailing to freedom. The fight took place
near the coastal town of Las Qorey off the Gulf of Aden. The pirates
had demanded a ransom of $1.5 million.
(AP, 8/14/09)
2009 Aug 15, Somali pirates
found seven dead colleagues floating in the ocean and vowed to take
revenge against Egyptian fishermen they say killed them during an
August 13 escape.
(Reuters, 8/15/09)
2009 Aug 17, Israeli soldiers
mistakenly shot and wounded an Egyptian policeman near Eilat along
the border between the two countries.
(AP, 8/17/09)
2009 Aug 25, An Israeli air
strike on a smuggling tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt killed
three Palestinians and wounded seven.
(AP, 8/25/09)
2009 Aug 31, Egyptian police
found the entrances to four tunnels and two tons of explosives
hidden near the border with Gaza. A day earlier they had thwarted an
attempt to smuggle 500 kg (1,100 lb) of explosives into Gaza.
(AP, 9/1/09)
2009 Sep 8, A security official
said Egyptian border guards shot dead four sub-Saharan migrants as
they tried to illegally enter Israel.
(AFP, 9/8/09)
2009 Sep 17, An Egyptian judge
convicted two American couples of human trafficking in an illegal
adoptions case and sentenced them to two years in prison. The trial
highlighted bureaucratic entanglements and murky legislation on
adopting children in the predominantly Muslim country.
(AP, 9/17/09)
2009 Sep 28, In Cairo, Egypt, a
2-day meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear
Nonproliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) opened. It was set up by
the governments of Australia and Japan to probe ideas on how to cut
the world's nuclear arms stockpile ahead of a UN conference on the
subject next year. Iran and Israel stated their positions on
disarmament separately during the gathering.
(AP, 10/22/09)
2009 Oct 5, It was reported
that conservative Egyptian lawmakers have called for a ban on
imports of a Chinese-made kit meant to help women fake their
virginity and one scholar has even called for the "exile" of anyone
who imports or uses it. The Artificial Virginity Hymen kit,
distributed by the Chinese company Gigimo, costs about $30. It is
intended to help newly married women fool their husbands into
believing they are virgins.
(AP, 10/5/09)
2009 Oct 7, Egypt's antiquities
department severed its ties with France's Louvre museum because it
has refused to return what are described as stolen artifacts,
(AP, 10/7/09)
2009 Oct 9, Egypt's top Islamic
cleric said that students and teachers will not be allowed to wear
face veils in classrooms and dormitories of Sunni Islam's premier
institute of learning, al-Azhar, part of a government effort to curb
radical Islamic practices.
(AP, 10/9/09)
2009 Oct 9, France's culture
minister agreed to return painted wall fragments to Egypt after a
row over their ownership prompted the country to cut ties with the
Louvre Museum.
(AP, 10/9/09)
2009 Oct 15, It was reported
that the Taj network, funded by the National Science Foundation, now
connects India, Singapore, Vietnam and Egypt to the larger Global
Ring Network for Advanced Application Development (GLORIAD) global
infrastructure, and "dramatically improves existing US network links
with China and the Nordic region," according to an NSF statement.
(www.livescience.com/technology/091015-global-gloraid-taj-cyber-net.html)
2009 Oct 21, Security guards
thwarted an attempted hijacking on an EgyptAir flight from Istanbul
to Cairo by overpowering a Sudanese man who threatened crew members
with a plastic knife. The man told flight attendants he wanted to
"liberate Jerusalem."
(AP, 10/21/09)
2009 Oct 24, In Egypt two
passenger trains collided at high speed south of Cairo, killing 18
people and wounding 39. An initial inquiry found that a signalman
had left work early and failed to warn drivers of delays because of
a water buffalo on the track. Later analysis of a blood sample from
the driver of the first train revealed the presence of traces of
hashish.
(AFP, 10/25/09)(AFP, 11/15/09)
2009 Nov 6, Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao headed to Egypt for a summit with African leaders as Beijing
bids to expand its diplomatic and economic influence on the
resource-rich continent.
(AP, 11/6/09)
2009 Nov 7, China’s PM Wen
Jiaobao sought to reassure the world's Muslims about his country's
goodwill towards them in Cairo, at a time when Beijing is criticized
for the treatment of its own Muslim minority.
(AFP, 11/7/09)
2009 Nov 8, At the start of the
two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Egypt China's Premier
Wen Jiabao pledged $10 billion in low interest loans to African
nations over the next three years and said Beijing would cancel the
government debts of some of the poorest of those countries.
(AP, 11/8/09)
2009 Nov 15, An Egyptian
judicial source said 2 Egyptian Christians, Rami Atef Khella and
Raafat Khella, have been condemned to death for the murder of a
Muslim man who married one of their relatives after she converted to
Islam. Mariam Atef Khella and the couple's daughter Nur were wounded
at the time of the attack more than a year ago.
(AFP, 11/15/09)
2009 Nov 15, Egypt’s
information technology minister said Egypt will apply for the first
Internet domain written in Arabic. The announcement was made at a
conference grouping Yahoo's co-founder and others to discuss
boosting online access in emerging nations.
(AP, 11/15/09)
2009 Nov 18, Egyptian fans were
attacked after Algeria won (1-0) a make-or-break World Cup
qualifying game in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, and offices of
Egyptian companies in Algeria were ransacked after a matchup in
Cairo over the weekend.
(AP, 11/19/09)(Econ, 11/28/09, p.52)
2009 Nov 20, Egyptian police
shot and killed a Bedouin in north Sinai after the arrest of fellow
tribesmen prompted clashes. Protesters injured dozens of police near
the Algerian embassy in Cairo, fanning the flames of a diplomatic
spat that erupted after Algeria won a football World Cup qualifier.
(AFP, 11/20/09)
2009 Dec 10, Egyptian security
officials said a project is under way along the Gaza border to stem
smuggling into the Palestinian territory through underground
tunnels. A border guard with Hamas' Gaza rulers said the Egyptians
are digging during the day and putting sheets of metal into the
trenches at night.
(AP, 12/10/09)
2009 Dec 11, The Canadian
government said that it has approved a request from Egyptian-backed
telecom Globalive Wireless Management Corp. to launch its mobile
phone service in Canada.
(AP, 12/11/09)
2009 Dec 14, In Egypt a 2-day
regional conference ended addressing for the first time the once
taboo topic of sexual harassment. Activists said the sexual
harassment of women in the streets, schools and work places of the
Arab world was driving them to cover up and confine themselves to
their homes.
(AP, 12/15/09)
2009 Dec 16, Egypt's
antiquities chief said the wall paintings that caused a feud between
Egypt and the Louvre Museum will be returned to their original
location in a tomb in Luxor.
(AP, 12/16/09)
2009 Dec 20, Iraq's PM Nouri
al-Maliki opened a landmark visit to Egypt in what aides described
as an ambitious attempt to improve relations with one of the Arab
world's most powerful players.
(AP, 12/20/09)
2009 Dec 22, Egypt confirmed it
is engaged in construction along its border with Gaza but said it is
not building what some reports have said is a steel wall to block
cross-border smuggling.
(Reuters, 12/22/09)
2009 Dec 27, In Lebanon
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called on Egypt to stop
building a steel wall along the Gaza border that could obstruct
tunnels which provide a lifeline for the blockaded enclave.
(Reuters, 12/27/09)
2009 Dec 29, Egypt's top
diplomat said Israel's PM Netanyahu presented Egypt with ideas for
restarting Mideast peace talks, impressing his hosts with proposals
that go further than past Israeli positions.
(AP, 12/29/09)
2009 Dec 31, Hundreds of
demonstrators rallied on opposite sides of an Israeli-Gaza border
crossing to protest the blockade of the seaside territory imposed by
Egypt and Israel.
(AP, 12/31/09)
2009 Yusef Zeidan, Egyptian
writer, won the Arabic Booker Prize for his novel “Azazil” (2008).
It centered on a fifth-century debate between Nestorius, Patriarch
of Constantinople, and Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, over various
arcane ecclesiastical and theological issues.
(Econ, 5/15/10, p.54)
2009 Egypt passed a law
allocating 64 seats out of 518 in the People’s Assembly to women.
(Econ, 10/15/11, p.30)
2009 Egypt’s population stood
at about 82 million. Most of the people lived in the Nile Valley, an
area smaller than Denmark.
(Econ, 10/3/09, p.58)
2010 Jan 3, National Bank of
Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr, the country's first and second biggest
banks by assets, said they had agreed to accept real estate in
exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in public sector debt.
(Reuters, 1/3/10)
2010 Jan 6, Egyptian security
forces and Palestinians clashed at the Gaza border over the delay of
an international aid convoy, killing one Egyptian border guard and
wounding 15 Palestinians. 3 gunmen in a car sprayed automatic
gunfire into a crowd leaving a church in the town of Nag Hamadi,
about 40 miles from the ancient ruins of Luxor. The lead attacker
was identified as a Muslim. 6 male churchgoers and one security
guard were killed on the Coptic Christmas Eve. The 3 suspects in the
drive-by shooting gave themselves up to police on Jan 8 after being
surrounded by security forces. On Jan 16, 2011, a court convicted
and sentenced to death a Muslim man for his part in the drive-by
shooting. "I am a victim; I did not do it," screamed Mohammed Ahmed
Hassanein, whose trial lasted 11 months. He was convicted of first
degree murder and terror-related charges.
(AP, 1/6/10)(AP, 1/7/10)(AP, 1/8/10)
2010 Jan 7, In Egypt thousands
clashed with police during a funeral procession for the seven people
killed in an attack on churchgoers leaving a midnight Mass for
Coptic Christians.
(AP, 1/7/10)
2010 Jan 9, In Egypt Muslims
and Christians set fire to each others' homes and shops near the
southern town of Nagaa Hamady, three days after a gunman killed six
Coptic Christians in a drive-by shooting there.
(Reuters, 1/9/10)
2010 Jan 12, Texas-based Apache
Corp. said it made its sixth oil and gas discovery in the Faghur
Basin play in Egypt's far Western Desert near the Libyan border.
(AP, 1/12/10)
2010 Jan 16, Egypt's largest
opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood announced its new
leader, Mohammed Badie (66), a member of the group's conservative
faction. He was chosen by the movement's 30-member international
council and becomes the group's eighth supreme leader since its
foundation in 1928.
(AP, 1/16/10)
2010 Jan 18, In Egypt and
Israel heavy rains and flash floods left seven people dead,
including a British tourist who was killed when a sailboat capsized
on the Nile River.
(AP, 1/18/10)
2010 Jan 20, Three more
Egyptians died in flooding in the southern Sinai Desert, bringing
the toll for three days of unseasonably heavy rains to 10.
(AP, 1/20/10)
2010 Jan 31, An Egyptian
security official said 25 Egyptians were arrested on suspicion of
planning a bombing attack against Jewish pilgrims in the country and
belonging to a militant Islamist group. The suspects, rounded up
over the past few weeks in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahlia,
were found in possession of explosives and rudimentary rocket
warheads.
(AFP, 1/31/10)
2010 Feb 1, Egypt’s Parliament
amended an antiquities law to bring in stiffer punishments for the
theft and smuggling of relics while granting patent rights to the
country's antiquities council.
(AFP, 2/1/10)
2010 Feb 8, In Egypt Mahmoud
Ezzat, the new deputy leader of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood,
and two other top figures were among 16 people arrested by police in
a dawn sweep across the country targeting members of the nation's
most powerful opposition group. They were accused of trying to set
up training camps for staging attacks.
(AP, 2/8/10)(AP, 2/10/10)
2010 Feb 21, Egyptian police
shot dead two African migrants as they attempted to enter Israel
illegally. A man threw a suitcase containing a makeshift bomb at
Cairo's main synagogue. There were no injuries or damage to the
synagogue. A man (49), with a record of Islamic extremism and drug
abuse, was detained on Feb 23.
(AFP, 2/21/10)(AP, 2/23/10)
2010 Feb 23, Egyptian
newspapers reported that former UN atomic watchdog chief Mohammed
ElBaradei has said he is prepared to run for president of Egypt. He
said Mubarak, head of state since 1981, would not necessarily win a
free election and went on to criticize corruption and poverty in
Egypt. The constitution as it stands barred an ElBaradei candidacy.
It requires candidates to have been a leading member of a party for
at least one year and for the party to have existed for at least
five years.
(AFP, 2/23/10)
2010 Feb 23, Darfur's most
powerful rebel group and the Sudanese government signed a truce in
Cairo after a year of internationally sponsored negotiations,
raising hopes the bloody seven-year conflict could draw to a close.
According to the framework agreement, JEM would take part in the
government's executive, judicial and legislative branches.
(Reuters, 2/23/10)(AP, 2/24/10)(SFC, 2/24/10,
p.A2)
2010 Feb 25, In Egypt Ahmed
Mostafa (20), an engineering student, was detained and charged with
publishing false news and "tarnishing the military's image" after
blogging about a student forced to leave the military academy to
make room for a candidate from a wealthier family. A military
tribunal later agreed to suspend proceedings in return for an
apology.
(AP, 3/7/10)
2010 Feb 26, In Egypt a Costa
Europa luxury cruise liner carrying nearly 1,500 passengers slammed
into the pier as it docked Friday at the Red Sea resort of Sharm
el-Sheik in fierce winds, leaving three crew members dead. Bad
weather wreaked havoc across Egypt, pelting the capital with a freak
hail storm.
(AP, 2/26/10)(AFP, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 27, Egypt's parliament
voted by an overwhelming majority to regulate organ transplants in a
bid to curb illegal trafficking and tourism over the issue.
(AFP, 2/27/10)
2010 Feb 28, The Egyptian
Supreme Council of Antiquities announced that archaeologists have
unearthed the massive head of one Egypt's most famous pharaohs who
ruled nearly 3,400 years ago. Amenhotep III, the grandfather of
Tutankhamun, ruled from 1387-1348 B.C. at the height of Egypt's New
Kingdom and presided over a vast empire stretching from Nubia in the
south to Syria in the north.
(AP, 2/28/10)
2010 Mar 2, Egyptian newspapers
reported that former UN atomic chief Mohamed ElBaradei has called
for constitutional changes in his first statement since forming an
opposition group.
(AFP, 3/2/10)
2010 Mar 6, An operation in
Germany to remove the gall bladder of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak was "successful" and he was in hospital convalescing.
(AFP, 3/6/10)
2010 Mar 10, Top Egyptian
cleric Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi (81), whose views often drew
criticism from religious conservatives and secular Muslims, died of
a heart attack during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Tantawi angered
radicals by supporting organ transplants, denouncing female
circumcision and ruling that women should be appointed to senior
judicial and administrative positions in government. At the same
time, he shocked many Muslims in 2004 by siding with France in its
steps to ban the hijab head covering from state schools.
(AP, 3/10/10)
2010 Mar 12, In Egypt 23 Coptic
Christians were wounded when extremist Muslims attacked a church
community center in Marsa-Matruh. At least 27 people were arrested
in northern Egypt after fighting erupted between Muslims and
Christians over land.
(AP, 3/13/10)(Reuters, 3/13/10)
2010 Mar 14, Egypt's
Constitutional Court backed the right of women judges to sit on the
bench in the state's administrative courts, despite opposition from
conservatives. The ruling was not "decisive" and debates within the
administrative courts could still continue along the
conservative-liberal fault line.
(AP, 3/15/10)
2010 Mar 15, Israel’s Haaretz
newspaper said Egyptian security officials have arrested Yotam
Feldman, an Israeli journalist, as he tried to sneak across the
porous Israeli-Egyptian border with African migrants. Feldman told
his investigators he was reporting on African migrants sneaking into
Israel from Egypt. Feldman returned home on March 22, saying he had
been beaten in captivity and that some of his materials had been
confiscated.
(AP, 3/15/10)(AP, 3/22/10)
2010 Mar 21, In Cairo, Egypt an
international donors conference raised $850 million in pledges for
projects intended to ensure the safe return of more than 2.7 million
people displaced during the war in Darfur. The one-day conference
was organized by the 57-nation Organization of The Islamic
Conference and included representatives from the US, European
nations, UN agencies and aid groups.
(AP, 3/21/10)(AP, 3/22/10)
2010 Mar 24, Egyptian police
arrested 22 people suspected of involvement in smuggling goods into
the Gaza Strip as part of major crackdown.
(AFP, 3/26/10)
2010 Mar 26, Egyptian police
said they arrested 45 suspected smugglers over the past three days
in an intensified crackdown on the supply line to Gaza by way of
hundreds of cross-border tunnels. Among the suspects was a man
accused of trying to deliver $242,000 in Egyptian pounds and US
dollars to Hamas in Gaza.
(AP, 3/27/10)
2010 Apr 2, In Egypt former UN
nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei issued a public call for
change in defiance of an emergency law banning gatherings critical
of the authorities.
(Reuters, 4/2/10)
2010 Apr 3, In Egypt police
arrested Ahmed Mahanna, owner of Dawin publishing, and confiscated
copies of "ElBaradei and the Dream of a Green Revolution," a book
calling for political change and lauding the former head of the UN
nuclear agency, Mohammed ElBaradei.
(AP, 4/4/10)
2010 Apr 6, Egyptian police
beat and dragged off protesters to disperse a gathering of a few
dozen in downtown Cairo calling for constitutional reforms and
fairer presidential elections. The next day Egypt's prosecutor
general ordered the release of all the protesters arrested during
the demonstration.
(AP, 4/6/10)(AP, 4/7/10)
2010 Apr 10, Kuwait deported
back to Egypt at least 21 supporters of leading pro-reform Egyptian
activist and former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, a
day after arresting them. Some 20 more Egyptians were still being
detained in Kuwait.
(AFP, 4/10/10)(AP, 4/11/10)
2010 Apr 12, An Egyptian
activist said Mohammed ElBaradei, emerging opposition leader and
former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, has called for a
boycott of the upcoming elections. ElBaradei has turned his focus to
promoting electoral reforms and constitutional amendments that would
allow a credible rival candidate to run in next year's presidential
election.
(AP, 4/12/10)
2010 Apr 14, Egypt's state news
agency reported that 10 African nations have failed to conclude a
long delayed new agreement for sharing water from the Nile and will
call for closer cooperation instead.
(AP, 4/14/10)
2010 Apr 20, Ethiopia said that
it would go ahead with a new deal with six other countries on
sharing the waters of the Nile and accused Egypt of "dragging its
feet" on a more equitable treaty.
(AFP, 4/20/10)
2010 Apr 21, Egypt charged five
leading members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, including a Saudi,
Awadh al-Qarani, with money laundering and raising funds abroad, in
the latest government effort targeting the country's largest
opposition movement.
(AP, 4/21/10)(AP, 4/26/10)
2010 Apr 28, An Egyptian court
convicted 26 men of spying for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah
and plotting attacks in Egypt, and gave them prison sentences
ranging from six months to life. 3 of the defendants, including
leader Mohammad Qiblan, were convicted in absentia. A Hamas security
official in charge of the tunnel area along the border said
Egyptians had filled a passage with some type of crowd dispersal gas
killing four Palestinians. The next day Egypt denied the charges
saying fires sparked by such explosions could use up all the oxygen
in the tunnel and people caught inside could suffocate.
(AP, 4/28/10)(AP, 4/29/10)(SFC, 4/28/10, p.A3)
2010 May 2, Egyptian police
shot dead two African migrants in separate incidents near the border
with Israel.
(AFP, 5/2/10)
2010 May 3, In Egypt police
used batons and splintered wooden sticks to beat several protesters
from a crowd of about 400 people, mostly from opposition groups and
social movements, that turned out near the government headquarters
in downtown Cairo.
(Reuters, 5/3/10)
2010 May 3, Egypt's oil
ministry said it has signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing
with two Chinese companies to build a $2 billion refinery that would
be its largest such plant.
(AP, 5/3/10)
2010 May 3, The leaders of
Israel and Egypt met to discuss the renewal of the Middle East peace
process ahead of US-backed indirect negotiations between the
Palestinians and the Jewish state.
(AP, 5/3/10)
2010 May 8, It was reported
that Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed has sold luxury London
department store Harrods to Qatar Holding, the Gulf royal family's
investment arm.
(AFP, 5/8/10)
2010 May 11, Egypt's government
called for a two-year extension of the country's controversial
emergency law but claimed its use would now be limited. Human rights
activists dismissed the changes and warned the law would continue to
be used to suppress dissent.
(AP, 5/11/10)
2010 May 11, Mohamed Ibrahim,
an Egyptian-American university botany professor teaching in the
United States, was arrested at Cairo airport after arriving on a
direct flight from New York carrying two pistols, 250 bullets, two
swords and 11 knives in his luggage.
(Reuters, 5/12/10)
2010 May 14, Four African
countries (Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda) signed a new treaty
on the equitable sharing of the Nile waters despite strong
opposition from Egypt and Sudan, who have the lion's share of the
river waters. The new agreement, the Nile Basin Cooperative
Framework, is to replace a 1959 accord between Egypt and Sudan that
gives them control of more than 90 percent of the water flow.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit warned at the weekend
that Cairo's water rights were a "red line" and threatened legal
action if a partial deal is reached.
(AFP, 5/14/10)
2010 May 16, Egyptian police
shot and killed a Sudanese migrant as he attempted to cross the
border illegally into neighboring Israel.
(AFP, 5/16/10)
2010 May 23, Pakistani Foreign
Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that his country plans to boost
trade with Egypt, during a visit to Cairo where he met with
President Hosni Mubarak.
(AFP, 5/23/10)
2010 Jun 1, Egyptians elected
members of parliament's upper house, in a poll marked by widespread
voter apathy, charges of irregularities and a clash in which three
policemen were wounded. Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party
scored an overwhelming victory in upper house elections amid
accusations of irregularities and a low voter turnout.
(AFP, 6/1/10)(AFP, 6/3/10)
2010 Jun 1, Pro-Palestinian
activists sent another boat to challenge Israel's blockade of the
Gaza Strip. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the opening of
the Rafah border crossing to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza
Strip.
(AP, 6/1/10)
2010 Jun 5, A Cairo court
upheld a ruling to strip Egyptian men married to Israeli women of
their citizenship in a case that has highlighted national sentiment
towards Israel.
(AFP, 6/5/10)
2010 Jun 6, Egyptian police
beat a young businessman (28) to death on an Alexandria street after
he posted a video on the Internet of officers sharing the spoils
from a drug bust among themselves. Images of Khaled Said's broken
body were soon posted on social networking websites, where activists
dubbed him the "martyr of the emergency law." On June 23 Egypt's
state prosecutor said that a second autopsy confirmed that Said had
in fact died of asphyxia after swallowing a bag of marijuana.
Prosecutors later charged plainclothes policemen Mahmoud Salah and
Awad Ismail Suleiman with illegal arrest and harsh treatment,
falling far short of demands by the victim's family for a murder
charge. In 2011 a medical panel said that Said died of asphyxiation
after he was beaten, and a bag had been placed in his mouth after he
fell unconscious. In October, 2011, two policemen accused of beating
Khaled Said to death, were convicted and sentenced to seven years in
prison.
(AP, 6/11/10)(AFP, 6/23/10)(AP, 7/27/10)(AFP,
9/25/11)(AP, 10/26/11)
2010 Jun 7, An Egyptian
security official declared the blockade of Gaza a failure and said
his country will keep its border with the Palestinian territory open
indefinitely.
(AP, 6/7/10)
2010 Jun 8, In Egypt Coptic
Pope Shenouda rejected a court ruling that Coptic men could remarry
following divorce, except in cases of separation following adultery,
saying the decision was against the church's principles and
reflected interference in its affairs.
(Reuters, 6/8/10)
2010 Jun 10, Egypt launched a
campaign to enforce a smoking ban in the scenic seaside city of
Alexandria, no small feat in a nation where four out of 10 men use
tobacco.
(AP, 6/10/10)
2010 Jun 13, Egyptian security
forces in Cairo hit protesters and knocked some to the ground before
rounding dozens up at a demonstration against a police beating that
killed a young man a week ago.
(AP, 6/13/10)
2010 Jun 16, Israeli officials
they will significantly ease its bruising land blockade of the Gaza
Strip, in an effort to blunt the widespread international criticism
that has followed a deadly Israeli commando raid on a
blockade-busting flotilla. Israeli troops shot and killed a drug
smuggler on the Egyptian border. Egypt said he was among a group of
seven armed men trying to bring drugs into Israel.
(AP, 6/16/10)
2010 Jun 20, Egyptian security
forces beat and arrested dozens of protesters when they attempted to
march through downtown Cairo in the latest demonstration against
police brutality following the June 6 death of a young man.
(AP, 6/21/10)
2010 Jun 21, Egypt's government
confirmed that oil has leaked from one of several rigs operating off
the coast of the Red Sea resort Hurghada and has polluted about 100
miles (160 km) of coastline including tourist beach resorts. The
government has kept quiet about the leak for days.
(AP, 6/21/10)
2010 Jun 23, In Cairo Abdel
Hamid Musa Abu Aqrab, a top Egyptian militant leader, was sentenced
to death for killing two police commanders in 1992 and 1993 and for
organizing bomb attacks against security officials and tourists in
the 1990s. Aqrab headed the military wing of Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya
group. The group was also blamed for a failed 1995 assassination
attempt on President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa. A judge at the
state security court referred Abu Aqrab's case for confirmation by
Egypt's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, in a procedural
step that almost always confirms the death penalty.
(Reuters, 6/23/10)
2010 Jun 25, In Egypt several
thousand people, joined by top opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei,
protested what they call authorities' systematic use torture in the
largest demonstration yet sparked by the alleged beating death of a
young man by police this month.
(AP, 6/25/10)
2010 Jun 26, Egyptian security
officials said that Israeli soldiers shot dead a suspected Egyptian
drug smuggler after he illegally crossed the border with the Jewish
state.
(AFP, 6/26/10)
2010 Jun 27, A new UN report
cited political repression as one of the main forces preventing
Egyptian youths, who make up a quarter of the population, from
participating in the country's development.
(AP, 6/27/10)
2010 Jun 27, In Ethiopia water
minister of Egypt and Sudan said they will not be forced into
signing a new deal on the sharing of the Nile's waters. Ethiopia,
Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda inked a framework in March, 2010,
replacing a 1929 colonial-era treaty between Egypt and Britain which
gave Cairo veto power over upstream projects. A two-day meeting
concluded of regional water ministers concluded with Egypt handing
over the body's chair to Ethiopia.
(AFP, 6/27/10)
2010 Jul 5, In Cairo, Egypt,
religious liberal Nasr Abu Zayd (66), a Koranic scholar declared an
apostate for challenging mainstream Muslim views on the holy book,
died.
(Reuters, 7/5/10)
2010 Jul 6, In Egypt Mahmoud
Taha Swellem, a disgruntled employee of an Egyptian construction
company, opened fire on his colleagues, killing six and wounding 16,
before surrendering. Swellem, a driver, pulled over the company bus
in western Cairo, whipped out an assault rifle and showered his
passengers with bullets.
