Egypt defended its judicial system at the United Nations on Wednesday amid a global outcry over the jailing of al Jazeera journalists, telling diplomats and reporters that it respects the role of the media and does not consider journalism a crime.

Egypt will put on hold the Daylight Saving Time (DST), shifting the clock backwards by an hour, starting Thursday midnight, during the holy month of Ramadan that is observed by the country's Muslim majority.

Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab will donate half his monthly salary and a part of his wealth to a new initiative launched by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to assist Egypt through its economic crisis, cabinet spokesperson Hossam Kaweesh announced late Wednesday.

Students and some faculty members in public Egyptian universities have expressed their disappointment and frustration with a presidential decree mandating that university heads and deans are to be directly appointed by the president.

A housing development company owned by Egypt and Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it was increasing its capital by $245 million, a four-fold rise, to build houses in Egypt, in a further sign of support for the country from its key Gulf ally, Reuters reported.

Five makeshift bombs exploded at four Cairo metro stations on Wednesday morning, wounding at least five people, while another detonated near a courthouse in the capital, officials said.

Super-high capacity pumps have been commissioned at a new sewage treatment plant in Alexandria, Egypt’s second city, which will help bring the city’s sanitation up to global state-of-the-art standards.

US congressional leaders are considering withholding more than $1 billion in military support to Cairo after Egyptian courts delivered mass death sentences to opposition figures and lengthy jail terms for journalists.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi called for coordinated efforts to fight "terrorism" during a visit to Algiers Wednesday, his first trip abroad since his election in May.

Four subway stations in the center and the northern part of Egypt's capital Cairo were under attack by a homemade bomb this morning.

International outrage at Egypt’s crackdown on dissent has grown on Monday. High level United Nations officials have condemned the sentencing in Egypt of three Al Jazeera journalists to lengthy prison sentences and the death sentences handed down to 183 Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters.

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi announced Tuesday that the draft budget for fiscal year (FY) 2014/2015 would push the national debt to over EGP 2tn and is still in need of adjustments.

Egypt's president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will fly to Algeria on Wednesday, reported Al-Ahram's Arabic news website.

A Cairo court postponed on Tuesday a ruling until 22 July in the first appeal for two American University in Cairo (AUC) students detained since December. The two detainees will be moved to Abou Zaabal prison.

Egypt's cabinet announced on Tuesday that daylight saving time will be discontinued at midnight on Thursday 26 June until after Ramadan at midnight on Thursday 31 July.

Three Al Jazeera journalists who have been held in Egypt since December have been sentenced to seven years in jail, according to Ahram Online's reporter at the courthouse.

Kerry became the highest-ranking US official to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since he came to power earlier this month amid Egypt's rocky transition to democracy since the ousting of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Four policemen have been killed, another recruit has been injured in his shoulder during a security raid in Sohag.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb said on Sunday that the Egyptian government is determined to carry out financial and economic reform.

The public–sector owned National Company for Construction and Development, NCCD, is competing to execute infrastructural projects in Ethiopia and the Nile Basin countries in the upcoming period, said Safwan al-Selmy, the board chairman of the NCCD, Mubasher reported Sunday.

Egypt is facing a "critical moment" in its transition to democracy, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday as he arrived in Cairo on a surprise trip.