At a Saturday press conference, Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim voiced his willingness to withdraw a complaint filed earlier against April 6 Youth Movement founder Ahmed Maher. Maher was arrested on Friday afternoon upon his arrival to Cairo International Airport en route from Vienna, following a visit he made to the United States. Maher will reportedly be held by authorities for four days pending further investigation. On Saturday, the office of the prosecutor-general ordered Maher's release, although charges against him remain in place. According an interior ministry official cited by state news agency MENA, Maher has been charged with inciting demonstrations outside the interior minister's Cairo residence in March. More»

Egyptian police have arrested three al-Qaeda militants planning a suicide attack on a Western embassy, the country's interior minister says. Mohammed Ibrahim did not specify which embassy had been targeted, but said a quantity of chemicals had been found. Mr Ibrahim gave the names of three men and said they were planning attacks in both Cairo and Alexandria. The plot was said to be in its final stages, he said. At a news conference, the minister gave details about the discovery of 10kg (22lbs) of explosive material, a computer with files containing information on bomb-making and a flash memory with instructions on how to build rockets. "The interior ministry was able to direct a qualitative blow to a terrorist cell which was planning to carry out suicide attacks against vital, important and foreign establishments," Mr Ibrahim told reporters. One of the three suspects had been in touch with al-Qaeda in Algeria and had travelled to Iran and Pakistan for training, he said. More»

The Qatari government has agreed to provide an additional $3 billion of aid to Egypt, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said last Wednesday."We reached an agreement to add more bonds from the Qatari government in the amount of $3 billion. During the coming days, we will discuss the details of issuing those bonds," Sheikh Hamad told a joint news conference with Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil.He did not clarify the way in which the aid would be structured. Kandil told the news conference that the aid would be in the form of "bond deposits", also without elaborating.Sheikh Hamad said Qatar would supply natural gas to Egypt in the summer when it was needed. "We also discussed projects that we agreed on four or five years ago, especially in iron and steel," he said.Qatar did not ask Egypt for anything in return for its latest aid, Sheikh Hamad added.The gas-rich Gulf state has already provided Cairo with $5 billion in loans and grants since Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi was elected last year. More»

Egypt's budget deficit will be around 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($28.75 billion), equivalent to 11.5 percent of national output, in the 2012/13 year to the end of June, newly-appointed Investment Minister Yehya Hamed said on Saturday. "This year we are closing the budget with around 200 billion (Egyptian pounds) deficit, 11.5 percent ... We have to close next year with 9.5 percent," he told a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development conference in Istanbul. More»

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was back in court on Saturday for a retrial on charges of complicity in the murder of protesters, reopening a case that has shown the difficulty of transitional justice in post-revolutionary Egypt.  Mubarak and his former interior minister, Habib el-Adli, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison last June for failing to stop the killing during the 2011 uprising that swept him from power. But a court ordered a retrial in January after accepting appeals from both the prosecution and the defense.  Each cited different shortcomings with a trial that was criticized for the weak evidence offered by the prosecution.  After a three-hour session broadcast live on state television, during which the charges were read and the prosecution made a statement, the proceedings were adjourned. The next hearing was set for June 8.  The prosecution promised to offer new evidence including some taken from the report of a fact-finding committee set up by President Mohamed Morsi in 2012. More»

Both ports of Safaga and Nuweibaa have received 1425 passengers and 1240 pilgrims, while El Zaytyat Port received Arzo Gas ship, which was carrying 6500 tons of butane. Admiral Mohamed Abdel Kader, Chairman of Red Sea Ports Authority, has elaborated that Nuweibaa Port received the two ships that coming from Sinai and carrying 295 passengers and 39 trucks, meanwhile; Safaga port received the ship "Moda", which was carrying 950 pilgrims, in addition to the ship "Nama Express" that carrying 95 trucks. On the hand, Abdel Kader mentioned that El Zaytyat Port received Arzo Gas ship, which was carrying 6500 tons of butane, and Port Fuoad Port in Suez received the ship "Egyptian Dignity" with 250 cars and was coming from Jeddah, while the ship "Fairouz" will head to Jeddah with 12.000 tons of goods. More»

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was back in court on Saturday to face a retrial on charges of complicity in the murder of protesters, reopening a case that has shown the difficulty of transitional justice in post-revolutionary Egypt. Mubarak and his former interior minister, Habib el-Adli, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison last June for failing to stop the killing during the 2011 uprising that swept him from power. The retrial was ordered after an appeals court in January accepted appeals from the prosecution and the defense. Mubarak, 85, sat upright on a hospital gurney as he was wheeled into a cage reserved for defendants. Dressed in white prison uniforms, his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, stood alongside him. They face separate charges of corruption.  Mubarak, wearing dark, aviator sunglasses, raised his arm to confirm his presence as the judge read a list of the accused at the start of the session. "Present," said Mubarak, as Judge Ahmed al-Rasheedy read the list of names.  The retrial had been due to begin last month but was aborted when the previous judge rescued himself.  State TV was broadcasting the court session live.  Mubarak, Adli and four top aides are charged with involvement in the killing of more than 800 protesters who died in the 18-day uprising. His two sons face retrial on charges of financial corruption.  Mubarak's imprisonment last June was a historic moment - he was the first ruler toppled by the Arab Spring uprisings to stand trial in person.  But the case exposed the difficulties of attaining justice in a country whose judiciary and security forces are still largely controlled by figures appointed during his era. More»

Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil on Friday attended the 14th Joint Meeting of Turkish-Egyptian Business Council in Istanbul. Speaking at the meeting, Hisham Qandil underlined that " Egypt was open to all Turks." Turkey andEgypt can work together in giant projects based on neighborliness, brotherhood and win-win principle, Qandil stressed. Qandil invited Turkish investors to Egypt and reminded that the projects planned for both sides of the Suez Canal would be worth 100 billion USD. Meanwhile, also speaking at the Istanbul meeting, Egyptian Minister of Investments Yahya Hameed underlined that his ministry's doors were open to Turkish businesspeople. We have come to Turkey to do business, Hameed also said. More»

During his first visit to Brazil, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Thursday stressed his country's desire to cooperate with the leading South American nation in the military and transport sectors, according to a statement issued by the presidency. During a visit to the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo, Morsi addressed members of the Egyptian-Brazilian business forum, saying that Brazil stood "at the top of the list" of countries from which Egypt hoped to learn regarding development issues. According to the presidency's Thursday statement, cooperation between the two countries could be seen as a "gateway" for Brazilian investment in the Middle East and Africa, as well as a gateway for Egyptian products entering Latin America. The president also said that future economic cooperation would be aided by a planned free trade agreement with Latin America's Mercosur trade bloc. Morsi asserted that his government was taking "serious steps" towards removing all obstacles that stand in the way of foreign investment – especially Brazilian – in Egypt, and was striving to create a "friendly" investment environment. More»

Security forces fired teargas to disperse unknown assailants who reportedly threw Molotov cocktails and rocks at the cabinet headquarters in Cairo’s downtown district on Friday evening. Two people have been wounded, reported the Ahram Arabic website. The attackers have also reportedly brought down part of the wall built by security forces on Yousef El-Guindy Street near the cabinet headquarters and the headquarters of the interior ministry with the purpose of preventing any possible attacks. Earlier on Friday, unknown masked men attacked security forces guarding the Egyptian Museum located in Tahrir Square before heading to Yousef El-Guindy Street where clashes are currently underway. More»