Egypt's Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University Ahmed El-Tayeb and a number of notable political figures have agreed to launch an initiative to handle the current crisis

Several Egyptian political parties and groups have issued a joint statement announcing their intention to peacefully march to the presidential palace in Cairo at 5pm on Tuesday to voice opposition to President Mohamed Morsi's recent decisions and the date that has been set for a nationwide popular referendum on Egypt's draft constitution.

The national Public Prosecution decided Sunday to poll heads, deputies and assistants of prosecution offices around the country to determine their willingness to supervise the public referendum vote on the recently drafted constitution, which will be held on 15 December.

Another protester was announced dead at the Helal Hospital in Cairo after being injured during clashes between protesters and security forces on Mohamed Mahmoud Street near the Interior Ministry last week.

The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) has expressed deep concern after hundreds of supporters of President Morsi forced the High Constitutional Court to halt its work on Sunday.

The High Constitutional Court (HCC) declared on Sunday it will freeze all its sessions indefinitely in protest of pressure exerted upon it by supporters of President Mohamed Morsi who gathered outside the court building earlier the same day.

Egypt's stocks ended the year 2012 on a positive note, bolstering its impressive 2012 rally and putting it in third place globally in terms of per cent earnings.

Ashraf El-Arabi, Egypt's minister of planning and international cooperation, warned that the budget deficit might reach almost LE200 billion by the end of the 2012/2013 fiscal year if the government does not implement long-awaited financial and fiscal reforms, state news agency MENA reported.

A number of professional syndicates are calling on Egyptian authorities to investigate why syndicate members--including doctors, engineeers, and journalists--have been detained in the United Arab Emirates.

An April 6 Youth Movement activist sustained a head injury after a drive-by shooting in Tahrir Square on Monday morning and has been hospitalized in critical condition.

Ahmed al-Zend, head of Judges Club, said he will meet with the Supreme Judicial Council on Monday. Several members of the club board as well as a delegation from the club branches in the governorate will attend to discuss the situation of Prosecutor General Talaat Abdullah and the council's statement, which called on him to resign and return to working as a judge.

The Constituent Assembly began voting on the draft constitution on Thursday afternoon, with 85 members present.

Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin said there have been attempts to communicate with political forces calling for mass demonstrations on Friday and Saturday, in an effort to prevent more violence after a week of protests.

The poverty rate has considerably increased, as it has reached an average of 25.5 per cent for the year 2010/2011 compared to 21.6 per cent in 2008/2009, the state-run statistics agency CAPMAS reported.

For almost two years, civil and secular groups were constantly blamed for being disunited and unorganized, paving the way for Islamists to rise to power after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.

Egyptian stocks ended the day down by less than half a percentage point Thursday after plunging 3 per cent in morning trading.

Political and revolutionary forces have called for mass demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and squares in other governorates on Friday under the title “Revoke or Leave,” demanding that President Mohamed Morsy rescind his 22 November constitutional declaration.

The student membership of the Constitution Party, Socialist Popular Alliance and the Egyptian Popular Current issued a statement Wednesday denouncing the National Front for Salvation of the Revolution coalition between their parties and figures from the Mubarak regime.

The head of the assembly drafting Egypt’s new constitution said the final draft should be finished on Wednesday, as the Islamist-dominated body races to finish a process that has helped to trigger a political crisis.

During his visit to Assiut early this month, President Mohamed Morsy announced the opening of Egypt’s renaissance bank account, number 333/333, and called upon “repentant” businessmen to donate some of the money they acquired through illegal means into this account.

The head of Egypt's Constituent Assembly, Hossam El-Gheriani, said the final discussion of the draft constitution will be held tomorrow, calling on members who withdrew from the assembly to rejoin it.