The UN Security Council was meeting last night to discuss the situation in Egypt after hundreds of people were killed and thousands wounded when troops and police crushed protests seeking the return of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.

At least 34 people have been killed in an attack outside the headquarters of the Republican Guard in Cairo, an Egyptian Health Ministry official has said.

Health chiefs and religious authorities in Egypt have banned female circumcision after outrage following the death of a 12-year-old girl.

Egyptian police have detained at least 15 men in and around Sharm El Sheikh in connection with the weekend terrorist attacks on the Sinai Peninsula resort, security officials said today.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to announce the holding of an Arab leaders summit next week in Sharm el-Sheikh, the target of Egypt’s deadliest ever terror attack, according to a copy of a speech Mubarak is due to deliver today.