Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Monday he expected the privatisation of Banque du Caire to raise more than $1.6 billion in a public auction that would be open to foreign bidders with no restrictions.

An Egyptian official has cast doubt on the authenticity of a recently-released Fatah video showing Hamas members planning the assassination of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas via a tunnel bomb, Israel Radio reported on Monday morning.

Cairo ­ International figures, representatives of international rights groups, journalists and members of the legal profession, continue to huddle around Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood following a trial session of its top members that was described as “shameful” and its legality was seriously questioned.

An Egyptian military court barred former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark from observing a trial session on Sunday for 40 opposition Islamists on charges that include money-laundering and terrorism, an Islamist source said.

Egypt’s powerful chief of intelligence, who acts as a key diplomatic link with the United States and Israel, flew to Washington on Sunday for talks with administration officials on bilateral ties and Mideast issues, officials said.

Egypt’s main stock indexes rebounded on Sunday from last week’s correction, carried by a strong rally in the housing sector and a rise in investment bank EFG-Hermes, traders said.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iran’s new ambassador to the United Nations Organization Mohammad Khazayee left Tehran for New York on Tuesday to start his mission in the world body. Khazayee told FNA here today that he would start his mission at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Omani Foreign Minister Yusef Bin Alawi described Iran’s nuclear power plant in Bushehr as highly safe, stressing that there is no need for the inspection of Bushehr. “We believe that inspection (of Bushehr nuclear power plant) is not needed because we are confident that this power …

The Unites States and EU nations distributed their new draft resolution on Kosovo Friday (July 13th) among members of the UN Security Council. British UN Ambassador Karen Pierce says it will be debated on Monday.

The families of 438 children infected with HIV have reached an agreement with the Libyan government on compensation, potentially opening the way for the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who has been granted Bulgarian citizenship.