Egypt Is Set to Lift Travel Ban

CAIRO—An Egyptian judge is set to lift a travel ban against at least seven Americans accused of violating Egypt's laws on foreign financing of civil-society groups, said lawyers for the defendants, a move that would go toward easing a diplomatic row that has strained Washington's relationship with one of its closest security partners in the Middle East.

Lawyers for the American civil-society workers, including at least three who have taken refuge at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to avoid arrest, said each of the accused would pay two million Egyptian pounds ($330,460) in bail in order to leave the country.

They didn't say who would supply the funds.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she welcomed the news on Wednesday, but added that she had received no confirmation that the travel ban had been lifted.         More Read