Cairo - Four people were killed and three went missing in the collapse of an underground tunnel Sunday north of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, security sources said.

Sources from the militant group Hamas informed Egyptian authorities of the incident.

Egypt is still searching for the missing people inside the tunnel, the source said.

The identities of the dead and missing were not immediately known, the source said.

Beirut - Lebanese Energy and Water Minister Alan Tabourian said natural gas shipments to be used for electricity production, will begin to arrive from Egypt to Lebanon at the beginning of 2009, local Lebanese media reported Saturday.

"Egypt assured us that Lebanon will receive natural gas at the beginning of 2009 and would supply it until 2013," the Voice of Lebanon Radio station quoted the minister as saying.

The Lebanese government hopes to reduce the national energy bill by 30 percent by switching from oil to natural gas.

Cairo - Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) began its fifth annual conference on Saturday, promising to tackle chronic education, housing and health issues, as opposition voices accused the government of economic policies "skewed" in favour of the rich.

Acknowledging the difficulties and challenges that face NDP's performance, NDP Secretary-General Safwat el-Sherif lashed out at the party's critics for what he called "baseless" attacks.

Cairo - The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) begins its fifth annual conference on Saturday morning with a total of 2,700 delegates participating.

On the first day, NDP chairman President Hosny Mubarak is expected to address the 3-day gathering convened under the banner "A New Style of Thinking for the Future of Our Country," focusing on the challenges facing Egypt.

Mubarak's speech is to outline the party's vision and strategy in dealing with the global food and financial crisis.

A day would be devoted to the impact of global financial meltdown on Egypt, Gamal Essam el-Din, an Egyptian journalist specialized in parliamentary affairs told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Cairo - Six Belgian tourists and three Egyptians were killed and another 29 people were injured when a tourist bus overturned in Egypt's southern Aswan region, officials said Friday.

Cairo - Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora denied on Thursday any Egyptian mediation to resume negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the lines of Turkey's role in Syrian-Israeli talks.

Seniora, who was speaking at a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa in Cairo, said that "no such thing is taking place."