CAIRO: A car exploded in front of a Coptic Christian church as worshippers emerged from a New Year's Mass in the Egyptian city of Alexandria early Saturday, killing at least 21 people, officials said.

ALEXANDRIA--A solemn funeral was held Saturday evening in the coastal city of Alexandria for 21 Christians killed in a car explosion outside a church in the city half an hour after the stroke of midnight on Friday.

CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak accused "foreign hands" of carrying out a deadly New Year's day attack on a church early Saturday that killed 21 people and wounded 79 others.

CAIRO: The ruling National Democratic party will name the presidential candidate during a general conference that will be held prior to the presidential elections in 2011, Gamal Mubarak, the head of the NDP Policies Committee, said in a press conference Monday.

CAIRO - A bad weather is expected to hit Egypt as of Tuesday with winds, heavy fog and rainfall forecast on most areas, the Meteorological Authority warned Monday.

CAIRO: The issue of women’s rights was used as a political tool by the government and other entities in 2010, according to an annual report by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR).

CAIRO: In case South Sudan becomes a separate state, its membership in the Arab League will be subject

CAIRO: Coptic Orthodox Bishop Sergious Sergious, the deputy of the Saint Mark Cathedral, said the church will only send official invitations for the Jan. 7 Coptic Christmas celebration to President Hosni Mubarak, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Fathy Soror.

CAIRO - A resurgent H1N1 swine flu virus has infected 1,172 people in Egypt and killed 56 since October 8, a Ministry of Health official said Monday.

CAIRO - Gamal Mubarak, the son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said Monday that presidential elections will be held in September 2011 but refused to say if he himself will run.

CAIRO: Lawmakers will not discuss Egypt’s electoral system during the current parliamentary term, said Moufid Shehab, the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) Assistant Secretary General for Parliamentary Affairs on Monday.

CAIRO - A bad weather is expected to hit Egypt as of Tuesday with winds, heavy fog and rainfall forecast on most areas, the Meteorological Authority warned Monday.

CAIRO - In the historical palace of Al-Amir Taz in the Khalifa district of Islamic Cairo, splendour is added to magic, creating a serene and enchanting ambience that emphasises the unity of different eras in Egypt.

CAIRO: A number of ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) leaders criticized Sunday the opposition forces and their performance during the recent parliamentary elections.

CAIRO - Egypt's State Security Prosecutors Sunday have called on the international police (Interpol) to issue arrest warrant against two Israeli officers, whom an Egyptian spy suspect admitted he dealt with.

CAIRO - The annual conference of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) kicked off Saturday as opposition groups were to hold a parallel gathering to discuss accusations of fraud in the country's recent parliamentary elections.

CAIRO - Egypt is closely monitoring the recent accord signed between Israel and Cyprus demarcating their maritime borders, Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm quoted a senior official at the Foreign Ministry as saying.

CAIRO - The new session of the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Egyptian Parliament), which opened last week, includes a quota of 64 seats for women. One of these women MPs, Ekbal el-Samalouti, represents a constituency in Giza, south of Cairo. Originally from Samalout in the Upper Egyptian Governorate of el-Minya, about 250km south of Cairo, Ekbal is also the chairwoman of the board of directors of an NGO, as well as Dean of the Higher Institute for Social Work in Cairo.

CAIRO - In a rare meeting at the Heliopolis Presidential Palace, President Hosni Mubarak Wednesday met Pope Shenouda III, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, ahead of the Christmas, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

CAIRO - Egypt's Foreign Ministry warned citizens Wednesday against fraudulent internet announcements advertising job vacancies and marriage opportunities in Europe in exchange for money.

CAIRO: The Egyptian pound fell to a five-year low against the greenback, dropping by 0.2 percent as it ended trading at 5.806 to the dollar on Monday.