(AP, 7/6/10)(SFC, 7/7/10, p.A2)
2010 Jul 13, The Egyptian
government released a Bedouin activist and blogger after three years
of imprisonment as part of an effort to ease tensions in the Sinai
Peninsula. Authorities detained Mosaad Suleiman Abu Fagr (41) in
December 2007 and accused him of inciting Bedouins to protest
against government discrimination.
(AP, 7/14/10)
2010 Jul 14, A ship sent by a
Libyan charity to break Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip
changed course in the Mediterranean Sea and docked at an Egyptian
port after agreeing to deliver its cargo of aid through Egyptian
territory.
(AP, 7/14/10)(AP, 7/15/10)
2010 Jul 19, Egypt signed a
significant agreement with BP to develop 2 offshore gas fields in
the largest deal for the beleaguered oil giant since its drilling
rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
(AFP, 7/19/10)
2010 Jul 21, The leaders of
Egypt and Turkey met in Cairo to discuss stuttering international
efforts to coax Israeli and Palestinian leaders back to the
negotiating table.
(AFP, 7/21/10)
2010 Jul 22, Egyptian security
officials said smugglers who sneak consumer goods, cash and weapons
into the blockaded Gaza Strip have cut hundreds of holes in an
underground steel wall Egypt is building along the border to try to
stop them.
(AP, 7/22/10)
2010 Jul 27, In Egypt armed and
masked Bedouin tribe members hijacked a bus from an industrial area
in the central Sinai peninsula. The bus was carrying 30 employees of
Sinai Cement who were dumped before the hijackers fled with the
vehicle.
(Reuters, 7/27/10)
2010 Aug 2, A string of
rockets was fired toward the Israeli resort city Eilat, and one hit
in neighboring Jordan, killing one person and wounding four. On Aug
3 Jordan said it has evidence that the rocket attack originated from
neighboring Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. After days of denials an
Egyptian official said the deadly rocket attacks were carried out by
the militant Palestinian Hamas group operating from Egypt.
(AP, 8/2/10)(AP, 8/3/10)(AP, 8/4/10)
2010 Aug 12, Egypt's
religious ministry launched an ambitious project to, neighborhood by
neighborhood, unify the timing and sound of the Islamic call to
prayer across Cairo, a sprawling city of 18 million. System glitches
and a communication breakdown delayed it by a day.
(AP, 8/12/10)
2010 Aug 13, In Egypt a
gunbattle between Eritrean migrants and Bedouin traffickers
demanding more money to take them to Israel left at least four
people in the Sinai Desert. 2 others were shot dead by Egyptian
police barring them from illegally crossing the border. A woman died
of her injuries on Aug 15. Police later said as many as 10 migrants
were killed and that dozens more could be lost in the desert. Two of
those who escaped were killed by Egyptian guards at the Israeli
border.
(AP, 8/14/10)(Reuters, 8/15/10)(AP, 8/15/10)
2010 Aug 18, Crowds of
Egyptians angered by daily power outages at the height of a
scorching summer blocked a major highway south of Cairo with
barricades of burning tires.
(AP, 8/18/10)
2010 Aug 21, In Egypt a Vincent
Van Gogh painting, identified as "Poppy Flowers," was cut out of its
frame in the Mahmoud Khalil museum after it opened in the morning.
The painting was valued at 55 million dollars. The painting of the
yellow and red flowers in a vase had been stolen before, in 1977,
but was found the following year. None of the alarms and only seven
out of 43 surveillance cameras were working at the Cairo museum
where the painting was stolen. In October a court convicted 11
officials from the Culture Ministry of gross negligence and
sentenced them to 3 years in prison, pending an appeal.
(AFP, 8/21/10)(AP, 8/22/10)(SFC, 10/13/10, p.A2)
2010 Aug 25, Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak announced plans for the government to start building
the country's first nuclear power plant at a site on the
Mediterranean coast, ending a year of controversy.
(AP, 8/25/10)
2010 Aug 28, An Egyptian
security official said police in the Sinai desert have discovered
two large caches of weapons that were to be smuggled to Gaza. The
find included anti-aircraft weaponry.
(AP, 8/28/10)
2010 Sep 9, In Egypt 11 police
recruits died and another four were injured when flames engulfed
their barracks in a Cairo suburb.
(AFP, 9/9/10)
2010 Sep 11, In southern Egypt
a barge leaked some 100 tons of gasoline into the Nile River.
Captain Yasser Hussein told police that low water levels caused the
boat to tilt and partially submerge allowing the fuel to leak.
(AP, 9/12/10)
2010 Sep 12, An Egyptian
security official said 16 Russians and Moldovans, who killed an
Egyptian smuggler, have handed themselves over to police. Some of
the would-be migrants to Israel attacked and fatally stabbed
smuggler Massud Salim (31) after he attempted to rape one of the
female members of the group.
(AFP, 9/12/10)
2010 Sep 18, Egyptian police
killed a Sudanese man and wounded three others when they opened fire
on would-be migrants trying to enter Israel.
(AFP, 9/18/10)
2010 Sep 19, Egyptians
officials said Mohammed Dababish, a top Hamas security official, was
arrested at Cairo airport for using falsified travel documents.
(AP, 9/19/10)
2010 Sep 22, In Egypt Coptic
Bishop Bishoy said certain verses in the Quran were inserted after
Muhammad's death by one of his successors. Muslim belief says the
prophet received all verses through the archangel Gabriel during his
lifetime. On Sep 25 Egypt's top Islamic institution criticized
Bishoy, warning that the statement threatened Egypt's national
unity. On Sep 26 Egypt's Coptic Christian leader Pope Shenouda III
apologized in a television interview to any Muslims who were
offended by Bishoy’s comments.
(AP, 9/26/10)(AP, 9/26/10)
2010 Sep 30, Egyptian telecom
giant Orascom Telecom said its Algeria unit has been hit with a $230
million preliminary tax reassessment, marking a new and increasingly
acrimonious chapter in the company's relations with the North
African nation.
(AP, 9/30/10)
2010 Oct 3, Egypt backed the
Palestinians' refusal to negotiate with Israel as long as it
continues to build West Bank settlements, even as officials urged
for continued diplomacy to salvage the month-old talks.
(AP, 10/3/10)
2010 Oct 3, Egyptian and
Iranian airlines agreed to resume direct flights between the two
countries for the first time since 1979.
(SFC, 10/4/10, p.A2)
2010 Oct 12, Egypt's Muslim
Brotherhood accused the government of cracking down ahead of
November's parliamentary election. Police had arrested at least 28
members of the Islamist group over the last 2 days.
(AFP, 10/12/10)
2010 Oct 4, Russia's VimpelCom
Ltd and Weather Investments, the investment company headed by
Egyptian telecom mogul Naguib Sawiris, said they are merging to form
what would become the world's fifth largest mobile telecommunication
service provider in a deal valued at over $6.5 billion. Under the
agreement VimpelCom, which is Russia's second largest mobile phone
service provider, would own via Weather 51.7 percent of Egypt's
Orascom Telecom and all of Italy's Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA, both
of which are headed by Sawiris.
(AP, 10/5/10)
2010 Oct 5, A leading
independent Egyptian daily, Al-Dustour, announced that it has fired
chief editor Ibrahim Eissa, an outspoken government critic, amid
what journalists are calling a state crackdown on the media ahead of
parliamentary elections.
(AP, 10/5/10)
2010 Oct 12, Egypt's Muslim
Brotherhood accused the government of cracking down ahead of
November's parliamentary election. Police had arrested at least 28
members of the Islamist group over the last 2 days. An Egyptian
regulatory body set new rules for companies sending text messages to
multiple mobile phones, a step that activists say will stifle
efforts to mobilize voters before the elections, which are to be
held in the last week of November.
(AFP, 10/12/10)(AP, 10/13/10)
2010 Oct 13, Egypt was reported
to have handed down new media requirements that will effectively put
all live broadcasts, including TV talk shows and news bulletins,
under the control of state television. Several private broadcast
service providers said that they received letters from the telecom
regulator ending their standing permits to offer live broadcast
feeds from Egypt starting from Oct 15.
(AP, 10/14/10)
2010 Oct 19, Egypt's main
satellite operator said it shut down 12 private television channels
on grounds of violating broadcasting licenses. Egypt's largest
opposition Islamist group said that police detained 164 Muslim
Brotherhood members, most of them election campaign workers, in a
spate of raids across the country.
(AP, 10/19/10)
2010 Oct 19, Egyptian and South
African leaders met in Cairo for talks aimed at strengthening
economic ties between the two African powerhouses and working
towards a free trade deal for the continent.
(AFP, 10/19/10)
2010 Oct 23, An Egyptian court
issued a final ruling against the permanent presence of police on
university campuses, saying they restricted academic independence.
(AFP, 10/24/10)
2010 Oct 25, In Egypt a planned
website, Harrasmap, will allow women to quickly report instances of
harassment via text message or Twitter, to be loaded onto a digital
map of Cairo to show hotspots and areas that might be dangerous for
women to walk alone. The data will be shared with activists, media,
and police. Cairo's online map will run off a platform called
Ushahidi, an open-source software first developed to report violence
in Kenya after 2008 elections there. Since then test models of it
have run in South Africa, Gaza and India.
(AP, 10/25/10)
2010 Oct 26, Egyptian security
forces detained 70 campaign workers from the opposition Muslim
Brotherhood while hanging election posters in the Mediterranean city
of Alexandria ahead of next month's parliamentary vote.
(AFP, 10/26/10)
2010 Oct 29, An Egyptian
security official said a man from Sudan's Darfur region was shot
dead trying to sneak across the border into Israel. 2 others were
taken into custody as smugglers and others scattered into the
desert.
(AP, 10/30/10)
2010 Oct 31, In Iraq an al
Qaeda attack left 68 people dead including 46 hostages, 7 police and
5 attackers, at the Sayidat al-Nejat Syriac Christian cathedral (Our
Lady of Salvation) in Baghdad. The attack ended with police storming
the church to free more than 100 hostages. Officials said most of
the casualties were killed or wounded when the security forces
raided the place and that the attack was aimed at driving the
Christian minority out of the country. Al-Qaida cited the cases of 2
Egyptian women, wives of Coptic priests, who had converted to Islam
in order to get away from their abusive husbands.
(Reuters, 11/1/10)(AFP, 11/1/10)(SFC, 12/27/10,
p.A2)
2010 Nov 1, Egypt’s Information
Minister Annas el-Fiqi ordered all companies providing the service
or television networks with uplinks to reapply for permits. The
measure will affect about a dozen uplink providers and TV stations.
Providers have complained it is aimed at controlling live TV
broadcasts such as political talk-shows.
(AP, 11/1/10)
2010 Nov 4, Egypt and the World
Bank signed two new loan agreements worth 820 million dollars, in
the largest financing provided by the institution to the country's
electricity sector.
(AFP, 11/4/10)
2010 Nov 7, In Egypt Ahmed
Shabaan (19) went missing. His body was recovered in a canal four
days later. The family of Shabaan said police officers beat him at
the Sidi Gaber police station in Alexandria. On Nov 16 Amnesty
International called on Egyptian authorities to investigate
allegations that police tortured the young man to death.
(AP, 11/16/10)
2010 Nov 11, In Egypt Muslim
Brotherhood lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud said 31 of the group's
members were detained in the port city of Ismailia over the last 24
hours, including the three candidates for the district.
(AFP, 11/11/10)
2010 Nov 11, Israel's
government told its citizens to immediately leave Egypt's Sinai
desert because of a kidnapping threat from the Army of Islam. A day
later Egyptian security officials said they had and confiscated
explosives this week and arrested 20-25 members of a cell planning
to attack Israelis and international forces in Sinai.
(AFP, 11/11/10)(AFP, 11/12/10)
2010 Nov 16, In Egypt a senior
Brotherhood official said Egyptian police have rounded up about 600
Muslim Brotherhood members ahead of this month's parliamentary
election and some 250 are still detained. In southern Egypt Muslims
set fire overnight to at least 10 houses belonging to Coptic
Christians in the village of al-Nawahid over rumors that a Christian
resident had an affair with a Muslim girl. Coptic Christians make up
about 10% of Egypt's population of 80 million.
(AFP, 11/16/10)(AP, 11/16/10)
2010 Nov 17, In Egypt a
security official said a teenage bride (19) has been beaten and
stabbed to death by brothers and an uncle after she married against
the family's wishes. The trio murdered the woman after tracking her
down to the apartment she shared with her husband, a poor farmer, in
Minya province. The men were subsequently arrested.
(AFP, 11/17/10)
2010 Nov 19, In Egypt at least
100 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood were arrested
across the country less than 10 days ahead of legislative elections.
(AFP, 11/19/10)
2010 Nov 20, In Egypt a tour
bus lost control and flipped over several times on a winding
mountain road near a Red Sea resort, killing eight tourists.
(AP, 11/20/10)
2010 Nov 22, Egypt's Orascom
Telecom said it is selling its entire 50% stake in its Tunisian
subsidiary to Qatar Telecom in a deal valued at $1.2 billion.
(AP, 11/22/10)
2010 Nov 24, In Egypt hundreds
of Christians smashed cars and windows in Cairo and clashed with
police in protests over the halt in the construction of a church
that left one person dead in Giza's Omraniya neighborhood. A 2nd
person died of injuries on Nov 26. The Coptic community said
authorities in Egypt are reluctant to approve permits to build
churches. Egypt’s attorney general decided to hold the 156
protesters for 15 days on suspicion of inciting the riots.
(AP, 11/24/10)(Reuters, 11/25/10)(AP, 11/26/10)
2010 Nov 26, An Egyptian
judicial source said courts have ordered the cancellation of Nov 28
parliamentary elections in 24 districts after orders to reinstate
opposition and independent candidates were ignored. The Alexandria
criminal court sentenced 11 Islamists to two years in prison for
election campaigning for the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
(AFP, 11/26/10)(Reuters, 11/26/10)(AFP, 11/27/10)
2010 Nov 28, Egypt held
elections for a new, 508-seat parliament. The election was marred by
scattered violence, reports of vote buying and the ejection of many
independent monitors from polling stations.
(AP, 11/28/10)
2010 Nov 29, In Egypt
demonstrations and riots swept across the country protesting alleged
fraud by the ruling party in parliamentary elections. The opposition
said its candidates had been heavily defeated. Rights groups
estimated turnout for the elections was only 10 to 15 percent.
(AP, 11/29/10)
2010 Nov 30, Egypt’s official
election results were released. The ruling National Democratic Party
wiped out its Islamist opponents from parliament in the first round
of a disputed election. The leading opposition group dismissed
the results of parliamentary elections as "invalid," but
nevertheless said its candidates would participate in weekend
runoffs.
(AP, 11/30/10)(AFP, 11/30/10)
2010 Dec 1, In Egypt a top
official from the opposition Muslim Brotherhood said the group is
pulling out of parliamentary elections, citing widespread fraud.
(AP, 12/1/10)
2010 Dec 2, Egypt's second
biggest opposition bloc said it would refuse to take up the two
seats it won in a parliamentary election it said was faked, in
addition to refusing to take part in a second round.
(Reuters, 12/2/10)
2010 Dec 5, Egypt held runoff
parliamentary elections. President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party won
a sweeping victory after the two main opposition groups decided to
boycott in protest of alleged fraud in the first round. Mubarak's
party won 420 of 508 seats in parliamentary polls.
(AP, 12/5/10)(AP, 12/6/10)(AFP, 12/6/10)
2010 Dec 5, A shark tore the
arm off an elderly German tourist at an Egyptian Red Sea resort,
killing her almost immediately, only days after sharks badly mauled
four other European tourists in the waters.
(AP, 12/5/10)
2010 Dec 6, A coalition of
Egyptian rights groups urged President Hosni Mubarak to nullify the
results of the country's parliamentary election because of
widespread vote rigging. Election monitors charged that Egypt's
polls were marked by widespread fraud, as Mubarak's party prepared
to take almost 100-percent control of parliament.
(AP, 12/6/10)(AFP, 12/6/10)
2010 Dec 11, Egypt’s minister
of electricity said his country plans to build its first nuclear
power plant and have it operational by 2019.
(SSFC, 12/12/10, p.A10)
2010 Dec 12, Hundreds of
Egyptian activists and members of opposition groups protested
against what they said were violations during a parliamentary vote
that handed the ruling party a huge victory last month.
(Reuters, 12/12/10)
2010 Dec 12, Heavy rain and
fierce winds pummeled countries across the Middle East, killing a
woman in Lebanon, sinking a ship off Israel's coast and prompting
Egypt to close its largest Mediterranean port. A factory collapsed
in Alexandria. 13 bodies were later pulled from the rubble and at
least 15 more workers were believed trapped.
(AP, 12/12/10)(AFP, 12/12/10)(SFC, 12/14/10,
p.A2)
2010 Dec 13, Egyptian officials
said rain and sandstorms that battered the country at the weekend
killed at least 31 people, adding the toll could rise as rescue
workers were still sifting through two collapsed buildings.
(AFP, 12/13/10)
2010 Dec 20, An Egyptian State
Security prosecutor said that authorities have charged a local
businessman, Tarek Hassan, and two Israelis for recruiting agents in
Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon to spy for Israeli intelligence.
(AP, 12/20/10)
2010 Dec 21, The leaders of
Egypt and Libya were in Khartoum for talks with Sudanese leaders on
the future of Africa's largest country ahead of a referendum that's
likely to break it into two.
(AP, 12/21/10)
2010 Dec 26, Egypt said it has
adopted a stimulus plan with the aim of injecting 10-20 billion
pounds ($1.72-3.44 billion) into the economy in the 2011 calendar
year. Gamal Mubarak, the son of Pres. Mubarak, said he will press
ahead with bold new economic reforms that will be "more ambitious
and more daring" than those that have come before, while still
vowing to protect the nation's poor from any fallout.
(Reuters, 12/26/10)(AP, 12/26/10)
2010 Dec 26, In southern Egypt
a tour bus slammed into a truck, killing eight Americans and
injuring 21 others in the latest fatal crash involving tourists.
(AP, 12/26/10)
2010 Dec 27, An Egyptian
Ministry of Health official said a resurgent H1N1 swine flu virus
has infected 1,172 people in Egypt and killed 56 since October 8.
(Reuters, 12/28/10)
2010 Dec 29, In Egypt flood
waters caused by torrential rains earlier this week swept a bus
packed with 77 schoolgirls and their teachers off a highway in the
country's south, ending in the tragic death of 15 people, most of
them students. The last two survivors were pulled out of the waters
in the early hours Dec 31.
(AP, 12/31/10)
2010 Tarek Osman authored
“Egypt on the Brink: From Nasser to Mubarek.”
(Econ, 11/13/10, p.102)
2010 Egypt’s population
numbered about 85 million, roughly a quarter of all Arabs.
(Econ, 10/16/10, p.55)(Econ, 8/13/11, p.63)
2011 Jan 1, In Egypt a powerful
bomb, possibly from a suicide attacker, exploded in front of a
Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as a crowd of worshippers
emerged from a New Years Mass, killing at least 21 people and
wounding nearly 80. The Gaza-based Army of Islam was later said to
be behind the planning and execution of the attack. The attack
sparked three days of Christian rioting in Cairo and several other
cities.
(AP, 1/1/10)(Reuters, 1/4/11)(AP, 1/23/11)
2011 Jan 10, Egypt said it aims
to generate 12% of its electricity needs by wind power and will
initiate wind-farm projects with a capacity of 2,690 megawatts over
the next five years.
(AFP, 1/10/11)
2011 Jan 11, In Egypt an
off-duty Muslim police officer, Amer Ashour Abdel Zaher, opened fire
on a train, killing one Christian (71) and wounding 5 others. Zaher
was arrested after he fled the scene.
(SFC, 1/12/11, p.A2)
2011 Jan 12, In Egypt hundreds
of Christians demonstrated near a Cairo slum, blocking a major
highway and clashing with police following the Jan 11 shooting death
of a Christian man.
(AP, 1/12/11)
2011 Jan 17, Two men set
themselves on fire in Egypt and Mauritania, raising to three the
number of self-immolation attempts apparently influenced by a
similar action in Tunisia that helped trigger a popular uprising. In
Cairo Abdou Abdel-Monaam Hamadah (48) was taken to the hospital with
light burns. In Nouakchott Yacoub Ould Dahoud (43) torched himself
in his car and was rushed to a hospital.
(AP, 1/17/11)
2011 Jan 18, In Egypt Ahmed
Hashem el-Sayed (25), an unemployed man, died in a hospital after
setting himself on fire the previous evening in the port city of
Alexandria. Two men attempted to set themselves on fire in downtown
Cairo. Both survived.
(AP, 1/18/11)
2011 Jan 20, Egypt's highest
Islamic authority, al-Azhar, said it was freezing all dialogue with
the Roman Catholic Church over what it called Pope Benedict's
repeated insults toward Islam.
(Reuters, 1/20/11)
2011 Jan 23, North Korea's
leader Kim Jong Il held talks with an Orascom Telecom Executive
Naguib Sawiris, an Egyptian telecoms magnate. In 2008 Orascom set up
and began operating an advanced mobile phone network in North Korea.
(AP, 1/24/11)
2011 Jan 25, In Egypt thousands
of anti-government protesters, some hurling rocks and climbing atop
an armored police truck, clashed with riot police in the center of
Cairo in a Tunisia-inspired demonstration to demand the end of Hosni
Mubarak's nearly 30 years in power. A loose coalition had issued a
Facebook call for a “day of rage” to coincide with Police Day,
recently declared a national holiday. The interior minister said
authorities have arrested 19 Arabs suspected of having links to
al-Qaida en route to Iraq. Habib el-Adly said the suspects were
taken into custody before Jan 1.
(AP, 1/25/11)(Econ, 1/29/11, p.43)
2011 Jan 26, Thousands of
Egyptians defied a ban on protests by returning to Egypt's streets
and calling for President Hosni Mubarak to leave office, and some
scuffled with police. Police quickly moved in and used tear gas and
beatings to disperse the demonstrators. The crackdown saw hundreds
detained and left six people dead over two days.
(AP, 1/26/11)(AFP, 1/27/11)
2011 Jan 27, Egyptian police
fought protesters in two cities in eastern Egypt and Nobel Peace
Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei headed back to the country to join
demonstrators trying to oust President Hosni Mubarak. Egyptians
torched a police post in the eastern city of Suez over the killing
of protesters in anti-government demonstrations earlier in the week.
Activists outraged over unemployment and repression kept up the
momentum of the largest anti-government protests in years, taking to
the streets for the third straight day. Mubarak's ruling party said
it is ready to open a dialogue. Egypt's stock exchange suspended
trading temporarily after a sharp drop, amid the largest
anti-government protests in the country in three decades.
(Reuters, 1/27/11)(AP, 1/27/11)(AFP, 1/26/11)
2011 Jan 28, Egyptian security
officials said police have put Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed
ElBaradei under house arrest. Dozens of people were wounded as
police and demonstrators fought running battles on the streets of
Cairo in a fourth day of unprecedented protests by tens of thousands
of Egyptians demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's
three-decade rule. Looters broke into the Egyptian Museum during
anti-government protests late in the day and destroyed two Pharaonic
mummies. The “Friday of Rage” witnessed a heavy police crackdown on
tens of thousands of protesters. Policeman Mohammed Abdel-Moneim was
later sentenced to death for shooting 20 protesters. In 2012 his
death sentence was overturned.
(AP, 1/28/11)(Reuters, 1/28/11)(Reuters,
1/29/11)(AP, 3/7/12)
2011 Jan 28, British-based
Vodafone said the Egyptian government has ordered all mobile
telephone operators to suspend services "in selected areas" of the
country. Egypt's four primary Internet providers, Link Egypt,
Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr, and all went dark at
12:34 a.m.
(AP, 1/28/11)
2011 Jan 29, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak (82) named his intelligence chief and close confidant
Omar Suleiman as vice president, his first VP since coming to power
nearly 30 years ago. Tens of thousands of Egyptians snubbed
Mubarak's promised reforms and took their deadly revolt to the
streets for a fifth day. An enraged mob killed three police in the
Sinai town of Rafah, bringing the overall death toll from the
nationwide protests to at least 48 since Jan 25. Two Cairo mobile
phone networks came back on line, a day after all Egyptian operators
were told to cut services. State TV said wealthy business Ahmed Ezz,
a close confidante of the president's son and one of the targets for
protester criticism, has resigned from ruling party. The military
declined to block the latest rally and soldiers showed solidarity
with demonstrators.
(AP, 1/29/11)(AFP, 1/29/11)(Reuters,
1/29/11)(SSFC, 1/30/11, p.A5)
2011 Jan 29, Saudi Arabia's
stock exchange tumbled by over 6 percent, setting the stage for
other regional markets to drop as concerns mounted about the violent
protests in Egypt.
(AP, 1/29/11)
2011 Jan 30, Egyptian fighter
jets swooped low over Cairo in what appeared to be an attempt by the
military to show its control of a city beset by looting, armed
robbery and anti-government protests. Gangs of armed men attacked at
least four jails before dawn, helping to free hundreds of Muslim
militants and thousands of other inmates. The official death toll
from five days of growing crisis stood at 74, with thousands
injured. Al-Jazeera said that Egyptian authorities ordered the
closure of its Cairo news hub.
(AP, 1/30/11)
2011 Jan 30, Israeli officials
agreed to allow Egypt to move several hundred troops into the Sinai
peninsula for the first time since the countries reached peace three
decades ago.
(AP, 1/31/11)
2011 Jan 31, Egypt’s Pres.
Mubarak named a new government, but the lineup dominated by regime
stalwarts was greeted with scorn by protesters camped out for the
fourth day in the capital's central Tahrir Square. A coalition of
opposition groups called for a million people to take to Cairo's
streets Feb 1 to demand the removal of Mubarak. The official
death toll from the crisis stood at 97, with thousands injured, but
reports from witnesses across the country indicated the actual toll
was far higher. Mubarak appointed General Murad Mowafi, former north
Sinai governor, as head of Egyptian intelligence. The military
promised on state TV late in the day that it would not fire on
protesters answering a call for a million people to demonstrate the
next day. Vice President Omar Suleiman, appointed by Mubarak only
two days earlier in what could be a succession plan, went on state
TV to announce the offer of a dialogue with "political forces" for
constitutional and legislative reforms.
(AP, 1/31/11)(AFP, 1/31/11)(AP, 2/1/11)
2011 Feb 1, In Egypt more than
a quarter-million people flooded Cairo's main square in a stunning
and jubilant array of young and old, urban poor and middle class
professionals, mounting by far the largest protest yet in a week of
unrelenting demands for President Hosni Mubarak to leave after
nearly 30 years in power. A coalition of opposition groups told
Egypt's government that they would only begin talks with the
military on a transition to democracy once President Hosni Mubarak
stands down. Mubarak went on national television and rejected
demands he step down immediately and said he would serve out the
remaining seven months of his term.
