Suez Canal

CAIRO — Two Iranian naval vessels have submitted a request to transit the Suez Canal, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Israel has expressed concerns over the plans, labeling them a provocation. Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said Egyptian authorities have received the request to grant the vessels passage, while a Suez Canal official said the Defense Ministry would process the application. In Tehran, Iran’s official English-language Press TV cited an Iranian naval official saying the two warships are to pass through the canal.

ONE YEAR after Egyptians launched a mass protest that brought down Hosni Mubarak, the cadre of Egyptian military officials who retain control of the country has cracked down on civil society more harshly than Mubarak ever did. Egypt's announcement that it will file criminal charges against 19 Americans — as well as dozens of other foreigners and Egyptians — involved in elections monitoring and democracy and journalism training is a deeply worrisome...

The Massachusetts Port Authority plans to lay off about 25 workers at Conley Terminal following a decision by the Port of Boston's biggest customer to suspend a route that moves cargo between Southeast Asia and the East Coast. In two phases of layoffs starting Monday, about 20 of the 90 longshoremen and clerks who regularly work at the port will lose their jobs, along with up to five of 30 Massport employees. In addition, five open Massport positions will not be filled. The suspended service by the China Ocean Shipping Co., known as COSCO, and its partners means the Port of Boston...

The Massachusetts Port Authority plans to lay off about 25 workers at Conley Terminal following a decision by the Port of Boston's biggest customer to suspend a route that moves cargo between Southeast Asia and the East Coast. In two phases of layoffs starting Monday, about 20 of the 90 longshoremen and clerks who regularly work at the port will lose their jobs, along with up to five of 30 Massport employees. In addition, five open Massport positions will not be filled. The suspended service by the China Ocean Shipping Co., known as COSCO, and its partners means the Port of Boston...

JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister claimed yesterday that Iran was about to send two warships through the Suez Canal for the first time in years, calling it a provocation, but he offered no evidence. The Egyptian authority that runs the canal denied it. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the ships would cross later yesterday, en route to Syria. He offered no evidence and did not say how he knew it. “This is a provocation that proves that Iranian audacity and insolence are increasing,’’ he said in a statement.

The city of Suez saw some of the worst violence of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, and now the city is flaring up again. The spark is the issue of protesters who were killed by security forces during the 18-day anti-Mubarak protests — nearly 900 nationwide. Officially, at least 17 protesters were killed in Suez, at the southern end of the Suez Canal, but residents put the real number at nearly double that. Tens of thousands demonstrating in Suez, Cairo and other Egyptian cities since Friday are demanding justice in their deaths.

CAIRO — Egypt has agreed to allow two Iranian naval vessels to transit the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, a military official said yesterday, ending several days of confusion over their planned passage, which Israel’s foreign minister has labeled a provocation. An Iranian diplomat has said the vessels were heading to Syria for training and that the request to move through the canal is in line with international regulations. It would be the first time since Iran’s clerical rulers came to power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that naval vessels from the country have passed through...

CAIRO -- Ahmed Zaki, who as one of Egypt's most acclaimed actors portrayed former Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat, died March 27. He was 55. Mr. Zaki was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004. He had been hospitalized since March 8 and suffered a brain hemorrhage two weeks later. Before slipping into a coma earlier this month, Mr. Zaki had received calls from President Hosni Mubarak and celebrities had flocked to his hospital room. Mr. Zaki died before accomplishing one of his dreams -- the making of the film "Halim" about the life of the...

SUEZ, Egypt - Dozens of angry mourners buried an Egyptian man yesterday who they said was killed by shots fired from a vessel contracted to the US Navy that was passing through the Suez Canal US officials said that American military guards aboard the ship had fired only warning shots toward approaching motorboats Monday night and that they had received no report of anyone killed. The merchant ship Global Patriot had entered the canal from the Red Sea under Navy control and was approached by small motorboats that ply the waterway selling goods to passing ships, according to...

