The violence broke out after Coptic Christians protesting against an attack on a church clashed with security forces, forcing authorities to declare curfew in the area.
Egypt's fallen president Hosni Mubarak returned to a court on Monday, wheeled on a stretcher, to answer charges of killing 800 pro-democracy protesters. Mubarak, along with his two sons Alaa and Gamal, was in a dock in a cage built for his safety. He was flown in by a helicopter from a Cairo hospital where he had been detained since his first court appearance on August 3.
Twenty-five Egyptian officials of the erstwhile Hosni Mubarak regime have been charged for their role in an attack on pro-democracy protesters in Cairo in February in which assailants on horses and camels charged into crowds.
Libyan jets pummeled rebel-held Ras Lanuf and took control of oil town of Zawiyah, amid growing global pressure on Muammar Gaddafi to quit as France became the first country to recognise the opposition National Council.
Libyan forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi struck hard at rebels advancing towards Tripoli and pounded the oil port eastern city of Ras Lanuf, as the US mulled land and air options amid growing pressure to arm the out-gunned opposition.
Heavy machine-gun fire rocked Muammar Gaddafi's bastion of Tripoli on Sunday as the fighting between his forces and rebels raged in Libya's east and west, with the strongman seeking a UN or African Union probe into the crisis, promising that investigators would not face any hindrance.
Libyan Interior Minister Abdel Fatah Yunes and a top aide of Moammar Gaddafi's powerful son Saif resigned on Wednesday, the latest to disown the regime of the defiant leader whose gunmen clamped down capital Tripoli while protesters claimed new gains in cities.
Libya's anti-government protesters took control of several cities in the north African country and reached capital Tripoli for the first time amid reports that its leader Muammar Gaddafi has fled the country.
Egypt's powerful military said they have started taking "necessary measures to protect the nation" and support the "legitimate demands" of the people, amid reports that embattled President Hosni Mubarak may step down soon and transfer power to his deputy Omar Suleiman.
As anti-regime rallies in Egypt entered their third week, embattled President Hosni Mubarak attempted to defuse mounting public anger by setting up a panel to oversee key constitutional and legislative amendments that will change election rules and limit presidential term to enable a "peaceful" power transition.
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