CAIRO - The United States said Sunday that a vote in Egypt that drew millions to the polls was an "important step" towards achieving the goals of the protesters who ended decades of authoritarian rule.

CAIRO: Presidential hopeful and former head of the IAEA Mohamed ElBaradei was attacked Saturday by what he called "organized thugs" when he arrived at a polling station in Moqqatam with his family to vote on amendments to the constitution.

LUXOR - Police in the Upper Egyptian Governorate of Luxor arrested Sunday two antiquity robbers, who made off with two priceless small statues in a pre-dawn raid on a storehouse Saturday, leaving three watchmen wounded, security sources said.

CAIRO - The Egyptian stock exchange will announce in days, and probably in the coming week, a date for reopening, the state

CAIRO: Seventy-five members of the leftist Tagammu Party announced Friday that they will form the Socialist Democratic Party.

CAIRO - Egyptians went to the polls on Saturday to decide on a package of constitutional amendments which aim to pave the way for the parliamentary and presidential polls during the transitional period. The changes were completed in 10 days by a committee appointed by the country's supreme military council. An estimated 45 million eligible voters are urged to participate.

CAIRO - The United States and Egypt hinted on Tuesday that their old alliance will endure as the Egyptian people embark on a democratic transition after overthrowing an authoritarian leader. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the highest US official to visit Cairo since president Hosni Mubarak was toppled last month, pledged that the United States would stand by Egyptians as they pursue vast change.

CAIRO - The Egyptian army will decree arrangements for the transition from ousted president Hosni Mubarak's rule if voters reject proposed constitutional changes in a weekend referendum, its chief overseer warned.

CAIRO: Minister of Interior Mansour El-Essawy disbanded the long-feared state security police on Tuesday barely 10 days after taking office on a pledge to restore public confidence, state media said. "Minister of Interior Mansour El-Essawy decided today to cancel all administrative branches and offices of State Security in all the republic's provinces," the official MENA news agency reported.

CAIRO - When Ahmed checked his e-mails after a hard day’s work, he was surprised to find that his inbox was full. All the messages sounded very cautious, like one sent by one of his friends which started with the phrase ‘Take care’, while another from his sister was entitled ‘Be careful’ and a third, from his uncle, urged him to buy a weapon.

CAIRO: A military source warned against holding any protests or sit-ins during the referendum on the constitutional amendments. The source told state-TV that the law criminalizing thuggery will be imposed on anyone who attempts to obstruct the voting process on the referendum day set for March 19.

CAIRO - The disappearance of the police on January 28 from the streets across the country remains a big mystery. However, efforts to unravel the growing puzzle are overshadowed by appeals from citizens to redeploy the police as soon as possible.

CAIRO - Spain is willing to help Egypt develop its tourism business and assist its transition to democracy, Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said during a visit to Cairo on Monday.

CAIRO: The family of a suspect in a misdemeanor case filed a complaint to the prosecutor general accusing an officer at Meet Ghamr Police Station of torturing him last week to force him to change his words.

CAIRO - Young militants who spearheaded Egypt's pro-democracy revolution called Monday for a "no" vote in next weekend's referendum on constitutional reform.

CAIRO - Egypt will lift restrictions on forming political parties that choked political life during the rule of President Hosni Mubarak after a March 19 referendum on constitutional amendments, an army source said on Saturday.

CHENNAI, India - Egypt has won the squash Word Cup, with one of its star players dedicating the title to a country at the center of political uprisings.

CAIRO: Egypt’s public prosecution ordered the arrest of four former Ministry of Interior officials for allegedly giving orders to open fire on peaceful protesters on Jan. 28.

Egypt would not abandon its legal and historical right to Nile waters, local media quoted Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hussein el-Atfi as saying Saturday.

CAIRO: A number of human rights groups accused the military police of torturing as well as arbitrarily detaining protesters and activists over the past two weeks.

CAIRO - Egypt needs to start functioning again and prevent army rule from dragging on too long, the Muslim Brotherhood said, calling for the swift implementation of constitutional amendments to restart political life.