The families of the Mexican tourists who were accidentally killed by the Egyptian security forces are travelling to Egypt.
Twelve people were mistakenly killed by Egyptian army in an anti-terror operation on September 13.
Egypt says it mistook the tourists for Islamist militants, whom its forces were pursuing in the Western Desert.
The country has apologized, but has insisted the group were in a restricted area. Local sources deny the claim.
Photo AFP
Egypt has been battling Islamist militants for years, with attacks escalating since the 2013 ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Until recently most of the fighting has taken place in the Sinai Peninsula with occasional attacks taking place in Cairo and other cities.
Egyptian officials put the number of Mexicans killed at eight, but Mexico has so far only confirmed two dead.
They are Luis Barajas Fernandez and Maria de Lourdes Fernandez Rubio.
The relatives of Rafael Bejarano Rangel, another Mexican who was part of the tour group, said they had been told by tour organizers that he was among those killed.
Ten people, among them six Mexicans were also injured in the attack.
The tour group had been travelling in a convoy of four 4x4s near the Bahariya oasis, a popular tourist location. The organizers said they had stopped for a picnic when the group was attacked.
The interior ministry said an Apache helicopter targeted the tourists “by mistake”.
Egypt’s ambassador to Mexico City, Yasser Shaban, said the tourists’ 4×4 vehicles resembled those used by the militants the security forces were chasing.
According to relatives, Rafael Bejarano Rangel was the one who had been organizing the trips from Mexico to Egypt for a decade.
Omar Sharif’s funeral has been held at the Hussein Tantawi Mosque in Cairo.
The Egyptian actor died in a Cairo hospital on July 10 following a heart attack. He was 83.
Among those attending the service were fellow actor Hussein Fahmy and former Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawas, a close friend of Omar Sharif.
Hussein Fahmy hailed Omar Sharif as “a man who loved Egypt and represented the Egyptian art in its best form.”
“Somebody that we’re going to miss for a very long time,” he added.
Photo AFP
Omar Sharif won two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean’s 1962 epic, Lawrence of Arabia.
He won a further Golden Globe three years later for Doctor Zhivago.
Zahi Hawas, a prominent archaeologist, said he had “lost a close friend” while “the world lost a great actor”.
“As a movie star, he will not be repeated again. He was unique,” he said.
Many local actors attended the funeral at the Hussein Tantawi Mosque in an eastern neighborhood of Cairo, among them Egyptian actor Gamil Rateb and film star Khaled Nabawy.
The plans of Egypt’s new administrative and business capital have been revealed on a new website.
According to the website, the city on the outskirts of Cairo will house up to 5 million residents and be built in the corridor between current capital and the Red Sea.
There will be 1.1 million housing units and 1.75 million permanent jobs.
The city is set to be officially unveiled at an Egyptian government conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, to global investors and politicians.
The website – unveiled on March 13 – says that “the masterplan is to create a global city with smart infrastructure for Egypt’s future, which will provide a multitude of economic opportunities and offer a distinct quality of life”.
It will be built over 270 sq miles – about the size of Singapore.
The website says the city’s site “is situated along the corridor between Cairo and the Red Sea, providing linkages to significant shipping routes. The city is bound to become a focal point of the Eastern Cairo region”.
The website links to Capital City Partners, a private real estate investment fund led by Emirati Mohamed Alabbar.
Dubai businessman Mohamed Alabbar built the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
Egyptian government departments, ministries, and foreign embassies, will move to the new metropolis from out of Cairo, whose urban area is home to 18 million people.
The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has praised recent economic reforms in Egypt, and urged businesses to invest in the country.
John Kerry was attending an international economic conference to discuss ways to revive the Egyptian economy.
Hundreds of businessmen and dignitaries from around the globe were at the meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Dozens of major infrastructure projects have been unveiled, attracting billions of dollars’ worth of outside investment. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have each pledged $4 billion of investments in Egypt,
It comes after years of political upheaval and severe, ongoing, tensions.
Foreign investment contracted after the 2011 uprising, from $13 billion in 2007-2008 to just $2.2 billion, and annual economic growth fell from 7% to about 2%.
The IMF now envisages 3.8% growth for the financial year to July 2015, and 4.3% in 2015-2016.
Foreign direct investment was $4 billion in the previous financial year, and Investment Minister Ashraf Salman says it be $8 billion in this financial year.
Canada has decided to shut its embassy in Cairo due to “security concerns”, a day after the UK closed its own diplomatic mission in the Egyptian capital.
It is not clear if Canada’s measure is linked to a video in which a man believed to be a Canadian militant urges attacks against his home country.
The video – released on December 7 – refers to the killing of Canadian soldiers and an attack on parliament in Ottawa.
