Cairo - Oil ministers of the Arab petroleum exporting organization OAPEC held a behind-closed-doors meeting Saturday in Cairo to discuss strategies to cope with declining prices.

The 81st OAPEC ministers session preceded consultations to be held with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

"These two meetings come at a decisive time for the Oil industry amid the decline of world oil prices," Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy told reporters after the OAPEC meeting ended.

Cairo  - The Spanish film Return to Hansala won the Golden Pyramid at the closing ceremony of the 32nd edition of Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) late on Friday.

"The jury of the international competition chose this film, as it presented a story from two continents and depicted their different cultures and traditions," said Egyptian director and jury member Mohamed Khan as he announced the winners.

Cairo  - Egyptians who flooded a cinema hall in downtown Cairo were curious to watch a movie based on a masterpiece by Nobel Prize-winning writer Naguib Mahfouz, especially because the film adaptation had a Mexican flavour.

Directed by Arturo Ripstein, The Beginning and The End is based on a Mahfouz novel of the same title. The 1993 film tells the story of a middle-class Mexican family struggling against poverty after the death of the husband and father.

Cairo  - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Lebanese Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad al-Hariri, who met in Cairo on Thursday, called for holding Lebanese parliamentary elections in the spring of 2009 as scheduled.

"We back up holding elections in time regardless of what happens and even if I was the victim of an attack aimed at blocking the balloting," Hariri told reporters.

Hariri, who heads the western-backed ruling coalition, has accused Syria of trying to block the parliamentary elections because they fear the anti-Syria ruling majority will win.

"There could be intimidation by some of Syria's allies in Lebanon. They are capable of forming armed factions to carry out what they pledge," Hariri added.

Cairo  - Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo on Wednesday to find out ways to support the Palestinian talks after Islamist group Hamas refused to attend the Cairo-brokered reconciliation talks.

In his opening speech, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal warned that Israel was the sole beneficiary of the rivalry between Palestinians, which spared Israel the trouble of moving forward in the peace process.

"If we don't want to accuse anyone of hindering the peace process, then at least we are required to remind all parties involved of one fact: That we must not forget that the sole beneficiary of the rivalry between Palestinians is Israel," Faisal said.

Cairo- Hundreds of farmers demonstrated near the southern Egyptia