(AP, 2/1/11)(Reuters, 2/1/11)(AP, 2/2/11)
2011 Feb 2, In Egypt several
thousand supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, including some
riding horses and camels and wielding whips, attacked
anti-government protesters as the upheaval took a dangerous new
turn. In scenes of chaos and pitched fighting, the two sides pelted
each other with stones, and protesters dragged attackers off their
horses. Egyptian troops fired warning shots in a bid to end clashes
with regime supporters and the protesters reacted jubilantly. The
government said three people were killed. The government began to
reinstate Internet service after days of an unprecedented cutoff,
and state TV announced the easing of a nighttime curfew. As many as
11 people were killed and over 1,000 wounded.
(AP, 2/2/11)(AFP, 2/2/11)(Econ, 2/12/11, p.28)
2011 Feb 3, Egypt's embattled
government announced a slew of measures aimed at defusing a bloody
revolt and taking back the initiative, as protesters battled
pro-regime militants for control of Cairo's Tahrir Square and
spurned an offer for talks. Egypt’s military rounded up journalists
after they came under attack from supporters of President Hosni
Mubarak who have been assaulting anti-government protesters. An army
tank moved against supporters of Mubarak as they hurled rocks at
anti-Mubarak protesters in central Cairo, prompting cheers from
demonstrators battered by overnight fighting that killed six. State
news agency MENA said Egypt's public prosecutor has issued a travel
ban on some ministers from the former government and at least one
former ruling party official, and froze their bank accounts.
Vodafone accused the Egyptian authorities of using its network to
send pro-government text messages to its subscribers, without clear
attribution.
(AFP, 2/3/11)(AP, 2/3/11)(Reuters, 2/3/11)
2011 Feb 4, In Egypt protesters
demanding President Hosni Mubarak's ouster packed Cairo's central
square by the tens of thousands, waving flags, singing the national
anthem and cheering, appearing undaunted and determined after their
camp withstood two days of street battles with regime supporters
trying to dislodge them. At least 8 people have been killed in the
fighting and more than 800 injured. , Finance Minister Samir Radwan
said Egypt has created a 5 billion Egyptian pound ($854 million)
fund to compensate people for property damaged during the political
protests that have rocked the country. An Egyptian reporter who was
shot during clashes a week ago died of his wounds.
(AP, 2/4/11)(Reuters, 2/4/11)
2011 Feb 4, The New York Times
reported that US and Egyptian officials were discussing a plan for
Mubarak to turn power over now to a transitional government headed
by Vice President Omar Suleiman.
(AFP, 2/4/11)
2011 Feb 5, Leaders of Egypt's
unprecedented wave of anti-government protests held talks with the
prime minister over ways to ease President Mubarak out of office,
but the government appeared to be digging in its heels. The top
executive committee of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party
(NDP), which includes Mubarak's son Gamal, resigned en masse.
Secretary-general of the ruling party, Safwat el-Sharif, resigned in
a gesture to protesters carrying out a 12-day-old wave of
anti-government demonstrations. It was decided to name Hossam
Badrawi secretary general of the party.
(AP, 2/5/11)(AFP, 2/5/11)
2011 Feb 5, Unknown saboteurs
attacked an Egyptian pipeline supplying gas to Jordan, forcing
authorities to switch off gas supply from a twin pipeline to Israel.
Egypt supplies about 40 percent of Israel's natural gas. The attack
came after Israel expressed concern that its natural gas supplies
from Egypt could be threatened if a new regime takes power in Cairo.
(AFP, 2/5/11)
2011 Feb 6, Egypt's VP Omar
Suleiman met a broad representation of major opposition groups,
including the Muslim Brotherhood, for the first time and agreed to
allow freedom of the press, to release those detained since
anti-government protests began nearly two weeks and ago and to lift
the country's hated emergency laws when security permits.
(AP, 2/6/11)(AFP, 2/6/11)
2011 Feb 7, Egypt's embattled
regime announced a 15% increase in salaries and pensions in the
latest attempt to defuse popular anger amid protests demanding Pres.
Mubarak's ouster. The regime appeared confident in its ability for
the moment to ride out the unprecedented storm of unrest, and
maintain its grip on power, at least until September elections.
Mubarak's new cabinet held its first full meeting since an uprising
started nearly two weeks ago.
(AP, 2/7/11)(Reuters, 2/7/11)
2011 Feb 7, In Egypt Wael
Ghonim (30), a Google Inc. marketing manager, was released from 12
days of detention and gave an emotionally charged television
interview, sobbing at times over those who have been killed. He
dubbed the protests "the revolution of the youth of the Internet."
He was a key organizer of the online campaign that sparked the first
protest on Jan 25.
(AP, 2/8/11)
2011 Feb 8, In Egypt a massive
crowd of anti-government protesters poured into Cairo's Tahrir
Square again, joined for the first time by Wael Ghonim, a young
leader of the campaign the day after he was released from detention.
Egypt's military was not allowing foreign journalists without
credentials to enter Cairo's Tahrir Square, part of what an
international press watchdog called new obstacles in covering the
ongoing crisis. Foreign journalists already with credentials were
allowed into the square.
(AP, 2/8/11)
2011 Feb 9, Egypt's
anti-government activists pushed to expand their protests and sought
to drum up labor unrest as thousands launched strikes at state firms
and offices around the country, in defiance of the vice president's
warning that demonstrations calling for President Hosni Mubarak's
ouster would not be tolerated for much longer.
(AP, 2/9/11)
2011 Feb 10, Egypt’s state
television reported that the state prosecutor has launched a formal
corruption investigation against three former government ministers
and a former ruling party leader. In a late night speech President
Hosni Mubarak handed most of his powers to his vice president but
refused to step down. Shock that Mubarak did not step down turned to
rage the next day, and protests escalated.
(Reuters, 2/10/11)(AP, 2/10/11)(AP, 2/11/11)
2011 Feb 11, Egypt's powerful
military tried to defuse outrage over President Hosni Mubarak's
refusal to step down, assuring it would guarantee promised reforms.
But hundreds of thousands only grew angrier, deluging squares in at
least three major cities and marching on presidential palaces and
the state TV building for a Day of Martyrs. Mubarak flew to the
Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, some 250 miles away from the
turmoil. Mubarak stepped down as Egypt's president following 18 days
of mass protests, handing over to the army and ending three decades
of autocratic rule. Vice President Omar Suleiman named a military
council to run the country's affairs. Cairo erupted in a cacophony
of celebration: fireworks and car horns and gunshots in the air.
Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi (75) took power from Mubarak. CBS
correspondent Lara Logan was beaten and sexually assaulted by a mob
while covering the jubilation in Cairo's Tahrir Square. She was
saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers.
About 23,000 of the nation's 80,000 prisoners escaped during the
18-day uprising that lead to the ouster of President Hosanna
Mubarak.
(AP, 2/11/11)(Reuters, 2/11/11)(AP, 2/12/11)(AP,
2/16/11)(Reuters, 2/16/11)(Econ, 2/12/11, p.28)(AP, 3/11/11)
2011 Feb 11, Switzerland froze
any assets belonging to Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak or his family.
(SFC, 2/12/11, p.A5)
2011 Feb 12, Egypt’s ruling
military pledged to eventually hand power to an elected civilian
government and reassured allies that Egypt will abide by its peace
treaty with Israel after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, as
it outlined the first cautious steps in a promised transition to
greater democracy. Human Rights Watch documented 302 deaths thus
far, many of them victims of police gunfire on the nights of Jan 28
and 29.
(AP, 2/12/11)(Econ, 2/12/11, p.27)
2011 Feb 12, At least 13
Egyptians died and nearly two dozen were injured when a 6-storey
building collapsed in the southern tourist town of Luxor.
(AFP, 2/12/11)
2011 Feb 13, Egypt's military
leaders dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution, meeting
two key demands of protesters who have been keeping up pressure for
immediate steps to transition to democratic. The military said they
would govern only for six months or until elections took place,
following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 2/13/11)(Reuters, 2/13/11)
2011 Feb 14, Egypt's
470,000-strong military delivered an ultimatum to dozens of
committed protesters in Tahrir Square, nerve center of a movement
that toppled Hosni Mubarak, to leave and let life return to normal
or face arrest. Military rulers called for an end to strikes and
protests as thousands of state employees, from ambulance drivers to
police and transport workers, demonstrated to demand better pay.
Officials said Egypt's stock exchange will remain closed through the
end of the week, as a strike by public sector bank workers added to
the challenges facing the country since the ouster of President
Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 2/14/11)
2011 Feb 14, A senior US
official said the US has received requests from Egypt's new
government to freeze the assets of officials who worked for ousted
Egyptian Pres. Mubarak.
(AFP, 2/15/11)
2011 Feb 15, Egypt's military
regime warned that a wave of strikes sweeping the country was
"disastrous", as it gave a panel of civilian experts 10 days to
revise the constitution. The long banned Muslim Brotherhood said it
intends to form a political party once democracy is established, as
the country's new military rulers launched a panel of experts to
amend the country's constitution enough to allow democratic
elections later this year.
(AFP, 2/15/11)(AP, 2/15/11)
2011 Feb 16, Egypt’s ruling
military council issued its 2nd statement in 3 days calling for an
immediate halt to all labor unrest. Airport employees protested for
better pay, but did not disrupt flights. Textile workers struck to
demand a corruption investigation and residents of a Suez Canal city
pressed for closing a chemical factory they say is dumping toxic
waste into a lake.
(AP, 2/16/11)
2011 Feb 16, International
migration officials said nearly 100 Egyptians have arrived in Italy
in two boats, as fears rose about a wave of people trying to reach
Europe because of turmoil in the Arab world.
(AP, 2/16/11)
2011 Feb 17, At least 1,500
Egyptian workers from the Suez Canal Authority protested for better
pay in three cities straddling the strategic waterway.
(AP, 2/17/11)
2011 Feb 18, In Egypt hundreds
of thousands of flag-waving Egyptians packed into central Tahrir
Square for a day of celebration to mark the fall of longtime leader
Hosni Mubarak a week ago and push their new military rulers to steer
the country toward reform.
(AP, 2/18/11)
2011 Feb 19, An Egyptian court
licensed the Al-Wasat Al-Jadid (the New Center), a moderate Islamic
party founded in 1996, after its application for legal status was
turned down four times by the former Egyptian government.
(AP, 2/19/11)
2011 Feb 20, Egyptian banks
opened after a week-long closure as the economy struggled to get
back on its feet after political turmoil caused by the uprising that
toppled Hosni Mubarak and subsequent labor protests. Workers at Misr
Spinning and Weaving, Egypt's largest factory, ended a strike and
went back to work after the strikers' main demands were met.
(Reuters, 2/20/11)(AFP, 2/20/11)
2011 Feb 21, Egypt asked
Britain for its support in seeking debt forgiveness from Europe, in
the latest push to boost an economy bruised by weeks of protests
that toppled Pres. Mubarak. Egypt owed the EU member states about $9
billion. According to central bank figures the country's total
foreign debt stood at about $34.7 billion as of the end of September
2011.
(AP, 2/22/11)
2011 Feb 21, Egypt's prosecutor
general requested a freeze on the foreign assets of Hosni Mubarak
and his family, 10 days after the longtime president resigned in the
face of a popular uprising.
(AFP, 2/21/11)
2011 Feb 22, Egypt's foreign
ministry told its embassies in the Arab world and Western countries
to seek a freeze on the assets of former President Hosni Mubarak and
his family. Massive labor protests and strikes turned violent, with
the deputy head of one public sector company being beaten to death
by irate workers.
(Reuters, 2/22/11)(AP, 2/22/11)
2011 Feb 23, In Egypt a
security official said hundreds of low-ranking police have set fire
to parts of the security headquarters in Cairo after four days of
protests to demand better salaries. The killing of a Coptic
Christian priest in southern Egypt triggered street demonstrations
by several thousand Christians.
(AP, 2/23/11)
2011 Feb 24, Egyptian
authorities arrested the country's former information minister and
the chairman of state TV and radio on corruption allegations.
(AP, 2/24/11)
2011 Feb 25, In Egypt tens of
thousands rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square, trying to keep up
pressure on Egypt's military rulers to carry out reforms and calling
for the dismissal of holdovers from the regime of ousted President
Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 2/25/11)
2011 Feb 26, Egypt's ruling
military council apologized after military police a day earlier beat
protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square. activists called for fresh
protests to denounce violence by the authorities. A judicial
committee formed to draft changes to Egypt's constitution proposed
capping to eight years the time a president can stay in office and
loosening the rules that curbed competition for the post.
(AFP, 2/26/11)(Reuters, 2/26/11)
2011 Feb 27, Villagers in
southern Egypt blocked the Assiut-Cairo highway with burning tires
and set fire to three government buildings to protest official
corruption. More than 2,000 employees of the Assiut provincial
government went on strike.
(AP, 2/27/11)
2011 Feb 28, Egypt's top
prosecutor seized all the funds of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak and
his family and banned them from travel abroad.
(AP, 2/28/11)
2011 Mar 3, Egypt's military
rulers said the prime minister appointed by ousted President Hosni
Mubarak has resigned, meeting a key demand of the opposition protest
movement. The military chose former Transport Minister Essam Sharaf
as the new prime minister and asked him to form a new caretaker
Cabinet to run the government throughout a transition back to
civilian rule.
(AP, 3/3/11)
2011 Mar 4, Egypt's top
archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, warned that the country's antiquity
sites were being looted by criminals amid the country's political
upheaval as he announced he would no longer serve in his ministerial
post in the government. Hundreds of protesters attempted to storm a
building belonging to the internal security service in Alexandria in
an outpouring of anger at the agency blamed for some of the worst
human rights violations during ousted President Hosni Mubarak's
rule.
(AP, 3/4/11)
2011 Mar 5, Egyptians turned
their anger toward his internal security apparatus, storming the
agency's main headquarters and other offices seizing documents to
keep them from being destroyed to hide evidence of human rights
abuses. Christian and Muslim families have clashed south of Cairo in
a dispute over a romance between children from the two families. The
fathers from both families have been killed and a crowd of Muslims
torched a church in Soul.
(AP, 3/5/11)
2011 Mar 8, An Egyptian court
rejected an appeal by ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his family
against a top prosecutor's move to seize funds that could total in
the billions of dollars. Clashes also broke out when a Muslim mob
attacked thousands of Christians protesting the burning of a Cairo
church. At least 13 people were killed and some 140 wounded.
(AP, 3/8/11)(AP, 3/9/11)
2011 Mar 8, In Egypt a protest
by hundreds of women demanding equal rights and an end to sexual
harassment turned violent when crowds of men heckled and shoved the
demonstrators, telling them to go home where they belong.
(AP, 3/8/11)
2011 Mar 9, In Egypt attackers,
said to be pro-Mubarak thugs, armed with knives and machetes waded
into hundreds of pro-democracy activists in Cairo's Tahrir Square,
as insecurity raged. Military authorities detained women in Tahrir
Square and forced 18 of them to undergo “virginity tests.”
(AFP, 3/9/11)(SFC, 6/1/11, p.A6)(SFC, 6/28/11,
p.A2)
2011 Mar 11, Egyptian officials
said 4 top security officials have been jailed for ordering police
to shoot and kill protesters during the country’s 18-day uprising.
(SFC, 3/12/11, p.A3)
2011 Mar 14, In Egypt young
militants who spearheaded the pro-democracy revolution called for a
"no" vote in next weekend's referendum on constitutional reform.
They called for a new constitution and an extension of the
transitional period with the formation of a presidential council.
(AFP, 3/14/11)
2011 Mar 15, Egypt's interior
minister dissolved the country's widely hated state security agency.
(AP, 3/15/11)
2011 Mar 18, In Egypt
pro-democracy activists flocked to Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square for
a new protest to urge a "no" vote in a weekend referendum on the
military's plans for the future after Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
(AFP, 3/18/11)
2011 Mar 19, Egyptians lined up
by the hundreds to vote on constitutional amendments sponsored by
the ruling military. Voters overwhelmingly approved changes in the
constitution, opening the way for parliamentary and presidential
elections within months. Over 14 million voted yes versus some
4 million voting no. The turnout was about 41% of eligible voters.
(AP, 3/19/11)(AP, 3/21/11)(Econ, 3/26/11, p.55)
2011 Mar 20, In Egypt 3 men
kidnapped and raped a woman (24) after stopping a vehicle at gun
point. She was driving with a male relative. In April a military
court in Ismailiya ordered the execution of the three men who were
convicted of the kidnapping and rape. In Qena province Muslim
vigilantes arrested Anwar Mitri (45), a school administrator and
Coptic Christian, for renting a flat to a woman they claimed was a
prostitute and for allegedly having sex with her. Mitri was tried
and had his ear lopped off.
(AFP, 4/11/11)(Econ, 4/2/11, p.21)
2011 Mar 21, The European Union
froze the assets of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and 18
people in his inner circle.
(AFP, 3/21/11)
2011 Mar 22, In Egypt the
Interior Ministry in Cairo was set on fire during a protest by
police officers demanding more pay and better working conditions.
The fire largely gutted one wing of the 7-story building.
(SFC, 3/23/11, p.A2)
2011 Mar 23, Egypt's stock
market plunged almost 9 percent, with foreign investors leading a
sell-off in the market's first session in nearly two months
following a shutdown linked to the mass protests that toppled former
President Hosni Mubarak. The military government handed down new
constitutional rules easing curbs that choked political life under
Mubarak, opening the door for the formation of new parties that will
compete in elections this year.
(AP, 3/23/11)(Reuters, 3/24/11)(SFC, 3/24/11,
p.A2)
2011 Mar 23, Amnesty
International condemned the "shocking" treatment of 18 women
protesters in Egypt after serious allegations that the army
subjected them to torture and forced "virginity tests."
(AFP, 3/23/11)
2011 Mar 28, Egypt's Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), a group of 24 senior officers,
said on its website that ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his
family are under house arrest, denying that the former leader had
fled to Saudi Arabia. Members of an ultraconservative Muslim sect
clashed with villagers south of Cairo over demands that a liquor
store and coffee shops be closed a sign of the increasing
assertiveness of the fundamentalist Salafi movement.
(AFP, 3/28/11)(AP, 3/29/11)(Econ, 10/8/11, p.59)
2011 Mar 30, Egypt's military
rulers issued an interim constitution under which the transitional
administration will run the country until elections allow power to
be returned to an elected government. The military rulers said that
the country's first presidential elections since the ouster of
longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak will be held by November.
(AP, 3/30/11)
2011 Apr 1, In Egypt thousands
of people filled Tahrir Square to call for Egypt's military
government to harshly punish members of ex-President Hosni Mubarak's
former administration.
(AP, 4/1/11)
2011 Apr 3, In Egypt gunmen
abducted Zeina Effat Sadat (12) the grandniece of the late leader
Anwar Sadat, in the upscale Cairo suburb of Heliopolis. They
released her nearly 24 hours later for 5 million pounds (about
$840,000) in ransom on the desert road from Cairo to the
Mediterranean city of Alexandria. Police on April 4 arrested six men
for their alleged part in the kidnapping. A briefcase with 2 million
pounds (about $340,000) was found on the men.
(AP, 4/4/11)
2011 Apr 4, Egypt's foreign
minister said Cairo is ready to re-establish diplomatic ties with
Tehran after a break of more than 30 years signaling a shift in Iran
policy since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
(Reuters, 4/4/11)
2011 Apr 6, In Egypt
authorities arrested Mohammed Ibrahim Suleiman, the former housing
minister (1993-2006), on suspicion he was involved in the illegal
sale of state lands for cut-rate prices. Suleiman's successor, Ahmed
Maghrabi, was also being investigated.
(AP, 4/6/11)
2011 Apr 8, In Egypt tens of
thousands waved flags and shouted slogans in Cairo's central Tahrir
Square, demanding that Hosni Mubarak and his family be put on trial
over allegations of corruption in one of the biggest protests since
Mubarak was ousted two months ago.
(AP, 4/8/11)
2011 Apr 9, Egypt’s military
stormed Tahrir Square to disperse some 2000 protesters. At least one
demonstrator was shot dead and 71 others injured.
(SSFC, 4/10/11, p.A7)
2011 Apr 10, In Egypt more than
1,000 protesters ignored an army order to leave Cairo's main square,
extending into a third day their calls for a quick move to civilian
rule and a deeper purge of corrupt officials.
(AP, 4/10/11)
2011 Apr 11, In Egypt A few
hundred protesters defied an army demand to quit Cairo's Tahrir
Square, vowing to stay until the ruling military council heeds their
demand for civilian rule and a deeper purge of corrupt officials. A
military court jailed blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad (26) to three years
in prison for criticizing the armed forces. Safwat al-Sherif, head
of Egypt's former ruling party and a longtime stalwart of the regime
of ousted Pres. Mubarak, was detained on charges of corruption.
(Reuters, 4/11/11)(AFP, 4/11/11)(AFP,
4/12/11)(SFC, 4/12/11, p.A2)
2011 Apr 12, Egypt’s former
Pres. Mubarek was hospitalized after suffering an alleged heart
attack. State media indicated the hospital visit may have been a
ploy to escape legal problems.
(SFC, 4/13/11, p.A3)
2011 Apr 13, Egypt's ousted
President Hosni Mubarak was put under detention in his hospital room
for investigation on accusations of corruption, abuse of power and
killings of protesters. His sons Alaa and Gamal were taken to Tora
Prison outside Cairo.
(AP, 4/13/11)(SFC, 4/14/11, p.A3)
2011 Apr 15, Egypt's top
prosecutor ordered deposed President Hosni Mubarak to be moved from
a hospital at a Red Sea resort to a military hospital for
questioning about the deaths of protesters and allegations of
corruption and abuse of power.
(AP, 4/15/11)
2011 Apr 16, An Egyptian court
ordered the dissolving of the country's former ruling party and the
confiscation of its assets, meeting a major demand of the protest
movement that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 4/16/11)
2011 Apr 17, Egypt put two
former top ministers on trial, widening a crackdown on graft as the
ruling generals seek to show their seriousness about ending the
corruption that led to President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
(Reuters, 4/17/11)
2011 Apr 19, An Egyptian
government fact-finding mission said at least 846 people were killed
and over 6,400 injured during the popular uprising that toppled
longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 4/19/11)
2011 Apr 22, In southern Egypt
tens of thousands, led by hard-line Islamists, protested the
appointment of a Coptic Christian governor in Qena province.
(AP, 4/22/11)
2011 Apr 25, Egypt's premier
suspended Emad Mikhail, a Christian governor linked to the ousted
Mubarak regime, after his appointment sparked protests in restive
Qena province.
(AFP, 4/25/11)
2011 Apr 27, In Egypt masked
gunmen blew up a natural gas terminal near the border with Israel,
sending flames shooting into the air in the early hours of the
morning and forcing the shutdown of the country's gas export
pipeline to Israel and Jordan. Suspicion immediately fell on Sinai
Bedouins angered by what they see as the neglect of their areas by
the central government or Muslim militants opposed to the export of
natural gas to Israel.
(AP, 4/27/11)
2011 Apr 28, Egypt's new
foreign minister, Nabil al-Araby, said that the closure of the key
Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian Gaza Strip was about to
end, calling the decision to close the crossing "a disgusting
matter" in an interview with Al-Jazeera.
(AP, 4/29/11)
2011 Apr 29, An Egyptian
soldier of the border guard unit was killed in an exchange of
gunfire with tunnel smugglers near the border with Gaza.
(AFP, 4/29/11)
2011 Apr 29, In Egypt at least
20 people drowned in the Nile while on a trip to visit the grave of
a relative. 5 people were also missing after a minibus hired for the
traditional graveyard visit slipped from the ferry that carried it
across the river in Beni Suef province.
(Reuters, 4/30/11)
2011 Apr 30, Egypt's Muslim
Brotherhood, the country's best organized movement, announced the
formation of a party to contest up to half of parliament's seats in
a September election.
(AFP, 4/30/11)
2011 May 2, The Swiss
government said it has identified potential assets belonging to
Libya’s Moammar Khadafy and his entourage amounting to $415 million.
Assets of $473 million were also found linked to Egypt’s Hosni
Mubarak and $69 million to Tunisia’s Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
(SFC, 5/3/11, p.AA2)
2011 May 4, In Egypt hundreds
of diehard supporters of ousted president Hosni Mubarak clashed with
his foes in central Cairo leaving dozens injured.
(AFP, 5/5/11)
2011 May 4, Rival Palestinian
factions Fatah and Hamas proclaimed a landmark, Egyptian-mediated
reconciliation pact signed in Cairo aimed at ending their bitter
four-year rift. Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said that his Islamist
movement would work to achieve the "Palestinian national goal" of a
sovereign state on the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Gaza's Hamas rulers
executed a man convicted of collaborating with Israel. His execution
was the 11th in Gaza since Hamas violently wrested control of the
territory in June 2007.
(AP, 5/4/11)(AFP, 5/4/11)(AP, 5/5/11)(Econ,
5/7/11, p.51)
2011 May 5, In Egypt former
President Hosni Mubarak's top security official was convicted of
corruption and money laundering and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
(AP, 5/5/11)
2011 May 7, In Egypt 13 people
died in clashes in a Cairo suburb sparked by unconfirmed suspicions
that Christians had abducted a woman who converted to Islam. On May
9 authorities said they have arrested the "mastermind" behind the
sectarian violence.
(Reuters, 5/8/11)(AFP, 5/10/11)(SFC, 5/10/11,
p.A2)
2011 May 8, Egypt's army said
that 190 people would be tried in military courts over sectarian
violence a day earlier that left 13 people dead.
(Reuters, 5/8/11)(SFC, 5/10/11, p.A2)
2011 May 9, Egyptian
authorities detained 23 more people in connection with recent
clashes between Muslims and Christians, including two people
suspected of sparking riots over the weekend that left a Cairo
church torched and 13 people dead. Hundreds of Christians continued
their sit-in outside Egypt's state TV building, saying they fear an
Islamic state is in the making.
(AP, 5/9/11)(SFC, 5/10/11, p.A2)
2011 May 10, An Egyptian court
convicted the country's ex-tourism minister of corruption and
sentenced him to five years in prison, making him the second
high-ranking official to be found guilty since President Hosni
Mubarak's ouster.
(AP, 5/10/11)
2011 May 12, In Egypt Abeer
Fakhri , a Christian woman whose affair with a Muslim sparked deadly
sectarian clashes, was detained and faced charges that included
polygamy.
(AP, 5/13/11)
2011 May 13, Egyptian
authorities on ordered the detention of Suzanne Mubarak, wife of
deposed President Hosni Mubarak. Thousands of Egyptians took to the
streets to push their military rulers to do more to help
Palestinians.
