CAIRO: Egypt's ministry of agriculture on Friday denied that fenugreek seeds exported to Europe had caused an E.coli outbreak that has killed 50 people, mainly in Germany. The head of Egypt's Central Administration of Agricultural Quarantine, Ali Suleiman, said claims by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that Egyptian fenugreek seeds exported in 2009 and 2010 may have been implicated in the outbreak were "completely untrue."

CAIRO: Calm returned to Cairo’s downtown streets Wednesday following clashes between protesters and central security forces outside the interior ministry, as the army deployed and cordoned the building. About 30 suspects were reportedly questioned by the military prosecution, according to the army’s Morale Affairs Department, since the clashes first erupted Tuesday evening and continued into the following day.

CAIRO - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood welcomes any formal contacts with the United States as a way to clarify its vision but no such contacts have yet been made, a spokesman for the Islamist group said on Thursday.

CAIRO: Egyptians want to write their own constitution, with their own hands if they could. It’s a wish many have, unrealistic as it may seem, but one initiative is setting out to help this dream become a reality. This desire at the grassroots level to create a constitution written by the people — not by a group of technocrats in closed rooms — was the inspiration behind the first meeting of the "Let's write our constitution" initiative.

CAIRO: Clashes between protesters and central security forces continued early Wednesday morning in and around Tahrir Square with dozens of injuries reported. Tahrir Square, the epicenter of protests that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, was sealed off as police continued to fire tear gas into the early hours of Wednesday and a thick white cloud hung over the square. Numbers of protesters swelled from few hundred to few thousand.

CAIRO - Egyptian police fired tear gas in Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Wednesday at hundreds of mainly young protesters, some of whom threw stones and demanded that trials of former senior officials proceed more swiftly. Clashes broke out late on Tuesday in a nearby area of Cairo where families of some of the more than 840 people killed in the uprising that led to Hosni Mubarak's overthrow in February had gathered to honour those killed.

CAIRO – Al-Ahly-Zamalek derby, which was scheduled to be played on Wednesday, has been adjourned due to Tahrir Square events, the official Middle East News Agency reported on Wednesday. The derby will be rescheduled later, according to a senior official at the Egyptian Football Association. The rest of the Egyptian league matches will be played late on Wednesday.

CAIRO (Updated) - An Egyptian court ruled on Tuesday to dissolve local councils that were elected under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, after protesters called for remnants of the old political order to be dismantled. "The court issued a decision to dissolve local councils across the country," judge Kamal al-Lamaei told a Cairo administrative court.

CAIRO: Egypt's ruling military council remains committed to holding parliamentary elections in September, despite mounting calls for a delay, a military source told AFP on Monday. "The military council insists on what it has already announced regarding (holding) elections at the end of September, in accordance with the result of a referendum" held in March, the source said.

CAIRO - An Egyptian citizen who tried to overturn state land sales to Palm Hills and Saudi's Kingdom Holding has withdrawn the claims, saying there was little point continuing while the government is doing little to fight graft, Reuters reported Monday.

CAIRO: Clashes erupted between security and the families of those killed and injured during the Jan. 25 Revolution outside the courthouse on Sunday as the trial of the former interior minister was adjourned. Former Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly and six other former senior officials are charged with ordering the killing of protesters during the 18-day uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

CAIRO: In a symbolic visit to support the Egypt’s “extraordinary transition” after the revolution, American senators John McCain (R-Ariz) and John Kerry (D-Mass) reiterated a message of economic cooperation, not dictation. “The American people on a non-partisan basis want to see this revolution succeed, we want to assist not dictate,” said McCain. “We feel that the United States government can provide assistance and aid in a broad variety of way.”

CAIRO: The Egyptian military conducted virginity tests on female protestors in self-defense against potential rape allegations, Major General Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, head of Egypt’s military intelligence, reportedly told Amnesty International Sunday.

CAIRO: Hundreds of vendors, drivers and workers in the wholesale poultry industry briefly blocked the road leading to the State TV building Maspero as well as Sixth of October Bridge on Friday, calling on the government to allow them to sell live poultry. Protests scheduled this Friday were initially organized to show solidarity with the families of the martyrs and injured of the January 25 revolution and a group demanding housing, who have been camping outside Maspero for weeks.

CAIRO - Egypt must "scrap" the most reviled laws of former president Hosni Mubarak's era if it wants to ensure free and fair parliamentary elections in September, the secretary general of Amnesty International said Saturday.

CAIRO: Egypt will not borrow from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund after revising its budget and cutting the forecast deficit, even though a loan had been agreed, Finance Minister Samir Radwan said on Saturday.

Unconfirmed reports have circulated about the resignation of interim Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's senior adviser, Ali al-Ghateet, amid news about the resignation of other senior officials. On Wednesday, Sharaf accepted the resignation of his deputy, Yehia al-Gamal. But the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) turned down the resignation, prompting Gamal to reverse his decision.

CAIRO: Even though news about Egypt rejecting a loan from the World Bank turned out to be false, the reaction to initial reports highlights the ongoing debate over whether the country should accept loans from global financial institutions.

CAIRO (Updated) - An Egyptian court sentenced a businessman, and two Israelis who were tried in absentia, to life in prison on Thursday for spying for Israel.

CAIRO – Egypt's military rulers have posted a Facebook poll to gauge the popularity of nearly 20 presidential hopefuls, an attempt to show their commitment to a democratic transition in the face of rising criticism of their management of the country. The governing council's outreach to the public on the political process was a novelty after three decades of authoritarian rule by President Hosni Mubarak, who is accused of overseeing a corrupt system heavily controlled by his family and cronies.

CAIRO - Some Egyptian intellectuals, activists and an online group have started a drive to rivet the attention of the Government to focus on the poor, stressing that the January 25 revolution cannot be complete unless social justice is achieved. "While the race for the presidency is dominating the scene in Egypt, no real change has taken place expect for the overthrow of [president Hosni] Mubarak.