Almost 10 per cent decline at the Egypt's benchmark EGX30 stock exchange on Wednesday made authorities to halt trading on the exchange that faced heat due to political trouble and uncertainties in the country.

The EGX 30 tumbled 8.9 percent as the Egyptian Exchange opened yesterday with four biggest Cairo-traded stocks, including EFG-Hermes Holding SAE and Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE (COMI) faced significant valuation erosion.

The Reserve Bank of India’s deputy governor said on Sunday, that monetary policy would be affected by events in Egypt.

Subir Gokarn, deputy governor at the central bank, said that when they had announced the policy on January 25, they had not anticipated events which would have impact on oil prices.

He further said that a complete new environment has been created in a very short time after the announcement.

Expressing security concerns over the restive situation in Egypt, Israel said that the new government in Egypt would let flow of arms to Gaza abridging the Israeli-Egyptian military dialogues.

Muslim Brotherhood had previously that one of its top priority is to hamper the peace treaty if it takes control of Cairo. Senior defense officials of Israel Defense Force (IDF) warned on Saturday that the shift of regime in Egypt would force Israel to budge resources and perhaps augment its force in the South.

Officials have said that reports regarding the health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak are doubtful because they aren't based on medical reports.

All eyes were on the health of the 82-year-old president following gall bladder surgery in Germany early this year, The Washington Times in a Monday article said.

A senior U. S. intelligence officer told the Times, "We know he is dying but we don't know when he will die."

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will commence its service to Alexandria in Egypt from this month.

The new service, which is subject to government nod, will function every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from Abu Dhabi to El Nouzha airport in Alexandria.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways chief executive, said, "Etihad is pleased to announce this new service to Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city."

Allowing supplies into Gaza and residents of the Palestinian enclave to get medical treatment, Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday.

Ynetnews. com has reported that President Hosni Mubarak did not give a time for the end of the current opening, which comes a day after a violent confrontation between a convoy of peace activists and Israeli commandos. At least nine passengers were killed Monday when they resisted the commandos on one of the boats.

The secret behind Egyptian mummy is a fascinating fact for all the researchers. These conserved dead bodies assist researchers to recognize many syndrome that have overwhelmed human society for many years

Frank Ruhli the famous mummy specialist was trying to understand how Egypt's prominent boy pharaoh, Tut had died.

The joint United Nations-African Union Mission (UNAMID) has informed that two of peacekeepers of Egypt have been killed by the refugee militants in Darfur region of Sudan.

Three other Egyptian soldiers were seriously injured near to Edd al-Fursan in South Darfur and were taken to the Unamid hospital by a military helicopter.

The trend of non-Indian heroines making entry into the Bollywood continues as after Brazilian Giselle Monteiro and Mexican Barbara Mori, it's Egyptian Aida Elkashef's turn to make her debut in an Indian movie as an actress. Director Anand Gandhi says initially he didn't plan to cast her in "Theseus' Ship". Gandhi told IANS on phone from Mumbai, where he is currently shooting the first leg of the movie, his first feature film, "I met Aida at the Berlin Film Festival where she had come to showcase one of her movies.

Thirty people were injured when clashes broke out between Christians and Muslims in a rural area in northern Egypt, media reports said.

Fighting erupted late Friday in the north-western governorate of Mersa Matrouh over a fence Muslims said had been built to take over a piece of land to build a church, the BBC reported.

The al-Bashayer news website said 18 of the injured were Coptic Christians. Police cordoned the area after arresting suspects, and angry people from both sides were throwing stones at cars and nearby shops, it said.

According to an official, Egypt promised to continue building Africa's science and technology agenda when it takes over a council promoting science and innovation.

Maged al-Sherbiny, Egyptian assistant minister for scientific research and incoming chairman of the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology, told SciDev. Net that Egypt hopes its successful scientific and technological experiences "will be passed to our African colleagues, and we will keep the momentum going."