Canada is part of a coalition fighting Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said in a statement on December 7 that Canadians must remain vigilant.
“That is why we are taking part in the coalition that is currently conducting air strikes against ISIL [ISIS], and supporting the security forces in Iraq in their fight against this terrorist scourge,” he said. Countries in the coalition often refer to ISIS or ISIL.
A message posted on the Canadian Cairo embassy website reads: “The ability to provide consular services may occasionally be limited for short periods due to unsettled security conditions.”
No other details have been given to explain the closure.
The British embassy in Cairo was first shut down on December 7 and remains closed amid ongoing fears over security, the Foreign Office says.
In Egypt, militants mainly based in the Sinai peninsula have stepped up attacks on soldiers and police since the military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi last year.
Jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has pledged allegiance to ISIS.
The ISIS video released on Sunday features a Canadian fighter identified as Abu Anwar al-Canadi, according to Site Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online.
Canadian media have identified him as John Maguire, an Islamist convert from near Ottawa. They said he was reportedly under investigation after travelling to Syria to join IS in January 2013.
In the video John Maguire urged Muslims to follow the example of the recent attacks in Canada.
Three blasts that appeared to target the police force have killed 5 people in Cairo.
Nearly 70 people have been wounded following the attacks.
The attacks began with a powerful car bomb that exploded outside the police headquarters in central Cairo, killing four people and wounding 51.
Within hours, two other blasts occurred elsewhere in the city, killing one person and injuring 15.
The attacks come on the eve of the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising.
The revolution brought about the removal of the country’s decades-long ruler Hosni Mubarak.
An al-Qaeda-inspired militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem) has admitted carrying out the attack on the police headquarters.
The group previously claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on a security building in the northern city of Mansoura in December that killed 16 people and injured more than 100 others.
Three blasts that appeared to target the police force have killed 5 people in Cairo
The authorities blamed Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood for that attack – something the group strongly denied – and declared it a terrorist group shortly afterwards.
Egyptian Interior Minister Muhammad Ibrahim said security is being stepped up around the squares where people are expected to gather to mark Saturday’s anniversary.
“We have a plan to secure all of this for the anniversary of the 25 January revolution,” he said.
“I am telling the people not to be afraid and go down.”
The Muslim Brotherhood condemned the attack that hit police headquarters at around 06:30 local time.
The group called for an investigation and added they were part of a “peaceful revolution”.
The powerful blast was felt across the city and black smoke could be seen rising over the scene.
Gunfire was reportedly heard soon after the blast, and more than 30 ambulances raced to the scene.
There was extensive damage to the large concrete building with debris strewn across the street.
Muslim Brotherhood supporters clashed with Egyptian police and Cairo university buildings were set on fire killing one student.
State TV blamed protesters for the fire at al-Azhar University’s business faculty, where exams had to be postponed, and the agriculture faculty.
The Muslim Brotherhood said police were “fabricating” the charges.
Muslim Brotherhood supporters clashed with Egyptian police and Cairo university buildings were set on fire killing one student
The crackdown on the group began when President Mohamed Morsi, who belongs to it, was deposed by the army in July.
The campus fires had been brought under control by Saturday afternoon, and some 60 people had been arrested, reports said.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which had been banned since September from all activity, was declared a terrorist group on Wednesday following a suicide bombing of a police headquarters in the Nile Delta.
The government said the Muslim Brotherhood was behind the attack – a charge it strongly denied.
Turkish ambassador to Cairo has been expelled, a day after PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi to be freed.
Relations with Ankara would be lowered to charge d’affaires, officials said.
On Friday, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his criticism of the July overthrow of Mohamed Morsi and urged the Egyptian authorities to free him.
Egypt’s foreign ministry accused Recep Tayyip Erdogan of provocation and interfering in his country’s internal affairs.
Responding to Cairo’s decision to expel Ambassador Huseyin Avni Botsali, Turkey also announced the downgrading of ties and barred the Egyptian ambassador, declaring him “persona non grata”.
Turkey has been a vocal critic of the military overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, who is in prison awaiting trial on charges of inciting murder and violence.
Responding to Cairo’s decision to expel Ambassador Huseyin Avni Botsali, Turkey also announced the downgrading of ties and barred the Egyptian ambassador
He is one of thousands belonging to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood who have been detained in a crackdown the interim authorities have portrayed as a struggle against “terrorism”.
Hundreds of people have also been killed in clashes with security forces.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his criticisms on Friday, condemning the violent dispersal of pro-Morsi protesters in August.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty accused Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “interfering in Egypt’s internal affairs”.
