CAIRO (Updated 1) - Egypt's ex-intelligence chief Omar Suleiman testified on Tuesday in the trial of former president Hosni Mubarak who faces charges of involvement in the killings of protesters, state television said. There were no further details about the testimony which was held behind closed doors.

CAIRO: About 1,500 doctors started Tuesday a full, open strike at 20 public hospitals nationwide until their demands are met, following a three-day partial strike. "Since Saturday, no health ministry officials attempted to talk to us which made us resort to escalation measures," Ahmed Atef, a plastic surgeon at El-Nil hospital in Qalyoubiya's Shoubra El-Kheima district, told Daily News Egypt.

CAIRO – A recent poll conducted by the Cabinet has revealed that about 67 per cent of Egyptians want ousted president Hosni Mubarak to be tried, while 13 per cent are against the idea, the official Middle East News Agency reported on Tuesday. Twenty per cent of the 1,000 citizens polled abstained from giving an opinion.

CAIRO: The new amendments to the emergency law announced by the ruling army council are illegal, experts argued Monday. The council said the state of emergency would continue until mid next year. "Legally, an emergency state can only be applied in cases of natural disasters, war and epidemics. An amendment should only be related to these three factors," director of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession Nasser Amin said.

CAIRO: Holding the Shoura Council and People’s Assembly elections separately "makes the voting process less complicated and reduces the number of potential invalid votes," said experts. According to a statement issued by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) on Monday, the PA elections will be held first followed by the Shoura Council elections under full judicial supervision, in a bid to secure and guarantee a free and fair process.

CAIRO: Egypt’s overall annual inflation in August reached 8.5 percent, easing from 10.4 percent in July, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. The figure is at the lowest it has been in months since the popular uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.

CAIRO: CAIRO: Former secretary general of the disbanded National Democratic

CAIRO - Almost nine months after the January 25 revolution started, the conditions in Egyptian prisons were back to normal, according to First Assistant Minister of the Interior Mohamed Naguib. Mansour el-Essawi, Minister of the Interior, ordered to draw up a reconstruction plan to repair what got damaged by militants during and after the revolution.

CAIRO: Egypt's military ruler and one-time confidant of Hosni Mubarak failed Sunday to attend a court session in which he was expected to offer highly anticipated testimony about the former president's alleged role in the death of protesters.

CAIRO (Updated) - Egypt said Saturday it would send those who incited or took part in the violence targeting the Israeli Embassy in Cairo to an emergency state security court, pledging to protect all embassies in Egypt, after three people were killed in the overnight clashes outside the Israeli embassy. Information Minister Osama Hassan Heikal stressed that Egypt had passed a 'crucial' day on Friday that made "Egyptians feel worried over some behaviours, which jeaopardise the Egyptian revolution and tarnishes the state's image inside and outside".

CAIRO - Egypt affirmed on Saturday its ‘total commitment’ to protecting all embassies in Egypt, after three people were killed in overnight clashes that followed an attack on the Israeli mission.

CAIRO - Egypt's inflation rate declined in August as food prices, one of the causes of the unrest that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, rose at a slower pace.

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.