Cairo, Jan 9 : The death of a Pakistani Taliban chief would be avenged both "inside and outside the US", according to the Al Qaeda bomber who killed seven officers of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a Dec 30 attack in Afghanistan.

In an alleged video message aired Saturday on the Doha-based al-Jazeera news channel, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi said: "We will never forget the blood of our Emir Baitullah Mehsud.

"To retaliate for his death in and outside the US will remain an obligation on all exiles who were harboured by Baitullah Mehsud," he added.

Nagaa Hamadi (Egypt), Jan 9 - Renewed fighting was reported in the Egyptian city of Nagaa Hamadi Friday evening, the same day police arrested three suspects in connection with a drive-by shooting outside a church earlier this week which left nine dead, a security source said.

The renewed violence left significant damage in the city centre, reported witnesses, coming on the heels of violent clashes throughout the day Thursday between the police and massive crowds of Christian residents that left mosques and stores damaged.

Nagaa Hamadi (Egypt), Jan 8 - Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt's Coptic Church, has appealed for calm as sectarian clashes continued in the southern town of Nagaa Hamadi.

In a message sent to all Coptic churches around the country, Pope Shenouda told Christians Thursday night that their religion calls on them to be patient, and that they should continue celebrating Christmas, which Coptic Christians observe on Jan 7.

Cairo, Jan 7 : Huge crowds of Christians clashed with police in the southern Egyptian town of Nagaa Hamadi Thursday after a shooting outside a Coptic Christian church that left six teenagers and one policeman dead.

Footage aired on Qatar's al-Jazeera satellite television network showed police using batons to beat back angry crowds of Christians protesting the delay of the victims' burial outside the hospital morgue where the bodies were being kept.

The crowds dispersed after the corpses were released, local parishioners told DPA, adding that the bodies had been buried.

Cairo, Dec 25 : The Taliban Friday released a video purporting to show US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured in Afghanistan nearly six months ago.

The US military has not yet publicly verified the video, but the US-based monitoring group IntelCenter said that "initial analysis indicates the hostage appearing in the video is Bowe Bergdahl".

In the video, produced in December 2009, Bergdahl identifies himself, gives background about himself and his deployment, and is shown eating, wearing Afghan clothes, IntelCenter said.

Cairo (Egypt), Dec 24 : Al-Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden’s 17-year-old daughter Eman has reportedly dodged guards, who held her and five brothers under house arrest since 2001, to take refuge in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran.

According to reports, Iran had a number of Bin Laden''''''''s family members, including Saad and Hamza bin Laden, in custody since they fled Afghanistan after its invasion eight years ago.

Cairo, Dec 24 : An airstrike Thursday killed 30 men suspected of plotting attacks against Yemeni and foreign targets on behalf of the Al Qaeda terrorist network, a security official said.

The pre-dawn strike targeted a meeting of Al Qaeda members in eastern Yemen's Shabwa province, an official from Yemen's High Security Committee told Yemen's state-run 26 September website (26sep. net).

Cairo, Dec 22 (IANS/AKI) Jihadist websites were flooded with messages of condolences to Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri over his mother's death. Umayma Azzam, died Sunday from a heart complaint in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, at the age of 75.

She died at Cairo's al-Salam hospital, where she was admitted earlier last week.

In a message posted to the Arabic news website Moheet, Azzam's brother Mahfouz al-Azzam said he was proud of his nephew al-Zawahiri who he said "defends the principles of Islam".

Cairo, Dec 21 (RIA Novosti) Egypt is set to officially ask Germany to return a 3,300-year-old statue as it is believed to have been illegally taken out of the country in the early 20th century, an official has said.

Egypt maintains that the priceless limestone bust of Nefertiti, queen of ancient Egypt and wife of monotheistic Pharaoh Akhenaten, was taken out of the country in 1914 through fraudulent documents. It has been on display in Berlin's Neues Museum since 1924.