CAIRO - Egypt must "scrap" the most reviled laws of former president Hosni Mubarak's era if it wants to ensure free and fair parliamentary elections in September, the secretary general of Amnesty International said Saturday.

CAIRO: Egypt will not borrow from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund after revising its budget and cutting the forecast deficit, even though a loan had been agreed, Finance Minister Samir Radwan said on Saturday.

Unconfirmed reports have circulated about the resignation of interim Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's senior adviser, Ali al-Ghateet, amid news about the resignation of other senior officials. On Wednesday, Sharaf accepted the resignation of his deputy, Yehia al-Gamal. But the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) turned down the resignation, prompting Gamal to reverse his decision.

CAIRO: Even though news about Egypt rejecting a loan from the World Bank turned out to be false, the reaction to initial reports highlights the ongoing debate over whether the country should accept loans from global financial institutions.

CAIRO (Updated) - An Egyptian court sentenced a businessman, and two Israelis who were tried in absentia, to life in prison on Thursday for spying for Israel.

CAIRO – Egypt's military rulers have posted a Facebook poll to gauge the popularity of nearly 20 presidential hopefuls, an attempt to show their commitment to a democratic transition in the face of rising criticism of their management of the country. The governing council's outreach to the public on the political process was a novelty after three decades of authoritarian rule by President Hosni Mubarak, who is accused of overseeing a corrupt system heavily controlled by his family and cronies.

CAIRO - Some Egyptian intellectuals, activists and an online group have started a drive to rivet the attention of the Government to focus on the poor, stressing that the January 25 revolution cannot be complete unless social justice is achieved. "While the race for the presidency is dominating the scene in Egypt, no real change has taken place expect for the overthrow of [president Hosni] Mubarak.

CAIRO: Supporters of ousted president Hosni Mubarak are calling for a June 24 demonstration demanding that his trial be canceled and his legacy honored. Utilizing some of the tactics online activists used to galvanize support for the uprising that ousted Mubarak, his supporters are attracting users through the social networking site, Facebook.

CAIRO – Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak, whose trial on charges of ordering the killing of anti-regime protesters is due in August, has stomach cancer, his lawyer Farid al-Dib told AFP on Monday. "He has a stomach cancer and the tumours are growing," the lawyer said.

CAIRO: Presidential hopeful ex-IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei swept Egypt’s ruling army’s Facebook poll on preferred presidential hopefuls, winning 36 percent of almost 70,000 votes at press time. But not everyone approved the army’s decision to create the poll in the first place.

CAIRO - Egyptian indexes were in the red on Monday as foreign investors were driven by profit-taking, traders said. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 slipped by 0.84 per cent to 5,580.96 points. Locals made net purchses worth LE48.9 million ($8.2 million), according to Bourse data. Arab and non-Arab investors made net sell-offs worth LE14.4 million and LE34.5 million respectively. The broader index EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's mid caps,

CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group has sacked senior member Abdel-Moniem Aboul-Fotouh for violating

CAIRO - The trial of former president Hosni Mubarak, due in August, could be moved from Cairo to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for ‘security or health reasons’, the head of the Cairo Appeals Court, el-Sayyed Abdel-Aziz Omar, told a private TV channel.

CAIRO: Egypt on Sunday appointed Mohammed Al-Orabi as the new foreign minister to replace Nabil El-Araby who will head the Arab League, the official MENA news agency reported. "Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has tasked Ambassador Mohammed Al-Orabi, the deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, to take up the position of minister of foreign affairs," MENA said.

CAIRO – Egypt's premier has said that delaying a parliamentary election scheduled for September would give political parties more time to prepare, state media said Sunday, amid fears an early poll would benefit Islamists.

MADRID: Spain has frozen €33 million ($47 million) in accounts held by a detained Egyptian associate of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and relatives of the detainee, who is also wanted back home, officials said Friday. Bail was set at €27 million.

CAIRO: Political powers welcomed the rights charter introduced by presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei, but expressed some reservations and called for debating the articles before supporting their inclusion in the yet-to-be drafted constitution.

CAIRO: Presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei said he will appear on State TV’s Channel

CAIRO: A number of liberal parties said that they are considering forming a coalition and competing in the upcoming legislative elections with a unified roster and will push toward drafting a constitution ahead of the elections.

CAIRO: The Hisham Mubarak Law Center launched an initiative titled “Let’s Write Our Constitution” to include the Egyptian people in the process of drafting the constitution. The portrayal of the writing of the constitution as a very complicated matter that can only be done by experts “contradicts the necessity of the people’s approval on the constitution,” according to the statement distributed by the center during a workshop on Monday.

CAIRO-- Three new political parties on Tuesday approached the Parties' Affairs Committee for an official endorsement after meeting all requirements set by a newly endorsed law, an official close to the judicial committee said.