News stories by Adam Morrow, page 7

Since early last year, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei has been touted as a possible successor to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. But many protesters say ElBaradei enjoys little if any credibility on the street.

Demonstrators who turned up in Cairo's Tahrir Square Friday in even larger numbers than on earlier days are from all walks of life: old men wearing traditional galibiyas, young people in jeans and T-shirts, and women of all ages wearing Islamic head scarves. The protesters, whose numbers across the nation are now estimated at more than one million and growing, shout variations of one slogan: 'The people want the fall of the regime!'

Egypt, now itself torn by strife, has worked since 2005 to promote the unity of Sudan, Africa's largest country that is its neighbour to the south. But after overwhelming support for independence for southern Sudan, Egyptians are now preparing to accept partition.

The beaches of Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh are tentatively back to normal after having recently been the site of five separate shark attacks, one of which proved fatal. While the phenomenon's precise cause remains undetermined, local experts fear that the spate of attacks could have dire consequences for Egypt's vital tourism industry - especially in the event of another incident.

After the separation barrier against Palestinian territories, Israel has begun to build a new wall, this one to keep migrants from Africa out. The new wall is coming up on the Egyptian border, and with Egyptian support.

Prices for most basic food commodities in Egypt have finally returned to earth - more or less - after soaring to unprecedented levels over the summer. But steadily rising food costs in recent years, along with the government's seeming disinclination to take effective steps to regulate the market, continue to be the source of mounting public anger.

Since June, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has witnessed an unusual flurry of local crises. The peninsula shares a border with both the Gaza Strip and Israel, and is inhabited mostly by the Bedouin tribe.

As Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood gears up to contest November parliamentary elections, some analysts note the relatively few gains made by the Brotherhood- led opposition over the last five years in an assembly dominated by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).

Almost two months since Egypt announced it would reopen its Rafah border terminal with the Gaza Strip, operation of the crossing remains sorely limited.

Israel's deadly assault on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month has led to mounting international pressure to end the ongoing Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip. The incident, say local analysts, has also served to bolster the position of Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which has governed the strip since 2007.