CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s pound weakened further against the dollar at the central bank’s foreign exchange auction on Tuesday on worries that turmoil on the streets could further delay a long-awaited IMF loan.

At Tuesday’s foreign exchange auction, the central bank set a cut-off price of 6.6525 pounds to the dollar, prompting the currency to weaken to 6.6857 on the interbank market, where the authorities limit how far the currency can move.

CAIRO, Egypt, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Egypt’s army chief said
political strife was pushing the state to the brink of collapse
- a stark warning from the institution that ran the country
until last year as Cairo’s first freely elected leader struggles
to contain bloody street violence.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a U.S.-trained general appointed by
President Mohamed Mursi last year to head the armed forces,
added in a statement on Tuesday that one of the primary goals of
deploying troops in cities on the Suez Canal was to protect the
waterway that is vital for Egypt’s economy and world trade.

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) – Egypt’s army chief said political strife was pushing the state to the brink of collapse – a stark warning from the institution that ran the country until last year, as Cairo’s first elected leader struggles to contain bloody street violence.

General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, appointed by President Mohamed Mursi last year to head the military, added in a statement on Tuesday that one of the primary goals of deploying troops in cities on the Suez Canal was to protect the waterway that is vital for Egypt’s economy and world trade.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a month-long state of emergency in three cities on the Suez Canal, where dozens of people have been killed in protests that have swept the nation and deepened a political crisis facing the Islamist leader.

Hundreds of demonstrators in Port Said, Suez and Ismailia turned out against the decision within moments of Mursi’s announcement late on Sunday that came after the death toll from protests and violence that erupted last week hit 49 people.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a month-long state of emergency on Sunday in three cities along the Suez Canal which have been the focus of anti-government violence that has killed dozens of people over the past four days.

Seven people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 protesters killed at the weekend. A total of 49 people have been killed in demonstrations around the country since Thursday and Mursi’s opponents have called for more protests on Monday.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a month-long state of emergency in three cities along the Suez Canal where dozens of people have been killed over the past four days in protests his allies say are designed to overthrow him.

Seven people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 people killed there when locals angered by a court decision went on the rampage as anti-government protests spread around the country.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Police fired tear gas at dozens of stone-throwing protesters in Cairo on Sunday in a fourth day of street violence that has killed at least 41 people and compounded the political challenges facing President Mohamed Mursi.

The most deadly clashes flared up in Port Said where 32 people were killed on Saturday alone. That violence was provoked by a court verdict sentencing 21 people, mostly from the city, to death for their role in a deadly stadium disaster last year.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian protesters scuffled with police in Cairo on Saturday and troops were deployed in Suez after nine people were shot dead in nationwide protests against President Mohamed Mursi, exposing deep rifts two years after Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

After a day of clashes on Friday, tension remained high with a court expected to rule later on Saturday in a case against suspects accused of involvement in a stadium disaster that killed 74 people. Fans have threatened violence if the court does not deliver the justice they seek.

CAIRO, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Financial aid from the Gulf is
succeeding in buying Egypt’s government time as it battles to
prevent a currency collapse, though Cairo may not be able to
afford much more delay in securing a loan from the International
Monetary Fund.

An agreement with the IMF on the $4.8 billion facility was
expected to come last month, but talks were postponed because of
political instability in Egypt. The delay was a trigger for a
plunge in the Egyptian pound to record lows.

CAIRO (Reuters) – A senior EU official urged Egypt on Sunday to conclude its talks with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8 billion loan agreement, saying the deal would help restore international confidence in its wrecked economy.

Already struggling after two years of unrest following Egypt’s 2011 revolution, the economy has been hit by a new bout of turmoil in recent weeks, with tensions over a new constitution damaging people’s confidence in the government.