After the exclusion of Hazem Abu-Ismail and Khairat El-Shater, two strong Islamist candidates, from the first presidential elections after the January 25 Revolution set for May, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Committee has now rejected the candidates’ petition against their exclusion from the race, leaving the race for the powerful Islamist vote in Egypt wide open.

Islamist activists, especially from the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, said Saturday that they are stepping up contacts with counterparts from the liberal political camp to agree on a unified plan of action expressing outrage at the candidacy of Omar Suleiman, vice president and right-hand man under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, in the upcoming presidential elections.

Hundreds of thousands of mostly Islamist protesters have congregated in Tahrir Square on Friday to show their opposition to remnants of the former regime, in a protest that was jointly called for by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist Front.

The Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate will not use the group's long-standing slogan, "Islam is the solution," for the upcoming election.

A Coptic Christian group called Coptic 38, established in 2011 to campaign for changes to the Church's divorce laws, held a press conference at the Journalists' Syndicate Monday to call for the re-implementation of 1938 bylaws that permitted Coptic Christians to obtain a divorce under nine conditions.

A Coptic Christian group called Coptic 38, established in 2011 to campaign for changes to the Church's divorce laws, held a press conference at the Journalists' Syndicate Monday to call for the re-implementation of 1938 bylaws that permitted Coptic Christians to obtain a divorce under nine conditions.

A Coptic Christian group called Coptic 38, established in 2011 to campaign for changes to the Church's divorce laws, held a press conference at the Journalists' Syndicate Monday to call for the re-implementation of 1938 bylaws that permitted Coptic Christians to obtain a divorce under nine conditions.

The Muslim Brotherhood announced on its official website Monday it will return to Cairo's Tahrir Square for the third Friday in a row to participate in "Saving the Revolution" million man protest on 27 April, joining many political forces, parties and coalitions.

A number of Nour Party members resigned from the party, protesting "the party's failure to manage political issues, and not expressing the concerns of the street."

Members of Parliament’s Health Committee, who belong to the Islamist Freedom and Justice and Nour parties, have denounced certain hospitals and nursing schools for banning nurses from wearing the niqab.

The Muslim Brotherhood group has renewed its commitment to running in the presidential election, and rejected a proposal by the Salafi-led Nour Party to agree on one Islamist candidate and support him for the presidency.

A politician expelled from the Muslim Brotherhood is finding support among liberals and Islamists alike in his bid for Egypt's presidency, challenging the group he helped lead with a message that spans divisions in a polarized society.

The head of Nour Party, Emad Eddin Abdel Ghaffour, arrived at the Rafah border crossing Saturday leading a delegation of Salafi leaders on their way to the Gaza Strip, security sources in North Sinai said. Abdel Ghaffour will visit Gaza to discuss the alleged abduction of three Egyptian officers who disappeared after the breakout of Egypt's 25 January revolution. They are believed to have been kidnapped by Salafi-oriented Palestinian factions.

Muslim Brotherhood's presidential hopeful, Mohamed Mursi, said during a press conference on Saturday that he would resign as the chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) should he emerge as the winner in Egypt's elections, due to start on 23 May.

Supporters of excluded presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail began a sit-in in Tahrir Square Saturday morning, as the square became quiet and traffic almost returned to normal following a mass protest on Friday.

Father Pachomious, the acting pope, has agreed to establish a large museum to display the belongings of late Pope Shenouda III at the Father Bishoy Cathedral in Wadi al-Natron, the state news agency reported Saturday.

One day after Tuesday's decision by the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) to uphold a ruling that disqualified him from the presidential race, Khairat El-Shater told a rally that the decision was unjust but insisted, "it's not about me, it's about Egypt."

Al-Nour Party MP Anwar El-Balkimy, who became known as "Nose job" Salafist MP, apologised on-air in today's session of the People's Assembly — Egypt's lower house of parliament — for lying about alleged facial injuries in March. He claimed he was victim of a violent attack while the truth was he underwent plastic surgery on his nose.

The man thrust unexpectedly into the limelight as the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate to lead Egypt is a mild-mannered figure whose low public profile may leave him struggling against more forceful rivals vying for the votes of Islamists and others.

A number of of Al-Azhar students and political activists called for a protest Friday in front of Al-Azhar's administrative office after Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa made a rare visit to Jerusalem Wednesday for the inauguration of the Imam Ghazali chair of Islamic studies under the auspices of the Jordanian Al-Bayt Foundation.

Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat al-Shater shrugged off his disqualification from the presidential race as “a crime,” accusing the ruling military junta of interfering with the presidential election process and stalling “a genuine” handover of power to civilians.