A black smoke covered Cairo's Tahrir Square. Around a dozen protesters who had been holding a weekslong sit-in demanding an end to military rule had come to the conclusion their gathering was useless. So over the weekend, they splashed gas on their tents and banners, burned them to ashes and left.

Noble Energy is to hook up two small natural gas fields to Israel's central gas supply to avoid electricity shortages over the summer due to the cut in Egyptian supplies, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi urged citizens on Wednesday to vote in next week's presidential election, vowing a fair poll that will serve as an example to the world.

Egypt's military ruler said Wednesday he hopes that a "great leader" will emerge from the country's upcoming presidential election, and said it will be a free and fair vote that will reflect the will of the people.

An Israeli company has written off its entire 12.5 percent investment in the company that sold Egyptian natural gas to Israel before Egypt terminated the exports.