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Egyptian troops have blasted protesters with water cannons, tear gas and live ammunition, trying to prevent them from marching on the Defense Ministry in clashes that left one soldier dead and scores of people injured just three weeks ahead of presidential elections. The fierce street battles on Friday raised fears of a new cycle of violence surrounding the upcoming vote to replace Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted more than a year ago. For the first time in Egypt's chaotic transition, hard-line Islamists, rather than secular forces, were at the forefront of the confrontation with the military rulers who have been accused of trying to cling to power. The military council imposed an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew on the area surrounding the Defense Ministry, which has emerged as a flashpoint for the protesters' anger after nine people were killed on Wednesday in clashes between unidentified assailants and protesters who mainly comprised supporters of a disqualified Islamist presi...

The Muslim Brotherhood’s chief presidential candidate said Egypt’s economy faces grave dangers, while rival Omar Suleiman denied that he was seeking to restore the ousted regime with his run for office. Khairat el-Shater, the millionaire businessman who served as the Brotherhood’s chief financier, said that a new political system coupled with a restoration of security are necessary for Egypt’s economy to advance. “We are facing a very difficult and grave challenge,” he said in a televised press conference, referring to Egypt’s debt-servicing costs and the needs of its citizens. Suleiman, Mubarak’s longtime intelligence chief who served as vice president during the ousted ruler’s last days, said last year’s uprising had created a new reality and cannot be reversed. No one “can restore a regime that collapsed and ended and was rejected” by all Egyptians, Suleiman said in an interview with the state-run al-Akhbar newspaper. Twenty-three candidates had registered to run in the p...