Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi vowed he would not quit despite mass protests demanding his resignation and an army ultimatum as fresh deadly violence rocked capital Cairo.
Egypt's presidency on Tuesday rejected an army ultimatum threatening to intervene if Islamist President Mohamed Morsi did not meet the demands of the people, raising the stakes in the country's political crisis.
Washington warned against travel to Egypt after an American was among three people killed during rival demonstrations for and against Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
"In Egypt, there is the Muslim Brotherhood on one side and the rest of Egyptians on the other," says Mahmud Badr, who founded a campaign for the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Egypt's defence minister has warned that the army will intervene if violence breaks out in the country where opponents of President Mohamed Morsi are planning rallies against him this month.
Syria's civil war has caused a split within Hamas over whether to cling to Shiite backers Damascus, Tehran and Hezbollah or side with Sunni allies such as Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
Secretary of State John Kerry last month approved $1.3 billion in annual US military aid to Egypt, despite concerns over democratic progress by the country's new government.
A Cairo court sentenced 43 Egyptian and foreign NGO staff on Tuesday to jail terms of up to five years for working illegally, sparking outrage and raising fears for the future of civil society.
Egypt's liquor stores are under growing pressure to stop selling alcohol, they say, not from the country's Islamist government, but from society itself.
Australian cattle exporters said they had suspended live shipments to Egypt Saturday after abattoir footage shot by animal rights activists showed "horrific" mistreatment of cows.
The retrial of Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak begins on Saturday in Cairo, with the fate of the ousted strongman largely eclipsed by the deadly turmoil and economic woes gripping the country.
Kazakhstan ambassador to Egypt Berik Aryn met with chairman of Egypt's consultative council Ahmed Fahmy to discuss cooperation of the two countries in law-making.