Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday summoned his defense and interior ministers over the kidnapping hours earlier of policemen and soldiers in the Sinai peninsula, the official MENA agency reported.

Unemployment rate in Egypt increased to 13.2 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from 13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, reported the Central Agency for Public Mobilization & Statistics (CAPMAS) on Wednesday.

President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for talks with his Egyptian counterpart Muhammad Mursi, the PA ambassador to Egypt said.

Minister of Culture Alaa Abdel Aziz said in an announcement on the ministry’s Facebook page on Wednesday that he will fight against corruption and support any ministry employees in need of help.

Getting a KFC home delivery in the Gaza Strip is not easy . . . there are no branches in the Palestinian territory.

Egypt’s Bassem Youssef, the TV host called to court for poking fun at President Mursi, was applauded at this week's Arab Media Forum (AMF) after making a rousing argument for free speech.

First, campaigners petitioned to send Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi into space. It was an unusual stunt which gathered pace, but remained trivial all the same.

Three activists arrested during a March protest in Egypt said they were mistreated during their detention at Cairo's Al-Aqrab Prison.

Hundreds of people besieged the security directorate in Gharbiya's Kafr El-Zayyat on Wednesday over the alleged disappearance of a woman in nearby Asdima village

A jailed cousin of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has accused Egypt of trading his freedom and its principles for US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn) in aid for the floundering economy.

"I, the undersigned, of my full volition as a member of the National Assembly of the Egyptian people, hereby announce that I withdraw confidence from the President of the Republic, Dr. Mohammed Morsi Isa al-Ayyat, and I call for the holding of early presidential elections. I hold fast to the goals of the revolution, and working toward attaining them and spreading a campaign of insurrection among the ranks of the public so that together, we can bring about a society of dignity, justice and freedom."

Only 18 companies are currently licensed to distribute bottled water in Egypt, the health ministry stated on Tuesday. According to a ministry press release, the licensed brands are Haya, Safi, Aqua Siwa, Siwa, Aman Siwa, Nahl, Organica, Aqua Sky, Mineral, Nestle, Vera, Baraka, Alpha, Aquafina, Tiba, Aqua Delta, Dasani, and Aqua Paris.

Some 1.1 million tourists visited Egypt in March 2013, a 20.5 percent increase on March of last year, government statistics agency CAPMAS reported on Tuesday. However, figures are still lower than the March 2010 level of 1.3 million tourists.

An independent forensic reports suggests that Egyptian journalist El-Husseini Abu-Deif, who died in hospital after being injured in clashes in December, was probably killed by a bullet fired by a “professional.”

An Egyptian criminal court on Tuesday ordered the release of Mubarak-era tourism minister Zuhair Garana pending his retrial on corruption charges. Garana was sentenced to three years in prison in 2011 for issuing licenses to tourism companies despite being stripped of the authority to do so.

After gathering more than 200 signatures from members of Egypt's cultural community opposed to last week's appointment of new culture minister Alaa Abdel-Aziz, artists and intellectuals have taken their opposition to the next level by organising a protest march.

An Egyptian newspaper is standing by its report of what it says is the first interview with ex-President Hosni Mubarak since his overthrow, despite a denial by Mr Mubarak's lawyer.

A cousin of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi went on trial in Egypt on Monday on charges of attempted murder in a case that has blocked his extradition to Libya.

Waleed Hammad dressed conservatively for his secret mission into the world of sexual harassment and abuse on the streets of Cairo, donning a long tan skirt and sleeved shirt, and at times covering his head like many Egyptian women.

The security problems in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula since the January 2011 revolution have become a topic of concern for many; but the inhabitants of the region also complain about a chronic lack of development, which is contributing to the other problems.

Former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak said it was too early to judge President Mohamed Morsi, saying the Islamist politician faced a difficult job, in comments billed as his first interview since his removal from power in 2011.