CAIRO: The head of Egypt's ruling military council will testify in a closed session next week to a court that is trying ousted President Hosni Mubarak over charges of conspiring to kill protesters, Judge Ahmed Refaat said on Wednesday. Both the defense and prosecution sought the testimony of Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defense minister and is now the military ruler.

CAIRO - Shabaan Ahmed who comes from the Delta governorate of Beheira and works for a family in the capital goes every two months to what is known as the district 'supply grocer'. Shabaan does not get subsidised foodstuff, such as rice, sugar and cooking oil, for himself but for his employer's family, who can actually afford to buy these items from the nearest supermarket at the going market prices.

CAIRO - Egypt's main indexes dipped on Wednesday on local and non-Arabs sell-offs, traders said. Locals and non-Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE15.7 million and LE36.5 million respectively, while Arab investors made net purchases worth LE52.2 million, according to Bourse data. The benchmark index EGX30 slipped 0.02 to 4,727.40 points. The broader indexes EGX70 and EGX100 also fell, dipping 0.51 and 0.45 per cent to 590.40 and 873.22 points respectively.

CAIRO: The testimonies of prosecution witnesses made on Monday during the third trial hearing of ousted President Hosni Mubarak contradicted their previous statements to the prosecution, lawyers said on Tuesday. "Either they were paid or ordered by these officials to change their testimonies," civil rights lawyer volunteering for the prosecution, Samir Helmy, told Daily News Egypt.

CAIRO: Prime Minister Essam Sharaf met with executives and experts to work on resolving the disparity in salaries and incomes in the government. The meeting comes in light of protests staged by workers all over the country against the disparity in salaries, demanding pay raises and more benefits.

CAIRO: The prosecution released on Tuesday 21 anti-Mubarak protesters arrested after clashes with the police and supporters of the ex-president outside the court where the third trial hearing was held on Monday. They were released on LE 200 bail. The protesters were mainly supporters of the families of martyrs and the injured as well as passersby who were randomly arrested near the Police Academy where the trial is held.

CAIRO - Egypt's military, in charge since an 18-day popular revolt ousted President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, says it wants to hand power to civilians as soon as possible and has set a timeline for a parliamentary election to start the process.

CAIRO: Minister of Education Ahmed Gamal Al-Din Moussa ruled out the success of a planned strike by teachers on Sept. 17, the first day of the academic year. Teachers are demanding Moussa’s resignation and better pay, while he said he would be happy to be relieved of responsibilities at the ministry.

CAIRO: Most Islamist groups and parties announced Monday that they will not participate in mass protests scheduled for Friday dubbed “Correcting the Path” in Tahrir Square, to avoid clashes with the armed forces stationed there.

CAIRO – A reliable source in Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR) announced on Sunday that Egyptian will soon resume exporting gas to Jordan, as the two parties have reached an agreement about a revised price, the official Middle East News Agency reports. The source told Jordan newspaper Ad-Dustour on Sunday that the new agreement will be ready this week, allowing Egypt to resume pumping gas to the Hashemite Kingdom.

CAIRO – El-Manshiyaa neighbourhood near the main train station in coastal city Alexandria is famous for its shops selling office and school supplies. But this year it’s been feeling the pinch, because of high prices and presence of thugs.

CAIRO - Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said on Sunday he could visit Syria this week to voice Arab worries about violence there after Damascus sent troops and tanks to crush street protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule

CAIRO - A Cairo court has issued an order to freeze all assets of Egyptian steel magnate Ahmed Ezz, a close associate of ousted President Hosni Mubarak who is also being investigated for graft, state news agency MENA reported.

CAIRO – About five Kuwaiti lawyers, who will defend ousted president Hosni Mubarak, arrived in Cairo on Sunday, Al-Youm Al-Sabea reports. The lawyers announced that they would hold a press conference later in the day (Sunday), in which they would outline their reasons for attending the trial.

CAIRO - An Egyptian court has set October 24 for the first session in the trial of the former chief of staff of ousted President Hosni Mubarak on charges of corruption and illegal profiteering, Egypt's news agency MENA reported on Sunday.

CAIRO - Egypt's presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei said in remarks published Thursday that the country's forthcoming parliamentary elections may not be 'democratically competitive.'

CAIRO: Thousands of Egyptians prayed in celebration of Eid Al-Fitr in Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak in February. Thousands gathered bearing Egyptian flags to celebrate the first Eid, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, since Mubarak was overthrown.

CAIRO - The head of Egypt’s ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, pardoned 230 prisoners on the occasion of Eid el-Fitr (Lesser Bairam). None of those included in the pardon had been previously convicted prior to their current conviction, according to Al- Ahram online.

CAIRO: Egypt will sign a deal to resume gas exports to Jordan next month despite attacks by armed groups on the gas pipeline in Egypt's Sinai region, Egyptian state news agency MENA cited Jordan Energy Minister Khaled Toukan as saying on Monday. Since a popular uprising ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February, armed militants have used a security vacuum in North Sinai to stage attacks on the gas pipeline supplying Jordan and Israel, disrupting flows to both countries.

CAIRO: Egypt’s unemployment rate reached 11.8 percent in the second quarter of 2011, down from 11.9 percent in the first quarter, but higher than last year’s 8.96 percent. Despite the slight decrease in the actual statistic, Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers, pointed out that the country will continue to see high unemployment figures.

CAIRO: A military tribunal referred Monday an unconfirmed number of suspects to civilian courts, while 230 who were tried in military courts had their sentences suspended. Egyptian state television said Monday afternoon that the head of the ruling military council Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi suspended the prison sentences of 230 civilians tried in military courts.