(AP, 5/13/11)(Reuters, 5/13/11)
2011 May 14, In Egypt Bothaina
Kamel (48) a political activist, TV presenter and a candidate for
president, was hauled in for questioning because of her outspoken
criticism of the nation's military rulers and said she is facing
allegations of slandering a top official and the military. Clashes
between Muslims and Christians in the center of Cairo left 51 people
wounded, as Coptic Christians pursued a sit-in protest against the
violence.
(AP, 5/14/11)(AFP, 5/15/11)
2011 May 15, Egyptian Foreign
Minister Nabil al-Araby was elected the new secretary-general of the
Arab League.
(SFC, 5/16/11, p.A2)
2011 May 15, Egypt's Pope
Shenouda, head of the Orthodox Coptic church, called on Christians
to abandon a demonstration against attacks on their community after
a clash overnight left 78 wounded.
(Reuters, 5/16/11)
2011 May 16, Egyptian riot
police fired tear gas and live ammunition overnight to disperse
thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Israeli Embassy
in Cairo, and a security official said that at least 185
demonstrators were arrested over allegations of attacking police and
vandalism.
(AP, 5/16/11)
2011 May 16, An Egyptian
military court sentenced the 17-year-old and three other men to be
hanged for kidnapping and raping a young woman.
(Reuters, 5/18/11)
2011 May 17, Egypt's Justice
Ministry ordered the wife of former president Hosni Mubarak released
from custody without bail. Suzanne Mubarak was released after
handing over her assets to the state, as her husband pledged to do
the same in a bid to secure an amnesty.
(AP, 5/17/11)(AFP, 5/17/11)
2011 May 18, Egypt’s Muslim
Brotherhood said the party it formed to contest elections has chosen
a Christian intellectual as vice president and numbers almost 100
Coptic Christians among its founding members.
(AFP, 5/18/11)
2011 May 19, Amnesty
International said Egyptian authorities continue to restrict freedom
of assembly, torture detainees and try civilians in military courts,
highlighting the urgent need for reform.
(AP, 5/19/11)
2011 May 22, An Egyptian court
condemned a policeman to death for killing 20 protesters, in the
first such sentencing of a security forces member for the murder of
demonstrators during a January-February revolt.
(AFP, 5/22/11)
2011 May 24, Egypt’s ousted
leader Hosni Mubarak and his two sons were referred to a criminal
court on suspicion of graft and ordering deadly fire against
anti-government protesters.
(AFP, 5/24/11)
2011 May 24, World Bank Pres.
Robert Zoellick said it will provide up to $6 billion to Egypt and
Tunisia to help them modernize their economies as they undertake
democratic reforms after the ouster of their longtime presidents.
(AP, 5/24/11)
2011 May 25, Egypt decided to
end its blockade of Gaza by opening the only crossing to the
Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory on May 28, easing the isolation of
1.4 million Palestinians there.
(AP, 5/25/11)
2011 May 26, In Egypt a Cairo
criminal court sentenced former housing minister Ahmed al-Maghrabi
to five years in prison on corruption charges and fined him over an
illegal land deal.
(AFP, 5/26/11)(Reuters, 5/26/11)
2011 May 27, In Egypt thousands
of protesters returned to downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square for what
they called a "second revolution," calling for Egypt's military
rulers to speed up the pace of democratic reforms in a country that
is still charting its political future.
(AP, 5/27/11)
2011 May 27, Pres. Obama and
other G8 leaders wrapped up a 2-day summit in France and announced
plans for a $40 billion in aid to support democracy in Egypt,
Tunisia and the rest of North Africa.
(SFC, 5/28/11, p.A3)
2011 May 28, An Egyptian
administrative court fined ousted President Hosni Mubarak and two
former officials 540 million Egyptian pounds ($91 million) for
cutting off mobile and internet services during protests in January.
Egypt charged former Information Minister Anas el-Fekky with
"deliberately causing financial harm" to the state-run Radio and
Television Union.
(Reuters, 5/28/11)
2011 May 28, Egypt lifted a
four-year-old blockade on the Gaza Strip's main link to the outside
world, bringing relief to the crowded territory's 1.5 million
Palestinians but deepening a rift with Israel since the ouster of
President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.
(AP, 5/28/11)
2011 May 31, Egypt’s
transitional government imposed a quote of no more than 400
passengers a day for crossing into Egypt at Rafah. A blacklist of
5,000 Gazans, who would not be allowed to cross, was reinstated.
(Econ, 6/4/11, p.58)
2011 May 31, Mahmoud Abdel
Salam Omar (74), former chairman of Egypt's Bank of Alexandria, was
arrested in NYC for allegedly assaulting a hotel maid the previous
evening. On June 24 Omar pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor sexual
abuse charge, acknowledging he kissed the woman on the lips and neck
and touched her breasts after she brought tissues to his room at the
posh Pierre hotel. He completed five days of community service in a
soup kitchen, and his case will be closed without jail time or
probation if he stays out of trouble for a year.
(AP, 5/31/11)(http://tinyurl.com/3mjbkkf)(AP,
6/24/11)
2011 Jun 4, An Egyptian court
convicted former finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali in absentia
and sentenced him to 30 years in prison for profiteering and abusing
state and private assets. Egypt's public prosecutor referred 48
people to trial for their involvement in deadly Muslim-Christian
clashes last month. Hundreds of angry protesters pelted a Cairo
police station overnight and torched an armored vehicle. Police
fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Officials said they're
investigating the death of bus driver Mohammed Nasr, who was beaten
following a fight with a police officer. A truck driver drove
through a checkpoint in the northern Sinai city of el-Arish, killing
three soldiers and badly injuring a fourth as they slept in their
tent.
(Reuters, 6/4/11)(AFP, 6/4/11)(AP, 6/4/11)
2011 Jun 4, Egypt shut its
border crossing with Gaza for the first time since opening it on a
routine basis last month. Angry Palestinians stormed the gates in
protest. An Egyptian security source said the terminal was shut for
maintenance and may reopen in a day.
(Reuters, 6/4/11)
2011 Jun 5, The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed a $3 billion financing deal with Egypt
and praised the policies of an interim government struggling to
stabilize the economy after the popular uprising.
(Reuters, 6/5/11)
2011 Jun 12, In Egypt Ilan
Grapel, an Israeli legal aid worker, was arrested in Cairo on
suspicion of spying. In October Israel’s government announced plans
for his release in exchange for 25 Egyptian prisoners. The exchange
took place on Oct 27.
(SFC, 10/25/11, p.A2)(SFC, 10/28/11, p.A4)
2011 Jun 13, Egypt’s military
told human rights advocates that at least 7,000 civilians have been
sentenced to prison terms by military courts since the ouster of
Pres. Hosni Mubarek.
(SFC, 6/14/11, p.A2)
2011 Jun 16, Spain’s National
Police arrested Hussein Salem, an Egyptian associate of ousted
president Hosni Mubarak, in Mallorca. Police the next day said he
had obtained money illegally in Egypt and sent it to accounts in
Spain held by his family. Spain froze euro33 million ($47 million)
in accounts held by Salem, who is also wanted back home.
(AP, 6/17/11)
2011 Jun 22, In Egypt
unidentified assailants have killed two policemen and wounded
another two when they opened fire on their patrol in northern Sinai.
(AP, 6/22/11)
2011 Jun 23, An Egyptian state
security court sentenced Tareq Hassan, an Egyptian businessman, to
25 years in prison for spying for Israel. Two Israeli citizens were
also sentenced in absentia to 25 years in jail.
(AP, 6/23/11)
2011 Jun 25, Egypt’s Finance
Minister Samir Radwan said Egypt said it will not borrow from the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund after revising its budget
and cutting the forecast deficit, even though a loan had been
agreed.
(Reuters, 6/25/11)
2011 Jun 25, An Egyptian court
sentenced Rachid Mohammed Rachid, the country's former industry and
commerce minister, to five years in prison. Rachid, who was
convicted in absentia of embezzling public funds, fled Cairo after
the uprising that forced Mubarak from power.
(AP, 6/25/11)
2011 Jun 26, In Egypt hundreds
of protesters angry with the delays in the trial of ex-interior
minister Habib Adly clashed with anti-riot police outside the
courtroom.
(AFP, 6/26/11)
2011 Jun 28, An Egyptian court
ordered the dissolution of more than 1,750 municipal councils, seen
as one of the last vestiges of Hosni Mubarak's rule. Security forces
clashed with some 5,000 protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
Protesters demanded that the country's military rulers speed up the
prosecution of security officers responsible for February protester
deaths.
(AP, 6/28/11)(SFC, 6/28/11, p.A2)
2011 Jun 29, Egyptian security
forces clashed with hundreds of youths for a second day in Cairo
over demands that the country's military rulers speed up the
prosecution of police officers accused of brutality during mass
protests that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down.
(AP, 6/29/11)
2011 Jul 1, In Egypt hundreds
rallied in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square demanding speedy trials
for former regime figures and policemen accused of killing
protesters during the 18-day revolt earlier this year.
(AP, 7/1/11)
2011 Jul 3, In Egypt the trial
began of 48 people accused of involvement in deadly Muslim-Christian
clashes on May 7 that left 12 people dead. Police and soldiers
arrested around 50 people from the shanty town of Ezbet Abu Qarn in
a drugs raid.
(AFP, 7/3/11)(AFP, 7/5/11)
2011 Jul 3, Egypt's Nabil
al-Arabi formally replaced his compatriot Amr Mussa as secretary
general of the Arab League.
(AFP, 7/3/11)
2011 Jul 4, In Egypt saboteurs
bombed a gas pipeline in the Sinai peninsula, sending flames into
the sky and cutting supplies to Israel and Jordan. 7 policemen
charged with killing protesters were ordered released on bail. Angry
families stormed a station where the suspects from Ezbet Abu Qarn
were being held, triggering clashes with security forces in which an
18-year-old boy was killed.
(AFP, 7/4/11)(AP, 7/5/11)(AFP, 7/5/11)
2011 Jul 5, An Egyptian court
acquitted three Hosni Mubarak-era ministers of corruption charges
while finding a fourth guilty in absentia. Judge Mohammed Fathi
Sadek found not guilty Ahmed Maghrabi, Yousef Boutros-Ghali and Anas
el-Fiqqi, former ministers of housing, finance and information,
respectively. The court found former Trade Minister Rachid Mohammed
Rachid and two businessmen guilty of squandering public funds and
profiteering. Rachid and one of the businessmen were sentenced in
absentia to five years in prison.
(AP, 7/5/11)
2011 Jul 5, The EU announced
action against Egyptian bean and seed imports, after tests indicated
that a 15-ton batch of Egyptian fenugreek seeds imported in 2009 to
Germany and then distributed elsewhere was at the root of an E.coli
outbreak that killed 50 people.
(AFP, 7/14/11)
2011 Jul 6, In Egypt hundreds
of protesters pelted the security headquarters in the city of Suez
with rocks, angered by a court's decision to uphold the release of
seven policemen facing trials for allegedly killing 17 protesters in
Suez during Egypt's uprising. In a bid to defuse rising anger, the
Interior Ministry announced that hundreds of high-ranking police
officers will be sacked for their role in the harsh crackdown.
(AP, 7/6/11)
2011 Jul 8, Egyptians held one
of their biggest protests in months as tens of thousands took to the
streets in Cairo and other cities to demand justice for victims of
Hosni Mubarak's regime and press the country's new military rulers
for a clear plan on transition to democracy.
(AP, 7/8/11)
2011 Jul 9, Prosecutor in
Egypt's second city Alexandria ordered the arrest of 12 police
officers accused of torturing to death Sayed Belal, a Salafi
fundamentalist and suspect in a deadly New Year's church attack. PM
Essam Sharaf pledged to meet the demands of protesters with a series
of measures. Sharaf soon called for Interior Minister Mansour
el-Issawi to fire 400 police officers accused of killing protesters.
El-Issawi balked saying firing them would be illegal.
(AFP, 7/9/11)(AFP, 7/10/11)(SFC, 7/12/11, p.A3)
2011 Jul 10, In Egypt
protesters camped out at a central Cairo square blocked access to
the Egyptian capital's largest government building and threatened to
lay siege to the nearby Interior Ministry and state TV building if
their demands are not met. The protesters demanded justice for the
nearly 900 protesters killed by security forces during the 18-day
uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in February.
(AP, 7/10/11)
2011 Jul 12, Egypt's ruling
military council insisted that it will not cede control over the
transition from ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime amid
mounting anger over its handling of it. Anti-government protesters
said about 30 assailants carrying knives and sticks stormed their
tent camp in Cairo's central square, injuring six people. The
official MENA news reported that saboteurs have bombed a gas
pipeline in the Sinai peninsula for the fourth time since February,
cutting supplies to Israel and Jordan.
(AP, 7/12/11)(AFP, 7/12/11)
2011 Jul 13, Egypt’s
transitional military government announced the early retirement of
600 senior police officers in an effort to mollify protesters. 54
lower ranking officers were shifted to jobs where they no longer
interact with civilians.
(SFC, 7/14/11, p.A2)
2011 Jul 14, Switzerland
suspended imports of some seeds, beans and sprouts from Egypt, after
the EU blamed Egyptian fenugreek seeds for E.coli outbreaks in
Germany and France. The temporary ban would expire in October 31,
2011, in line with the EU's suspension.
(AFP, 7/14/11)
2011 Jul 15, In Egypt thousands
of protesters rallied across the country, capping a week of
nationwide sit-ins to demand political change as anger grows with
the military rulers over the slow pace of reform.
(AFP, 7/15/11)
2011 Jul 17, Egypt's PM Essam
Sharaf named 12 new Cabinet members in a reshuffle under pressure
from protesters demanding a purge of remnants of the former regime.
(AP, 7/17/11)
2011 Jul 19, Egypt's interior
minister ordered 54 police officers, on trial for killing
protesters, be transferred to desk jobs in the ministry.
(AFP, 7/19/11)
2011 Jul 20, In Egypt Maj. Gen.
Mamdouh Shaheen presented a new law barring foreign monitors for
upcoming parliamentary elections. He said Egyptian election monitors
will observe the process instead.
(AP, 7/20/11)
2011 Jul 23, In Egypt groups of
men armed with knives and sticks attacked thousands of protesters
trying to march to the headquarters of the military rulers, setting
off fierce street clashes and leaving more than 300 injured. The
identity of the pro-army vigilantes could not immediately be
determined.
(AP, 7/23/11)(Econ, 7/30/11, p.41)
2011 Jul 29, In Egypt tens of
thousands of people filled Cairo's central Tahrir Square for a rally
that turned into a show of force for ultraconservative Salafi
Muslims and other Islamists in their growing rift with liberal
activists. 150 men in trucks and on motorbikes rampaged through
El-Arish, firing assault rifles in the air, driving terrified
residents into their homes. 3 civilians, an army officer and a
police officer were killed in clashes that followed, and 19 people
wounded. Armed forces arrested 12 men, including 3 Palestinians,
suspected of involvement in the attack.
(AP, 7/29/11)(AFP, 7/30/11)
2011 Jul 30, In Egypt
unidentified gunmen attacked a terminal on the gas pipeline to
Israel for the fifth time since February.
(AFP, 7/30/11)
2011 Aug 5, Egyptian army
troops wielding batons and firing in the air dispersed dozens of
activists holding a traditional Ramadan meal in Cairo's central
Tahrir square.
(AP, 8/6/11)
2011 Aug 7, In Egypt a Coptic
Christian was killed and four Muslims were wounded in clashes in the
southern province of Minya after clashes triggered by a road
accident.
(AFP, 8/8/11)
2011 Aug 9, Dozens of Egyptians
angered by the absence of police protection in their town set fire
to a police station In Garga after looting its armory and freeing
jailed inmates. The crowd stormed the police station in protest at
what they said was the police's failure to protect them from attacks
from a neighboring village. The trouble between Garga and the
neighboring village of Nagaa Uweis began Aug 7 after a fight between
two drivers, one from Garga and the other from Nagaa Uweis,
escalated into a gunfight.
(AFP, 8/9/11)
2011 Aug 12, In Egypt hundreds
of protesters rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square, briefly scuffling
with riot police and defying the military rulers who are eager to
prevent any demonstrations in the iconic square since forcefully
clearing a weekslong sit-in by youth activists last week.
(AP, 8/12/11)
2011 Aug 13, Egypt's largest
political group, the Muslim Brotherhood, warned the country's
military rulers not to interfere in the writing of a new
constitution.
(AP, 8/13/11)
2011 Aug 15, Egyptian troops,
backed by armored vehicles, carried out five raids in el-Arish, the
provincial capital of North Sinai. In one location, they clashed
with gunmen, killing one. Ten suspects and six wanted criminals were
also arrested. A Cairo judge stopped live TV broadcasts of former
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's trial.
(AP, 8/15/11)
2011 Aug 17, An Egyptian
military tribunal sentenced two young activists to 6-months in
prison after convicting them of insulting the army.
(SFC, 8/18/11, p.A2)
2011 Aug 18, In southern Israel
assailants armed with heavy weapons, guns and explosives launched
three attacks in quick succession near the border with Egypt's Sinai
Peninsula, killing 8 people and wounding about a dozen more. Israeli
security forces tracked down some of the assailants and are engaged
in an ongoing gunbattle with them. 3 Egyptian security personnel
died as a result of the gunbattles. 2 more died from wounds the next
day. A 6th died from wounds in September. Israel responded hours
after the border attack with an airstrike in Gaza that killed five
members of the Palestinian group that Israel said was behind it, an
organization known as the Popular Resistance Committees. The dead
included the group's leader.
(AP, 8/18/11)(AP, 8/19/11)(AFP, 9/11/11)
2011 Aug 20, Egypt said it
would recall its ambassador from Israel to protest the deaths of at
least 3 Egyptian troops killed in a shootout between Israeli
soldiers and Palestinian militants.
(AP, 8/20/11)
2011 Aug 27, National carrier
Egyptair resumed direct flights to Iraq after a break of 21 years.
(AFP, 8/27/11)
2011 Sep 3, Witnesses said
Egypt's military has started to close smuggling tunnels to Gaza,
amid Israeli warnings of plans by Gazan militants to attack the
Jewish state through Egyptian territory.
(AFP, 9/3/11)
2011 Sep 6, Egyptian football
fans clashed with police in a Cairo stadium, injuring nearly 80
people, after they chanted slogans against ousted president Hosni
Mubarak and torched dozens of cars.
(AFP, 9/6/11)
2011 Sep 7, Egypt's military
rulers froze new licenses for private satellite TV stations, in a
restriction that activists say harkens back to the crackdown on
freedom of expression under ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 9/8/11)
2011 Sep 9, In Egypt thousands
demonstrated in Cairo's Tahrir Square against the pace of reform
under the country's military rulers. Smaller crowds demonstrated in
other Egyptian cities. Hundreds of protesters tore down a concrete
security wall that authorities had recently erected outside the
Israel embassy building. Young men battered the wall with
sledgehammers, ripping off chunks with their bare hands. Protesters
were able to get to the top of the building and pull down the
Israeli flag, which they replaced with the Egyptian flag.
(AP, 9/9/11)(AP, 9/10/11)
2011 Sep 10, Israel’s
ambassador to Egypt and the entire embassy staff except for one
deputy ambassador were evacuated along with their families in the
face of the overnight rampage at the Nile-side embassy in Cairo. The
Health Ministry said three people were killed and more than 1,000
people hurt during the street clashes between the protesters and
police outside the embassy.
(AP, 9/10/11)
2011 Sep 11, Egypt's vice
president reached out to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other
opposition groups as part of a new offer of sweeping concessions
including press freedom and an eventual end to hated emergency laws.
(AP, 9/11/11)
2011 Sep 15, In Egypt steel
magnate Ahmed Ezz, once a leading figure in the former ruling party,
was sentenced along with former government official Amr Assal. The
two were fined a total of $110 million dollars. Former Trade
Minister Rachid Mohammed Rachid, who remains at large, was sentenced
to 15 years in jail and ordered to pay a 237 million dollar fine for
approving production licenses to Ezz without auctioning them
publicly first.
(AP, 9/15/11)
2011 Sep 18, Egyptian
businessman and former Tourism Minister Zohair Garanah was sentenced
to three years in prison after being convicted of corruption. He was
already serving a five-year jail term for allowing investors to
illegally acquire state land. His first sentence was passed by a
Cairo court on May 10.
(AP, 9/18/11)
2011 Sep 19, Egypt barred
formation of a new political party by al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya, an
Islamist group that was once involved in a bloody insurgency,
because its proposed party is based on "religious grounds in
violation of the law."
(AP, 9/19/11)
2011 Sep 27, In Egypt
assailants in two pickup trucks struck a pumping station on a gas
pipeline to Israel about 15 miles (25 km) west of the region's main
city of el-Arish before, causing a loud explosion and fire.
(AP, 9/27/11)
2011 Sep 28, An Egyptian court
convicted Anas al-Fiqqi, former Pres. Mubarak's powerful information
minister, on corruption charges and sentenced him to seven years in
prison.
(AP, 9/28/11)
2011 Sep 29, Egyptian security
officials raided the Cairo office of Al Jazeera, roughing up staff
and confiscating equipment. This was the second raid this month by
authorities complaining the station is operating without permits.
(AP, 9/29/11)
2011 Sep 30, In Egypt several
thousand protesters demanded the country's military rulers put an
end to emergency laws dating back to the rule of ousted President
Hosni Mubarak. A church was burned down in Merinab village after
Aswan provincial governor Mustafa al-Seyyed was reported as saying
Copts had built it without the required planning permission.
(AP, 9/30/11)(AFP, 10/4/11)
2011 Oct 4, Egyptian protesters
also demanded the release of blogger Michael Nabil (26), who was
sentenced to three years' hard labor in April by a military court
for having "insulted" the army in his writings. The blogger was on
the 43rd day of a hunger strike, after his appeal hearing was
adjourned to October 11.
(AFP, 10/4/11)
2011 Oct 5, Three Egyptian
columnists withheld their regular commentaries in an independent
daily to protest what they said was censorship by the country's
military rulers.
(AP, 10/5/11)
2011 Oct 9, In Egypt some 1,000
Christian protesters tried to stage a peaceful sit-in outside the
state television building along the Nile in downtown Cairo. The
protesters said they were attacked by "thugs" with sticks and the
violence then spiraled out of control after a speeding military
vehicle jumped up onto a sidewalk and rammed into some of the
Christians. 27 people were killed including at least 3 soldiers.
Wael Mikhael, a cameraman working for a Coptic Christian
broadcaster, was among those killed. On Oct 25 the New-York based
Human Rights Watch called for an independent investigation of the
deaths and urged authorities to transfer investigation of the case
from military to civilian prosecutors.
(AP, 10/10/11)(AP, 10/13/11)(AP, 10/25/11)
2011 Oct 10, In Egypt small
skirmishes broke out again in Cairo outside the Coptic hospital
where many of the Christian victims were taken the night before.
Several hundred Christians pelted police with rocks as the screams
of grieving women rang out from inside the hospital.
(AP, 10/10/11)
2011 Oct 11, Egypt's finance
minister and deputy prime minister resigned in protest over the
government's handling of deadly weekend protests that left 27 dead,
most of them Coptic Christians. Some 20,000 mourners chanted slogans
denouncing the ruling military during a funeral procession overnight
for 17 Christians killed in the Cairo protest.
(AP, 10/11/11)(AP, 10/25/11)
2011 Oct 11, Israel and Hamas
announced that Sgt. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier abducted to
Gaza five years ago, would be swapped for about 1,000 Palestinians
held by Israel and accused of militant activity. The next morning
the Israeli Cabinet endorsed the Egyptian-brokered deal in a 26-3
vote. Shalit was expected to return via Egypt by Oct 19.
(AP, 10/11/11)(AP, 10/12/11)(AFP, 10/13/11)
2011 Oct 15, Egypt’s
transitional military rulers issued a decree prohibiting all forms
of discrimination including on the basis of religion.
(SSFC, 10/16/11, p.A4)
2011 Oct 15, Egypt's Gamaa
Islamiya, or Islamic Group, posted on its website a notice mourning
the death in Afghanistan of Ahmed Abdel Rahman, the son of the
"Blind Sheik" now serving a life sentence in the US for his
involvement in a plot to blow up NYC landmarks.
(AP, 10/15/11)
2011 Oct 16, The Arab League
called an emergency meeting in Cairo to discuss whether to suspend
Syria. The Arab League said that it would make contact with the
Damascus government and a raft of opposition groups with the aim of
launching "national dialogue within the seat of the Arab League and
under its guidance within 15 days." Security forces opened fire on a
funeral for a slain activist in the east. Security forces arrested
at least 44 people in the capital's suburbs in house-to-house raids.
The Observatory for Human Rights in Syria said 923 people from Homs
have been arrested in the past week.
(AP, 10/16/11)(AFP, 10/17/11)
2011 Oct 17, A senior Egyptian
Justice Ministry official said that the two sons of ousted President
Hosni Mubarak have an estimated $340 million in Swiss bank accounts.
(AP, 10/17/11)
2011 Oct 18, An Egyptian court
ordered blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad, who is serving a three-year
sentence for insulting the armed forces, confined to a psychiatric
clinic for 45 days after he began a hunger strike.
(AFP, 10/31/11)
2011 Oct 21, Egyptian political
talk show host Yosri Fouda suspended his “The Final Word” program
indefinitely to protest efforts by the military rulers to stifle
free expression.
(SFC, 10/22/11, p.A2)
2011 Oct 22, Egypt's judicial
union called on judges to refrain from showing up to court until
they receive protection from authorities after what they say are
assaults by lawyers. The call came amid increasing tension between
judges and lawyers over a bill written by the Judges Club that would
toughen penalties on lawyers in cases of contempt of court.
(AFP, 10/22/11)
2011 Oct 22, Egypt’s MENA state
news agency said a Cairo court has sentenced Ayman Mansour to three
years in prison for postings on Facebook deemed to be inciting
sectarianism and in contempt of Islam.
(AP, 10/22/11)
2011 Oct 24, Thousands of
Egyptian police launched a nationwide strike to demand better
salaries and a purge of former regime officials from senior security
posts.
(AP, 10/24/11)
2011 Oct 27, Five Arab Spring
activists won the European parliament's Sakharov prize awarded to
campaigners for freedom. They include Mohamed Bouazizi of Tunisia,
awarded posthumously, Egyptian militant Asmaa Mahfouz, Libyan
dissident Ahmed al-Zubair Ahmed al-Sanusi, Syrian lawyer Razan
Zeitouneh and Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat.
(AFP, 10/27/11)
2011 Oct 27, In Egypt Ilan
Grapel (27), an Israeli held by Egypt since June 12 on espionage
charges, was freed in exchange for 25 Egyptian citizens, mostly
Bedouin residents of Sinai charged with smuggling.
(SFC, 10/28/11, p.A4)
2011 Oct 28, In Egypt several
thousand protesters in Cairo called on the ruling military to
promptly transfer power to a civilian government and exclude old
regime figures from politics. Protesters clashed with soldiers and
police in Cairo after a funeral procession for a man a rights group
claims died from police torture after he was caught smuggling a
mobile phone chip into his cell.
