CAIRO: For the past two years, talk of the Egyptian economy being relatively shielded from the effects of the global economy crisis has been common among government officials, academia and the media.

CAIRO - A senior ruling party official dismissed the plans for forming an alternative legislature, which was announced last week by 20 opposition lawmakers defeated in the November legislative polls, as illegal and illegitimate.

CAIRO - Two groups of activists with sympathy for democracy lobbyist Mohamed ElBaradei Saturday agreed to form a joint board of trustees to be responsible for coordinating their own activities and advising them on the best measures to put pressure on the Egyptian government to consider their political reform demands.

CAIRO: After being expelled from the Muslim Brotherhood, Magdy Ashour said he will resume his duties as an independent MP due to pressure from his district, whose constituent demanded that he represent them in parliament.

CAIRO: Mohamed Sarhan, deputy president of the opposition Al-Wafd, said that the party has no right to freeze the memberships of its candidates who have — against the party’s will— registered as independents in the new People’s Assembly (PA).

Egypt's main index was in the black on Sunday as non-Arabs were driven by a bullish sentiment, traders said. Non-Arabs made net purchases worth LE154.6 million ($26.7 million), they added.

CAIRO: The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) has filed a case with the African Commission against the Egyptian government for its administrative detention policy.

CAIRO: Former opposition MPs swore themselves in to an “alternative parliament” Sunday on the steps of Cairo’s State Council.

CAIRO: Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud ordered on Monday the release of 70 Coptic defendants who were arrested after clashes with security forces during a protest last month in Al-Omraneya

CAIRO: Rain and sandstorms that battered Egypt at the weekend killed at least 31 people, officials said Monday, adding the toll could rise as rescue workers were still sifting through two collapsed buildings.

CAIRO (Updated) - President Hosni Mubarak said Sunday that the country's recent parliamentary election was 'consistent with the law' despite minor violations in some districts.

CAIRO: Opposition political factions protested on Sunday the results of the People’s Assembly elections and called for the dissolution of parliament.

CAIRO: A sandstorm, strong winds and lashing rains swept across Egypt on Sunday, closing several ports and disrupting traffic in the Suez Canal while at least three people died in a factory collapse in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, officials said.

CAIRO (Updated) - Egyptian authorities closed ten ports on the Red and the Mediterranean seas Saturday due to sandstorms and high waves as rainy weather, accompanied by low temperatures, lashed the northern areas of the country, maritime and meteorological officials said

SHARM EL-SHEIKH - Looking at the peaceful blue sea, I wondered how such beauty can become a scene of horrific disasters. I saw several National Park boats with divers working diligently, combing an area between Ras Nasrani and Ras Mohamed of the Red Sea to rid it from the danger that’s lurking it its dark depths.

Egypt's minister of electricity says the country plans to build its first nuclear power plant and have it fully operational by 2019.

CAIRO - More than 100 former MPs, who failed to maintain their seats in the Parliament due to alleged rigging of vote, will hold a symbolic protest outside the State Council Court Monday as the 518-strong legislature holds its maiden session.

CAIRO: Egypt's 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak is likely to seek re-election next year and serve for the rest of his life, British daily The Guardian reported citing WikiLeaks.

CAIRO: About 15 opposition groups and parties will join forces Sunday afternoon outside the High Court of Justice in Downtown Cairo to protest the alleged illegitimacy of this year’s elected People’s Assembly (PA).

CAIRO: Swine flu cases have been increasing in Egypt, as 136 cases were reported in October and November — 70 of which were reported just this past week, according to Abdel Rahman Shahin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Heath.

OSLO, Norway: China and 18 other countries have declined to attend this year's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, Nobel officials said Tuesday as China unleashed a new barrage deriding the decision.