Two American tourists have been kidnapped while travelling in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

The two sons of Hosni Mubarak, the deposed President, were charged with insider trading yesterday and are to be tried before a criminal court. They were among nine men who made illicit gains from the sale of a bank, according to a statement from the prosecutor-general's office which was reported by the state news agency. It gave no other details.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential nominee attempted to shore up his support in Egypt today by offering to open up senior political positions for Christians and promising not to impose Islamic dress codes for women.

The results of the first round of Egypt's presidential election are at once hugely positive, and hugely negative.

The runoff vote for Egypt's next president will pit the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate against the last prime minister to serve under Hosni Mubarak, according to full official results released by the election commission.

Protest groups left to wonder if struggle to overthrow Mubarak has backfired on them

Her unusual mix of love songs, folk pieces and odes in praise of the fight for independence attracted attention

The fight for Egypt's future looks likely to boil down to a showdown between the Muslim Brotherhood and a former fighter pilot with ties to the old regime, as the last votes were tallied in a presidential election that one leading activist said would lead to a “second revolution”.

The candidate of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood won a spot in a runoff election, likely against a veteran of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's regime in what would be a deeply divisive battle to become the new president of Egypt, according to partial results today from the first round of voting.

The Military Council is taking the credit for the transition to democracy, but divisions remain

By Alistair Beach

Nation's first democratic election brings long queues – and a contest that's too close to call

Millions of Egyptians are going to the polling stations to freely choose their first president since last year's removal of long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak.