Cairo- Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak received Monday a cluster of European Union (EU) envoys Monday as diplomatic efforts got underway towards forging a ceasefire deal for the Gaza Strip.

The EU group, meeting Mubarak in the resort of Sharm El-Sheik, includes French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, EU Foreign Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU top diplomat Javier Solana as well as the Foreign Ministers for Sweden and the Czech Republic, Carl Bildt and Karel Schwarzenberg.

Cairo - After six day of continuous Israeli air raids on the nearby Gaza Strip, the Egyptian border town of Rafah has become a ghost town as residents flee the city.

Airstrikes in neighboring Gaza have shattered glass in the buildings of Rafah. Electricity had also been cut because of the raids.

Thus, Israeli raid are causing pain not just for Gazans, but also for Egyptians as well. The town of Rafah is split by the border, with half of it in Gaza. Many have family on the other side.

The town, which usually makes money by smuggling goods into Gaza, has now been transformed into a transit point for aid to the Gaza strip.

Cairo - More than 10,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Cairo on Wednesday protesting against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Several demonstrations were held in the different parts of the Egyptian capital, with the largest taking place in Ramses street, one of Cairo's major boulevards.

About 10,000 people blocked the street, shouting slogans against Israel, eyewitnesses said. Protestors marched through the street until they reached the Press Syndicate headquarters.

The Press Syndicate, along with the Bar Association and the Doctors Syndicate, all located downtown, are customary focal points for protest demonstrations in Cairo.

Cairo - The head of the Arab League urged the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take immediate action to stop Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip.

"We urge the Security Council not to fall under any pressure and take an immediate decision to stop the Israeli attacks on Gaza," said UN Secretary General Amr Mussa at the opening of an Arab League emergency meeting.

Decrying the rising number of Palestinian casualties, Mussa asked: "Which 'magic number' is the security council waiting for before it will act to put an end to these attacks?"

Cairo - Many entertainers and organizations in the Arab world have cancelled their New Year's celebrations in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip following four days of a massive Israeli air offensive.

Four days of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in the tiny enclave has left at least 380 Palestinians dead and more than 1,800 injured, prompting angry demonstrations that have overtaken the festive mood typically behind New Year's celebrations.

Cairo - Donkeys have been banned from walking around in the streets of Egypt's south-western al-Wadi al-Gadeed governorates without wearing diapers, according to an official in the area.

Mohammed Haround said the measure was to "preserve the aesthetic and cultural scene of the governorate which currently witnesses an unprecedented boom in tourism".

"Diapers are available in the markets at low prices," Haroun was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying on Tuesday. He added that owners of the donkeys who violate this decision will be fined.