Muslim clerics in the Middle East who have denounced last week's attack on Charlie Hebdo criticised the French satirical weekly on Wednesday for publishing new cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Mohammad in its first issue after the killings.

Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb will meet on Wednesday with the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Abune Matthias at the headquarters of Al-Azhar.

Egypt's President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi will visit the United Arab Emirates on the 18 and 19 of January, where he is scheduled to take part in the World Future Energy Summit, the presidency announced on Wednesday.

The Egyptian Dar al-Ifta stated Tuesday the plan by Charlie Hebdo to print a depiction of the Islamic prophet Muhammad on the cover of its next issue is “provocative and unjustified.”

State Council’s legislative department approved amending provisions of the penal code to increase the penalty of kidnappying to life in prison, which could be stricter if linked to rape or sexual assault of the victims, which would reach the death sentence.

Egyptian authorities have exhausted all legal grounds to keep deposed President Hosni Mubarak in detention after an appeals court on Tuesday ordered his retrial in a corruption case, officials said.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi could still pardon three jailed Al Jazeera journalists who are now facing a retrial if he deems it appropriate, the country's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) has revealed the longlist of 16 novels for 2015 prize. They were selected from among 180 entries from 15 countries, all published within the last 12 months. Three Egyptian writers are on the list: Ashraf El-Khamaisi, Hisham El-Khashin and Muna El-Sheemi.

Libyan authorities released on Monday 33 Egyptian fishermen who had been held for a month, said Marsa Matrouh Security Director Anani Hamouda.

The successful roll-out so far of a new "smart card" system to distribute subsidised bread has been a major achievement for Egypt's government, saving money while earning praise from families who no longer have to wake early to fight for loaves.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi met Sunday with Tony Blair, the Quartet Representative for the peace process in Middle East, and urged him to revive Palestinian-Israel peace talks, stated presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef Monday.

Egypt has postponed the opening of the Rafah border crossing after an Egyptian officer was abducted in North Sinai Sunday, the director of Gaza crossings Maher Abu Sabha wrote on Facebook Monday.

After being acquitted of charges debauchery and taking part in homosexual orgies, 26 men will file a lawsuit against T.V. presenter Mona Iraqi who filmed their arrest, as they were forced to walk naked in the street, and broadcast the footage on her T.V. program, Youm7 reported.

After seven months in office, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ‎has decided to meet with leaders of the ‎country's political parties including the opposition, a few months before Egypt's first parliamentary elections since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Gunmen abducted an officer in Rafah, North Sinai, Sunday amid a crackdown on militant activity in the peninsula, Youm7 reported.

Foreign investment in Egypt will reach about $2 billion in the second quarter of the fiscal year, up from $1.8 billion dollars in the previous quarter, investment minister Ashraf Salman told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.

An Egyptian court has sentenced a student to three years in jail for announcing on Facebook that he is an atheist and for insulting Islam, his lawyer said Sunday.

Meterologists expect cold weather during the day on Monday in the north, moderate in the south and very cold at night in both regions, with frost in Central Sinai.

Ahead of the 2015 parliamentary elections, which will begin on 22 March, the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC) announced the regulations for media coverage of the elections, state-run media reported.

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi attended Saturday celebrations of Judge’s Day, which took place in the High Court of Justice in Downtown Cairo.

Six female students at the Faculty of Islamic Studies at Mansoura University were arrested and referred to the prosecution who ordered their preventative 15-day detention, El-Marsad Student Observatory reported.