(AFP, 10/28/11)
2011 Oct 30, Egypt's ruling
military jailed Alaa Abdel Fatah, a veteran dissident and blogger,
on charges of inciting deadly clashes between soldiers and
Christians this month.
(AFP, 10/31/11)
2011 Oct 31, More than 3,000
Egyptians marched through downtown Cairo, protesting the military's
arrest of Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a prominent blogger-activist, in the
latest sign of discontent with the ruling generals' managing of the
country.
(AP, 10/31/11)
2011 Nov 2, An Egyptian
government newspaper reported that the justice ministry has agreed
to a constitutional amendment to allow millions of Egyptians living
abroad to vote in parliamentary elections. An estimated 8 million
Egyptians lived abroad, many of them in other Arab countries, out of
a total population of 80 million. The ruling generals announced the
pardon of 334 civilians who were sentenced in military tribunals
since the uprising that toppled Pres. Mubarek.
(AFP, 11/2/11)(SFC, 11/3/11, p.A2)
2011 Nov 2, Arab foreign
ministers met anew in Cairo to step up pressure on Syria to end
nearly eight months of deadly violence. Gunmen stormed a factory in
Syria’s province of Homs killing 10 workers while security forces
shot dead 4 civilians in several Homs neighborhoods. Damascus
pledged to withdraw its forces from protest centers under a plan put
forth by the Arab league. Not timetable was set.
(AFP, 11/2/11)(AFP, 11/3/11)
2011 Nov 3, Egypt's military
rulers triggered a new public outcry with a proposal that critics
saw as an attempt to enshrine a supreme political role for
themselves in a new constitution.
(AP, 11/3/11)
2011 Nov 4, Farid al-Dib,
lawyer for the family of Hosni Mubarak, said in a published
interview that $340 million held in Swiss banks by the two sons of
the ousted Egyptian president, and frozen there, are "legal profits"
from consulting abroad.
(AFP, 11/4/11)
2011 Nov 6, In Egypt 11
Hungarian tourists were killed and 27 injured when their bus
overturned in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
(AFP, 11/6/11)
2011 Nov 10, In Egypt 2
explosions a gas pipeline halting supplies to Israel and Jordan.
(AP, 11/10/11)
2011 Nov 12, Egyptian police
arrested Abdel-Halim Hassan Heneidi, a militant leader, in the
northern Sinai town of el-Arish.
(AP, 11/13/11)
2011 Nov 12, In Egypt Jeff
Francois, a Canadian tourist, died of a gunshot wounds He was shot
on Nov 9 when members of a feuding family opened fire on his car
when his driver refused to stop at an illegal checkpoint in the town
of al-Samata.
(AP, 11/12/11)
2011 Nov 13, Egyptian security
forces arrested Mohammed Eid Muslih Hamad, aka "El-Tihi," in the
northern Sinai town of el-Arish. Officials said he was the leader of
an al-Qaida-inspired group in the Sinai peninsula that was behind
attacks on police and on a gas pipeline that transports fuel to
Israel and Jordan.
(AP, 11/13/11)
2011 Nov 14, Egyptian security
forces arrested Abdel Karim Mohammed Ahmed and Ahmed Salem Awad of
the radical Islamist Al-Takfeer wal Hijra during a sweep in the
north Sinai town of El-Arish.
(AFP, 11/14/11)
2011 Nov 17, In Egypt attackers
threw rocks and broken glass at a march by Coptic Christians in
Cairo, injuring 10, in the latest outbreak of sectarian violence.
(AP, 11/17/11)
2011 Nov 18, Tens of thousands
of Egyptians, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, rallied in
Cairo's Tahrir square to protest against what they say are attempts
by the country's military rulers to designate themselves as the
guardians of a new Egypt. It was one of the largest rallies in Egypt
in recent months.
(AP, 11/18/11)
2011 Nov 19, Egyptian police
fired rubber bullets and tear gas in clashes with protesters on as
they broke up a sit-in organized by people injured during the Arab
Spring, triggering a heated skirmish. Two protesters were killed.
(AFP, 11/19/11)(SSFC, 11/20/11, p.A6)
2011 Nov 20, Egyptian riot
police clashed for a second day in downtown Cairo with some five
thousand rock-throwing protesters demanding that the ruling military
quickly announce a date to hand over power to an elected government.
Egypt's culture minister resigned in protest at the government
response to demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
(AP, 11/20/11)(AFP, 11/21/11)
2011 Nov 21, Egyptian security
forces fired tear gas and clashed with several thousand protesters
in Cairo's Tahrir Square in the third straight day of violence that
has turned into the most sustained challenge yet to the rule of
Egypt's military. 19 more people were killed over night raising the
death toll to 24 since the violence began on Nov 19. Egypt's
military-appointed cabinet of civilian officials announced its
resignation late in the day, but state television quoted a SCAF
source as saying this was rejected by the military. 3 American
students (Derrik Sweeney (19) of Georgetown University, Luke Gates
(21) of Indiana University student, and Gregory Porter (19) of
Drexel University student) accused of throwing firebombs, were among
those arrested. They were ordered released on Nov 24.
(AP, 11/21/11)(AFP, 11/22/11)(SFC, 11/23/11,
p.A4)(AP, 11/24/11)
2011 Nov 22, In Egypt tens of
thousands of protesters swarmed Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand an
end to military rule, as the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces (SCAF) was locked in crisis talks with a number of political
forces in a bid to defuse the crisis.
(AFP, 11/22/11)
2011 Nov 23, Egyptian police
clashed with anti-government protesters for a fifth day in central
Cairo as a rights group raised the overall death toll from the
ongoing unrest to at least 38. The UN strongly condemned what it
called the use of excessive force by security forces.
(AP, 11/23/11)
2011 Nov 24, Egypt's military
rulers said that parliamentary elections will start on schedule next
week despite escalating unrest and they rejected protesters' calls
for them to immediately step down. A court ordered the release of 3
American university students arrested on Nov 21. Mona Eltahawy (44),
a prominent Egyptian-born US columnist, was sexually assaulted by
local police, who beat and blindfolded her after she was detained
near Tahrir Square during clashes, leaving her left arm and right
hand broken and in casts.
(AP, 11/24/11)
2011 Nov 25, Egypt's military
rulers announced that Kamal el-Ganzouri (78), a prime minister from
ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's era, will head the next government.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators packed Cairo's Tahrir Square
after days of deadly clashes, demanding the military rulers step
down and rejecting their choice of new prime minister. The Tahrir
protest was countered by a rival demonstration in a square about
three km (two miles) away, where more than 10,000 people gathered to
show support for the military chanting "Down with Tahrir."
(AP, 11/25/11)(AFP, 11/26/11)
2011 Nov 25, In Egypt masked
gunmen blew up a gas pipeline which supplies Egyptian gas to Israel,
in the eighth such attack this year.
(AFP, 11/25/11)
2011 Nov 25, In Egypt Mona
al-Gharib (25), the pregnant wife of Syrian dissident and journalist
Thaer al-Nashef, was reportedly abducted in Egypt by Syrian
intelligence agents.
(AP, 11/26/11)
2011 Nov 26, Egyptian security
forces clashed with protesters camped outside the Cabinet building,
leaving one man dead, as tensions rose two days ahead of
parliamentary elections being held despite mass demonstrations
against military rule. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi met separately
with Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei and another presidential
hopeful Amr Moussa, who was the former Arab League chief. 24 protest
groups, including two political parties, have announced they are
creating their own "national salvation" government to be headed by
ElBaradei.
(AP, 11/26/11)
2011 Nov 27, In Egypt thousands
of protesters filled Cairo's Tahrir Square for another massive
demonstration to push for the military to immediately return to
their barracks in favor of a civilian presidential council.
(AP, 11/27/11)
2011 Nov 28, Egyptians turned
out in long lines at voting stations in their nation's first
parliamentary elections since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a giant step
toward what they hope will be a democracy after decades of
dictatorship.
(AP, 11/28/11)
2011 Nov 29, In Egypt long
lines formed at polling stations for a second day of voting and the
head of the election commission, Abdel-Mooaez Ibrahim, proclaimed
turnout so far had been "massive and unexpected." The voting process
is staggered over the next six weeks across 27 provinces, divided
into thirds with runoffs held a week after the first round in each
location.
(AP, 11/29/11)
2011 Nov, In Egypt nearly two
weeks of street fighting on downtown Cairo's Mohammed Mahmoud street
left 42 people dead.
(AP, 1/19/13)
2011 Dec 3, Early results from
Egypt's first post-revolution election showed Islamist parties
sweeping to victory, including hardline Salafists, with secular
parties trounced in many areas. Full results after the first Nov
28-29 voting, which saw 62 percent turnout, have been delayed
several times.
(AFP, 12/3/11)
2011 Dec 4, In Egypt initial
election results showed that Islamist parties won 65% of all votes
cast for parties in the first round of parliamentary polls. The
secular liberals, who played a key part in the January-February
uprising, managed just 13.4%.
(AFP, 12/4/11)
2011 Dec 5, Egyptian voters
headed to the polls for two days of runoffs in the country's first
parliamentary elections since Hosni Mubarak's ouster. Islamist
parties have already captured an overwhelming majority of the votes
in the first round.
(AP, 12/5/11)
2011 Dec 7, Egypt's military
ruler swore-in a new government that he says will have more powers
than its predecessor. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi promised to
transfer some of his ruling military council's executive powers to
PM Kamal el-Ganzouri. The Freedom and Justice Party said in a
statement that it won 36 of the 56 seats awarded to individual
candidates in voting which concluded on Dec 6. A member of the junta
said the army would have a final say over those appointed to write a
new constitution next year.
(AP, 12/7/11)(AFP, 12/8/11)
2011 Dec 8, Egypt's biggest
political group the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with the country's
army leaders on Thursday, accusing them of trying to "marginalize"
parliament over the writing of a new constitution.
(AFP, 12/8/11)
2011 Dec 13, Egyptian PM Kamal
al-Ganzuri said that 20,103 political prisoners had been released
since February when a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak.
(AFP, 12/13/11)
2011 Dec 14, Egyptians turned
out in large numbers to vote in the second round of parliamentary
elections that have become a stiff competition between dominant
Islamist parties likely to steer the country in a more religious
direction. A military court sentenced a political activist to two
years in prison after convicting him of criticizing the armed forces
and publishing false information. Maikel Nabil Sanad was arrested in
March and sentenced to three years, but the case was appealed and
sent for retrial.
(AP, 12/14/11)
2011 Dec 15, Egyptians headed
to the polls again in a phased election to choose the first
post-revolution parliament, as liberals faced an uphill battle to
compete with Islamist parties.
(AFP, 12/15/11)
2011 Dec 16, Egyptian troops
clashed with petrol bomb-throwing protesters against military rule
in Cairo, as the worst violence in weeks overshadowed the count in
the second phase of a landmark general election. Fighting raged from
dawn well into the night. The clashes left at least 8 people dead.
(AFP, 12/16/11)(AFP, 12/17/11)
2011 Dec 17, In Egypt violence
raged for a second day in the administrative heart of Cairo as
troops and police deployed in force. The count continued in the
second stage of elections for the lower house of parliament.
(AFP, 12/17/11)
2011 Dec 18, Egypt's military
sought to isolate pro-democracy activists protesting against their
rule, depicting them as conspirators and vandals, as troops and
protesters clashed for a third straight day. At least 10 protesters
have been killed and 441 others wounded in the three days of
violence.
(AP, 12/18/11)
2011 Dec 19, Egyptian soldiers
in riot gear swept through Cairo's Tahrir Square and opened fire on
protesters demanding an immediate end to military rule. The Health
Ministry said at least three people were killed, bringing the death
toll for four days of clashes to 14.
(AP, 12/19/11)
2011 Dec 20, Egyptian troops
and riot police raided Tahrir again in their latest attempt to evict
protesters. Some 10,000 angry women marched in central Cairo to
denounce the attacks on protesters and call on the ruling generals
to step down. Their anger was mostly focused on the case of the
woman stripped half naked and beaten. At least 14 people have been
killed in five days of clashes.
(AP, 12/20/11)(AP, 12/21/11)
2011 Dec 21, In Egypt voting in
election runoffs for the first parliament since Hosni Mubarak's
ouster resumed without the long lines outside polling centers seen
in previous rounds of the staggered vote.
(AP, 12/21/11)
2011 Dec 22, Egypt's
military-appointed PM Kamal el-Ganzouri called for national dialogue
to resolve the country's political crisis and pleaded for a
two-month calm to restore security after weeks of protests and
bloodshed. Some 3,000 students from Ain Shams University in Cairo
marched after a prayer service for a student killed in the recent
clashes. Turnout was light in the second day of voting in run-off
elections.
(AP, 12/22/11)
2011 Dec 23, Several thousand
Egyptians rallied in Cairo's central Tahrir Square to denounce
violence against protesters, especially outraged by images of women
protesters dragged by their hair, beaten and kicked by troops.
Thousands turned out for rival protests in Cairo, exposing the
widening rifts among Egyptians over the ruling military's handling
of transition from Hosni Mubarak's rule.
(AP, 12/23/11)(AFP, 12/23/11)
2011 Dec 24, In Egypt Islamist
parties consolidated earlier gains in the multistage parliamentary
elections, winning nearly 70 percent of the seats determined so far.
The Muslim Brotherhood said it won around 86 of estimated 180 seats
up for grabs in the round, or 47%.
(AP, 12/24/11)
2011 Dec 25, An Egyptian
investigative judge ordered the release today of Alaa Abdel-Fattah
(30), a prominent blogger detained on Oct 30 by the ruling military,
which had accused him of attacking soldiers during deadly clashes in
October.
(AP, 12/25/11)
2011 Dec 27, An Egyptian court
ordered the Egyptian army to stop forced virginity tests on female
detainees, months after the practice sparked a national outcry and
stained the ruling military's reputation.
(AFP, 12/27/11)
2011 Dec 29, Egyptian soldiers
and police stormed non-governmental organization offices throughout
the country, banning employees inside from leaving while they
interrogated them and searched through computer files. At least 18
offices were targeted in the raid. A court acquitted five policemen
of charges of killing five protesters and wounding six others during
the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's longtime regime.
(AP, 12/29/11)
2011 Nezar AlSayyad authored
“Cairo: Histories of a City.”
(SSFC, 7/24/11, p.F7)
2012 Jan 3, Egyptians lined up
in front of polling centers in nine provinces to cast their ballots
in the third and final round of the country's first parliamentary
elections following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. The two-day
balloting is taking place in areas known as strongholds of Islamist
parties and is unlikely to change the outcome of the elections.
(AP, 1/3/12)
2012 Jan 4, Egyptians voted
again in the final round of a phased election to choose the first
parliament since a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak in
February last year.
(AFP, 1/4/12)
2012 Jan 7, Egypt's two main
Islamist parties claimed to have together taken 62.2 percent of the
vote in the final stage of a general election, maintaining their
lead in the overall contest.
(AFP, 1/7/12)
2012 Jan 11, Egypt called off
an annual Jewish festival in the Nile Delta, which draws Israeli
pilgrims every year to the tomb of holy man Abu Hassira (Abi Hasira,
aka Yaakov Abuhatzeira), a renowned religious figure from Morocco,
who fell ill and died in Damanhur, Egypt, in 1880.
(AFP,
1/11/12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damanhur)
2012 Jan 11, Clashes between
Egyptian troops and Bedouin in the Suez district east of Cairo
killed three people as military police tried to evict the Bedouin
from state-owned land.
(AFP, 1/11/12)
2012 Jan 14, Egyptian telecom
magnate Naguib Sawiris, a billionaire Coptic Christian who founded
the liberal Free Egyptians party, faced trial for tweeting a cartoon
of Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse in a face veil, joking
that the cartoon characters would be forced to dress conservatively
if Islamists took power. The trial was delayed as Sawiris failed to
show.
(AFP, 1/9/12)(AFP, 1/14/12)
2012 Jan 14, Egypt's reform
leader Mohamed ElBaradei (69) said he is pulling out of the
country's presidential race to protest the military's failure to put
the country on the path to democracy.
(AP, 1/14/12)
2012 Jan 16, Egypt’s Muslim
Brotherhood, the big winner in the first election since the ousting
of President Hosni Mubarak last February, said it has joined several
other parties in backing Saad el-Katatni. He's the secretary-general
of the Brotherhood's own party.
(AP, 1/16/12)
2012 Jan 18, In Egypt
assailants attacked Nawara Negm, a prominent activist, as she left
work at Cairo's Nileside state television headquarters. She said the
beating took place while scores of policemen and army soldiers
assigned to the protection of the TV building stood by and watched.
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, delivered a thinly veiled warning to
anti-military activists planning a wave of protests to mark the Jan.
25 anniversary of the start of the uprising.
(AP, 1/19/12)
2012 Jan 19, Egypt’s Al-Ahram
newspaper reported that a safe containing radioactive material was
stolen from a site in Al-Dabaa, on the Mediterranean coast. The
low-level radioactive material was stolen from a laboratory at a
construction site for a nuclear power plant that is not yet
operational. A day later the Al-Akhbar newspaper said that the
experts who toured the site a day earlier found "no evidence of any
theft of radioactive material" or any radioactive leakage.
(AFP, 1/19/12)
2012 Jan 23, Egypt's parliament
met for the first time since a popular uprising ousted Hosni
Mubarak. The parliament elected Saad al-Katatni, a leading member of
the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, as speaker. The exact role of
parliament remained unclear, with power remaining in the hands of
the generals who took power from former president Mubarak.
(AFP, 1/23/12)
2012 Jan 24, Egypt's military
ruler decreed a partial lifting of the nation's hated emergency
laws, saying the draconian laws will remain applicable to crimes
committed by "thugs." This would become effective Jan 25, the first
anniversary of the start of the popular uprising that toppled
longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 1/24/12)
2012 Jan 25, Tens of thousands
of Egyptians rallied to mark the first anniversary of the country's
2011 uprising, with liberals and Islamists gathering on different
sides of Cairo's Tahrir Square. The ruling generals have declared
Jan. 25 a national holiday to mark the occasion. Previously, Jan. 25
was Police Day.
(AP, 1/25/12)
2012 Jan 26, It was reported
that Egypt has banned the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood and a number of other Americans from leaving the country as
tensions rise over moves by Egyptian authorities to restrict the
work of international rights organizations. LaHood's organizations
was one of 10 raided last month by Egyptian authorities, who said
they sought to determine if the groups were operating legally.
(AP, 1/26/12)
2012 Jan 27, In Egypt
protesters marched to Cairo's Tahrir Square to join thousands there
demanding democratic change. Today’s rallies marked a year since the
army was deployed to control the deadly protests calling for an end
to Mubarak's regime. Muslim Brotherhood supporters and secular
protesters hurled bottles and rocks at each other and got into
fistfights in Tahrir Square.
(AFP, 1/27/12)(AP, 1/27/12)
2012 Jan 29, Egyptians voted
for the upper house of parliament, in elections that are the latest
step in the country's planned transition from military to civilian
rule. Voting took place in 13 provinces for the first stage of
elections for the largely advisory Shura Council. A second stage
will take place on Feb. 14-15.
(AP, 1/29/12)
2012 Jan 30, In Egypt 7 gunmen
charged into the New Cairo branch of HSBC Bank on the city's
outskirts, firing their weapons in the air, and took money from
tellers. 3 gunmen robbed an armored car as it unloaded money at
another bank in southern Cairo, fleeing with over 3 million Egyptian
pounds ($542,000 dollars).
(AP, 1/30/12)
2012 Jan 31, Egypt's newly
elected lawmakers took aim at the country's military rulers Tuesday,
accusing them of trampling on democratic norms and overstepping
their powers by passing laws, including a crucial one regulating
presidential elections. Several hundred protesters rallied outside
parliament, calling on lawmakers to press the military rulers to
hold speedier and fair trials for former regime officials and settle
retribution claims by the families of those killed during protests.
(AP, 1/31/12)
2012 Jan 31, Egyptian Bedouins
took 25 Chinese factory workers hostage in the northern Sinai
Peninsula. The group demanded the release of militants jailed for a
2005 bombing in Sharm el-Sheikh at the tip of the Egyptian Sinai.
All 25 workers were released by the next day.
(AFP, 1/31/12)(AFP, 2/1/12)
2012 Feb 1, In Egypt fans from
the local Al-Masry team in Port Said chased supporters of the
visiting Al-Ahly soccer club with knives, clubs and stones. Hundreds
fled into the exit corridor, only to be crushed against a locked
gate, their rivals attacking from behind. The Interior Ministry said
74 people died, including one police officer, and 248 were injured,
14 of them police.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012 Feb 2, Egyptians ranging
from soccer fans to lawmakers blamed the country's military rulers
for a bloody post-match riot as anger mounted over the failure of
police to stop the violence. PM Kamal el-Ganzouri dissolved the
Egyptian Soccer Federation's board and referred its members for
questioning by prosecutors.
(AP, 2/2/12)
2012 Feb 2, The World Bank said
Egypt has asked for a $1.0 billion loan to help it rebuild its
economy.
(AFP, 2/2/12)
2012 Feb 3, In Egypt Bedouin
gunmen intercepted a tourist minivan and snatched two female
American tourists and their Egyptian guide at gunpoint near St.
Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula. They were released
unharmed after several hours. 4 masked gunmen stopped the vehicle of
two Italians working for a local food factory in the nearby city of
Suez, taking their car, more than 10,000 euros ($13,000) and their
laptops. Police in Cairo fired salvos of tear gas and birdshot at
protesters angry over a deadly soccer riot as fresh clashes on
Egyptian streets killed 5 people. 6 more died of the wounds over the
next 24 hours.
(AP, 2/3/12)(AFP, 2/3/12)(AP, 2/4/12)
2012 Feb 4, In Egypt protesters
faced off with police in Cairo for a third day in deadly clashes
sparked by anger at the failure of military rulers to prevent
football-linked violence that left scores dead.
(AFP, 2/4/12)
2012 Feb 5, Egyptian
investigating judges referred 44 NGO workers, including 19
Americans, to trial before a criminal court for allegedly being
involved in banned activities and illegally receiving foreign funds.
The decision also slapped a travel ban on all those referred to
trial. The military rulers faced mounting pressure on two fronts,
with a fourth day of violent street protests spearheading calls to
speed up the transfer of power to a civilian administration and the
US threatening to cut more than a billion dollars in badly needed
aid. Since Feb 2 twelve people have been killed in Cairo and Suez.
(AP, 2/5/12)(AFP, 2/5/12)
2012 Feb 6, In Egypt a 5th day
of clashes with police continued outside Cairo's security
headquarters in the wake of deadly football violence and calls by
activists for civil disobedience. At least one protester was killed.
(AFP, 2/6/12)
2012 Feb 8, An Egyptian
production company said "the student members of the Muslim
Brotherhood at Ain Shams University had prevented the film crew from
the 'Dhat' TV series from shooting the scenes set at the
university." The series, adapted from the novel "Dhat" by Egyptian
author Sonallah Ibrahim, takes place in the 1970s, "when women wore
short clothing."
(AFP, 2/9/12)
2012 Feb 10, In Egypt hundreds
of protesters marched to the defense ministry in Cairo demanding the
military rulers' ouster, on the eve of a planned civil disobedience
campaign to mark Hosni Mubarak's overthrow a year ago. Armed
tribesmen kidnapped three South Korean tourists and their Egyptian
guide in the Sinai peninsula. All 4 were released the next day and
plan to continue their tour.
(AFP, 2/10/12)(AP, 2/10/12)(AFP, 2/12/12)
2012 Feb 11, In Egypt student
activists held strikes to mark a year since they toppled Hosni
Mubarak, leaving an increasingly unpopular and defiant military in
charge. The planned day of civil disobedience and strikes saw only a
small turnout.
(AFP, 2/11/12)
2012 Feb 12, In Egypt a UN
freelance consultant was fatally shot in the head while driving
through an upscale Cairo neighborhood in a random daytime shooting.
She was a consultant with the women's fund at the United Nations in
Cairo and also worked at a medical lab.
(AP, 2/12/12)
2012 Feb 12, The Arab League
foreign ministers meeting in Cairo adopted a draft resolution
calling for an immediate cease-fire in Syria and called on the UN
Security Council to pass a resolution creating a joint peacekeeping
force for Syria. Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri threw the terror
network's support behind Syrian rebels trying to topple President
Bashar Assad. Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby accepted the
resignation of Gen. Mohammed Ahmed Al-Dabi, the head of the Syrian
observer mission, and nominated former Jordanian Foreign Minister
Abdullah al-Khatib as the new envoy.
(AP, 2/12/12)
2012 Feb 17, Thousands of
Egyptians rallied in the Mediterranean city of Port Said, saying
that its residents were not behind a deadly soccer riot earlier this
month that killed 74 people.
(AP, 2/17/12)
2012 Feb 18, A Palestinian
official in Gaza said Egypt has promised to provide diesel fuel for
the Gaza Strip's sole power plant, which went down Feb 14 after
running out of fuel.
(AFP, 2/18/12)
2012 Feb 19, Egypt said it was
withdrawing its ambassador to Syria, the latest Arab country to
scale back its relations with the embattled regime in Damascus.
(AP, 2/19/12)
2012 Feb 23, In Egypt
Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, a leading Islamist and presidential hopeful,
suffered a concussion after a carjacking attack on a highway to
Cairo.
(AP, 2/24/12)
2012 Feb 28, Egyptians voted
the Shura Council, a feeble upper house of parliament. Voter turnout
shrank to 6.5%.
(Econ, 3/10/12,
p.58)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shura_Council)
2012 Feb 28, In Egypt all three
judges pulled out of the trial of 43 pro-democracy workers,
including 16 Americans, throwing into question the case that has
ripped US-Egypt relations.
(AP, 2/29/12)
2012 Feb 29, Egypt announced
that 7 American pro-democracy workers, accused of instigating
unrest, are free to leave the country. 9 other Americans up for
trial had had already left the country. Altogether 15 NGO suspects
left the country after each defendant had paid two million pounds
(roughly $330,000/247,000 euros) in bail.
(SFC, 3/1/12, p.A2)(AFP, 3/1/12)
2012 Feb 29, Saudi Arabia said
that it would honor a pledge of $3.75 billion in aid to Egypt, after
complaints by the Egyptian premier that donor countries were failing
to respect their commitments.
(AFP, 2/29/12)
2012 Mar 3, Egyptian lawmakers
clashed over who should have the right to draft the country's
constitution, in a heated debate focusing on the influence of
Islamists on the crucial document and how religiously conservative
Egypt will be.
(AP, 3/3/12)
2012 Mar 3, A Cairo court
dismissed a complaint against Christian tycoon Naguib Sawaris
accused of insulting Islam with a cartoon of Mickey Mouse and Minnie
Mouse in conservative Muslim garb. Hardline Islamist lawyer and MP
Mamduh Ismail said he would appeal.