He said Turkey was “attempting to influence public opinion against Egyptian interests, supported meetings of organizations that seek to create instability in the country”.
A bitter row over the August crackdown led both countries to recall their ambassadors.
Turkey’s ambassador to Cairo returned in September, but the Egyptian ambassador to Turkey was never reinstalled.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, like Mohamed Morsi, has his roots in political Islam. Ankara and Istanbul have hosted a series of meetings of the international Muslim Brotherhood.
Clashes between former President Mohamed Morsi’s supporters and Egyptian troops have erupted in Cairo and other cities on Friday.
Heavy gunfire and explosions were heard in the centre of Cairo and tear gas was used. The government denied reports that a protester was killed.
Troops were out in force to prevent the protesters reaching Tahrir Square.
State TV reported further clashes in the northern Sharqiya district and to the east in Giza, as well as in the northern port city of Alexandria.
There were also reports of clashes between pro-Morsi demonstrators and civilian supporters of the military government.
One demonstrator was killed in the centre of the capital, according to some reports, although state TV carried a statement from the health ministry denying anyone had died.
Hundreds of Islamist protesters have died in violence since the Egyptian military deposed Mohamed Morsi in July.
Hundreds of Islamist protesters have died in violence since the Egyptian military deposed Mohamed Morsi in July
Thousands of members of the Muslim Brotherhood have also been detained over the past two months.
Several senior figures, including Mohamed Morsi and the movement’s general guide Mohammed Badie, are being held on charges such as incitement to violence and murder.
The authorities portray the crackdown as a struggle against “terrorism”.
Protesters in the capital’s Agouza district were chanting “Rabaa, Rabaa”, a reference to the square next to the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque where a sit-in was cleared by force in August.
Later, security forces fired tear gas at Morsi supporters as they tried to march towards Tahrir Square, the focus of the mass protests against Mohamed Morsi and his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.
Troops also took up positions on both sides of Qasr al-Nil Bridge, which leads to the square from the Zamalek district.
Before Friday’s clashes, soldiers and police had tightened security around key sites in Cairo, including Tahrir Square.
Mohamed Morsi supporters have said they will be intensifying their demonstrations in the lead-up to Sunday’s 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Opponents who back the army have also said they will take to the streets.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Brotherhood sharply criticized the officers behind the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, comparing them to Adolf Hitler, the Roman emperor Nero and the Mongol conqueror Hulagu Khan.
It urged Egyptian soldiers to rebel and said it hoped that Sunday would mark a “victory by the people over those who staged a coup against them for personal gain”.
On Thursday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Baroness Catherine Ashton, held talks with armed forces chief General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and interim President Adly Mansour, as well as with religious leaders.
“I got a real sense of everyone really trying to go forward in the right way,” she told reporters afterwards.
The previous day, a 16-year-old boy was killed in clashes between Mohamed Morsi supporters and opponents in the Red Sea city of Suez.
Egypt’s security forces have cleared al-Fath mosque in Cairo after a long stand-off with Muslim Brotherhood supporters barricaded inside, state media says.
All the protesters have now been taken out of the mosque, and many have been arrested, security forces say.
The confrontation at the al-Fath mosque continued for most of the day – with exchanges of gunfire between security forces and protesters.
Meanwhile interim PM Hazem Beblawi has proposed legally dissolving the Brotherhood.
The group supports the ousted President Mohamed Morsi, and wants him to be reinstated.
Despite being closely allied to Mohamed Morsi’s government, the Brotherhood has always technically been a banned organization – it was officially dissolved by Egypt’s military rulers in 1954 – but it recently registered itself as a non-governmental organization.
If it was legally dissolved, its property and assets could be seized.
It has called for daily demonstrations since a crackdown on its protest camps in Cairo on Wednesday left hundreds of people dead. Further clashes on Friday killed at least another 173 people.
Hazem Beblawi believes the protests are “terrorist acts”, according to his spokesman, Sharif Shawqi.
Sharif Shawqi told a televised news conference on Saturday that the Muslim Brotherhood’s return to power was impossible.
Egypt’s security forces have cleared al-Fath mosque in Cairo after a long stand-off with Muslim Brotherhood supporters barricaded inside
The stand-off began overnight, when the al-Fath mosque – which was being used as a makeshift clinic for the injured and morgue for the dead from clashes on Friday – turned instead into what correspondents describe as a fortress.
Brotherhood members barricading themselves inside, using anything at their disposal.
It turned into a scene of chaos. Tear gas was fired into the building, and witnesses saw live ammunition fired by both sides.
Al-Jazeera television called one woman inside the mosque on her mobile phone as the shooting began.
“Nobody here is safe, they are shooting inside the mosque,” she said, with loud firing heard in the background.
