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Thursday, December 24, 2009 CAIRO: Arab League chief and former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa has ruled out running for president of Egypt in elections due to be held in late 2011.Moussa, who had been tipped as a possible candidate, said in an interview published in a newspaper on Wednesday it was not possible to mount a challenge."The question is, is it possible? And the answer is, the road is closed," he said.Speculation has mounted over who will succeed 81-year-old President Hosni Mubarak, who is expected to seek another term in 2011, health permitting. Mubarak's 45-year son Gamal has been tipped as a possible successor.Moussa, aged 73 and praised by many Egyptians and Arabs for criticism of both Israel and past U.S. Middle East policies, was quoted in October as not ruling out such a bid.Analysts say constitutional rules make an independent nomination almost impossible.

Friday, July 17, 2009 CAIRO: Egyptian medical and security officials said at least nine Europeans and three Egyptians were killed in a bus crash near the Red Sea port town of Safaga some six hours South-east of Cairo on Thursday.This is the most recent accident along the Red Sea coast, where crashes have been frequent due to bad driving habits.Another 10 tourists were reportedly injured after the bus they were riding in slammed into an oncoming truck on a road near Safaga.According to initial reports, the nine tourists who died were from Serbia. The crash again highlights the high number of deaths in road accidents in Egypt.According to the Ministry of Transportation, some 6,000 people are killed annually in road accidents in Egypt. Non-governmental observers, however, said the number is far higher.Poor road conditions, high speed and non-usage of seat belts are blamed for most of the deaths.Cairo attempted last year to establish a stricter legal code to combat the rising accidents, b...