The Saturday decision follows a statement by the Qatari Foreign Ministry a day earlier expressing concerns about the increasing number of people killed at demonstrations in support of the ousted Islamist president.

A prominent judge in Egypt has called on the government to ensure the equitable treatment of Copts in the country. Judge Amir Ramzi has insisted Egyptian government needs to criminalize discrimination, as well as allow conversions from Islam to Christianity. He also called for the return of guidance sessions for those wishing to convert. Ramzi denounced the kidnapping of Copts and asking for ransom from their relatives, a phenomenon that has significantly increased recently.

CAIRO, Jan 4 (Aswat Masriya) Mahmoud Badr, the founder of Tamarod, has said that members of the Muslim Brotherhood have tried to raid his residence in the Shebeen al-Qanater neighborhood in Qalyubia.

CAIRO -- Police officers battled protesters in the streets of several Egyptian cities during what Muslim Brotherhood supporters called the “Friday of igniting revolution,” with the Health Ministry reporting at least 13 people dead and 57 injured.

Several human rights organizations on Wednesday requested the prosecutor general to open investigation into the tapping of the phone calls of political activist Asmaa Mahfouz, which they considered interference in her private life.

CAIRO: The dates of the constitutional referendum may be extended to more than two days, depending on the number of voters, spokesperson of the Supreme Electoral Commission Nasr el-Din Badrawy said.

The Committee defending the independence of the press on Wednesday expressed deep concern about arrests of journalists in Egypt.

A partial strike by Egyptian doctors on Wednesday has been declared a success by organisers, although the government has downplayed its effects.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim has accused Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas of providing logistical support to terrorists who killed 16 people and injured more than 130 in Mansoura on 24 December 2013.

Australian journalist Peter Greste will spend the next 15 days detained in Egypt and being questioned over alleged ties to terrorists.

The Administrative Court on Tuesday upheld the decision to hold the constitutional referendum on the given dates, ruling that they fall within the timeline put forward by the democratic roadmap.

CAIRO — Egyptian prosecutors on Tuesday ordered three detained journalists from the news channel Al Jazeera English to be held in custody for 15 more days, on charges that include belonging to a terrorist group and harming the country’s reputation abroad.

Times Square erupted in joy and a shower of multi-colored confetti as New York City's famed glass ball eased down to mark the final seconds ushering in 2014.

CAIRO: Egypt’s Christians rang in the New Year on Wednesday with prayers for peace after months of unrest, but expressed no regrets over backing the military’s overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Masked assailants bombed a GASCO pipeline in Egypt’s troubled Sinai region Tuesday. The explosion, which caused no injuries, took place 50 kilometres south of the coastal town of Al-Arish.

The United States expressed concern about the arrest of political activists, peaceful demonstrators and suspension of NGOs in Egypt, along with the declaration of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.

CAIRO: A judicial source told Youm7 that the Supreme Electoral Committee, headed by Judge Nabil Salib, will hold Tuesday afternoon an important meeting to finalize preparations for the referendum process, including the use of electronic readers of ID cards at some voting stations in order to avoid multiple voting.

Famous TV host and satirist Bassem Youssef signed with MBC group this week and will return back to the screen in February 2014, sources in MBC told Ahram Online.

Cairo University President Gaber Nassar has referred law professor Yasser al-Serafy to an investigative committee on charges of affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood and raising political issues during lectures that led to altercations between him and students.

CAIRO: Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDB) will join any political coalition and is willing to coordinate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Secretary General of ESDB Ahmed Fawzy told Youm7 Tuesday.

The top US defense official expressed "concern" about recent developments in Egypt in a call on Sunday to Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Pentagon said.