CAIRO (Updated) - Egypt on Sunday named General Mansour el-Essawi as its new interior minister in a further sign that ousted President Hosni Mubarak's old guard were being removed from the cabinet. Pro-democracy activists have demanded a purge of a cabinet where the key portfolios of defence, justice, interior and foreign affairs have been run by appointees of Mubarak, who was swept from power by mass protests on February 11.

CAIRO - A state security building on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital was set alight on Saturday, a security source said, one day after some 200 protesters stormed state security headquarters in the coastal city of Alexandria.

CAIRO - A heated debate about the post-revolution roadmap in Egypt has erupted. Ordinary citizens are jostling and shoving to climb on the podium and voice their visions and suggestions. Supporting the birth of a new era in Egypt after the uprising on January 25, influential figures of the intelligentsia are joining in.

ALEXANDRIA - Officers and employees were evacuated from the headquarters of the state security services in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria, after overnight clashes involving protesters who had surrounded the building.

CAIRO: A referendum on the constitutional amendments will take place on March 19, cabinet announced Friday on its Facebook page, citing the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. The voting process will kick off at 8 am and end at 7 pm, the statement added.

HELWAN, Egypt: Inside the gated compound of Katameya Heights, where ex- Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq lives, around 1,000 people gathered to express their gratitude and support for him. Chanting “We love you Shafiq” and “Shafiq for president,” the supporters, also residents of the upscale Katameya Heights and nearby compounds, were vehement in their assertion that the protesters in Tahrir do not represent them.

RAS JDIR: Tunisian border guards fired into the air on Tuesday to try to control a crowd of people clamoring to get through a border crossing to escape the violence in neighboring Libya. Border guards were letting people, mostly foreigners who had been working in Libya, through the crossing at Ras Jdir but could not process them through immigration fast enough to keep up with the numbers arriving.

CAIRO - Egypt's military leaders met a group including opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei and Arab League chief Amr Mussa late on Tuesday to discuss upcoming reforms, state media said. The goal was to listen to their views on the current political, economic and social system following the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak on February 11 after weeks of protests, the state news agency MENA said.

CAIRO: Egyptian officials have again delayed the restart of the country's stock exchange, a move that brokers said Tuesday would likely only undercut investor confidence in a market many expect to take a hammering as the country struggles to regain footing after massive protests that ousted its longtime president.

CAIRO - Egypt's stock exchange, closed since Jan. 27 because of the protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, has decided to delay trade from Tuesday to Sunday, an official from the bourse said Monday night. Dozens of investors gathered Monday morning at the premises of the Egyptian Stock Market to protest a decision to reopen it Tuesday. The marke has been closed since January 27 due to massive protests against the Mubarak regime.

CAIRO: The Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution said in a statement that the army has agreed to remove the current cabinet, dismantle the State Security apparatus and release political detainees whose names were presented by the coalition.

CAIRO - The American University in Cairo Press publishes beautiful art books. They can undoubtedly take a place of honour in anybody’s library. ‘Twentieth-Century Egyptian Art " The Private Collection of Sherwat Shafei’ by Mona Abaza (AUC Press, February 2011) is no exception. Some publisher notes:

CAIRO: The Popular Fact-finding Committee, formed of law professors and human rights activists, said Sunday it will start investigating crimes committed against protestors during the January 25 Revolution. The committee is neutral, has no political affiliations and consists of members known for their integrity and efficiency, according to a statement issued by the committee.

CAIRO - Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa announced on Sunday his intention to run for Egypt's next presidential election, Egypt's state TV reported.

CAIRO: The army is expected to announce the date of the referendum on the recommended constitutional amendments next week, lawyer Sobhi Saleh told Daily News Egypt Sunday. “The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces told us during the discussions that they wish to finalize this issue before end of March. So it is logical to announce their decision next week,” Saleh, a constitutional committee member, added.

CAIRO (Updated) - An Egyptian panel tasked with overseeing =constitutional changes on Saturday proposed to limit presidential terms to two, in amendments that will be put to a referendum, the official MENA agency said. The committee, headed by Tarek al-Bishri, is also seeking to reduce the length presidential terms to four years.

CAIRO: Army soldiers and military police chased protesters in Tahrir and near the parliament building using cattle prods in the early hours of Saturday, beating and arresting a number of activists. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued an apology on its Facebook page Saturday morning, saying the clashes were “unintentional.” In a second statement, the council said it ordered the release of all protesters arrested the night before.

ALEXANDRIA - A criminal court in the coastal city of Alexandria Saturday deferred until next month or when security stability is back the trial of two policemen suspected of brutally beating up and illegally arresting 28-year-old blogger Khaled Saeed, triggering protests from activists and his relatives. "The case of Khaled Saeed as well as other criminal cases will be heard as of next judicial term starting on March 26 or after security circumstances improve. This delay aims to guarantee justice," said Moussa el-Naharawi, the chief judge of the Alexandria Criminal Court.

CAIRO - A committee consisting of specialists from the Centre for Curricula Development and the Ministry of Education, and other educational experts are revising history textbooks in light of the Youth Revolution of January 25. These experts, in collaboration with the authors of the above textbooks, have agreed to delete parts of the curriculum relating to the National Democratic Party (NDP), while their opinions vary about the parts dealing with the projects of and activities relating to Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the ex-President. Professor of history

CAIRO: Judges said Thursday they will not oversee elections unless they are granted full supervisory authorities via constitutional amendments. They judges also said they will form a committee to issue a new draft constitution. A statement issued by the Judges’ Club demanded immediate amendments to the judiciary authority law to diminish Minister of Justice Mamdouh Marei’s authorities regarding judiciary inspection and appointments of judges.

CAIRO - A certain disillusionment already has set in among the revolutionaries who began calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak one month ago on Al Tahrir Square. As revolutions go, they got their wish relatively quickly when Mubarak left office on February 11 just two weeks after they began demonstrating in large numbers.