(AFP, 3/3/12)
2012 Mar 5, In Egypt the ultra
conservative Islamist party al-Nur said Islamist MP Anwar al-Bilkimy
has been forced to resign from parliament and from his party after
claiming that he was injured in a carjacking, when he had in fact
had a nose job.
(AFP, 3/5/12)
2012 Mar 5, Egyptian security
officials said the number of weapons smuggled into Egypt across the
Libyan border is on the increase, with thousands of weapons flooding
into the country. Residents of southern Egypt, where extended
families often accumulate large arsenals to protect property and
settle feuds, were the main buyers. Security officials said
militants have again blown up a gas pipeline in the Sinai peninsula
that transports fuel to Israel.
(AP, 3/5/12)(SFC, 3/6/12, p.A2)
2012 Mar 7, In Egypt the Cairo
Criminal Court acquitted policeman Mohammed Abdel-Moneim, who was
sentenced to death for shooting 20 protesters on Jan. 28 last year
in front of a Cairo police station. The court did not give reasons
for its ruling.
(AP, 3/7/12)
2012 Mar 8, In Egypt a trial
against foreign non-profit groups reopened. Robert Becker, the last
American facing criminal charges in the trial, appeared in court. 15
other Americans had already left Egypt, but Becker chose to stay and
face charges.
(SFC, 3/9/12, p.A2)
2012 Mar 10, Arab and Russian
foreign ministers meeting in Cairo called for an end to the violence
in Syria "whatever its source," as they struggled try to find common
ground on ways to resolve the deadly conflict. Qatari Foreign
Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said that it was time to
send Arab and foreign troops to Syria.
(AFP, 3/10/12)
2012 Mar 12, Egyptian police
said 10 people were killed when the soil caved in on them as they
were illegally digging for ancient treasures under a house in the
village of Arab al-Manasra, north of Luxor.
(AFP, 3/12/12)
2012 Mar 15, Egypt's top
prosecutor charged 75 people in connection with the deadly Feb 1
soccer riot last month in the Mediterranean city of Port Said in
which authorities said fans were thrown to their death off the
stadium walls and others killed by explosives as they tried to flee.
(AP, 3/15/12)
2012 Mar 16, Hundreds of
Egyptian activists rallied in Cairo, lambasting a recent military
tribunal ruling that cleared a military doctor of charges he forced
a "virginity test" on female activists.
(AP, 3/17/12)
2012 Mar 17, In Egypt Pope
Shenouda III (b.1923), the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church
since 1971, died. He led Egypt's Christian minority for 40 years
during a time of increasing tensions with Muslims.
(AP, 3/18/12)
2012 Mar 19, An Egyptian
military court acquitted Mohammed al-Zawahiri, the brother of
Al-Qaeda's leader Ayman, overturning a death sentence in a new
trial. The trial also acquitted several other former militants
including Sayyed Imam Fadl, once the spiritual leader of the
Egyptian Islamic Jihad and mentor of Ayman al-Zawahiri.
(AFP, 3/19/12)
2012 Mar 20, A Egyptian court
in Cairo gave suspended one-year sentences to 11 policemen accused
of killing 22 protesters and wounding 44 others during last year’s
uprising that ousted Pres. Mubarek.
(SFC, 3/21/12, p.A2)
2012 Mar 22, A dispute between
Egypt and Gaza's Hamas government has produced the worst energy
crisis here in years: Gazans are enduring 18-hour-a-day blackouts,
fuel is running low for hospital backup generators, raw sewage pours
into the Mediterranean Sea for lack of treatment pumps and gas
stations have shut down. The Gaza power plant shut down on Feb. 10
and has been mostly offline since.
(AP, 3/22/12)
2012 Mar 23, Egyptian officials
reached an agreement with Israel to permit the transfer of fuel to
enable Gaza's sole power plant to function. Some 450,000 liters of
fuel were delivered to the crisis-hit Gaza Strip through Israel's
Kerem Shalom border crossing.
(AFP, 3/23/12)
2012 Mar 23, The Obama
administration said it would resume military aid to Egypt.
(SFC, 3/24/12, p.A2)
2012 Mar 24, Egypt's
Islamist-dominated parliament and senate began meeting to elect a
panel to draft a new constitution amid calls by liberal groups for
protests against Islamist influence over the charter.
(AFP, 3/24/12)
2012 Mar 24, Egyptian soldiers
and police clashed overnight with thousands of angry soccer fans in
a Suez Canal city over the suspension of their club following a
deadly riot last month. One teenager was reported killed with a
gunshot to the back.
(AP, 3/24/12)
2012 Mar 25, Egypt's newly
empowered Islamists have tightened their grip, giving themselves a
majority on a 100-member panel tasked with drafting a constitution
that will define the shape of the government in the post-Hosni
Mubarak era. The panel will have nearly 60 Islamists, including 37
legislators selected the day before by parliament's two chambers.
(AP, 3/25/12)
2012 Mar 26, In Egypt two
prominent liberal politicians pulled out from a panel tasked with
drafting a new constitution after Islamists won a majority of seats
on the body. The 100-member panel selected over the weekend includes
nearly 60 Islamists and only six women and six minority Christians.
(AP, 3/26/12)
2012 Mar 26, In Egypt 3 people
were killed and a dozen others injured when a tugboat engine
exploded in the Suez Canal. Movement in the vital waterway was not
affected.
(AFP, 3/26/12)
2012 Mar 27, In Egypt liberal
and leftist parties announced that they have pulled out of a panel
drafting Egypt's new constitution, accusing Islamists of
monopolizing the process that will deliver the country's
post-revolution charter. Cairo's Administrative Court began looking
into the legitimacy of the constitutional panel after lawsuits were
filed by several legal experts who argue that the constitution
cannot be drafted by those whose role it will define.
(AFP, 3/27/12)
2012 Mar 28, In Egypt members
of a controversial panel tasked with drafting a new constitution
elected Muslim Brotherhood member Saad al-Katatni, currently the
speaker of parliament, to head the committee.
(AFP, 3/28/12)
2012 Mar 29, Egyptian political
parties reached an agreement to boost their representation in a
disputed constitutional panel dominated by Islamists. 14 parties,
including the main Islamist ones, supported the compromise and five
opposed.
(AFP, 3/29/12)
2012 Mar 30, In Egypt dozens of
anti-military activists tore down a wall in central Cairo erected by
the military in December to end bloody clashes with protesters.
(AFP, 3/30/12)
2012 Mar 31, Five Egyptian
Copts, including two teenage girls, were crushed to death at the
tomb of their spiritual leader Pope Shenuda III who died last week.
Monastery officials had allowed visitors to visit Shenuda's tomb,
prompting a rush to the desert monastery.
(AFP, 3/31/12)
2012 Apr 2, Egypt's official
MENA news agency reported that the Coptic Orthodox church has
decided to boycott a Islamist-dominated panel charged with drafting
the future constitution.
(AFP, 4/2/12)
2012 Apr 5, Egyptian security
forces and military aircraft searched south-eastern Sinai for
militants believed to be behind a rocket launch against Israel. A
rocket fired from Egypt's Sinai desert hit the southern Israeli
resort city of Eilat early today There were no injuries.
(AP, 4/5/12)
2012 Apr 10, An Egyptian court
suspended a 100-member panel selected by lawmakers from the
Islamist-dominated parliament and tasked with drafting the country's
new constitution. The verdict referred the case to a panel of senior
judges to look into the legality of the panel.
(AP, 4/10/12)
2012 Apr 10, In Egypt residents
blocked a motorway on the Libyan border to protest security
restrictions on cross-border traffic and increased tariffs for
lorries. Security forces intervened, leading to clashes that left
two people dead and four injured.
(AFP, 4/11/12)
2012 Apr 11, In Egypt Salafist
politician Hazem Abu Ismail looked set to rejoin the presidential
race after a court ruled that his mother was not a US citizen.
(AFP, 4/11/12)
2012 Apr 12, Egypt’s
Islamist-dominated parliament passed a new bill stripping senior
Mubarak regime figures, such as ex-spy chief Omar Suleiman, from the
right to run for office for the next 10 years. The ruling military
council must ratify the bill before it can go into effect.
(AP, 4/13/12)
2012 Apr 13, In Egypt thousands
of Islamists packed Cairo's Tahrir Square to pressure the country's
ruling generals to bar Hosni Mubarak-era officials, including his
former spy chief, from running in the upcoming presidential
elections.
(AP, 4/13/12)
2012 Apr 14, Egypt's election
commission disqualified 10 presidential hopefuls, including Hosni
Mubarak's former spy chief and fundamentalist Islamists, from
running in the race for the country's first post-revolutionary
leader.
(AP, 4/15/12)
2012 Apr 15, In Egypt Islamist
militants driving vehicles mounted with machine guns opened fire on
a police checkpoint in the Sinai peninsula, killing two policemen
and injuring a third. In the port city of Suez, one person died and
24 were injured during a fire that raged for nearly 20 hours in the
storage facilities of an oil company.
(AP, 4/15/12)
2012 Apr 17, Egypt’s electoral
commission on technical grounds barred 10 of 23 presidential
candidates.
(Econ, 4/21/12, p.62)
2012 Apr 17, A prominent
Egyptian human rights lawyer, Ahmed el-Gezawi, was arrested upon his
arrival in the Saudi port of Jiddah. He was on his way to perform a
minor pilgrimage. El-Gezawi had earlier filed a lawsuit in Egypt
against King Abdullah over the alleged arbitrary detention of
hundreds of Egyptians living in the kingdom. A rights group said he
has criticized the monarch in television interviews.
(AP, 4/24/12)
2012 Apr 20, In Egypt tens of
thousands of protesters packed Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square in the
biggest demonstration in months against the ruling military. But the
crowds in Tahrir were divided between rival groups with differing
complaints and goals.
(AP, 4/20/12)
2012 Apr 22, Egypt said it had
scrapped the 2005 gas export deal with Israel, which generates 40
percent of its electricity from natural gas, with Egypt providing 43
percent of its gas supplies. The balance comes from Israel's own Yam
Thetis offshore gas field. East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG),
which exports the gas to Israel, said it was cancelled because the
Israeli company failed to respect conditions stipulated in the
contract.
(AFP, 4/23/12)
2012 Apr 23, Egyptian
authorities said they have denied permission to eight American
nonprofit groups to operate locally, including a center headed by
former President Jimmy Carter that monitors elections.
(AP, 4/23/12)
2012 Apr 24, An Egyptian court
upheld a conviction against popular comedian Adel Imam (71) for
offending Islam in some of his most popular films. He was sentenced
to 3 months in jail and fined around $170. On Sep 12 an appeals
court said the lawyer was not personally harmed by the movies and
had no standing to sue.
(SFC, 4/25/12, p.A2)(AP, 9/12/12)
2012 Apr 24, Hundreds of
Egyptians noisily protested outside the Saudi Embassy to demand the
release of an Egyptian human rights lawyer detained on April 17 in
Saudi Arabia for allegedly insulting the kingdom's monarch.
(AP, 4/24/12)
2012 Apr 26, Egypt's election
commission released a final list of 13 candidates eligible to run in
the May 23-24 presidential elections.
(AP, 4/26/12)
2012 Apr 28, In Egypt reform
leader Mohamed ElBaradei launched the Constitution Party, a new
political party that he said aims to unite Egyptians and save the
country's revolution from a messy democratic transition. Assailants
attacked demonstrators gathered outside the Defense Ministry in
Cairo to call for an end to military rule with rocks and firebombs,
killing one protester and wounding 30.
(AP, 4/28/12)(AP, 4/29/12)
2012 Apr 28, Saudi Arabia's
official news agency said the kingdom has closed its embassy and
consulates in Egypt and recalled its ambassador following protests
over a detained Egyptian human rights lawyer Ahmed el-Gezawi.
(AP, 4/28/12)
2012 Apr 29, Egypt's
Islamist-dominated parliament decided to suspend sessions for a week
in protest at the ruling military refusing to sack the government
and name the Muslim Brotherhood's party to head a new one. One
person was killed and 119 injured in clashes between Abu Ismail
supporters and residents of the Abbassiya neighborhood in Cairo,
where the defense ministry is located.
(AFP, 4/29/12)(AFP, 5/2/12)
2012 May 2, In Egypt suspected
supporters of the military rulers attacked predominantly Islamist
anti-government protesters outside the Defense Ministry in Cairo,
setting off clashes that left 20 dead as political tensions rise
three weeks before crucial presidential elections.
(AFP, 5/2/12)
2012 May 4, In Egypt thousands
rallied against the country's ruling military council, two days
after a flare-up of street violence left at least nine dead and
fueled a wave of Islamist-led opposition to the generals ahead of
presidential elections. Military prosecutors detained some 320
Egyptian protesters following clashes outside the country's Defense
Ministry. Two people were reported killed and over 300 people
injured.
(AP, 5/4/12)(AFP, 5/5/12)
2012 May 5, Egypt's military
ruler attended an unprecedented public funeral for a soldier killed
in clashes with protesters. The army decided to hold 179 people,
including 13 women, for 15 days pending investigation.
(AFP, 5/5/12)
2012 May 6, Egypt's
Islamist-dominated parliament approved a ban on the country's next
president from sending civilians for trial by military tribunals,
but preserving that power for the military itself.
(AP, 5/6/12)
2012 May 7, In Egypt
investigating judges sent 293 people to trial on charges related to
protests last December that left 14 people dead in 4 days of
clashes.
(SFC, 5/8/12, p.A2)
2012 May 8, An Egyptian court
upheld a one-year prison sentence for prominent activist Asmaa
Mahfouz for assaulting a witness in an ongoing trial over a deadly
clash between soldiers and Christians. She was in the United States
and unable to attend the sentencing.
(AFP, 5/8/12)
2012 May 11, Egyptian
expatriates voted to replace ousted leader Hosni Mubarak in what
were hoped to be the first genuinely contested presidential
elections in the country's history. The general election begins May
23.
(AP, 5/11/12)
2012 May 17, In Egypt a Cairo
court found 14 policemen not guilty in the killing of protesters
during last year’s popular uprising. They were among 200 security
officers and former regime officials facing trial for the deaths of
nearly 850 protesters.
(SFC, 5/18/12, p.A2)
2012 May 17, Algerian singer
Warda al-Jazairia (72), the Algerian Rose, died in Cairo. She was a
regional icon whose powerful patriotic tunes were matched in
popularity by her romantic ballads. She performed for presidents and
popular audiences, reinventing herself over the decades to appeal to
old and young alike.
(AFP, 5/18/12)
2012 May 19, The European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development approved investment of 1.0
billion euros for expansion into north Africa and the Middle East
under its first British president, Suma Chakrabarti, who a day
earlier replaced Thomas Mirow from Germany. The EBRD is planning to
invest specifically in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan.
(AFP, 5/19/12)
2012 May 21, An Egyptian court
sentenced 12 Christians to life in prison and acquitted 8 Muslims in
relations to the April, 2010, strife in Minya province that left 2
Muslims dead.
(SFC, 5/22/12, p.A2)
2012 May 22, An Egyptian court
sentenced five policemen to 10 years in prison in absentia for
killing protesters, in a rare conviction of security officials
accused of using deadly force against the demonstrations that
overthrew Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Out of the 17 defendants who
appeared before the Giza Criminal Court, two others received
one-year suspended sentences while ten other policemen were
acquitted.
(AP, 5/22/12)
2012 May 23, Egyptians voted in
presidential elections for the first time in generations. A field of
13 candidates ran in the 2-day vote. This first run was not expected
to produce an outright winner. A runoff between the two top
vote-getters will be held June 16-17.
(AP, 5/23/12)
2012 May 25, Egypt’s Muslim
Brotherhood predicted its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, would face
former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, a veteran of Mubarak's rule, in
a runoff to be held on June 16-17. Counts from stations around the
country reported by the state news agency gave Mohammed Morsi 25.3%
and Ahmed Shafiq 24.9% with less than 100,000 votes difference.
(AP, 5/25/12)(AP, 5/26/12)
2012 May 26, Egyptian
presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq (70) paid tribute to the
"glorious revolution" that toppled Hosni Mubarak. Shafiq, the last
prime minister to serve under Mubarak, vowed there would be no
"recreation of the old regime" as he prepared to face off against
Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in a runoff on June 16-17.
(AP, 5/26/12)
2012 May 27, An Egyptian
criminal court convicted Zakaria Azmi, Hosni Mubarak's chief of
staff, of corruption and sentenced him to seven years in prison. He
was also fined 36.3 million pounds ($6 million).
(AP, 5/27/12)
2012 May 29, In Egypt final
election results showed that that Mohammed Morsi won close to 5.8
million votes, or almost 25%, while Ahmed Shafiq garnered 5.5
million votes, or nearly 24%. Finishing third was leftist candidate
Hamdeen Sabahi with 4.8 million votes, or about 21%.
(AP, 5/29/12)
2012 May 30, In Egypt Hosni
Mubarak's two sons were accused with insider trading in a new case.
7 others were also accused of conspiring to stealthily buy a
controlling 80 percent stake in Al Watany Bank of Egypt without
declaring their share to the stock market authority.
A criminal court convicted and sentenced to five years in prison a
policeman for his part in the shooting death of 18 protesters on
January 28, 2011, the bloodiest day of Egypt’s uprising.
(AP, 5/31/12)
2012 May 31, Egypt's notorious
emergency law, in force since 1981, lapsed at the end of a two-year
extension passed by ousted President Hosni Mubarak's parliament.
(AP, 5/31/12)
2012 Jun 2, In Egypt Hosni
Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for failing to stop the
killing of protesters during the uprising that forced him from power
last year. His former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly, who was in
charge of the police and other security forces at the time of the
uprising, was also convicted of failing to act to stop the killings.
The ousted president and his sons were acquitted, however, of
corruption charges in a mixed verdict that swiftly provoked a new
wave of anger on Egypt's streets.
(AP, 6/2/12)
2012 Jun 3, In Egypt hundreds
of people occupied Cairo's Tahrir Square after a night of rage
against what they feel are lenient sentences given to ousted
dictator Hosni Mubarak and his security chiefs.
(AFP, 6/3/12)
2012 Jun 5, Egyptians in their
hundreds began gathering in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square ahead of a
mass demonstration to protest against verdicts handed down in
ex-president Hosni Mubarak's murder trial.
(AFP, 6/5/12)
2012 Jun 8, In Egypt a mob of
hundreds of men assaulted women holding a march demanding an end to
sexual harassment, with the attackers overwhelming the male
guardians and groping and molesting several of the female marchers
in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
(AP, 6/8/12)
2012 Jun 14, Egypt's highest
court ruled that former PM Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to
serve under Hosni Mubarak, can stay in the presidential race and
that a third of lawmakers in parliament were illegally elected,
forcing a re-vote in a potential blow to Islamists who dominate the
legislature.
(AP, 6/14/12)
2012 Jun 15, Egypt's Muslim
Brotherhood warned that a court ruling to dissolve the Islamist-led
parliament and let Hosni Mubarak's former prime minister run for
president is a move toward reversing the gains of the revolution.
(AP, 6/15/12)
2012 Jun 16, Egyptians entered
their latest round of elections in a race between Ahmed Shafiq, a
career air force officer, and the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed
Morsi. The two-day balloting will produce Egypt's first president
since the ouster of Mubarak. The military told parliament it has
been dissolved and banned its members from entering the house after
a court annulled the last legislative poll.
(AP, 6/16/12)(AFP, 6/16/12)
2012 Jun 17, Egyptians voted
for a 2nd day in a presidential runoff pitting Hosni Mubarak's last
prime minister against a conservative Islamist. Mohammed Morsi of
the Muslim Brotherhood took nearly 52% of the vote to defeat
Mubarak's last PM Ahmed Shafiq with about 48%. The military council
issued an interim constitution just as polls were closing that gave
the generals sweeping authority to maintain their grip on power and
subordinate the nominal head of state. The interim constitution
declared the military rulers the country's lawmakers in lieu of the
dissolved parliament, gave them control over the budget and the
power to determine who writes the permanent constitution that will
define the country's future.
(AP, 6/17/12)(AP, 6/18/12)
2012 Jun 18, In Egypt Ahmed
Shafiq angrily dismissed claims of victory by his rival Mohammed
Mursi, accusing the Muslim Brotherhood candidate of using false
figures. Official results were not expected until June 21.
(AFP, 6/18/12)
2012 Jun 18, Israel carried out
an air strike on northern Gaza, killing two Palestinians who were
identified by local witnesses as members of the radical Islamic
Jihad movement. Hours earlier a group of militants, who sneaked
across the Egyptian border, killed an Israeli civilian sparking a
firefight which left at least two gunmen dead.
(AFP, 6/18/12)
2012 Jun 19, Egypt's Hosni
Mubarak (84) suffered a stroke in prison and was put on life
support. State news initially said Mubarek was “clinically dead.”
(AFP, 6/19/12)(AP, 6/20/12)(SFC, 6/20/12, p.A4)
2012 Jun 20, In Egypt Hosni
Mubarek was in a coma but off life support and his heart and other
vital organs were functioning following a stroke a day earlier.
(AP, 6/20/12)
2012 Jun 22, In Egypt tens of
thousands rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square to support Mohammed
Morsi, the Brotherhood's candidate for president. A delay in the
run-off results, which had been due a day earlier, widely raised
suspicions that the result was being negotiated rather than counted.
(AP, 6/22/12)
2012 Jun 24, Egypt’s head of
the electoral commission announced that Muslim Brotherhood member
Mohamed Morsi with 51.73% of the vote is declared the first
president of Egypt since a popular uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak.
Tens of thousands packed into Cairo's Tahrir Square in the largest
celebration the protest hub has witnessed since Hosni Mubarak's
ouster, to celebrate their new president-elect, Mohamed Morsi.
(AFP, 6/24/12)
2012 Jun 26, Egypt’s state
media reported that Hassan Abdel Rahman, the former head of the
feared State Security Investigations, will face trial with 40 police
co-defendants for destroying records. A court had acquitted on June
2 Abdel Rahman and six police commanders for failing to prevent the
killings of protesters. Egypt's administrative court suspended a
justice ministry decision that had empowered the military to arrest
civilians, responding to an appeal by 17 rights groups against the
controversial June 13 decree.
(AFP, 6/26/12)(AFP, 6/27/12)
2012 Jun 26, Egypt’s losing
presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq fled to the UAR hours after a
top prosecutor ordered an investigation into allegations that he had
wasted public funds.
(SFC, 6/27/12, p.A2)
2012 Jun 28, An Egyptian court
jailed for 15 years each former oil minister Sameh Fahmi and
fugitive businessman Hussein Salem for selling natural gas to Israel
below market value. Five former high ranking officials from the oil
and gas authority received jail sentences raging from three to 10
years on similar charges.
(AFP, 6/28/12)
2012 Jun 30, In Egypt Mohamed
Morsi took the oath of office to become the country’s first Islamist
president and its first elected head of state since the revolt that
overthrew Hosni Mubarak overthrow last year.
(AFP, 6/30/12)
2012 Jun 30, Egyptian press
reported that security forces have seized a large weapons
consignment, including Grad rockets, that had been smuggled from
Libya and could have been headed to the Gaza Strip.
(AFP, 6/30/12)
2012 Jul 2, Syria's main exiled
opposition groups met in Cairo to try to forge a common vision for a
political transition in Syria. Rebel fighters and activists based in
Syria announced they would boycott the Cairo meeting. The
Observatory said at least 5 civilians were killed today.
(AFP, 7/2/12)
2012 Jul 3, The Syrian
Revolution General Commission (SRGC) pulled out of the Cairo
conference, citing political disputes. The Syrian Kurdish National
Council stormed out of the meeting, protesting that the final
document failed to specifically mention the Kurds.
(AFP, 7/4/12)
2012 Jul 4, Egyptian security
officials said university student Ahmed Hussein Eid (20) was fatally
stabbed as his girlfriend looked on after three suspected Islamic
militants confronted the couple and told them they should not be
together in public. The killing followed murders of two musicians,
also by suspected militants.
(AP, 7/4/12)
2012 Jul 4, Syria's fractured
opposition groups wound up talks in Cairo that descended into chaos
and even fist fights as they tried to forge a common vision for a
transition in their country. They did agree on the final documents,
which included an end to the Assad regime, support of the Free
Syrian Army, and agreement on basic constitutional principles of
justice, democracy and pluralism.
(AFP, 7/4/12)
2012 Jul 4, Sweden granted
permanent residency to Ahmed Agiza (49), a former Egyptian terror
suspect. The Swedish government has acknowledged blame for the
circumstances of the 2001 deportation and that Agiza and fellow
Egyptian Muhammed Alzery were tortured in Egypt. It has awarded them
3 million kronor ($433,000) each in compensation for circumstances
related to their deportations.
(AFP, 7/4/12)
2012 Jul 7, Egyptian border
guards arrested 68 Eritreans and Ethiopians trying to sneak across
the border into Israel.
(AFP, 7/8/12)
2012 Jul 8, Egypt's new
President Mohamed Morsi issued a decree annulling the Supreme
Court's June 14 dissolution of the Islamist-dominated parliament.
(AFP, 7/8/12)
2012 Jul 9, Egypt's highest
court insisted that its ruling that led to the dissolution of the
Islamist-dominated parliament was final and binding, setting up a
showdown with the country's newly elected president. Egypt's MENA
state news agency said speaker Saad el-Katatni has called for
parliament to meet on July 10.
(AP, 7/9/12)
2012 Jul 10, Egypt's
Islamist-dominated parliament opened a new front in the country's
leadership showdowns by meeting in defiance of orders that disbanded
the chamber and brought President Mohammed Morsi in conflict with
both the powerful military and the highest court. The session was
brief, lasting just five minutes. The Supreme Constitutional Court
on annulled a decree by newly-elected President Mohamed Morsi
reinstating the Islamist-led lower house of parliament. Thousands of
protesters rallied in Tahrir Square in support of Morsi.
(AP, 7/10/12)(AFP, 7/11/12)
2012 Jul 11, Egypt's President
Mohamed Morsi said he will respect a court ruling overturning his
decree for the dissolved Islamist-dominated parliament to convene.
(AFP, 7/11/11)
2012 Jul 13, Egypt's new
Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and Tunisian President Moncef
Marzouki told reporters in Cairo that the two nations will rebuild
ties after what he described as years of stagnant, routine
relations.
(AP, 7/13/12)
2012 Jul 13, In Egypt Bedouin
men kidnapped two US tourists and their guide in the lawless Sinai.
Police said that they were demanding the release of a jailed
tribesman in exchange for the hostages. Rev. Michel Louis (61) and
Lissa Alphonse (39) and their guide, Haytham Ragab, were released on
July 16.
(AFP, 7/13/12)(AP, 7/16/12)
2012 Jul 14, In northern Egypt
some 23,000 textile workers went on strike in Mahalla al-Kobra,
demanding higher wages.