Egyptian police have been bringing some Mohamed Morsi supporters out of the building – leading some, dragging others – but are then having to protect them from angry mobs armed with bats and pieces of wood who are trying to attack them, correspondents say.
The authorities want to secure all buildings to avoid a repeat of Muslim Brotherhood supporters forming more camps, as they did after Mohamed Morsi was ousted.
Separately, the Egyptian authorities say they have arrested the brother of al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Mohammed al-Zawahiri was detained at a checkpoint in Giza, near Cairo, because of his links to Mohamed Morsi, according to security officials.
Also on Saturday, the Muslim Brotherhood said on its Facebook page that Ammar Badie, the son of the movement’s spiritual leader, General Guide Mohamed Badie, was one of those killed during protests on Friday.
The Brotherhood said that Ammar Badie, 38, had died of a bullet wound in Ramses Square on Friday.
The secretary-general of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, Mohammed al-Beltagi, says his 17-year-old daughter, Asmaa, died in earlier protests.
Saturday’s violence comes after days of unrest in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt.
The escalation in tensions began on Wednesday, when armored bulldozers moved into the two Cairo protest camps which had been occupied by pro-Morsi activists since he was ousted on 3 July.
The camps were eventually cleared, but not before at least 638 people were killed.
Mobs later carried out reprisal attacks on government buildings and police stations as well as churches belonging to the country’s Coptic Christian minority.
On Friday, hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters gathered in Ramses Square for a “march of anger” about the bloodshed earlier in the week.
At least 173 people died across the country on Friday in clashes between the Brotherhood and the security forces.
Egyptian security forces moved in to clear two protest camps occupied by supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo killing at least 15 people.
But the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs the protests, put the number of casualties much higher.
Bursts of gunfire were heard and armored bulldozers moved in. Security forces fired tear gas.
Authorities say the Nahda Square camp in western Cairo has been cleared.
The interior ministry said a mopping up operation in the surrounding streets was under way. Pro-Morsi activists were chased into the nearby zoo and Cairo University, Nile TV said.
Witnesses spoke of seeing at least 15 bodies on the ground, but the Muslim Brotherhood, describing the security forces’ intervention as a massacre, put the number of those killed at more than 100.
At least two member of the security forces were among the dead and nine were injured, officials say.
Egyptian security forces moved in to clear two protest camps occupied by supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo
Supporters of Mohamed Morsi have been occupying Nahda Square and the site outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in the north-east of the city since he was ousted on 3 July. They want him reinstated.
Earlier, the interior ministry issued a statement saying security forces were taking “necessary measures” against the protest camps.
The statement said a safe exit would be provided for protesters and they would not be pursued, “except those who are wanted by the prosecution”.
The interior ministry is keen “not to shed any Egyptian blood”, the statement went on.
Large plumes of smoke rose over parts of the city as the operation to clear the camps began.
Muslim Brotherhood TV called for people to send cars to the sit-ins to take casualties to hospital.
An armored bulldozer was used to breach brick walls erected by the protesters outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque.
Live firing was heard as the security forces moved in, our correspondent says, and police are now patrolling the nearby streets.
More than 250 people have been killed in clashes with the security forces in the six weeks since Mohamed Morsi’s overthrow.
On Tuesday, one person was killed in a confrontation between supporters and opponents of Mohamed Morsi in Giza after people marched from Nahda Square to a nearby complex of government buildings to protest against the appointment of several military officers as provincial governors.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said the sit-ins could not continue “endlessly”.
He said the authorities had been trying to seek an agreement through dialogue.
“If the police force take their procedures, they will do that in accordance with the law by court order and in accordance to the basic norms on which these things are done.”
At least 12 people have died in Alexandria and three in Cairo in clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, reports say.
The violence came after three pro-Morsi demonstrators were killed by security forces in another part of the capital.
Troops later restored calm in Cairo, but nationwide violence left some 26 dead and 318 injured, officials said.
The army removed Mohamed Morsi from power on Wednesday after millions of people protested over his leadership.
Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader, is in detention, as are some senior figures of his Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Early on Saturday, state media reported the Brotherhood’s deputy leader Khairat el-Shater had been arrested at his Cairo home on suspicion of incitement to violence.
The Tamarod [Rebel] movement – which organized recent anti-Morsi protests – accused the ousted president of pursuing an Islamist agenda against the wishes most Egyptians, and of failing to tackle economic problems.
The US State Department issued a condemnation of Friday’s violence and called for all leaders to put a stop to any further aggression.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also expressed alarm at the violence, saying that it was for the people of Egypt to determine the way forward – and all people, including women, needed to be part of that process.
