More than 160 Egyptian personnel arrived in Darfur today as part of a large battalion that will boost the strength of the joint United Nations-African Union force deployed earlier this year in an attempt to quell the fighting and humanitarian suffering in the strife-torn Sudanese region.

Since June 2007, Egyptian border guards have killed at least 32 African migrants trying to cross into Israel, and Israel has forcibly returned at least 139 border crossers to Egypt, Human Rights Watch has said in a report. Egypt has detained those returned, not revealed their whereabouts, and reportedly deported some to their home countries where they face a substantial risk of persecution.

Islamist women, increasingly restless with their subordinate status in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, are pushing for greater representation and a wider role, according to a new paper from the Carnegie Middle East Center. Omayma Abdel-Latif explores the role of women within the movement, including recent debates following the release of the 2007 draft party platform that denied women the right to the country’s top position.

Egyptian protestors have torched headquarters of most prominent opposition politician in clashes between rival factions, eyewitnesses and police said. Police official said seven people sustained minor injuries as rival groups threw stones and bottles at each other at downtown Cairo headquarters of al-Ghad party.

Sunni Islam's highest authority has approved a woman's right to fight back if her husband uses violence against her. The declaration by Sheikh Abdel Hamid al-Atrash, who heads Al-Azhar University's committee for fatwas or religious rulings, comes after similar rulings by clerics in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

A Cairo Administrative Court rescinded the government’s decision to dissolve the Association for Human rights and Legal Aid (AHRLA) on 26 October 2008. This followed an appeal by the association. The court ruling found the government’s decision to be legally groundless and reinstated AHRLA.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned a recent decision by the Egyptian newspaper Al Gomhoria to remove journalist Hesham Basyoni from his position after he wrote an article critical of the government. "We are extremely concerned that this is a politically motivated decision by a newspaper that claims to be independent," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "Al Gomhoria says that the government does not interfere with its editorial policy but if that is the case, they must explain why they have taken Hesham off his beat."

Under the supervision of the Programme Development Officer and overall guidance of the Regional Representative, the incumbent will provide support to the Project Development Office (PDO), with a special emphasis on project development and project tracking. Deadline for application: 28th of October 2008.

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Egyptian court's decision on Saturday to levy steep fines against an editor and reporter for an independent weekly that published a satirical piece about a prominent cleric. A criminal court in Al-Geeza ordered El-Fegr editor Adel Hammouda and writer Mohamed al-Baz to pay fines of 80,000 Egyptian pounds ($14,341) apiece on charges that they had defamed Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed al-Tantawi.

“Black cloud”, a mass of polluted air which darkens the skies of the Egyptian capital in October-November, is less severe this year, but efforts to reduce the pollution that leads to this phenomenon should continue if a disaster is to be avoided, an environment official said. “Last year the cloud appeared for 20 hours [in October-November] compared with more than 100 hours in 1999.

Crowds of Egyptians have attacked police with clubs and stones in a town south of Cairo after a pregnant woman died during a police raid on her home. The woman was pushed to the ground by officers when she would not let them enter her home to look for her brother, a suspected thief, police said.

A prominent Egyptian newspaper editor faces two months in prison for writing an article about the health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Dustour, was sentenced to a six-month prison term in March 2008, but lodged an appeal.

Reporters Without Borders condemns growing Egyptian government control over the media, especially the broadcast media. Egypt already has a repressive press law and a state of emergency law that has been in effect since 1981. In November, parliament is due to examine a new broadcasting bill that is causing further concern. At the same time, several production companies working with foreign satellite TV stations have already been censored this year.

The trial of 49 people before an emergency court for alleged involvement in the violent protests of 6 April 2008 in the city of Mahalla is due to resume on 6 September. Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Egyptian authorities to stop trying individuals before special emergency courts that flout basic guarantees for fair trial.

Shocking statement? Maybe so, but the name of the new campaign against sexual harassment in Egypt means to grab people's attention. The campaign kicked off in the streets of Cairo, where the problem is most prevalent. Speaking directly to men, the campaign hopes to urge the male population to renounce sexual harassment.

The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by the failure of the Egyptian authorities to shed light on the disappearance of a prominent journalist, five years ago, in one of the most secure districts in Cairo. Reda Helal, a senior editor at Egypt's leading state-owned daily "Al-Ahram," mysteriously vanished on August 11, 2003, on his way home from work in a heavily guarded area in the center of the Egyptian capital.

Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), a UK-based refugee rights organization and the leading refugee legal aid program in Egypt, is seeking to fill an opening for a legal officer to work as an advisor and advocate for refugees in Egypt. We are looking for an intelligent, hard-working person with a commitment to human rights and service to vulnerable people. We prefer to hire lawyers, but will consider non-lawyers with applicable skills. Application deadline: 8 September 2008.

The new leader of the Egyptian protest movement Kefaya, which tried to prevent the re-election of President Hosni Mubarak in 2005, said on Friday Egypt now faces the possibility that Mubarak will seek another term. "Our original aims are still valid, because he may be re-elected in 2011," Abdel Gelil Mustafa told Reuters.

Egyptian police have arrested 587 mostly African migrants caught trying to slip over the border into Israel since January, and shot and wounded a Sudanese man at the frontier on Friday, security sources said. The sources said Eritreans made up the largest group of those detained trying to sneak into the Jewish state, at 249 since the start of the year. Significant numbers also came from Sudan, Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

Egyptian police shot dead an unidentified African migrant and detained two others while they were trying to cross illegally into Israel on Friday, a security official and a medical source said. The man, who did not carry any identification papers, died of his wounds on the way to hospital, the sources said on condition of anonymity.