(AP, 7/15/12)
2012 Jul 14, In Egypt an
11-storey building in the poor Alexandria neighborhood of al-Gomrouk
collapsed onto three adjacent buildings, reducing much of the
structures to rubble. 19 people were reported killed.
(AP, 7/15/12)(AFP, 7/16/12)
2012 Jul 16, Egypt’s ousted
leader Hosni Mubarek (84) was returned to a Cairo prison.
(SFC, 7/17/12, p.A2)
2012 Jul 19, In Egypt bearded
men in the short robes, favored by some Islamists, machine-gunned 2
soldiers as they were walking on foot in Sheikh Zweid town near the
Gaza Strip. Pres. Morsi, who was sworn in last month as Egypt's
first elected civilian president, issued an order to pardon 572
people convicted by military tribunals.
(AP, 7/19/12)(AFP, 7/23/12)
2012 Jul 19, In Ohio Omar
Suleiman (76), Egypt's former spy chief, died in Cleveland. Suleiman
was appointed vice president on Jan. 29, 2011, at the peak of last
year's revolution.
(AP, 7/19/12)
2012 Jul 21, An Egyptian court
sentenced Ali Wanees, an ultraconservative former lawmaker and
cleric, to a year in prison for public indecency, after police said
they found him fondling a woman on his lap in a parked car at night.
He was tried in absentia and is allowed a retrial. The court
sentenced the woman he was with to six months in jail.
(AP, 7/21/12)
2012 Jul 22, In Egypt attackers
blew up a gas pipeline in the Sinai used to export fuel to Israel
and Jordan, the 15th such attack since 2011.
(AFP, 7/22/12)
2012 Jul 23, Egypt began to
release detainees held by the military following a decree last week
by President Mohamed Morsi.
(AFP, 7/23/12)
2012 Jul 23, Egypt's ambassador
to the West Bank Yasser Othman said transiting Palestinians can
enter Egypt for 72 hours to arrange their own travel. A Palestinian
official in Cairo said more easing of restrictions are being
negotiated.
(AP, 7/23/12)
2012 Jul 24, Egypt's president
designated Hesham Kandil, a young, independent US-educated
irrigation minister, as the new prime minister to form a government
that will be tasked with turning the country's economy and security
around.
(AP, 7/24/12)
2012 Aug 2, A judge in Egypt
investigating corruption charges against former Hosni Mubarak
premier Ahmed Shafiq ordered Mubarak's two sons detained for
allegedly buying land from Shafiq at below market price.
(AFP, 8/2/12)
2012 Aug 5, In Egypt some 35
suspected Islamists attacked a checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula
near Rafah, killing 16 soldiers before stealing two of their
vehicles and bursting through a security fence into Israel. 8
militants were killed by Israeli forces who struck from the air, as
well as with tanks and artillery.
(AP, 8/6/12)(AP, 8/8/12)
2012 Aug 7, In Egypt gunmen
opened fire late this night on three security checkpoints around
el-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province. Egypt’s military in
response started a joint military-police ground operation in Sinai,
backed by warplanes, to "restore stability and regain control" of
the Sinai.
(AP, 8/8/12)
2012 Aug 8, Egypt's state
television reported the military killed 20 militants in
unprecedented air strikes. Egypt said the attackers who killed 16
Egyptian soldiers had help from Gaza. In response Egypt closed its
border crossing and shut down hundreds of smuggling tunnels. Gazans
said the sealing of their territory following a weekend attack by
Islamic militants has sent prices soaring and is leaving hundreds of
medical patients stranded. President Mohammed Morsi fired his
intelligence chief for failing to act on an Israeli warning of an
imminent attack days before militants stormed a border post in the
Sinai Peninsula.
(AFP, 8/8/12)(AP, 8/8/12)
2012 Aug 9, In Egypt a massive
power cut hit large parts of Cairo, home to some 18 million people,
halting much of its metro service and delaying trading on the stock
exchange.
(AP, 8/9/12)
2012 Aug 10, Egyptian troops
stormed a house in Sheik Zweid, close to Rafah border crossing with
Gaza Strip, and caught 9 Islamic militants while they were asleep.
Gunmen attacked a checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula overnight,
causing no casualties, as the army massed troops to quell
increasingly deadly Islamist militants.
(AP, 8/10/12)(AFP, 8/10/12)
2012 Aug 11, Egypt's official
news agency said Qatar has granted Egypt a $2 billion loan to help
the country's flagging economy.
(AP, 8/11/12)
2012 Aug 12, Egypt's President
Morsi announced a surprise decision to retire the defense minister
and chief of staff and seize back the powers the military grabbed
from his office. Security forces killed 6 suspected militants during
raids on hideouts in two villages in northern Sinai. They seized
landmines, an anti-aircraft missile, heavy machine-guns and
grenades. Separately 3 policemen were killed and four others injured
when their car turned over while chasing a group of criminals in
central Sinai.
(AP, 8/12/12)
2012 Aug 14, Egyptian Cabinet
ministers and World Bank officials signed off on a $200 million
project aimed at creating 250,000 jobs after more than a year of
slow economic growth.
(AP, 8/14/12)
2012 Aug 14, Egypt's security
forces exchanged fire with militants in the Sinai peninsula, as the
military continued its campaign against Islamists in the lawless
region.
(AFP, 8/14/12)
2012 Aug 14, Egypt opened its
border with Hamas-ruled Gaza for a 3-day period ahead of a major
Muslim holiday this weekend, but imposed tight restrictions on who
can travel and did not say whether it would resume normal border
operations. From its side, Hamas also temporarily prevented access
to the illegal underground tunnels in a show of goodwill toward
Egypt.
(AP, 8/14/12)
2012 Aug 16, In Egypt a Cairo
court charged controversial TV presenter Tawfiq Okasha with
suggesting the killing of Pres. Morsi during his nightly TV show.
The court also referred the chief editor of el-Dustour daily, Islam
Afifi, for his newspaper's harsh criticism of Morsi.
(AP, 8/17/12)
2012 Aug 18, In Egypt militants
wounded three policemen in the Sinai Peninsula in an ambush of their
vehicle with a rocket propelled grenade.
(AFP, 8/18/12)
2012 Aug 23, A Cairo court
ordered Islam Afifi, the chief editor of the privately-owned
el-Dustour daily newspaper, detained pending trial on charges of
insulting Egypt’s president and "spreading lies." Afifi was released
from jail just hours later after Pres. Morsi issued a law banning
the imprisonment of journalists accused of media-related offenses.
(AP, 8/23/12)(AP, 8/24/12)
2012 Aug 24, In Egypt some 200
hundred protesters rallied in Tahrir Square to denounce the
country's Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood group.
(AP, 8/24/12)
2012 Aug 25, Egyptian security
officials said military engineers have blocked 120 tunnels used for
smuggling to and from the Gaza Strip since the start of operations
in the neighboring Sinai Peninsula.
(AFP, 8/25/12)
2012 Aug 25, A boat carrying
some 40 Egyptian migrants sank off the coast of Libya. Fisherman
rescued 33 migrants but 7 remained missing.
(AFP, 8/27/12)(AFP, 8/28/12)
2012 Aug 26, An Egyptian
security official says Egypt has reopened its passenger terminal
with the Gaza Strip and resumed normal operations there after nearly
three weeks of disruption following a deadly attack on Egyptian
soldiers by Islamic militants.
(AP, 8/26/12)
2012 Aug 26, In Egypt Ibrahim
Madhan, a suspected militant, was killed while riding a motorcycle
in the Sinai Peninsula some 15 km (9 miles) from the Israeli border.
(AP, 8/26/12)
2012 Aug 28, Egyptian Deputy
Foreign Minister Ramzi Ezzeldin Ramzi formally gave Iran the
rotating presidency of the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement. Iran is
currently hosting the weeklong gathering of the 51-year-old group,
which ends Aug 31.
(AP, 8/28/12)
2012 Aug 29, The Egyptian
military said that 11 "terrorists" have been killed in its campaign
against Islamist militants in the Sinai peninsula. This contradicted
earlier claims of having killed 20 militants in helicopter strikes.
(AFP, 8/29/12)
2012 Aug 29, Egyptian
prosecutors said they have charged Safwat el-Sherif, former Pres.
Mubarak's minister of information for nearly two decades, with
corruption. An official said he had illegally appropriated villas,
lands and apartments originally owned by the state and had also
received gifts worth millions of Egyptian pounds from chief editors
in the state media in return for keeping them in their positions.
(AP, 8/29/12)
2012 Aug 30, Egypt’s Pres.
Mohammed Morsi urged the world to support the rebels in Syria as he
spoke in Tehran before an int’l. meeting of nonaligned nations.
(SFC, 8/31/12, p.A3)
2012 Aug 31, Egyptian police
found the decapitated head in Sinai of Manazil Bereikat, kidnapped
by Islamist militants, reportedly for his role in assassinating an
extremist. He was from the same tribe of Ibrahim Ouda Bereikat, an
extremist killed in a mysterious explosion near the Israeli border
on August 26.
(AFP, 8/31/12)
2012 Sep 1, Egyptian
authorities arrested Hamada Abou Shita, a militant wanted for his
alleged role in planning and carrying out deadly attacks last year
on a police station and a bank in the Sinai Peninsula. A court
sentenced Abu Shita to death in absentia on Aug. 14 for his alleged
part in the 2011 attacks.
(AP, 9/1/12)
2012 Sep 2, Egypt's state TV
lifted a decades-long ban on veiled female news presenters whom
successive secular-leaning regimes have barred from going on air.
(AP, 9/2/12)
2012 Sep 6, Egypt's PM Hesham
Kandil said Qatar has agreed to invest $18 billion in Egypt over the
next five years to help boost the country's ailing economy.
(AP, 9/6/12)
2012 Sep 6, A Cairo court found
four senior policemen not guilty of the killing of protesters during
last year's popular uprising, the latest acquittal of officials
charged in connection to the 850 deaths caused by the crackdown.
(AP, 9/6/12)
2012 Sep 7, Egypt's national
air carrier said it will resume international flights after the
airline's flight attendants suspended a 12-hour strike pending
negotiations to meet their grievances.
(AP, 9/8/12)
2012 Sep 9, In Egypt about 150
tour guides demonstrated outside Cairo's famed Egyptian Museum. They
said the lack of security and increased lawlessness, which has
plagued much of Egypt following the toppling of Mubarak, has exposed
them to attacks from vendors and competitors and further complicates
attempts to lure tourists back.
(AP, 9/10/12)
2012 Sep 11, Egyptian
protesters scaled the walls of the US embassy in Cairo, tore down
the American flag and burned it during a protest over what they said
was a film being produced in the United States that insulted Prophet
Mohammad.
(Reuters, 9/11/12)
2012 Sep 13, An Egyptian court
convicted former prime minister Ahmed Nazif on corruption charges
and sentenced him to three years in prison. Nazif was also fined 4.5
million Egyptian pounds, or about $750,000. Nazif was already
serving a seven-year term for his role in awarding contracts for
supplying new car license plates without going through legal
procedures.
(AP, 9/13/12)
2012 Sep 13, In Egypt Alber
Saber was arrested after neighbors complained he had shared on
Facebook the amateur film made in the US that sparked protests
across the Muslim world. His arrest came during a wave of public
outrage over the film, produced by an Egyptian-American Copt. On Dec
12 a Cairo court convicted and sentenced Saber to three years in
prison for blasphemy and contempt of religion.
(AP, 12/13/12)
2012 Sep 14, In Egypt a
20-year-old died from wounds suffered from rubber bullets. Several
hundred protesters have been clashing for several days with police
preventing them from reaching the US embassy to protest against an
anti-Muslim film. In Egypt's Sinai Peninsula suspected Islamic
militants stormed the base of int’l. peacekeepers near the
Gaza-Israel border, wounding four officers.
(AP, 9/14/12)
2012 Sep 16, The CEO of EL AL
Airlines said Israel's national airline will stop flying to Cairo,
even though the Israel-Egypt peace treaty mandates flights to the
country. Eliezer Shkedi said that flights are nearly empty, and the
airline cannot afford the high security and operating costs.
(AP, 9/16/12)
2012 Sep 16, Sudan's President
Omar al-Bashir arrived in Egypt for a state visit, even though he is
wanted for arrest by the International Criminal Court.
(AP, 9/16/12)
2012 Sep 18, Egypt's general
prosecutor issued arrest warrants for seven Egyptian Coptic
Christians and a Florida-based American pastor and referred them to
trial on charges linked to an anti-Islam film that has sparked riots
across the Muslim world. The prosecutor's office said the seven men
and one woman, all of whom are believed to be outside of Egypt, are
charged with harming national unity, insulting and publicly
attacking Islam and spreading false information.
(AFP, 9/18/12)
2012 Sep 22, Egypt’s chief
forensic doctor said in a published interview that former
Pres. Hosni Mubarak has never suffered a stroke and that he is not
in critical condition.
(SSFC, 9/23/12, p.A6)
2012 Sep 22, Qatar said it will
make critical investments in a $3.7 billion oil refinery project in
Egypt that's among the biggest economic initiatives since the 2011
fall of Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 9/22/12)
2012 Sep 24, An Egyptian court
sentenced 14 Salafists to death by hanging and four to life
imprisonment for attacks last year on army and police in the Sinai.
(Reuters, 9/24/12)(Economist, 9/29/12, p.55)
2012 Sep 25, An Egyptian court
convicted three Islamists of killing a student this summer as he sat
in a quiet park with his fiancée, sentencing them to 15 years in
prison in a case that sparked fears of vigilantes trying to enforce
strict religious mores.
(AP, 9/25/12)
2012 Sep 27, An Egyptian court
upheld a six-year jail sentence for Michelle Bishoy, also known as
Bishoy el-Behiri, a Coptic Christian school teacher convicted of
insulting Islam and the country's Islamist president in postings on
Facebook.
(AP, 9/27/12)
2012 Oct 1, Egypt's doctors
began a partial strike, abstaining from offering non-emergency
services in public hospitals to protest run-down facilities and
meager wages.
(AP, 10/1/12)
2012 Oct 4, An Egyptian court
convicted Ahmed Ezz, a Hosni Mubarak-era steel magnate, of money
laundering, sentencing him to seven years in prison and fining him
19.5 billion Egyptian pounds (about $3 billion). Ezz was already
serving a 10-year sentence for a corruption conviction last year.
(AP, 10/4/12)
2012 Oct 8, Egypt's new Pres.
Mohammed Morsi issued a decree pardoning all those charged with or
convicted of acts "in support of the revolution" since the beginning
of the popular uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak from power.
(AP, 10/8/12)
2012 Oct 8, In Egypt a troop
carrier overturned on a mountain road in the Sinai Peninsula early
today, killing at least 21 members of the security forces stationed
on the border with Israel.
(AP, 10/8/12)
2012 Oct 10, An Egyptian court
acquitted 24 loyalists of ousted President Hosni Mubarak who had
been accused of organizing one of the most dramatic attacks on
protesters during last year's uprising, the "Camel Battle," in which
assailants on horses and camels charged into crowds in Cairo's
Tahrir Square. The Feb. 2, 2011 assault left nearly a dozen people
killed.
(AP, 10/10/12)
2012 Oct 10, In southern Egypt
Abu Bakar, a teacher in Luxor province, punished two 12-year-old
schoolgirls for not wearing the Muslim headscarf by cutting their
hair. On Nov 6 Bakar was given a 6-month suspended sentence for
childe abuse and fined $8.
(AP, 10/17/12)(AP, 11/6/12)
2012 Oct 12, In Egypt Liberal
and leftist groups had called a protest to demand more action from
Pres. Morsi after his first 100 days in office. Morsi's supporters
called for a separate rally to demand judicial independence
following the acquittals of Mubarak loyalists on Oct 10. A melee
erupted after Morsi's supporters stormed the activists' stage at
Cairo's Tahrir Square, angered by chants from the opposition they
perceived as insults to the president.
(AP, 10/12/12)
2012 Oct 13, Egypt's prosecutor
general defied a presidential decision to remove him from his post,
entering his office in a downtown Cairo courthouse flanked by
security and hundreds of judicial officials. President Morsi had
ordered Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud to step down in an apparent bid to
appease public anger over the acquittals of ex-regime officials
accused of orchestrating violence against protesters last year.
Morsi backed down from his decision to remove Mahmoud, keeping him
in his post and sidestepping a potential clash with the country's
powerful judiciary.
(AP, 10/13/12)
2012 Oct 17, In Egypt a top
parliamentarian suspended the editor-in-chief of a state-owned
newspaper for publishing a report deemed an offense to the military.
(AP, 10/18/12)
2012 Oct 19, In Egypt the
political party of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood elected Saad
el-Katatny, a former speaker of parliament, as the new leader the
Freedom and Justice Party to replace Mohammed Morsi, who resigned
from the post after winning the country's presidential election.
Several thousand protesters rallied in Cairo to demand the president
and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters ensure the country's
constitution represents all factions of society.
(AP, 10/19/12)
2012 Oct 23, Egypt's security
forces intercepted a group of smugglers bringing in weapons from
Libya.
(AP, 10/24/12)
2012 Oct 24, In Egypt Karim
el-Azizi (35) detonated an explosive device after briefly exchanging
gunfire with security forces that had surrounded his building in
Cairo's northern suburb of Nasr City. The Libyan national, linked to
the Sep 11 deadly attack on the US Consulate, had turned his rented
apartment into a small weapons cache before he died. Security forces
arrested four other men in a nearby suburb describing them as part
of a terrorist cell.
(AP, 10/25/12)
2012 Nov 3, Egypt’s antiquities
ministry says that Czech archaeologists have unearthed the
4,500-year-old tomb of a Pharaonic princess south of Cairo. Princess
Shert Nebti's burial site is surrounded by the tombs of four high
officials from the Fifth Dynasty dating to around 2,500 BC in the
Abu Sir complex near the famed step pyramid of Saqqara.
(AP, 11/3/12)
2012 Nov 3, In Egypt suspected
Islamic militants ambushed police in the northern Sinai Peninsula
killing three in El-Arish.
(SSFC, 11/4/12, p.A4)
2012 Nov 4, Egypt's ancient
Coptic Christian church named a new pope. Bishop Tawadros will be
ordained Nov. 18 as Pope Tawadros II.
(AP, 11/4/12)
2012 Nov 6, In Egypt gunmen
shot and critically injured Selim Said el-Gamal, a senior security
official, in the country's turbulent northern Sinai region.
(AP, 11/6/12)
2012 Nov 7, Egypt's top
prosecutor ordered government ministries to enforce a ban on
pornographic websites, three years after a court denounced the sites
as "venomous and vile." The order followed a protest by
ultraconservative Salafis.
(AP, 11/7/12)
2012 Nov 10, In Egypt two
trains traveling south of Cairo collided, killing at least four
people. An error by a switch operator is believed to have caused the
accident.
(AP, 11/10/12)
2012 Nov 16, Thousands of
Egyptians protested against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip as
Egypt's prime minister visited the Palestinian enclave in a symbolic
show of support for the territory's Hamas rulers.
(AP, 11/16/12)
2012 Nov 17, In southern Egypt
a speeding train crashed into a bus carrying children to their
kindergarten, killing 48 children and 3 adults.
(AP, 11/17/12)
2012 Nov 20, In Egypt youth
activist Gaber Salah was shot in the neck in Cairo in clashes that
started a day earlier, the first anniversary of the deadly
confrontation between police and demonstrators known as "Mohammed
Mahmoud.”
(AP, 11/21/12)
2012 Nov 21, Egypt’s President
Mohammed Morsi mediated a cease-fire between Israelis and
Palestinians to end eight days of fierce fighting. The cease-fire
deal included agreement to open all border crossings with the Gaza
Strip, including with Egypt.
(AP, 11/22/12)
2012 Nov 21, Egyptian
protesters firebombed one of the offices of satellite broadcaster
Al-Jazeera and attacked a police chief who tried to negotiate an end
to three days of violent protests in central Cairo. Security
officials said that authorities have confiscated trucks carrying
explosive warheads and a variety of small-arms ammunition smuggled
from Libya.
(AP, 11/21/12)
2012 Nov 22, In Egypt Pres.
Mohammed Morsi granted himself sweeping new powers that critics fear
can allow him to be a virtual dictator. The temporary decrees
included exempting himself from judicial review, as well as a panel
writing the new constitution and the upper house of parliament, and
the power to enact any other measure he deemed necessary to deal
with a "threat" to Egypt's "revolution." Morsi sacked the prosecutor
general and ordered a retrial of officials appointed by former Pres.
Mubarak.
(AP, 11/23/12)(SSFC, 11/25/12, p.A4)
2012 Nov 22, The top leader of
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood denounced peace efforts with Israel and
urged holy war to liberate Palestinian territories.
(AP, 11/22/12)
2012 Nov 22, An Egyptian court
cleared two policemen of killing protesters during the Jan 28, 2011,
uprising that led to toppling Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 11/22/12)
2012 Nov 23, In Egypt opponents
and supporters of Mohammed Morsi clashed across the country, the day
after the president granted himself sweeping new powers. At least 15
were reported injured.
(AP, 11/23/12)
2012 Nov 24, Egypt's highest
body of judges slammed a recent decision by the president to grant
himself near-absolute power, calling the move an "unprecedented
assault" on the judiciary. Several hundred protesters remained in
Cairo's Tahrir Square, where a number of tents have been erected in
a sit-in following nearly a week of clashes with riot police.
(AP, 11/24/12)
2012 Nov 27, In Egypt thousands
flocked to Cairo's central Tahrir square for a protest against Pres.
Morsi in a significant test of whether the opposition can rally the
street behind it in a confrontation aimed at forcing the Islamist
leader to rescind decrees that granted him near absolute powers.
(AP, 11/27/12)
2012 Nov 28, Egypt's two
highest appeals courts suspended their work to protest presidential
decrees that gave the country's Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi
nearly absolute powers, state television reported.
(AP, 11/28/12)
2012 Nov 28, An Egyptian court
convicted in absentia seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a
Florida-based American pastor and sentenced them to death on charges
linked to an anti-Islam film that had sparked riots in parts of the
Muslim world.
(AP, 11/28/12)
2012 Nov 30, In Egypt Islamists
approved a draft constitution without the participation of liberal
and Christian members, seeking to pre-empt a court ruling that could
dissolve their panel with a rushed, marathon vote that further
inflames the conflict between the opposition and President Mohammed
Morsi. Up to 200,000 people packed the streets of Cairo alone,
vowing to bring down a draft constitution approved by allies of
Pres. Morsi, and demanding he repeal the decrees that
neutralized the judiciary.
(AP, 11/30/12)(AP, 12/1/12)
2012 Dec 1, In Egypt tens of
thousands of people waving Egyptian flags and hoisting large
pictures of Pres. Morsi demonstrated across the country in support
of him and Islamic law.
(AP, 12/1/12)
2012 Dec 2, Egypt's top court
said it was suspending its work indefinitely to protest
"psychological and physical pressures" after supporters of the
country's Islamist president prevented judges from entering the
courthouse to rule on the legitimacy of a disputed constitutional
assembly.
(AP, 12/2/12)
2012 Dec 4, Thousands of
Egyptians massed in Cairo for a march to the presidential palace to
protest the assumption by the nation's Islamist president of nearly
unrestricted powers and a draft constitution hurriedly adopted by
his allies. Several independent Egyptian newspapers suspended
publication. The media protest involved at least eight influential
dailies and was part of a planned campaign of civil disobedience.
(AP, 12/4/12)
2012 Dec 5, Egyptian President
Mohammed Morsi's supporters and opponents clashed outside the
presidential palace in Cairo, pelting each other with rocks and
fighting with sticks. At least 5 people were killed.
(AP, 12/5/12)(Econ, 12/8/12, p.51)
2012 Dec 6, Egypt's Republican
Guard ordered protesters supporting and opposing President Mohammed
Morsi to leave the area around the presidential palace after
overnight clashes in Cairo between supporters and opponents of
Egypt's Islamist leader killed at least five people.
(AP, 12/6/12)
2012 Dec 7, Thousands of
Egyptians took to the streets after midday prayers in rival rallies
and marches across Cairo, as the standoff deepened over what
opponents call the Islamist president's power grab, raising the
specter of more violence.
(AP, 12/7/12)
2012 Dec 9, Egypt's liberal
opposition called for more protests, seeking to keep up the momentum
of its street campaign. Morsi overnight annulled his Nov. 22 decrees
that gave him near unrestricted powers, but refused to rescind a
draft constitution going to a referendum on Dec 15.
(AP, 12/9/12)
2012 Dec 10, The Egyptian
military assumed joint responsibility with the police for security
and protecting state institutions until the results of a Dec 15
constitutional referendum are announced.
(AP, 12/10/12)
2012 Dec 11, In Egypt masked
gunmen attacked anti-Morsi protesters in Cairo's central Tahrir
Square before dawn, firing birdshot at them and wounding nine.
Thousands of opponents and supporters of Egypt's Islamist president
staged rival rallies in the nation's Cairo.
(AP, 12/11/12)
2012 Dec 12, Egypt's opposition
alliance urged supporters to vote "No" in the referendum on a
disputed constitution rather than boycotting, hours after the
Islamist government forged ahead by starting overseas voting in
diplomatic missions for expatriates. The full referendum was
initially scheduled to take place on Dec 15, but in a last minute
decree on Dec 11, Morsi ordered the voting stretched into another
round on Dec 22.
(AP, 12/12/12)
2012 Dec 14, Egyptian Islamists
clashed with opponents of a draft constitution in the Mediterranean
city of Alexandria after an ultraconservative cleric called on
worshippers to approve the charter in a referendum.
(AP, 12/14/12)
2012 Dec 15, Egyptians lined up
to vote on a draft constitution after weeks of turmoil that have
left them deeply divided between Islamist supporters of the charter
and those who fear it will usher in religious rule. Some 1,500
Egyptian women blocked a main road in the Mediterranean port city of
Alexandria, claiming a judge prevented them from voting on the draft
constitution because they weren't veiled.
(AP, 12/15/12)
2012 Dec 16, Key Egyptian
rights groups called for a repeat of the first round of the
constitutional referendum, alleging the vote was marred by
widespread violations.
(AP, 12/16/12)
2012 Dec 18, Egypt's prosecutor
general Talaat Abdullah submitted his resignation less than a month
after he was swiftly sworn in by the Islamist president, who is
embroiled in a power struggle with the judiciary. Hundreds of public
prosecutors staged a sit-in outside Abdullah's office in Cairo. The
State Council of Judges said it will not oversee the second part of
the vote on the draft constitution.
(AP, 12/18/12)
2012 Dec 20, Talaat Abdullah,
Egypt's top prosecutor, retracted his resignation, a decision that
could cause a new uproar in the country after he was accused of
pressuring a judge not to release protesters opposed to the Islamist
president.
