Mubarak crony joins race to lead Egypt

The intelligence chief of Egypt’s deposed leader Hosni Mubarak formally joined the race for the presidency yesterday, a last-minute entrant that raises the heat in a contest pitting former regime figures against newly-assertive Islamists.

Omar Suleiman said strong public pressure had stirred his sense of duty. He had needed to collect the signatures of 30,000 eligible voters by yesterday’s deadline in order to take part.