Most of those killed during fighting in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, died from gunshot wounds, said Amr Nasr, head of emergency services in the city.
He told the official Mena news agency that 200 people were injured during clashes in Egypt’s second-largest city.
At least 12 people have died in Alexandria and three in Cairo in clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi
Earlier, after midday prayers, Islamist supporters of Mohamed Morsi staged a series of marches across Cairo – including outside Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque where tens of thousands massed.
Tensions escalated when a crowd advanced on the nearby headquarters of the Republican Guard, where Mohamed Morsi is believed to be held.
Troops then opened fire on crowds. Three people were killed and dozens wounded, including BBC correspondent Jeremy Bowen whose head was grazed by shotgun pellets.
In the evening, tens of thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood filled the square near the mosque, as well as nearby streets.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme leader, Mohammed Badie, told the crowd: “We shall stay in the squares until we bring President Morsi back to power.”
He said their protests would remain peaceful and called on the army not to “direct your arms against us”.
Shortly afterwards, the Muslim Brotherhood’s supporters surged across the 6th October Bridge over the Nile river, towards Tahrir Square where anti-Morsi protesters were gathered.
The rival groups hurled fireworks and stones at each other. A car was set on fire and stones and fireworks were thrown.
Late on Friday, tanks arrived at the bridge to separate the clashing protesters and the violence died down.
There were clashes in other parts of Egypt on Friday.
Islamist attacks on the Sinai peninsula left five police and one soldier dead.
One protester was killed in the central city of Assiut, and AFP news agency reported another death in Minya.
In Qina in the south, troops opened fire on pro-Morsi activists trying to storm a security building. At least two people were injured.
Firing was also reported in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya.
Ahead of Friday’s protests, the army command said it would not take “arbitrary measures against any faction or political current” and would guarantee the right to protest, as long as demonstrations did not threaten national security.
“Peaceful protest and freedom of expression are rights guaranteed to everyone, which Egyptians have earned as one of the most important gains of their glorious revolution,” it said.
On Thursday the head of Egypt’s constitutional court, Adly Mahmud Mansour, was sworn in as interim head of state, and he promised to hold elections soon.
On Friday Adly Mahmud Mansour dissolved the upper house – or Shura Council – which had been dominated by Mohamed Morsi supporters and had served as sole legislative body after the lower house was dissolved last year.
Adly Mahmud Mansour also appointed a new intelligence chief, Mohamed Ahmed Farid.
Tamarud, the Egyptian opposition movement that has led nationwide protests against President Mohammed Morsi, has given him until Tuesday to resign.
A statement issued by Tamarud (Rebel) said President Mohamed Morsi would face a campaign of civil disobedience if he did not leave power and allow elections to be held.
Protesters across Egypt have accused Mohamed Morsi of failing to tackle economic and security problems since being elected a year ago
The group said it had collected more than 22 million signatures in support.
The crowds seen in Tahrir Square in the capital, Cairo, on Sunday were the biggest since the 2011 revolution.
In sporadic outbreaks of violence, at least one person was reported killed in an attack on the headquarters of Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, while four more died in the central province of Assiut.
Protesters across Egypt have accused the president of failing to tackle economic and security problems since being elected a year ago. Mohamed Morsi’s supporters have insisted he needs more time.
Protesters are gathering in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the eve of a mass rally to demand the resignation of Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi.
As darkness fell, thousands of people could be seen milling in the square, focus of the protests which brought down his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.
Sunday is the first anniversary of Mohamed Morsi’s inauguration as president.
Tensions has been high ahead of rally. At least three people – including a US citizen – died in unrest on Friday.
Washington has warned Americans not to travel to Egypt.
Protesters are unhappy with the policies of the Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood allies.
Egyptian protesters are unhappy with the policies of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies
Thousands of supporters of Mohamed Morsi, who was elected by a small margin, rallied in the capital on Saturday.
President Barack Obama has said America is “looking with concern” at the situation.
Opposition activists say more than 22 million people have signed a petition seeking a snap election. They have urged the signatories to come out on Tahrir on Sunday.
Flags and tents form a base camp on the square from where protesters plan to march President Mohamed Morsi’s office.
Amr Riad, 26, told Reuters news agency: “We’re peaceful but if those who come at us are violent we’ll defend ourselves.”
Speaking in South Africa, Barack Obama urged “all parties to make sure they are not engaging in violence and that police and military are showing appropriate restraint”.
“We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about [how] to move their country forward,” he said.
Reports say that Cairo International Airport has been unusually busy as both expatriates and Egyptians leave the country.