(AP, 12/20/12)
2012 Dec 21, In Egypt Thousands
of Islamists clashed with their opponents in Alexandria, on the eve
of the second leg of voting on the country's contentious
constitution that has deeply polarized the nation.
(AP, 12/21/12)
2012 Dec 22, Egypt’s Vice
President Mahmoud Mekki resigned, saying he realized that politics
did not suit his professional background as a judge. Central bank
governor, Farouq el-Oqdah, also resigned.
(AP, 12/22/12)
2012 Dec 22, Egyptians voted in
the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed
constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication
that the result of the vote will end the political crisis in which
the country is mired.
(AP, 12/22/12)
2012 Dec 23, Egypt's opposition
called for an investigation into allegations of vote fraud in the
referendum on a deeply divisive Islamist-backed constitution after
the Muslim Brotherhood, the main group backing the charter, claimed
it passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote.
(AP, 12/23/12)
2012 Dec 26, Egypt's Islamist
Pres. Morsi proclaimed the country's newly adopted constitution as
the dawning of a "new republic" in a television address, calling on
the opposition to join a dialogue with him after a month of violent
turmoil and focus on repairing a damaged economy.
(AP, 12/26/12)
2012 Dec 27, Egypt's chief
prosecutor ordered an investigation into the leaders of the
country's opposition after a lawyer accused them of incitement to
overthrow the regime of newly elected Islamist President Mohammed
Morsi.
(AP, 12/27/12)
2012 Dec 29, An Egyptian
security official said that thousands of tons of building materials
such as cement and steel are crossing into the Palestinian Gaza
Strip, which had previously been under a strict blockade.
(AP, 12/29/12)
2012 Dec 31, Gunmen drove into
Cairo's Tahrir Square before dawnand fired at an anti-government
sit-in, seriously wounding a protester who had been jailed and
tortured by former military rulers after he witnessed the killing of
another activist.
(AP, 12/31/12)
2012 Steven Cook authored “The
Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square.”
(Econ, 2/25/12, p.96)
2012 Ahdaf Soueif authored
“Cairo: My City, Our Revolution.”
(Econ, 1/28/12, p.81)
2013 Jan 5, In Egypt
unidentified gunmen shot and killed an Egyptian policeman in
northern Sinai's main city of el-Arish.
(AP, 1/6/13)
2013 Jan 9, The fiercest winter
storm to hit the Mideast in years brought a rare foot of snow to
Jordan, caused fatal accidents in Lebanon and the West Bank, and
disrupted traffic on the Suez Canal in Egypt. At least eight people
died across the region.
(AP, 1/9/13)
2013 Jan 11, In Egypt Islamist
militants attacked a police patrol along a pipeline in the Sinai
Peninsula that transports natural gas to Jordan, wounding seven
policemen.
(AP, 1/11/13)
2013 Jan 12, An Egyptian court
ordered a religious TV program hosted by a fiery preacher off the
air on charges of libeling and defaming a well-known actress. It was
one of three legal reverses suffered by Islamists today in cases
dealing with the media.
(AP, 1/12/13)
2013 Jan 12, In Egypt a dozen
masked attackers fired birdshot late today at protesters who have
camped outside the presidential palace in Cairo for the past month,
wounding several along with security forces standing watch nearby.
(AP, 1/12/13)
2013 Jan 13, In Egypt an
appeals court overturned Hosni Mubarak's life sentence and ordered a
retrial of the ousted president for failing to prevent the killing
of hundreds of protesters during the uprising that toppled his
regime.
(AP, 1/13/13)
2013 Jan 15, In Egypt a train
wreck killed 19 soldiers and injured more than 100 others. The last
carriage of the train disconnected, jumped the tracks and crashed
into another train 20 km (12 miles) south of Cairo.
(AP, 1/15/13)
2013 Jan 15, A Saudi court
convicted an Egyptian human rights lawyer for smuggling drugs into
the kingdom. He was sentenced to five years in prison and 300
lashes. The case of Ahmed el-Gezawi caused an outcry in Egypt where
rights groups claimed he was initially detained in April 2012 for
criticizing the kingdom's monarch. They claimed he confessed to the
smuggling charges under duress.
(AP, 1/15/13)
2013 Jan 16, An Egyptian
prosecutor said ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his family paid
back 18 million Egyptian pounds ($3 million) for gifts they received
from a state newspaper while he was still in office.
(AP, 1/16/13)
2013 Jan 16, In Egypt an
8-story apartment building collapsed, killing 26 people in the
Mediterranean port city of Alexandria — the second tragic accident
in the country as many days.
(AP, 1/16/13)(AP, 1/17/13)
2013 Jan 18, Egyptian police
fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Muslim protesters outside a
church in Qena province. 4 shops owned by Coptic Christians were
torched overnight after Marashda villagers accused one of the store
owners of molesting a 6-year-old girl.
(AP, 1/18/13)
2013 Jan 19, Egyptian riot
police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators throwing stones
outside an Alexandria courtroom where the city's ex-security
director and other officers are on trial for the killing of
protesters during the 2011 uprising. A criminal court invoked a
presidential amnesty and dismissed charges against 379 people
accused of taking part in deadly clashes with police.
(AP, 1/19/13)
2013 Jan 20, In Egypt overnight
clashes between police and residents of a district just north of
Cairo left four people dead and 12 wounded. The clashes began when a
bystander in Shubra al-Kheima was hit by a stray bullet fired by
police chasing a suspected drug dealer. Gunmen raided a post office
in the Nile Delta town of Kafr el-Dawar, killing a police guard
before making away with 2 million pounds (around $300,000). A
courthouse went up in flames in Alexandria during a 2nd straight day
of clashes between protesters and riot police.
(AP, 1/20/13)
2013 Jan 21, In Egypt a
speeding truck collided with a minibus on a highway in the country's
south, killing 14 people and injuring 13 others.
(AP, 1/21/13)
2013 Jan 24, Egyptian riot
police fired tear gas and clashed with dozens of protesters who were
trying to tear down a cement wall built to prevent demonstrators
from reaching parliament and the Cabinet building. A video was
posted online showing youths dressed in black marching in lines in
the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. "We are the Black Bloc ...
seeking people's liberation, the fall of corruption and the toppling
of the tyrant," proclaimed the video.
(AP, 1/24/13)(AP, 1/28/13)
2013 Jan 25, Egypt’s schism was
on display as the mainly liberal and secular opposition held rallies
saying the goals of the pro-democracy uprising have not been met and
denouncing Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. At least 11 people
were killed as tens of thousands took to the streets to deliver an
angry backlash against Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood.
(AP, 1/25/13)(AP, 1/27/13)
2013 Jan 26, In Egypt violence
left 37 people dead in Port Said after a judge sentenced 21 people
to death in connection with a Feb. 1 soccer melee that killed 74
fans of the Cairo-based Al-Ahly team.
(AP, 1/26/13)(AP, 1/27/13)
2013 Jan 27, In Egypt clashes
broke out in Cairo for a 4th straight day, with protesters and
police near central Tahrir Square, birthplace of the 2011 uprising.
Police fired tear gas as protesters pelted them with rocks. Pres.
Morsi declared a 30-day state of emergency and night curfew in the
three Suez Canal provinces hit hardest by the wave of violence that
has left more than 50 dead in three days.
(AP, 1/27/13)
2013 Jan 28, In Egypt
riot police fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters in central
Cairo, and one protester died of gunshot wounds. Egypt's main
opposition coalition rejected the Islamist president's call for
dialogue unless their conditions are met.
(AP, 1/28/13)
2013 Jan 30, In Egypt two
protesters were killed in clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square and its
surroundings. Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's liberal opposition leader,
called for a broad national dialogue with the Islamist government,
all political factions and the powerful military.
(AP, 1/30/13)
2013 Jan 30, Egypt's Islamist
Pres. Morsi, on a one-day visit to Berlin to seek support to rebuild
a crumbling Egyptian economy, turned aside repeated criticism of his
past comments referring to Jews as "the descendants of apes and
pigs," insisting that the remarks were taken out of context and were
aimed at criticizing Israeli attacks on Palestinians.
(AP, 1/3o/13)
2013 Jan 31, Egypt’s opposition
National Salvation Front held a meeting with Pres. Morsi's Muslim
Brotherhood under the aegis of Egypt's premier Islamic institution,
Al-Azhar, in their first ever meeting. They and other politicians
signed a joint statement denouncing violence.
(AP, 2/1/13)
2013 Jan 31, The United Nations
demanded that Egyptian authorities act to bring perpetrators of
sexual assaults to justice, saying it had reports of 25 sexual
assaults on women in Tahrir rallies over the past week.
(AP, 2/2/13)
2013 Feb 1, Thousands of
Egyptians marched across the country, chanting against the rule of
the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, in a fresh wave of protests.
Protesters denouncing Pres. Morsi hurled stones and firebombs
through the gates of his palace gates, clashing with security forces
who fired tear gas and water cannons. Video footage showed at least
seven black-clad riot police beating Hamada Saber (48), whose pants
are down around his ankles, with sticks before dragging him along
the muddy pavement and tossing him into a police van.
(AP, 2/1/13)(AP, 2/2/13)
2013 Feb 2, An Egyptian court
sentenced Habib al-Adly, the country's former interior minister, to
three years in prison after finding him guilty of abusing his
position in power by forcing police conscripts to work on his
mansion and land outside Cairo. The Giza court also convicted former
riot police chief Hassan Abdel-Hamid of authorizing the illegal
labor and sentenced him to three years in prison. Several thousand
anti-government demonstrators marched again on the presidential
palace denouncing the police and Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Over 50 people have been killed in violence over the last 10 days.
(AP, 2/2/13)(AP, 2/3/13)(SSFC, 2/3/13, p.A3)
2013 Feb 3, In Egypt street
vendor Omar Salah (12) was killed during clashes near Tahrir Square.
Activists soon accused the government of trying to cover up the
death. On Feb 14 the government made a rare admission and apology
for mistakenly shooting and killing the boy.
(AP, 2/14/13)
2013 Feb 4, An Egyptian
opposition party claimed police tortured one of its members to
death, electrocuting him and beating him repeatedly on the head.
Activist Mohammed el-Gindy (28) died of his wounds early today at a
Cairo hospital. He had disappeared after a protest and turned up in
a hospital in a coma with bruises and internal bleeding. Security
officials denied responsibility.
(AP, 2/4/13)(AP, 2/14/13)
2013 Feb 5, Iran’s Pres.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began a three-day visit to Egypt, centered
around an Islamic summit. He said his country is ready to provide a
"big credit line" to help revive the distressed economy of Egypt.
(AP, 2/6/13)
2013 Feb 6, In Egypt more than
25 prime ministers and presidents began a two-day summit of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Cairo. Leaders of Muslim
countries offered conflicting approaches to the crises in Mali and
Syria, exposing some of the deep divisions that run through the
Islamic world.
(AP, 2/6/13)
2013 Feb 7, Egypt's PM Hesham
Kandil condemned religious edicts by hardline Muslim clerics calling
for the killing of opposition leaders and said the government is
considering legal action against them. Kandil faced uproar, derision
and even lawsuits after he blamed health problems of babies in
impoverished villages on nursing mothers who "out of ignorance"
don't clean their breasts and talked of village women getting raped
in the fields.
(AP, 2/7/13)
2013 Feb 7, In Egypt an Islamic
summit urged Syrian opposition forces and members of Pres. Bashar
Assad's regime, whose hands are not tainted by violence, to hold
talks to try to resolve the nation's civil war.
(AP, 2/7/13)
2013 Feb 8, Thousands of
Egyptians staged rallies in cities across the country to denounce
the rule of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his fundamentalist
Muslim Brotherhood.
(AP, 2/8/13)
2013 Feb 9, A Cairo court
ordered the government to block access to the video-sharing website
YouTube for 30 days for carrying an anti-Islam film that caused
deadly riots across the world. The ruling can be appealed and based
on precedent may not be enforced.
(AP, 2/9/13)
2013 Feb 11, Egypt’s Senior
Scholars Authority elected Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim, a professor
in Islamic jurisprudence, as Grand Mufti. Previously, the Grand
Mufti was appointed by the president. Security forces sprayed
protesters with water hoses and tear gas outside the presidential
palace as Egyptians marked the 2nd anniversary of the fall of Hosni
Mubarak's with demonstrations against his elected
successor.
(AP, 2/11/13)
2013 Feb 12, In Egypt hundreds
of low-ranking policemen held protests demanding they not be used as
a tool for political oppression in the country's ongoing turmoil.
(AP, 2/12/13)
2013 Feb 14, Egypt's aviation
minister said the hiring of President Mohammed Morsi's son to a
highly-paid government job was justified, dismissing accusations of
nepotism. On Feb 16 the head of Egypt's holding company for airports
and aviation said Morsi's son has applied for a job that pays $133 a
month starting salary.
(AP, 2/14/13)(AP, 2/16/13)
2013 Feb 16, Egypt’s interior
ministry announced a move to purchase 100,000 new 9mm pistols for
police officers. This ended 5 days of strikes by police demanding
greater firepower under increasing lawlessness.
(SSFC, 2/17/13, p.A4)
2013 Feb 16, A court in Egypt
ordered a TV channel that airs belly dancing clips off the air for
showing "sexually explicit" content and operating without a
broadcast license.
(AP, 2/16/13)
2013 Feb 17, In Egypt thousands
of soccer fans enforced a work stoppage in the city of Port Said to
protest "injustices" by the government, disrupting rail services and
forcefully evicting workers from their factories and the provincial
government's offices.
(AP, 2/17/13)
2013 Feb 19, In Egypt hundreds
of protesters in Port Said pressured government employees to leave
work early as they enforced the third day of a general strike.
(AP, 2/19/13)
2013 Feb 19, Gaza Strip's Hamas
government and local smugglers accused Egypt of flooding
cross-border tunnels with sewage water in order to halt a thriving
smuggling trade. Egyptian engineers began flooding the tunnels in
late January.
(AP, 2/19/13)(Econ, 3/9/13, p.41)
2013 Feb 24, In Egypt thousands
of brick workers blocked railroad tracks from a southern city to
Cairo for a second day to protest rising industrial oil prices,
causing the cancellation of some services. Residents of Port Said
pressed their general strike which entered its second week.
(AP, 2/24/13)
2013 Feb 26, In Egypt a hot air
balloon flying over the ancient city of Luxor caught fire and
crashed into a sugar cane field, killing at least 19 foreign
tourists. The pilot, who sustained severe burns, and a British
tourist were the only survivors.
(AP, 2/26/13)(AP, 3/2/13)
2013 Feb 27, Egyptian
authorities confiscated two pick-up trucks carrying 60 anti-tank
missiles smuggled across the border from Libya.
(AP, 2/27/13)
2013 Feb 28, In Egypt dozens of
Muslim residents threw firebombs and rocks at police as they tried
to storm a church in southern Egypt in search of a woman suspected
of converting to Christianity in the town of Kom Ombo. Tensions rose
after a 36 year-old Muslim woman, who has been missing for five
days, was allegedly seen outside the church with a female Christian
friend. The woman was reported found on Feb 2 and police said that
"family and social reasons," not religion, were behind her
disappearance, and that she had not converted.
(AP, 3/1/13)(AP, 3/3/13)
2013 Mar 2, In Egypt
Hossam Eldin Abdullah Abdelazim, was killed when an armored police
vehicle crushed him to death during clashes between protesters and
police in Mansoura. A police car in Port Said hit five protesters
along a main road and sped off. The violence came as US Secretary of
State John Kerry was in Cairo talking with opposition figures ahead
of his meeting with the president and defense minister on March 3.
(AP, 3/2/13)
2013 Mar 2, A Libyan security
official said 50 Egyptians, who were arrested in Benghazi last week
for allegedly spreading Christianity, are being charged with
illegally entering and working in the country and will be deported.
(AP, 3/2/13)
2013 Mar 3, In Cairo, Egypt, US
Secretary of State John Kerry rewarded Egypt for President Mohammed
Morsi's pledges of political and economic reforms by releasing $250
million in American aid to support the country's "future as a
democracy."
(AP, 3/3/13)
2013 Mar 3, In Port Said,
Egypt, fighting throughout the day killed two policemen and three
civilians as protesters pelted police forces with rocks and fire
bombs and the force responded with tear gas, and birdshots.
(AP, 3/4/13)
2013 Mar 4, Israel's
Agriculture Ministry set up an emergency hotline as swarms of the
destructive locusts descended on neighboring Egypt and asked
Israelis to be vigilant in reporting sightings to prevent an
outbreak.
(AP, 3/4/13)
2013 Mar 5, In Egypt a Cairo
court convicted a police sniper for attacks on anti-government
protesters and sentenced him to three years in prison. Police
officer Mahmoud el-Shenawi became known as the "eye sniper" after he
was shown in footage on social networking sites allegedly firing at
protesters in the Egyptian capital and aiming for their eyes.
(AP, 3/5/13)
2013 Mar 6, An Egyptian
administrative court ordered the suspension of parliamentary
elections scheduled to begin next month, throwing the country's
politics deeper into confusion. In Port Said military police
deployed around a government complex where demonstrators have been
camped out for weeks.
(AP, 3/6/13)
2013 Mar 6, An Egyptian court
convicted Ahmed Ezz, a Mubarak-era steel magnate, of profiteering
and squandering public funds. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison
and fined $296 million. Ezz was already serving a 17-year sentence
for graft and money laundering.
(SFC, 3/7/13, p.A2)
2013 Mar 7, Egyptian policemen
protested for a 4th day in several cities across the country,
refusing orders to work and accusing officials of trying to
politicize the force.
(AP, 3/7/13)(SFC, 3/8/13, p.A2)
2013 Mar 8, Egypt's police
forces withdrew from the streets of Port Said on the Suez Canal,
handing over security to the military after nearly a week of deadly
clashes that have killed 8 people, including 2 security officials.
(AP, 3/8/13)
2013 Mar 9, An Egyptian court
confirmed the death sentences against 21 people for taking part in a
Feb, 2012, deadly soccer riot but acquitted 7 police officials for
their alleged role in the violence. Suspected fans enraged by the
verdict torched the soccer federation headquarters and a police club
in Cairo in protest. In unrelated violence, at least 2 protesters
were killed in clashes between riot police and demonstrators
throwing stones on a Nile-side street in central Cairo.
(AP, 3/9/13)
2013 Mar 10, Egypt's top
prosecutor encouraged citizens to arrest anyone breaking the law or
committing a crime. This stoked fears of vigilante groups taking
over police duties at a time of growing tension and lawlessness.
(AP, 3/11/13)
2013 Mar 10, An Egyptian
Foreign Ministry official said a man suspected of trying to spread
Christianity in Libya has died in prison there. The diplomat said
Ezzat Atallah, who suffered from diabetes and heart ailments, likely
died of natural causes.
(AP, 3/10/13)
2013 Mar 13, In Egypt a leaked
report concluded that police were behind the killing of nearly 900
protesters in Tahrir Square during the 18-day uprising that began on
Jan 25, 2011.
(SFC, 3/14/13, p.A4)
2013 Mar 14, Egyptian
prosecutors charged 38 members of the Ultras, a die-hard soccer fan
club, with belonging to an illegal group and other offenses.
(SFC, 3/15/13, p.A2)
2013 Mar 16, An Egyptian court
cleared two former ministers of charges that they sold state lands
for cut-rate prices in the country's prized Red Sea resort areas.
Zuhair Garana was sentenced to up to eight years in prison and Ahmed
Maghrabi received a five-year sentence for guilty verdicts in
previous corruption trials.
(AP, 3/16/13)
2013 Mar 16, Egyptian police
fired tear gas to disperse thousands of supporters and opponents of
President Morsi during clashes that erupted as he launched
development projects in Sohag province, where residents have long
complained of being neglected by the central government.
(AP, 3/16/13)
2013 Mar 17, In Egypt dozens of
journalists protested in Cairo against alleged assaults the previous
evening on their colleagues by members of Egypt's Muslim
Brotherhood from which President Mohammed Morsi hails.
(AP, 3/17/13)
2013 Mar 17, Egyptian
vigilantes beat two men accused of stealing a motorized rickshaw,
stripped them half-naked and hung them by their feet in a crowded
bus station in the Nile Delta. Both men died.
(AP, 3/17/13)
2013 Mar 19, Egyptian security
forces arrested Ahmed Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam, a former Libyan
intelligence official and a cousin of former dictator Moammar
Gadhafi, following an hours-long siege of his home in Cairo.
(AP, 3/19/13)
2013 Mar 19, In southern Egypt
hundreds of Muslim villagers attacked Christian-owned stores in
search of a girl whose family claims was abducted in Bani Suef
province. The college-aged girl disappeared around one month ago.
(AP, 3/19/13)
2013 Mar 21, Villagers in
Egypt's Nile Delta killed a man suspected of trying to steal a car
in the country's latest incident of vigilante violence, dragging him
half-naked and bloody as they kicked and hit him with sticks and
fists before tying him to a tree to bleed to death.
(AP, 3/21/13)
2013 Mar 22, Thousands of
Egyptian protesters clashed with riot police and backers of the
president's Muslim Brotherhood, ransacking several offices
nationwide as anger over allegations of beatings and power-grabbing
boiled over into the largest and most violent demonstrations yet on
the doorstep of the powerful group.
(AP, 3/22/13)
2013 Mar 22, In Egypt a Bedouin
taxi driver said he was driving two tourists, an Israeli-Arab
tourist and a Norwegian female, to the popular Red Sea diving site
of Dahab when gunmen ambushed his vehicle and captured them. Ingvild
Selvik Ask (31) and Amir Hassan were released on March 26.
(AP, 3/22/13)(AP, 3/26/13)
2013 Mar 24, Egyptian Foreign
Minister Mohammed Amr Kamel said that the Syrian opposition can now
send an envoy to the two-day Arab League summit beginning March 26
in Doha..
(AP, 3/24/13)
2013 Mar 24, Dozens of people
from Syrian President Bashar Assad's own minority sect met in Cairo
to send an unusual message to their fellow Alawites back home: Join
the opposition before it is too late.
(AP, 3/24/13)
2013 Mar 25, Egypt’s top
prosecutor issued arrest warrants for 5 rights activists on
suspicion of inciting violence against members of the Muslim
Brotherhood.
(SFC, 3/26/13, p.A2)
2013 Mar 26, Prominent Egyptian
blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah handed himself in to authorities, a day
after the country's prosecutor general ordered his arrest over his
alleged role in instigating violence during clashes between
supporters and opponents of the Islamist president. blogger,
Abdel-Fattah was freed following his demand that an investigative
judge take over his case.
(AP, 3/26/13)
2013 Mar 26, Egyptian
authorities extradited two Libyan officials from the regime of
deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi back to their home country. Former
ambassador to Cairo Ali Maria (71) and ex-official Mohammed Ibrahim
Gadhafi (44) were handcuffed after resisting the transfer.
(AP, 3/26/13)
2013 Mar 27, An Egyptian
appeals court annulled a November presidential decree dismissing the
country's top prosecutor and ordered him reinstated.
(AP, 3/27/13)
2013 Mar 27, Egypt's naval
forces captured three scuba divers who were trying to cut an
undersea Internet cable in the Mediterranean. Telecom executives
meanwhile blamed a weeklong Internet slowdown on damage caused to
another cable by a ship.
(AP, 3/27/13)
2013 Mar 29, In northern Egypt
clashes erupted in Alexandria and Zagazig, and protesters rallied in
Cairo in the latest demonstrations against Islamist President
Mohammed Morsi, who claims the recent wave of anti-government unrest
is the work of conspirators.
(AP, 3/29/13)
2013 Mar 30, Egyptian state
prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Bassem Youssef, a
popular TV satirist for allegedly insulting Islam and the country's
president.
(AP, 3/30/13)
2013 Mar 30, Egyptian police
detained 13 people including five lawyers, accusing them of
assaulting police in the city of Alexandria.
(AP, 3/30/13)
2013 Apr 1, In Egypt an
outbreak of food poisoning at al-Azhar University forced the
hospitalization of 479 students. It occurred after a meal served at
the university dormitories in Cairo's Nasr City district. The
outbreak led to student protests.
(AP, 4/2/13)
2013 Apr 1, Palestinian
militant group Hamas re-elected longtime leader Khaled Mashaal (56)
in a vote held in Cairo. He ran unopposed in the vote, winning the
support of a majority in Hamas' Shura Council which has about 60
members.
(AP, 4/2/13)
2013 Apr 3, An Egyptian court
ruled against the extradition to Libya of Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam, a
former close aide of Moammar Gadhafi. Al-Dam had coordinated
relations between Libya and Egypt for decades.
(AP, 4/3/13)
2013 Apr 4, Egypt's president
began a two-day visit to Sudan aimed at boosting cooperation after
deteriorating relations between the two nations under ousted leader
Hosni Mubarak.
(AP, 4/4/13)
2013 Apr 6, In Egypt Clashes
between Egyptian Muslims and Christians erupted in Shubra el-Kheima,
a suburb north of Cairo, leaving at least five people dead.
Attackers doused Saber Helal (26), a Copticf Christian, with
gasoline and set him on fire. Helal died of hiw wounds on April 11.
Police said the clashes started when young Muslims drew inflammatory
symbols on an Islamic institute and a local mosque. Residents had
different accounts of what sparked the violence.
(AP, 4/6/13)(AP, 4/11/13)
2013 Apr 6, A Cairo court
dismissed a lawsuit filed by an Islamist lawyer demanding that
Bassem Youssef's "ElBernameg," or "The Program," TV show be
banned for allegedly insulting the president and containing
excessive sexual innuendo.
(AP, 4/6/13)
2013 Apr 7, In Egypt clashes
clashes broke out following the funeral of four Christians killed in
sectarian violence a day earlier. Two more people were killed and
another 89 injured outside Cairo's main Coptic cathedral.
(AP, 4/8/13)
2013 Apr 7, Egyptian train
drivers and conductors announced they were on strike to press
demands for better pay. A 10% raise was rejected by the train
drivers and conductors as too little.
(AP, 4/7/13)
2013 Apr 8, In Egypt Dutch
journalist Rena Netjes was arrested by Egyptian citizens while
reporting in Cairo, accused of being a spy and handed to authorities
who detained her overnight.
(AP, 4/9/13)
2013 Apr 11, Egypt's
Islamist-dominated legislature approved a revised version of the law
organizing the country's parliamentary elections, after a court
ruled an earlier version was invalid and delayed the vote.
(AP, 4/11/13)
2017 In Egypt A $7.2 billion
set of reclamation mega projects was scheduled for completion. The
Toshka land reclamation project aimed to create 540,000 acres of new
agricultural land.
(SFC, 12/25/00, p.A16)
2028 It was feared in 1998 that
Egypt’s oasis at the Siwa depression would drown due to the increase
in private wells. The 35 square mile area is 142 feet below sea
level.
(SFC, 7/11/98, p.A12)
Go to
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Subject = Egypt
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