Cairo  - US President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, arrived in Cairo airport on Tuesday, at the beginning of a tour of the region.

Shortly after touching down at Cairo airport, Mitchell had private talks with EU foreign-policy chief Javier Solana, who is making his own tour of the region in an attempt to turn twin ceasefire declarations from Hamas and Israel into a longer-term peace.

On Tuesday morning, one Israeli soldier was killed by a bomb blast near the Gaza border. Israeli troops fired at nearby houses in response, killing a Palestinian farmer.

Cairo  - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Cairo on Monday night for talks with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Solana's visit to the region is "part of the European Union's efforts to consolidate a lasting ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian relief for the victims in Gaza and re-launch the peace process," Solana's office said in a statement.

Cairo, Jan 26: Recent discoveries by a Polish archaeological mission in the Nile delta have revealed that far from being hostile regions as previously supposed, Upper and Lower Egypt were politically and culturally united in pre-dynastic times.

According to a report in Al-Ahram Weekly, the findings were made by the archaeological mission at Tel Al-Farkha in the north-eastern Delta about 120 kilometers north-east of Cairo.

Cairo  - Across the Arab world, many greeted Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential election with jubilation and relief.

But 10 weeks later, as Obama is sworn into office as the 44th US president and the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office, people from across the Arab world say they are greeting Obama's presidency with diminished expectations.

Cairo - Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak called on Saturday for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the strip.

"I call on the (Israeli) leadership for an immediate unconditional ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip," Mubarak said in an address on national television.

In an affirmative tone, Mubarak added that Egypt is securing its own border with the Gaza Strip and will never accept any foreign observers on its land.

Cairo - Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg arrived to Cairo Saturday for talks with Egyptian officials over possible a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Schwarzenberg, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said the EU fully backed efforts for an immediate ceasefire in the strip.

Following his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minster Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Schwarzenberg said discussions tackled "post ceasefire plans which includes rebuilding Gaza."