Egypt

A senior Egyptian general has admitted that "virginity checks" were performed on women arrested during the demonstrations of the Arab Spring in Egypt. The confirmation of the allegations, that were first brought up by Amnesty International, comes after the military authorities had repeatedly and firmly denied such claims.

Democracy has in the last few months seen its popularity soar in all corners of the planet. With Egypt and Tunisia both managing to chase their dictators out of town and Gaddafi still insisting that Libya is the only democratic country on the planet, masses and leaders alike have been fighting to grab a piece of the democratic pie. Last week it was the turn of rising giant China to take us all by surprise as the country made a push for democracy...in the IMF.

G8 countries which include leaders from brings together the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, with the leaders of the US, Britain, Germany, Japan, Russia, Canada and Italy have today come up with a pledge of £12bn in aid, loans and debt relief in an attempt to support and enhance pro-democratic regimes in the region. While the full details of the package are yet unknown, the money will come from international financial institutions and members of the G8.Both the leaders of Egypt and Tunisi...

Us President Barack Obama's trip to Europe is indeed quite a trip as it will include visits to Ireland, Britain, France and Poland and a G-8 summit. The visit will start with Ireland, and finish with Poland.

The first death penalty following the revolution that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak, has been handed down as a police officer found guilty of killing protesters was sentenced to death.

Obama's speech was of broad scope, with the US leader tackling different issues in different countries while using this as an opportunity to give the US response to the Middle East uprisings and regime changes. He pledged international economic support for countries undergoing democratic change, notably Egypt and Tunisia and warned Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to lead transition in his country, or to "get out of the way".

US President Barack Obama’s discourse, yesterday marked a “new chapter" in diplomacy after the Arab Spring uprisings, the leader explained. Talking from the state department, shifting from a military to a diplomatic emphasis, Mr Obama insisted on the interrelated nature of the US-Middle East relationship: “ though these countries may be a great distance from our shores, we know that our own future is bound to this region by the forces of economics and security; history and faith”, he said.

A recording allegedly made by former Al-Qaeda number one Osama Bin Laden shortly before he died has been released. The 12 minute long message sees him praise the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and speak of a "rare historic opportunity" for Muslims to rise up against the "tyrants". He repeatedly refers to and encourages the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt but does not mention Bahrain, Syria, Libya or even Yemen.

The conflict has gone on for over a hundred years and it is 44 years since the Middle East war of June 1967, over this time there have been many peace plans and many negotiations. If some of these have been successful, including those between Egypt and Israel and Israel and Jordan, a settlement has still not been reached in the core conflict. Looking back at a history of negotiations, the results derived from the different signed treaties are more confusing than encouraging. With the recent appe...

Following conflict that is more than a hundred years old, and 44 years since the Middle East war of June 1967, there have been many peace plans and many negotiations.If some of these have been successful, including those between Egypt and Israel and Israel and Jordan, a settlement has still not been reached in the core conflict. Looking back at a history of negotiations, the results derived from the different signed treaties are more confusing than encouraging.

US president Barack Obama has just called Israelis and Palestinians to go back to the negotiating table, but with past peace processes seen as fragile and not very efficient, the several Israeli-Palestinian talks and deals have become renowned for their longevity and chronic inability to find a way to end the conflict.

Shares in TUI Travel were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the company issued a trading update ahead of its interim statement for the six months ended 31 March.

The imposition of a no-fly zone in Libya has succeeded in one thing at least: it has enforced a stalemate onto what was seemingly the opening moves of the Libyan civil war.

Forget Britain's "Special Relationship" with America, largely a mirage of the Foreign Office and its existence unknown to most Americans. Even as World War II was ending, the cracks in the relationship between Britain and the United States were becoming ever more obvious to contemporaries and for more recent generations can be studied by reading books, both military and political, such as Armageddon and Nemesis by Max Hastings.

The Houston, Texas Spero News reported on Saturday 05 March 2011, that on the previous day a priest and three deacons are believed missing from the Coptic Christian community in the town of Soul (Sol), about 20 miles south of Cairo, Egypt. This followed after a mob, estimated at 4,000, attacked the homes of Coptic Christians and set fire to the Saints Mina and George Coptic Church in the town. After desecrating the Cross, the crowd set about pulling down the domes of the church building. Cent...

Libya appears to be in, or at least on the verge of, a civil war between Colonel Gaddafi loyalists and armed rebels who just a few weeks ago were merely anti-government protestors.

The chaos and violence currently ravaging Libya has raised questions about the conduct of Britain and especially its former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, towards a regime that now stands accused of killing 400 of its own citizens.

Shares in British banks were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as political unrest in Libya escalated over the weekend.

Shares in InterContinental Hotels were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading despite the group reporting a rise in revenue and operating profit in the full year ended 31 December 2010.

Shares in Thomas Cook were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the travel agent reported a rise in revenue and a fall in losses in the first quarter.

The international reaction to the ongoing political chaos in Egypt took an amusing turn today when the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Baroness Catherine Ashton, penned an article in The Guardian saying she wanted to see "deep democracy" take root in Egypt.

Shares in TUI Travel were down on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading after the group said that unrest in Tunisia and Egypt could cost it £30 million in the second quarter.

Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading.

Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as positive economic data helped revive some investor confidence.

Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as uncertainty continued to reign in Egypt.

Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as political unrest in Egypt continued to inject uncertainty into the market.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday Israel needs to revise its position over peace talks and settlement-building to reach a final accord with the Palestinians.

Algeria kickstarted on Wednesday the process to select an adviser for the potential nationalisation of Djezzy, Orascom Telecom's biggest revenue earner.

Shares in BP were up slightly on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading after the energy giant said it would be selling some of its Venezuelan and Vietnamese businesses to TNK-BP for $1.8 billion.

Flyglobespan was Scotland's biggest airline. Based in Edinburgh, it entered into administration all too suddenly on 16 December 2009 in rather curious circumstances involving several million pounds owed to it by its receipts-handling company. Flyglobespan's advice notice to customers, posted on its website at the time of its collapse, can be used as a typical and now all too familiar example for the 13 or so travel firms that have gone bust since: