Cairo - Egypt deported on Wednesday five Germans accused of religious extremism, airport sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

The five Germans, two men and three women, were deported to Frankfurt. Previous media reports stated that Egypt accused the family of Islamic extremism and imprisoned them. The family had torn up its German identification papers, fearing the documents would connect them to an "infidel state," local media reported.

Earlier media reports said the family did not want to return to Germany.

Cairo  - Egypt's top Muslim cleric Mohammed Tantawi responded furiously to Israeli reports of his handshake with Israeli President Shimon Peres, a local newspaper reported on Sunday.

Both Israeli dailies Maariv and Haaretz reported that Tantawi approached Peres. According to the independent Egyptian daily al- Masry al-Youm, the Mufti called editors of the Israeli newspapers "liars."

Cairo  - The Japanese company Toyota has expressed interest in investing in wind farm projects in Egypt, said Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younes on Sunday.

"Japan is one of the supporters of Egypt's ambitious plan to develop renewable energy. The Japanese government presented two soft loans to help in financing the Koraimat solar station, to generate 140 megawatts," Younes was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying.

Younes' statement came after he met with representatives of major Japanese companies experienced in the sector of electricity all over the world.

Cairo  - Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Saudi king Abdullah Friday launched two ferries that Saudi Arabia donated to Egypt.

Donation of the vessels, "Cairo" and "Riyadh", came two years after the Egyptian-owned ferry "Salam 98" caught fire and sank in the Red Sea, killing around 1,000 people and stirring angry debate in Egypt over lax safety controls.

Both leaders attended a ceremony in the Red Sea port of Jeddah to pass the ownership of the ferries to the Egyptian government. The two ferries will run between Dhuba in Saudi Arabia and Safaga in Egypt.

Each ferry is 88 metres high and 24 metres wide and can carry up to 1,220 passengers, plus 200 small vehicles.

Cairo - Egypt's leading Muslim cleric Mohammed Tantawi said on Tuesday that preventing Muslims from doing their hajj pilgrimage is a "heinous crime," even as tensions brewed over moves by a Palestinian group that are making the Saudi Arabian pilgrimage difficult for many.

"Nobody should prevent a Muslim from doing his pilgrimage, and whoever does that commits a heinous crime," Tantawi was quoted by the state news agency MENA as saying.

Cairo - Egyptians are hoping that President Hosni Mubarak will seek a royal pardon for two Egyptian doctors sentenced to whippings and jail time in Saudi Arabia when Mubarak visits the kingdom Friday.

A Saudi court in October sentenced Egyptian doctors Rauof Amin and Shawki Abd Rabuh to 15 years in prison and 1,500 lashes each.

Amin was accused of causing the wife of a Saudi prince to get addicted to the painkiller morphine during two years of medical treatment.

Abd Rabuh was convicted of illegally dealing in drugs and of having illicit affairs with female patients.