On Friday, US national Andrew Pochter and another man were killed in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria as protesters stormed an office of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Andrew Pochter, who was in the country to teach English to children and improve his own Arabic, was killed apparently while using a mobile phone to take pictures.
His family said in a statement that he had been stabbed by a protester while observing demonstrations.
The other fatality in Alexandria on Friday was an Egyptian man who was shot dead, according to medical sources.
Another man, said to be a journalist, was killed by an explosion in Port Said and five other people were injured.
President Mohamed Morsi earlier this week offered a dialogue – a move rejected by his opponents.
Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt’s first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair.
His first year as president has been marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.
At least one person has been killed and more than 20 injured in clashes outside Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral following the funerals of four Coptic Christians killed in religious violence.
Coptic mourners leaving Cairo’s main cathedral are said to have clashed with local residents.
Police fired tear gas to break up the violence.
The head of Egypt’s national ambulance service, Mohammed Sultan, said one person had died of birdshot wounds.
Mourners inside the church had earlier chanted slogans against Egypt’s Islamist President, Mohamed Morsi.
Witnesses told local TV stations that the violence started when a mob attacked mourners as they exited the cathedral, pelting them with rocks and petrol bombs.
At least one person has been killed and more than 20 injured in clashes outside Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral following the funerals of four Coptic Christians killed in religious violence
The Christians responded by throwing rocks back, the witnesses said, until police arrived and attempted to quell the unrest.
Egypt’s state news agency said the streets around St Mark’s Cathedral had seen “on-and-off” clashes between Christians and “unidentified persons”.
It was reported that a fire had started in a building adjacent to the Cathedral, but the blaze had since been extinguished.
Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Christian church, appealed for calm and the preservation of national unity.
Speaking on Sunday evening, he said he was in contact with government officials.
Egypt’s minority of Coptic Christians, who make up about 10% of the population, have accused the government of failing to protect them, following the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians have been seen numerous times since then, but this weekend’s violence was the worst seen in several months.
Police said five deaths – four Copts and one Muslim – occurred on Saturday in Khosous, about 10 miles north of Cairo, after inflammatory symbols were drawn on an Islamic institute, provoking an argument.
The dispute escalated into a gun battle between Christian and Muslim residents, while Christian-owned shops were also attacked.
Violence there flared again on Sunday, with police reporting more sectarian fighting on the streets and clashes between police and youths.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s top judicial body has urged the chief prosecutor appointed by Mohamed Morsi to step down.
Talaat Abdullah, who was named to the post by President Mohamed Morsi in December, has provoked anger by demanding the arrest of several high-profile political activists.
In a statement on Sunday, Egypt’s Supreme Judiciary Council urged Talaat Abdullah to return to his previous job as a judge.
Last week a court annulled the presidential decree that appointed him, but Talaat Abdullah continued to carry out his duties, including issuing arrest warrants for activists accused of insulting President Mohamed Morsi and Islam.
Security guards have seized a man who tried to hit Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a shoe as he visited a mosque in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
Video of the incident shows a man shouting “coward” as he strikes out.
It is not clear what the motive was – some reports suggested it was against Iran’s support for Syria’s government.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the first Iran leader to visit Egypt since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Showing the sole of a shoe is a grave insult in the Arab world.
The Iranian leader is attending a summit of the Organization of Islamic Co-operation, a loose grouping of 57 mainly Muslim countries.
Egypt’s new Islamist President Mohamed Morsi has sought to follow an independent path on foreign policy and travelled to Tehran soon after coming to power last year.
However, so far his talks with Iran about its policy towards Syria have had little impact.
Tuesday’s incident occurred as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was leaving Cairo’s Al-Hussein mosque.
Video released by Turkish news agency Anadolu shows a man straining forward in the crowd with a shoe in his hand, striking out several times.
A witness quoted by AFP news agency said the man had booed and pushed a bodyguard.
The man, believed to be Syrian because of his accent, was reportedly arrested by police after being restrained by security guards.
Security guards have seized a man who tried to hit Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a shoe as he visited a mosque in the Egyptian capital Cairo
While the motive for the attack was unclear, the visit of the president of solidly Shia Muslim Iran has caused some friction
in mainly Sunni Muslim Egypt.
Outside the mosque, four youths waved placards scrawled with slogans against Iran over its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
There was embarrassment earlier on Wednesday when one of Egypt’s top Sunni Muslim clerics, Ahmed al-Tayyeb, publicly criticized Shia Islam at a meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s highest seat of learning, told the Iranian leader not to interfere in the internal affairs of Sunni states and condemned the “spread of Shia-ism in Sunni lands”.
He singled out Bahrain, where Iran is accused of stirring up unrest among the Shia majority against the Sunni monarchy.
