Hundreds of supporters of presidential hopeful Sheikh Hazem Abu-Ismail began an open ended sit-in on Monday night, insisting that they will not leave until the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) announces its decision about his appeal.

One month after the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak fell, in March 2011, Hassan Malek was released from jail. He had spent four years and three months in prison, alongside 39 others, including Muslim Brotherhood leader and, until yesterday, presidential candidate Khairat al-Shater, on charges of illegally funding the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that was banned under Mubarak, and for alleged money laundering.

Tareekh Al-Batareka (History of the Patriarchs) by Sawiris Ibn El-Mokafaa, verified by Abdel-Aziz Gamaleddin, Cairo: General Organisation for Cultural Palaces (GOCP), 2012. 10 volumes

Investors affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood plan to launch a chain store in two months, which they expect to acquire a great share of the retail market in Egypt.

Muslim Brotherhood MP Mohamed El-Beltagi has condemned Sunday's meeting between military chief Tantawi and party representatives to discuss the constituent assembly. The constitutional crisis "could have been a chance to correct past mistakes" without referring to the military council, he said Monday on his personal Facebook profile.

Ninety-nine Christian pilgrims returned to Egypt from Jeruslaem on Monday on an Aarsena flight after celebrating Easter.

It's Easter Sunday, but it's hardly a joyful occasion for Egyptian Copts, who are still mourning the recent loss of their longstanding patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, and eyeing domestic political developments with considerable apprehension.

The Constituent Assembly crisis is an opportunity to reach a consensus on its composition and to avoid previous mistakes, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagy said Monday. On his Facebook page, Beltagy, who is also a Brotherhood MP, said the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was wrong to hold a meeting with party leaders Sunday because organizing the drafting of the constitution is Parliament's job.

Shortly before 9pm on Saturday, dressed-up men, women and children solemnly trickled in through the main entrance of St Mark's Cathedral on Cairo's Ramsis Street to attend this year's Coptic Easter mass. Two dozen police officers were already stationed near the gates, while an army tank stood in the distance flying an Egyptian flag.

For ecstatic Hazem Salah Abu Ismail supporters outside the State Council yesterday, the Administrative Court’s decision concerning his mother’s nationality is decisive.

The Salafist Front has announced plans to participate in mass demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday under the slogan, "the only demand - together against the remnants of the former regime".

Presidential hopeful Khairat al-Shater described the ruling issued on Wednesday by the Cairo Administrative Court on a challenge to Hazem Salah Abu Ismail's presidential campaign as "a victory for the credibility of Islamists."

Islamic movements in Egypt slammed the presidential candidacy of ex-intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and threatened to sue him and organize protests until he is barred from the poll. The Salafi Front called Tuesday for all political parties take to the streets in a mass demonstration against Suleiman and other figures of Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party posted on its Facebook page that secretary general of the Presidential Elections Commission Hatem Bagato is a relative of presidential candidate Amr Moussa, which Bagato has confirmed.

In an effort to downplay any friction between Islamist presidential frontrunners Hazem Abu-Ismail and Khairat El-Shater, supporters of the two men on Wednesday repeated the chant "Hazem and Khairat are one hand" at a rally in front of Egypt's State Council.

Egypt's State Council has adjourned until Wednesday the case filed by Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, wherein the presidential hopeful is demanding that the Ministry of Interior turnover official proof that his mother is a dual national.

Egypt's Coptic Church on Thursday issued a statement criticising the system used to form Egypt's recently-established constituent assembly, tasked with drafting a new national constitution. Half the members of the 100-seat assembly were drawn from Egypt's first post-Mubarak parliament – roughly three quarters of which is controlled by Islamist parties – and half from among non-parliamentarians.

Members from the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafi-oriented Nour Party have slammed a ruling by the State Council's Administrative Court on Tuesday, which reversed an earlier Parliament decision to form the panel tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution.

A greatly-respected Islamist figure, who is seen by many as a true fearless revolutionary voice and a tremendously knowledgeable yet jovial and modest man, Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail gained in popularity and appeared to stand a strong chance of assuming power in post-Mubarak Egypt.

Electronic warfare between Khairat al-Shater's supporters and opponents has escalated on social networking websites since the Brotherhood leader was nominated to run last week. On Facebook, the number of fans of the "I will not elect Khairat al-Shater" page reached 141000, compared to the 90000 fans of Shater's official campaign page.

Around 100 Coptic Christians flew from Cairo to Tel Aviv Monday in contravention of a ban placed on travel to the Occupied Palestinian Territories by the Church's late patriarch Pope Shenouda III. "I am travelling to witness the divine light of Christ that glows in Jerusalem," one of the pilgrims said.