ONE YEAR after Egyptians launched a mass protest that brought down Hosni Mubarak, the cadre of Egyptian military officials who retain control of the country has cracked down on civil society more harshly than Mubarak ever did. Egypt's announcement that it will file criminal charges against 19 Americans — as well as dozens of other foreigners and Egyptians — involved in elections monitoring and democracy and journalism training is a deeply worrisome...

The city of Suez saw some of the worst violence of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, and now the city is flaring up again. The spark is the issue of protesters who were killed by security forces during the 18-day anti-Mubarak protests — nearly 900 nationwide. Officially, at least 17 protesters were killed in Suez, at the southern end of the Suez Canal, but residents put the real number at nearly double that. Tens of thousands demonstrating in Suez, Cairo and other Egyptian cities since Friday are demanding justice in their deaths.

CAIRO — Egypt has agreed to allow two Iranian naval vessels to transit the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, a military official said yesterday, ending several days of confusion over their planned passage, which Israel’s foreign minister has labeled a provocation. An Iranian diplomat has said the vessels were heading to Syria for training and that the request to move through the canal is in line with international regulations. It would be the first time since Iran’s clerical rulers came to power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that naval vessels from the country have passed through...

CAIRO — Two Iranian naval vessels have submitted a request to transit the Suez Canal, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Israel has expressed concerns over the plans, labeling them a provocation. Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said Egyptian authorities have received the request to grant the vessels passage, while a Suez Canal official said the Defense Ministry would process the application. In Tehran, Iran’s official English-language Press TV cited an Iranian naval official saying the two warships are to pass through the canal.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister claimed yesterday that Iran was about to send two warships through the Suez Canal for the first time in years, calling it a provocation, but he offered no evidence. The Egyptian authority that runs the canal denied it. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the ships would cross later yesterday, en route to Syria. He offered no evidence and did not say how he knew it. “This is a provocation that proves that Iranian audacity and insolence are increasing,’’ he said in a statement.

Seth Stevenson has a book coming out this spring about his six-month journey around the world - all by land and sea. In “Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World’’ (Riverhead Trade), Stevenson, 35, a Brookline native and regular contributor to Slate magazine, describes the joys and frustrations of staying close to the ground, whether by rickshaw, cargo freighter, or on foot. In a recent e-mail interview with Globe reporter David Abel, he discussed the highs and lows of his trip.

SUEZ, Egypt - Dozens of angry mourners buried an Egyptian man yesterday who they said was killed by shots fired from a vessel contracted to the US Navy that was passing through the Suez Canal US officials said that American military guards aboard the ship had fired only warning shots toward approaching motorboats Monday night and that they had received no report of anyone killed. The merchant ship Global Patriot had entered the canal from the Red Sea under Navy control and was approached by small motorboats that ply the waterway selling goods to passing ships, according to both Egyptian...

Seth Stevenson has a book coming out this spring about his six-month journey around the world - all by land and sea. In “Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World’’ (Riverhead Trade), Stevenson, 35, a Brookline native and regular contributor to Slate magazine, describes the joys and frustrations of staying close to the ground, whether by rickshaw, cargo freighter, or on foot. In a recent e-mail interview with Globe reporter David Abel, he discussed the highs and lows of his trip.

CAIRO - Egypt’s prosecutor general yesterday officially charged 26 suspects, including two Lebanese and five Palestinians, with spying for the militant group Hezbollah, as well as plotting terrorist attacks and aiding militants in the Gaza strip. Egyptian security officials had been tracking the case, now known in the news media as “the Hezbollah Cell,’’ since April, when they reportedly uncovered Hezbollah plots to destabilize Egypt. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the time rejected the accusations of intending to harm Egypt’s security, but did acknowledge...

CAIRO -- Ahmed Zaki, who as one of Egypt's most acclaimed actors portrayed former Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat, died March 27. He was 55. Mr. Zaki was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004. He had been hospitalized since March 8 and suffered a brain hemorrhage two weeks later. Before slipping into a coma earlier this month, Mr. Zaki had received calls from President Hosni Mubarak and celebrities had flocked to his hospital room. Mr. Zaki died before accomplishing one of his dreams -- the making of the film "Halim" about the life of the celebrated Egyptian singer, Abdel...