Egypt Protest, North Africa | featured news

'Leave, leave like Mubarak!' protesters chant as tens of thousands break through barbed wire at the presidential palace to denounce President Mohamed Morsi. Tens of thousands of Egyptians broke through barbed wire and marched to the presidential palace Friday demanding that President Mohamed Morsi step down even as government officials appeared to offer a slight concession on a controversial proposed constitution.

Police have fired tear gas to stop protesters from approaching the presidential palace in Cairo as tens of thousands take to the streets to demonstrate against the assumption of nearly absolute powers by the nation's Islamist leader....

A prosecutor in the trial of Hosni Mubarak demanded on Thursday that the ousted Egyptian leader be sentenced to hang on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters.

An Egyptian civilian court ordered the army on Tuesday to end forced virginity tests on female detainees in military prisons.

The housewives and breadwinners stepping out of a Cairo supermarket with bags of groceries agreed on one thing. “The prices are very high,” said Sabah Fehmi, 58. “The economy has been very bad after the revolution.”

"I was not sure I was going to live," says Derrik Sweeney after arriving in St. Louis. He and two others had been arrested in Cairo and accused of throwing firebombs. Three American college students detained for several days in Egypt as deadly protests swept Cairo have flown home to freedom, one describing an ordeal so terrifying he wasn't sure he would survive it.

A senior Egyptian general told CNN Tuesday that officials performed "virginity checks" on women arrested during the uprising that led to former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, the first time the authorities have admitted they performed such tests during the revolution.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could be executed if he is convicted of ordering the killing of protesters, Egypt's justice minister said Wednesday.

Egypt's transition to democracy after 30 years of authoritarian rule faces a major test on Saturday when Egyptians vote in a referendum on amendments to the constitution. Opponents are pushing heavily for a "no" vote, saying the changes don't go far enough and that the ruling military is rushing the process.

Future presidents of Egypt will only be allowed to stay in office for eight years according to constitutional amendments that will open up competition for the position held for three decades by ousted leader Hosni Mubarak.