ISTANBUL, November 9 (CDN) - A Coptic Christian blogger in Egypt held in prison for more than a year without charge said today he will go on a hunger strike unless authorities grant his next application for release

A number of Egyptian civil society organizations plan to hold a second protest vigil at an anti-corruption conference currently underway in the Qatari capital of Doha to express their disapproval of what they view as Egypt's passive stance regarding the international anti-corruption convention.

Sentencing women, who have just given birth to their babies, to death has been on the minds of human rights advocates in Egypt for long. A few days ago, these activists decided to speak out against the practice and even called for abolishing articles in the law that allow for it."Articles in the law that allow for

The government-run Egyptian Human Rights Council (EHRC), headed by former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, has called for the amendment of article 76 of the Egyptian Constitution, which lays down criteria for would-be presidential nominees. The proposed change, say council officials, would open up presidential elections -- scheduled for 2011 -- to a wider range of candidates.

Alexandria -- Ayman Nour, founder of the opposition Al-Ghad Party and former presidential candidate, has called for holding an open debate with parliamentary speaker and ruling party stalwart Fathi Sorour. Nour hopes to use the debate to refute recent statements by Sorour concerning the legal restrictions barring him from making a second bid for the presidency in upcoming elections scheduled for 2011.

Prominent psychiatrist Ahmed Okasha criticized the government on Saturday for its handling of both the "bird flu" and "swine flu" health crises and accusing it of causing "unnecessary panic" among the public.

SIX candidates have applied to run for the chairmanship of the Press Syndicate in next month's election, which is seen as key to the future of the independent union.With just one month to go before the

Constitutional jurist Ibrahim Darweesh says that amendments to the constitution have already settled the outcome of the upcoming presidential election in favor of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) candidate, particularly Gamal Mubarak, the head of the NDP's Policy Secretariat and the son of President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said yesterday a holiday for the Al-Adha Feast at the end of the current month will be extended to ten days after the spread of swine flu among schoolchildren

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed el-Baradei announced that he may run in the 2011 Egyptian presidential elections, but insisted there would have to be "built-in guarantees" that the election would be free and fair.

gypt's Ministry of Environment celebrated yesterday the international Day of Climate Action in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Aswan. The Ministry organized a conference

EGYPT yesterday steped up its pres-ence in Iraq as the new Cairo envoy to Baghdad assumed his official duties since its charge d'affaires, Ihab el-Sherif was kidnapped and killed

The inter-governorate railway services continue to have the reputation for unreliability even after 18 people were killed and 37 others injured when a passenger train drove full-speed into the back of another late last month, southwest of Cairo.These trains

Confusion reigned at the Council of Ministers office on the southern outskirts of Cairo amid reports that limited ministerial and gubernatorial reshuffles were imminent. According to well-informed sources, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has begun closed-door

The Health Ministry on Monday announced a new fatality as a result of the H1N1 virus, or "swine flu," bringing the total death toll in Egypt to six, including five women and one young boy whose death remains under investigation.

THE Muslim Brotherhood,Egypt's biggest oppositiongroup,willnot attempt to challenge the ruling party in the 2011 presidential election under the existing constitution, its leader told Reutersin

Participants at an opposition conference -- held to coincide with the National Democratic Party's (NDP's) sixth annual congress -- squarely blamed the government for corruption in Egypt, which, they said, continues to be ruled "by a small handful of autocrats."

The Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, has promised further domestic reforms at the annual conference of his ruling National Democratic Party in Cairo. In the opening speech, Mr Mubarak laid out plans for improvements to healthcare, education and transport.

EGYPT'S Health Ministry reported yesterday the death of a nine-year-old Egyptian pupil at a language school in the Governorate of Helwan south of Cairo, of swine flu, bringing to five the number of cases killed by the virus."The schoolchild, who studied at Al- Masria

Coptic delegations and human rights organizations met with members of the National Democratic Party (NDP) to present documents calling for unified laws on building houses of worship and to discuss issues

A senior parliamentary member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), Hossam Badrawi, said Gamal Mubarak is a potential candidate for the presidency.