Thousands of Christians are killed every year because of their faith and the persecution is becoming more widespread, Catholic observers said as Christmas celebrations are increasingly marred by attacks in at-risk countries.

Egypt's interim government officially declared the Muslim Brotherhood, from which ousted president Mohamed Morsi hails, a terrorist group.

CAIRO: Strong Egypt Party’s headquarters on the Nile Corniche in Damietta was set on fire by masked assailants on Tuesday.

Hamas has denied involvement in Tuesday's terrorist attack in Mansoura that killed 15 and injured 134. We have no link to this attack or any other attack in Egypt and we condemn such accusations, the Palestinian Islamist movement's spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.

Egypt’s political forces blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for the deadly attack on the Daqahliya security directorate in the city of Mansoura which left 13 dead and 134 injured in the early hours of Tuesday.

MENOUFIA, Egypt: There were skirmishes between security forces and Muslim Brotherhood students at Shibin Al-Kawm University in Menoufia on Tuesday, Youm7 reported.

CAIRO: A group of Coptic activists called for a protest Wednesday afternoon outside the Catholic Cathedral at Ibn Sanad against their representatives in the 50-member committee because they agreed to delete the word “civilian” in the governance sections.

The Muslim Brotherhood Youth Alliance, which includes defectors from the group, has announced the establishment of “Egyptian Brotherhood” to serve as an alternative association to the Muslim Brotherhood.

CAIRO: Political disagreement by the youth of the Muslim Brotherhood turned into libel, slander and violence, Sheikh Sameh Abdel Hamid, a prominent figure at the Salafist Call, told Youm7 Monday.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood condemned a bomb attack on a security compound in the Nile Delta town of Daqahliya which killed 12 people and wounded more than 134 early on Tuesday.

CAIRO: A meeting between the Nour Party, Salafi Call, and Al-Azhar discussed the campaign to promote voting “yes” in the referendum on the draft constitution, said secretary for Nour Party in Alexandria Abdullah Badran.

CAIRO: The seizure of funds and properties of civil associations will only harm thousands of orphans, patients and the poor, spokesperson of the Nour Party Nader Bakkar said on Twitter Monday

A powerful explosion believed to be caused by a car bomb ripped through a police headquarters in a Nile Delta city north of Cairo early on Tuesday, killing 12 people and wounding more than 100, leaving scores buried under the rubble.

Egypt's National Alliance Supporting legitimacy (NASL), the group calling for the return of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, announced it will boycott the upcoming national referendum on the amended 2012 constitution.

The National Alliance to Support Legitimacy officially announced that it will boycott the referendum on the draft constitution scheduled for 14 and 15 January.

CAIRO: The Cairo Court of Appeals received on Sunday an investigation file regarding the prison break at Wadi al-Natroun Prison that resulted in the escape of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, a judicial source said.

CAIRO: Borg al-Arab Misdemeanor Court is scheduled to consider the lawsuit filed against ousted President Mohamed Morsi, accusing him of promoting a delusive program during his electoral campaign before presidential elections as part of the Nahda Project.

MINYA, Egypt: Minya security forces arrested 5 suspects involved in attacking police and governmental installations in Samalout and Deir Mowas districts of Minya in the wake of the dispersal of the Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares.

The Anti-Coup Alliance, also known as the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy, said in a Sunday evening statement that recent comments by businessman Naguib Sawiris aim at “igniting sectarian strife and increasing the societal division”.

An investigative judge referred Saturday morning ousted president Mohamed Morsi and 132 co-defendants to criminal court for escaping from Wadi Al-Natroun Prison during the January uprising of 2011.

Al-Jama’a Al-Islamiya and its Construction and Development Party have officially announced boycotting the referendum on the Constitution after 75 percent of the group’s general assembly members supported boycotting, while the rest 25 percent prefered to vote “no” so long as it guarantees transparency, integrity as well as international supervision will be available.