Anti-Mohamed Morsi protesters have clashed with police outside the presidential palace in Cairo, after a week of violence in which more than 60 people were killed.
Riot police used tear gas and water cannon to try to drive back the crowds throwing rocks and petrol bombs.
Thousands also rallied in Port Said – one year after football riots in the city, which killed 74 people.
The protesters accuse Islamist President Mohamed Morsi of betraying the 2011 uprising – a claim he denies.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Mohamed Morsi warned that security forces would “act with utmost decisiveness” to protect state institutions and those groups behind the violence would be held “politically accountable”.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters say the demonstrators are trying to used the power of the street to bring down the country’s first democratically elected president.
On Friday, thousands of people chanted “Leave, leave, Morsi!” as they gathered outside the presidential palace – in the north of the capital.
Some of the demonstrators then began throwing Molotov cocktails over the palace walls and lighting fires in the streets.
Anti-Mohamed Morsi protesters have clashed with police outside the presidential palace in Cairo, after a week of violence in which more than 60 people were killed
Skirmishes were reported close to the capital’s Tahrir Square, where thousands more marched, urging Mohamed Morsi to leave.
A demonstration was also held in Port Said, at the northern end of the Suez Canal.
The city has seen the worst of the violence over the past week, in clashes sparked by death sentences imposed on 21 local people in connection with the football riots.
On Thursday, leaders of some of the main political factions condemned the violence. But youth groups later still called for more street protests.
In a separate development, human rights officials have expressed alarm over a rise in sexual violence against women in Cairo.
According to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 25 women have been sexually assaulted, mainly in Tahrir Square, since the protests erupted.
Michelle Bachelet, of the UN’s Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, said she was “deeply disturbed by the gravity of [the] recent attacks”.
Sexual assaults against women around Tahrir Square was widely reported during the uprising there which eventually unseated Hosni Mubarak.
The current unrest began on January 24 in Cairo on the eve of the second anniversary of the revolution and has spread to several cities.
Protesters accuse President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, of imposing a new form of authoritarianism and betraying the values of their uprising two years ago.
On Tuesday, Egyptian army chief General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi warned that the political crisis could lead to the collapse of the state.
An Egyptian court has sentenced to death 21 defendants over clashes between rival football fans at Port Said stadium in which 74 people were killed last February.
The riots began after a league game at Port Said stadium between local side al-Masry and Cairo club al-Ahly.
The violence – Egypt’s worst football disaster – sparked riots in Cairo during which a further 16 people died.
The sentences came after a day of clashes between security forces and supporters of the secular opposition.
An Egyptian court has sentenced to death 21 defendants over clashes between rival football fans at Port Said stadium in which 74 people were killed last February
Hundreds of thousands took to the streets across Egypt to mark the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted ex-President Hosni Mubarak and voice their opposition to Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
At least seven people were killed in Friday’s unrest.
Last year’s football riots led to the suspension of the league.
It began when al-Masry fans invaded the pitch, hurling stones and fireworks at the visitors.
At the time some fans – who said security forces appeared to do little to prevent the clashes – accused supporters of toppled President Hosni Mubarak of instigating the incident.
Seventy-three people, including policemen, were tried.
The judge said he would announce the verdict for the remaining 52 defendants on March 9.
Mohammed Abu Jamal Ahmed, one of the suspects in the Benghazi attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, has been arrested, NBC News is reporting.
Mohammed Abu Jamal Ahmed, who is accused of playing a role in September’s deadly attack against the U.S. Consulate in Libya, was detained in Cairo, according to NBC, which cited two unnamed sources in its report.
In addition to his possible involvement in the Benghazi attack, Mohammed Abu Jamal Ahmed is also accused of illegally trafficking weapons from Libya to Egypt.
Mohammed Abu Jamal Ahmed was freed from an Egyptian prison around the time that former President Muammar Gadhafi was ousted from power.
He is believed to be affiliated with a number of militant groups in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Wall Street Journal reported in October that he was trying to establish a new branch of al-Qaeda.
Mohammed Abu Jamal Ahmed, one of the suspects in the Benghazi attack that killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, has been arrested in Cairo
Sources told the Journal that he had already secured financing for the group.
Early intelligence reports suggested that Mohammed Abu Jamal Ahmed had established training camps in Libya for the fighters involved in the September 11 attack that killed four Americans, according to Journal.
The White House and the Pentagon initially said the attack was a spontaneous reaction to anti-Muslim film The Innocence of Muslims directed by an American.
That story later changed, however, as it was revealed that those involved in the attack had militant ties – and that administration officials were aware of those ties when they publicly claimed that the attack was in response to anti-Muslim film.
