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CAIRO An Egyptian court sentenced former president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons to three years in jail without parole on Saturday in the retrial of a corruption case, although the trio is unlikely to go to jail again.Mubarak, who ruled Egypt with an iron fist for 30 years, and his sons Gamal and Alaa already spent at least three years each in prison for other cases, so will probably not have to serve out the sentence.The retrial was of a case in which Mubarak was sentenced to three years in prison in May last year on charges of diverting public funds and using the money to upgrade family properties. His two sons were given four-year jail terms in the same case. But Egypt's high court later overturned the convictions and ordered a retrial. "The ruling of the court is three years in prison without parole for Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and Gamal Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and Alaa Mohamed Hosni Mubarak," Judge Hassan Hassanein announced on Saturday.Mubarak's treatment by the courts since being toppled from the presidency during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings has been perceived by his opponents as too lenient and raised doubts about Egypt's transition towards democracy. Charges against him of conspiring to kill protesters during the uprising, centered around Cairo's Tahrir Square, were dropped, and some of his associates were released from jail.UPHEAVAL Egypt's political transition has seen many upheavals. In 2013, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the then army chief, removed the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi from power after mass protests against his troubled one-year rule.Security forces then launched a cracked down on the Brotherhood and its supporters, and then targeted liberal activists in what human rights groups have condemned as a return to police state and repression of the Mubarak era.The U.S.-backed Egyptian government says it is committed to democracy, and large-scale unrest in the Arab world's most populous country has ended. Many Egyptians turned a blind eye to what is the toughest security crackdown in Egypt's history for the sake of stability after street protests and attacks by militant groups gutted the tourism industry, a pillar of the economy.Occasional troubles persist, however. On Saturday, one policeman and three Muslim Brotherhood supporters were killed in clashes in the city of Damietta, the Interior Ministry said.In addition, Islamist militants launched an insurgency after Mursi was ousted. Based in the Sinai, they have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, and have killed hundreds of police and soldiers.In North Sinai, their main strongholds, gunmen killed a police officer and a retired state security agent in separate attacks, security sources said. (Editing by Toby Chopra and Raissa Kasolowsky) Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak waves to his supporters outside the area where he is hospitalized during his birthday at Maadi military hospital on the outskirts of Cairo May 4, 2015. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Egyptian court sentences Mubarak and sons to three years in jail for corruption

CAIRO An Egyptian court sentenced former president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons to three years in jail without parole on Saturday in the ...

MILLVILLE, Mass. (AP) -- This is the story of a loving tribute from a soldier preparing for war to his mother on the other side of the continent, who didn't know if she would ever see her boy again. The elaborate pillow sham he sent her, lost for more than 70 years, has finally come home, just in time for Mother's Day. The sham, emblazoned with the word "Mother" and sent in 1942 by Dominic O'Gara from his Army base in California to his mother in the small Massachusetts town of Millville, was discovered last month by a town native on eBay. The hope now is to put the sham on display in the town's senior center, just yards from the house where the O'Gara family once lived. "To me, it's come back to where it belongs," said Margaret Carroll, chairwoman of the town Historical Commission. "It's as close to Mrs. O'Gara as it can get." Donald Lamoureux, who lives in Cumberland, Rhode Island, but who grew up in Millville, spotted an envelope for sale on eBay, and even though he had no idea what was inside, he knew he had to have it when he saw the date and the Millville address. He paid $5 for it. He was stunned when he looked inside. "There was this pillow sham that had been sealed away for 73 years, and it looked brand new," he said. Although it had deep creases from being folded for decades, it wasn't frayed, stained or faded. The white pillow cover has a blue fringe, and in addition to the word "Mother" in blue, is decorated with red roses with green stems, and the words "Camp McQuaide, Calif.," where O'Gara was stationed. It also has this famous poem, written by lyricist Howard Johnson: --- M is for the million things she gave me O means only that she's growing old T is for the tears she shed to save me H is for her heart of purest gold E is for her eyes with love light shining R means right and right she'll always be Put them all together they spell mother A word that means the world to me --- "It was very touching," Lamoureux said. Millville, about 40 miles southwest of Boston, had a population of about 1,800 in the 1940s. Even these days, it holds only about 3,200 people. "My grandfather (Rodrique "Pete" Lamoureux) was a World War II veteran, and Millville is such a small town, I just knew they had to have known each other," he said. "I felt this instant connection." Where the pillow sham has been the past 70-plus years is a mystery. The 6-cent airmail stamp on the envelope was canceled, indicating it had been delivered. But the cover appeared pristine. O'Gara's mother, Catherine, died in 1956. Lamoureux bought it from a Rhode Island man who runs a collectibles shop and found the envelope in a box of junk acquired from an anonymous seller. Of course, Lamoureux wanted to return the pillow cover to O'Gara's family, but he couldn't find any living relatives. He found that O'Gara, the son of Irish immigrants, was an artilleryman who served in Italy in World War II, then lived for years in the nearby town of Milford before dying in 1998. His wife died in 1974. Lamoureux turned to his own parents, Donald and Diane Lamoureux, and their friends in Millville, including Carroll and Council on Aging member Ellen Ethier Bowen, who both remembered the O'Gara family. But even Carroll, who has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of town history, came up empty. The group discussed it and came up with the idea of framing the pillow sham and envelope and hanging them in the senior center. The building is a short walk from the O'Garas' former home in a section of town known as Banigan City, named for the former president of a now-closed rubber manufacturing plant who built the homes for his workers. Bowen hopes to bring the proposal to the full Council on Aging. It would be perfect if the pillow sham could be hung by Memorial Day, she said. "This whole story just tugs at your heartstrings," she said. © 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Most Recent A List of Today's Associated Press Stories: More news and information from our local news partners View the <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SOLDIERS_GIFT_TO_MOM?SITE=SCAND&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" rel="nofollow">Original article</a>

WWII soldier's gift to mom, lost for 73 years, returns home

MILLVILLE, Mass. (AP) -- This is the story of a loving tribute from a soldier preparing for war to his mother on the other side of the cont...