Desai may have had the last laugh on all the naysayers; he lived to be 99 years old (in a country where the average life expectancy is only 64).
The White House has invited Egypt's recently elected president Mohammad Mursi to visit the U.S. in September, as the latest Obama administration effort to reach out to Egypt's newly empowered Islamists.
The long-anticipated showdown between Egypt's military and its new president -- the Muslim Brotherhood's Muhammad Morsi -- has opened, with Morsi, the SCAF and the Supreme Court heading into a three-way contest.
Assad also specifically singled out the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey of supporting the ?terrorists? who are seeking his overthrow.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi ordered Parliament to reconvene Sunday, in defiance of the military and a court that dissolved it.
Newly-elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will head to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, on his first official foreign visit after taking charge.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the Shah of Iran were solidly supported by the U.S., Israel, and Western Europe -- a scenario that outraged much of the populace in each country and exacerbated festering resentments.
If defected Syrian regime official Manaf Tlas goes to Paris, it would be in line with a growing trend of bonhomie between Syrian opposition activists and the City of Light.
The current situation in Libya means that there is no clear best choice for Libya's 2.7 million registered voters.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has invited his newly elected Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Morsi, to a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) nations to be held in Tehran in late August to promote undeniable and constructive cooperation between the nations, an Iranian government statement said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the anti-government protests in his country are not comparable to the Arab Spring protests elsewhere, and that it's not people, but terrorists, who want to oust him from power.
Palestinian officials have called an international probe into the death of its leader Yasser Arafat, more than eight years after he died of several mysterious health complications, following a report that he could have been poisoned with a radioactive substance known as polonium.
The Arab League has called on the various Syrian opposition factions to unite in light of their rejection of a U.N.-brokered plan for a transitional government that, as a gesture to Russia, would possibly include President Bashar al Assad in any decision-making on the country's future government.
Mohammed Morsi, the new Egyptian president, was formally sworn into office on Saturday and then spirited away to Cairo University, where he delivered a speech that both praised and condemned the nation's military, as he showed he had no fear of it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a letter to Egypt's newly sworn-in President Mohamed Morsi, urging him to maintain peace between the two countries, following an Iranian report last week that Morsi was planning to reconsider the peace deal with Israel, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
On the eve of taking his oath of office, Egyptian President-elect Mohammed Morsi addressed thousands of people in Cairo's Tahrir Square to share his vision for the rebirth of Egypt.?
Former Egyptian Oil Minister Samih Fahmi has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a deal that exported natural gas to Israel below market value and cost the government over $714 million in lost revenue.
Under Islamic president-elect Mohamed Morsi's government, many in Egypt's beleaguered tourism industry are dreading bans on everything from alcohol to modern art to bikinis.
All is not lost, however, for peace between Israelis and Arabs need not come just from the top down -- not just when leaders across this turbulent region cast aside their weapons and sign treaties.
Relations between these two giant Islamic nations have been strained since 1979.
Morsi inherits an Egypt that has become crestfallen since the revolution as the democratic process stalled and the military seized control. His first tasks will be rebuilding the economy, increasing security and fostering social unity so that this great and patient people could reap the fruits of its sacrifices.
A new study says the swine flu pandemic of 2009 might have killed as many as 579,000 people. The original count, compiled by the World Health Organization, put the number at 18,500.