Two people have been killed and more than 670 injured after protesters clashed yesterday with security forces in Cairo and Alexandria.
The latest clashes came as police moved to prevent a long-term sit-in following a huge demonstration in Cairo against the military leadership on Friday.
It was reported that some protesters lobbed rocks and a police vehicle was set on fire.
The new violences come just over a week before parliamentary elections are scheduled to begin.
Two people have been killed and more than 670 injured after protesters clashed yesterday with security forces in Cairo and Alexandria
Protesters – mostly Islamists and young activists – have been holding demonstrations against a draft constitution that they say would allow the military to retain too much power after a new civilian government is elected.
Many Egyptians are frustrated at what they see as a reluctance by the ruling military council – who took power after the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak in February – to carry out meaningful reforms.
Saturday’s violence in Cairo began when police moved to dismantle tents erected by demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square who had camped out for the night.
The move to clear the square prompted thousands of protesters to return, and clashes erupted. Police fired rubber bullets as cars were set on fire, witnesses said.
The numbers of protesters swelled, reportedly after a call went out on social media for people to join the demonstration following the police assault.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf called on the protesters to clear the square.
“What is happening in Tahrir is very dangerous and threatens the course of the nation and the revolution,” a statement from PM cabinet said.
There were also demonstrations in Alexandria and Suez.
The state-run Mena news agency says more than 670 people were injured.
One of those wounded in Cairo later died in hospital, while a protester was killed in Alexandria during violent confrontations outside the offices of the interior ministry.
AFP quoted a security official as saying a number of arrests were made.
The interior ministry says a number of policemen were among the wounded.
Friday’s demonstration, which saw tens of thousands fill Tahrir Square, was one of the largest for months.
Parliamentary elections are due to begin on 28 November and take three months.
Earlier this month, Egypt’s military rulers produced a draft document setting out principles for a new constitution.
Under those guidelines, the military would be exempted from civilian overnight, as would its budget.
Egypt has declared state of alert after three people die and more than a thousand were injured as crowds attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo.
Israel has evacuated its ambassador in Egypt after crowds stormed the embassy in Cairo, plunging Egypt’s ruling army deeper into its worst diplomatic crisis since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt has declared state of alert after three people die and more than a thousand were injured as crowds attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo
Egyptian PM Essam Sharaf is holding a crisis cabinet meeting and a state of alert has been declared as protesters remain on the streets following the violence on Friday, burning tyres and chanting slogans against the governing military council.
According to an Egyptian official, at least three people died and more than 1,000 were injured during street clashes with police and army troops after an angry mob attacked the Israeli embassy building.
Hamid Abaza, deputy health minister said that one of the three fatalities in the violence late on Friday was a man who died of a heart attack.
Hamid Abaza told AP on Saturday he doesn’t know the cause of the other two deaths. He said 1,093 people were injured in the clashes.
The attackers pelted the police and the military with rocks, prompting the troops to fire tear gas and shoot into the air. Only 38 of the injured remained in hospital.
Earlier, the protesters tore down a security wall outside the Israeli mission and stormed the embassy’s offices.
Police fired shots in the air and teargas to disperse the crowd.
About 500 protesters were remained near the embassy on Saturday early in the morning. But police gradually pushed them back and secured the area.
According to an Israeli official, the rampage marked a further deterioration of diplomatic ties between Israel and Egypt since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.
Israel’s ambassador, Yitzhak Levanon, his family and most of the staff and their dependents, around 80 people were evacuated out of the country by military aircraft overnight, the official added. Only the deputy ambassador remains in Egypt.
“That the government of Egypt ultimately acted to rescue our people is noteworthy and we are thankful,” the Israeli official said.
“But what happened is a blow to the peaceful relations, and of course, a grave violation of accepted diplomatic behaviour between sovereign states.”
The rampage was the second major eruption of violence at the embassy since five Egyptian border guards were killed last month during an Israeli operation against gunmen. That incident prompted Egypt briefly to threaten to withdraw its envoy.
“This action shows the state of anger and frustration the young Egyptian revolutionaries feel against Israel especially after the recent Israeli attacks on the Egyptian borders that led to the killing of Egyptian soldiers,” said Nabil Abdel Fattah, Egyptian political analyst.
Israel is already embroiled in a diplomatic feud with Turkey, formerly one of its closest allies, over Israel’s armed assault on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which nine people were killed.
Hamdeen Sabahy, the Egyptian presidential candidate called for the army to take a “serious stance matching the public anger” towards Israel but said violence sullied the image of Egypt’s uprising.
In August, a man climbed up a flagpole on the Israeli embassy and took down the flag, replacing it with the Egyptian flag.
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