CAIRO (Updated) - An Egyptian panel tasked with overseeing =constitutional changes on Saturday proposed to limit presidential terms to two, in amendments that will be put to a referendum, the official MENA agency said. The committee, headed by Tarek al-Bishri, is also seeking to reduce the length presidential terms to four years.

CAIRO: Army soldiers and military police chased protesters in Tahrir and near the parliament building using cattle prods in the early hours of Saturday, beating and arresting a number of activists. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued an apology on its Facebook page Saturday morning, saying the clashes were “unintentional.” In a second statement, the council said it ordered the release of all protesters arrested the night before.

ALEXANDRIA - A criminal court in the coastal city of Alexandria Saturday deferred until next month or when security stability is back the trial of two policemen suspected of brutally beating up and illegally arresting 28-year-old blogger Khaled Saeed, triggering protests from activists and his relatives. "The case of Khaled Saeed as well as other criminal cases will be heard as of next judicial term starting on March 26 or after security circumstances improve. This delay aims to guarantee justice," said Moussa el-Naharawi, the chief judge of the Alexandria Criminal Court.

CAIRO - A committee consisting of specialists from the Centre for Curricula Development and the Ministry of Education, and other educational experts are revising history textbooks in light of the Youth Revolution of January 25. These experts, in collaboration with the authors of the above textbooks, have agreed to delete parts of the curriculum relating to the National Democratic Party (NDP), while their opinions vary about the parts dealing with the projects of and activities relating to Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the ex-President. Professor of history

CAIRO: Judges said Thursday they will not oversee elections unless they are granted full supervisory authorities via constitutional amendments. They judges also said they will form a committee to issue a new draft constitution. A statement issued by the Judges’ Club demanded immediate amendments to the judiciary authority law to diminish Minister of Justice Mamdouh Marei’s authorities regarding judiciary inspection and appointments of judges.

CAIRO - A certain disillusionment already has set in among the revolutionaries who began calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak one month ago on Al Tahrir Square. As revolutions go, they got their wish relatively quickly when Mubarak left office on February 11 just two weeks after they began demonstrating in large numbers.

CAIRO: Over 1,000 protested in Tahrir Square on Tuesday after a planned million man march was downgraded to a symbolic one in response to a “positive” TV interview with members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Dream TV Monday night.

CAIRO: Ten new ministers and the first deputy prime minister in years were sworn in on Tuesday in the first cabinet reshuffle since a military council took power, state television announced.

CAIRO: A senior US diplomat urged Egypt on Monday to build confidence in its transition to democracy by lifting the country's emergency law and releasing more detainees.

CAIRO (Updated) - British Prime Minister David Cameron held talks in Cairo on Monday, on the first trip by a foreign leader to the Egyptian capital since the downfall of long-time president Hosni Mubarak. Mr Cameron held talks with Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, the country's de facto leader since a popular uprising toppled Mr Mubarak, the official MENA news agency reported. He also met Prime Minister Ahmed

CAIRO: Around 1,000 Egyptians protested on Sunday in a city east of Cairo after a woman was killed by an army vehicle during a demonstration, eyewitnesses said. The incident marked the latest eruption of public anger in the wake of countrywide protests that began on Jan. 25 and led to the toppling of president Hosni Mubarak.

CAIRO - Egypt said it would like European Union states to cancel its debts to them but has not made a formal request, the EU's local delegation said on Monday, citing the Egyptian finance minister.

CAIRO - Egypt said Sunday it was reinstating its ambassador to the Vatican, more than a month after she was recalled over 'unacceptable' comments made Pope Benedict XVI.

MADRID - Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei urged the military leaders running Egypt to lift a three-decade old emergency law, saying in an interview Sunday that this would show the country was "on the right path".

CAIRO - The world came to a stop for three former ministers and a steel tycoon when they landed at el-Mazraa Prison on the outskirts of Cairo late Thursday.

CAIRO - Egypt's government will raise state pensions by 15 percent from April, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) cited the prime minister as saying on Saturday.

CAIRO - A Cairo court on Saturday approvedthe establishment of an Egyptian political party that has beentrying to secure an official licence for 15 years, judicial sources said.

CAIRO - A judicial council entrusted with proposing constitutional changes to allow free and fair elections in Egypt has nearly finished its work, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency quoted its chairman as saying on Saturday.

CAIRO - Banks in Egypt will reopen Sunday, after nearly three weeks of closure, the officials Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. “Banks will reopen on Sunday,” the report said, citing an official statement from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

CAIRO - The Egyptian army announced on Saturday that it would not punish an officer who was shown on television joining anti-regime demonstrators after surrendering his weapon. "Based on the belief of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) in the noble objectives of the January 25 revolution, the president of the council has decided to suspend the investigation of... Ahmed Shuman," the council said on its Facebook page.

CAIRO - Workers at Egypt's largest factory will continue striking, an independent labour group said on Saturday, in defiance of warnings by the ruling military junta that it will no longer tolerate protests. Around 15,000 workers from the Misr Spinning and Weaving -which employs 24,000 people in the Nile Delta city of Al-Mahalla al-Kubra - "are holding a sit-in for a fourth day in front of the administration building," the Centre for Trade Union and Workers' Services (CTUWS) said in a statement.