Opposition parties called on Saturday for staging protests at Egypt's High Court to demand the release of detained political activists and lawyers who were captured in Alexandria's clashes on Friday.

Egypt's first direct flight to Iran took off on Saturday from the Cairo International Airport to Tehran. It is the first flight to connect the two countries in 34 years.

Bassem Youssef confirmed receiving an arrest warrant on his official Twitter account, mockingly saying he will head to the prosecution office Sunday "unless they [prosecution] send me a police car today and save me transportation trouble."

CAIRO, March 30 (Reuters) - Egypt will receive payment facilities from American and European suppliers of wheat, an Egyptian newspaper on Saturday quoted minister of supplies Bassem Ouda as saying, as the world's biggest wheat importer struggles to pay for imports.

The political tensions that have impeded crucial decisions in a number of vital human-security areas (food security, water security, the economy, personal safety, etc.) and the consistently poor performance levels of the political authorities since the revolution, which has aggravated all these concerns to alarming degrees, have led a range of political, security, economic and social figures and experts to come together to assess the current situation.

The Public Prosecution lifted a travel ban Thursday on former Industry and Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid after he repaid LE15 million to the state.

The Egyptian Journalist Syndicate board decided to boycott dealing with the prosecutor-general's office, according to the Syndicate statement on Thursday.

It’s easy to lose track of how many economic plans the government has presented since President Mohamed Morsy’s election, the endless dialoguing around it that often leads nowhere and the numerous economic decisions taken and suspended by officials wary of a harsh public backlash.

Former MP and opposition politician Hamdy al-Fakharany will stand trial before a criminal court in Tanta on charges of instigating violence during 25 January 2013 protests in Mahalla, outgoing Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah ruled on Thursday.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi expects parliamentary elections to be held in October, the official MENA news agency said Wednesday, after the vote was delayed by legal and political challenges.

Traffic is flowing in Tahrir Square on Wednesday after police forcefully removed tents and metal barriers erected by protesters.

The Islamist-dominated Shura Council – Egypt's upper house of parliament, currently imbued with legislative powers – rushed on Tuesday to approve, in principle, two controversial government-drafted laws regulating parliamentary elections and protests.

Freedom House has expressed its concern over the Shura Council’s draft NGO law, saying it is more restrictive than the 2002 law issued under former President Hosni Mubarak.

A top judicial official on Monday has denied any links between the arrest warrants issued against anti-Muslim Brotherhood activists and President Mohamed Morsy’s speech on Sunday threatening "necessary measures" against any politician accused of inciting violence.

Egypt's marines stopped a 'criminal operation' on Wednesday to sever a regional Mediterranean cable providing internet to Egypt, said a military source.

The appeal court has reversed President Morsi's decision to dismiss former prosecutor-general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud from his post.

The office of Egypt's prosecutor-general ordered Monday evening the arrest of five activists accused by the Muslim Brotherhood of involvement in attacks on Friday against the Islamist group's members near its national headquarters in Cairo's Moqattam district.

In its race to come up with a constitutionally viable parliamentary elections law, the Islamist-dominated legislature is trying hard to balance its interests with possible challenges from the judiciary.

The syndicate issued a statement Monday accusing the presidency of launching a campaign of "intimidation and incitement" against journalists.

A new government headed by President Mohamed Morsi is the solution to Egypt's current political turmoil, Ahmed Omran, Morsi's advisor for development issues, asserted in a Monday interview with Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida.

Protesters will gather at the High Court in Cairo on Tuesday in solidarity with five opposition activists summoned by the prosecutor-general for questioning over their alleged incitement of clashes at the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters on Friday. Police have stepped up their presence outside the court in preparation for the expected demonstrations.