CAIRO—Three Al-Jazeera journalists on trial in Egypt directly asked the judge on Monday to release them, insisting the terrorism charges against them were preposterous.

Egypt's pound strengthened marginally against the dollar at a central bank dollar sale on Monday after weakening at the previous two sessions, and also firmed slightly on the black market.

Two people were killed on Sunday when a building collapsed in Cairo's Sahel district, reported the state news agency MENA.

The High Elections Commisson issued a statement Sunday on regulations relating to the upcoming presidential elections, including regulations of civil society organizations, voters and presidential candidates' campaigns.

Covering protests and street clashes is de rigeur among Egyptian journalists, but the Friday death of Mayada Ashraf, 23, a reporter for Al-Dostor newspaper, has raised questions among some local journalists about the lack of training received by journalists sent into the field.

The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned on Sunday the retrial of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, his sons Alaa and Gamal, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six former top deputies over charges of killing protesters and financial corruption to 1 April to hear Adly’s defense plea.

Egyptians will vote on May 26 and 27 in the first round of a presidential election, the organising body said on Sunday, a contest former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win easily.

An announcement by military chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi that he is resigning as Egypt's defense minister and planning to run for president has drawn mixed reactions from the powers that was once united in opposition to ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

Nasserist politician Hamdeen Sabbahi has said he welcomes the presidential candidacy of former army chief Abel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Cairo - Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday he had quit the military to run for president and vowed to rid the country of "terrorism" almost nine months after he toppled its elected leader.

Former chief-of-staff Sedki Sobhi was sworn in by interim president Adly Mansour on Thursday as new defence minister after former Egyptian army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi officially resigned the post earlier in the day.

The trial of former President Hosni Mubarak, his sons and four other defendants involving the alleged seizing of 125 million EGP (U.S. $18 million) worth of financial allocations was postponed Thursday by the Cairo Criminal Court to May 21.

WHILE much of the world’s attention is focused on Crimea and the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, Middle Eastern eyes will turn to the 25th annual summit of the Arab League, which opened this morning in Kuwait City.

A woman was subjected to wolf whistles and "attempts to rip her clothes off" as she walked through the grounds of an Egyptian University.

A call centre service to receive complaints from citizens was initiated on Monday by interim Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb at the Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC), a statement from the cabinet said.

Egypt’s interim government signed two agreements with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) on Monday to finance projects in the electricity sector, a statement from the cabinet said.

Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab is currently visiting Upper Egypt for the first time since his appointment as head of cabinet, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported.

The Syrian conflict takes centre stage at an Arab summit starting Tuesday in Kuwait, where a regional rift over Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has been kept off the agenda.

Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou said the incident of raping a British tourist dates back to 6 March and that he was not informed about it until Sunday.

Presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi’s campaign spokesperson Amr Badr said there is a difference between objective criticism and “smear campaigns,” and they will not tolerate the latter.

Trade balance deficit reached LE18.04 billion in December 2013, compared to LE22.95 billion in December 2012, marking 21.4 percent decrease.