News stories by Cam McGrath, page 8

Shrines venerated for centuries by Sufi Muslims have come under attack as Islamic fundamentalists seek to purge the Egyptian landscape of 'heretical' artifacts that do not conform to their strict interpretation of Islam.

The political currents that sweep across the Middle East often surge out of Iran, form treacherous eddies in Lebanon and Iraq, then slam into the front door of Ahmad Rasem El-Nafis' apartment in the northern Egyptian city of Mansoura.

Exhaustive media coverage of the wave of popular revolts sweeping the Middle East and North Africa has helped to dispel myths and stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims, and foster better cultural understanding, media experts said during a conference in Cairo on Wednesday.

The state-controlled trade union federation that for over half a century was employed by Egyptian rulers to suppress workers' protests and mobilise voters for sham elections appears to be crumbling with the recent ouster of president Hosni Mubarak.

Fresh-faced Salwa El-Hosseiny had joined protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square when a plainclothes officer grabbed her and dragged her to army officers stationed in a nearby museum.

Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak portrayed himself as a paradigm of stability in a country he once described as a 'powder keg' of sectarian unrest. Yet far from promoting stability, his regime may have actually been the source of much of the religious strife it claimed to suppress.

Toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s cronies and political allies could not be touched for years, but his departure has stripped them of protection. Now they are under investigation for corruption and graft — and many Egyptians expect to finally see justice.

As Egypt’s popular uprising gained momentum and Hosni Mubarak’s downfall looked increasingly inevitable, he used his final days in office to secure his vast wealth, say analysts.

The iron fist that has kept a tight grip on Egypt’s labour movements for nearly six decades relaxed this week, unleashing a wave of wildcat strikes that is testing the resolve of the country’s new military rulers.

The reaction across Egypt was explosive. The anger that had been simmering for decades and boiled over during 18 consecutive days of protests, was transformed by a single uttered sentence into pure jubilation.