Cairo - Five Italian tourists kidnapped on a desert safari in Egypt arrived home early Tuesday after being freed soldiers, news reports said.

The tourists, part of a group of 19 kidnapped in Egypt's Western Desert by masked men on September 19, landed in Turin at 1.45 am (2345 GMT), Italian media said.

The three men and two women aged between 48 and 72 left Cairo by military plane after a medical checkup.

Cairo (Egypt), Sept. 29 : The eleven hostages, who were kidnapped 10 days ago by gunmen, have been freed.

The five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian, besides their guides are said to be in good health.

According to the BBC, the group that was abducted in a remote border region of Egypt, are now en route to a military base in Cairo.

During their captivity they were moved around a lawless desert area straddling Egypt, Sudan, Libya and Chad. No ransom was a paid, an Egyptian official said.

New York - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abdul Gheit Saturday charged that Israel showed too little willingness to compromise in the peace process with the Palestinians.

New York - The year-long crisis in Darfur was discussed Saturday by the foreign ministers of Egypt and Syria in their speeches at the annual UN General Assembly.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit called for an international conference to draft a roadmap for the way to unity and stability in Sudan.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem demanded that the UN Security Council counteract an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir that has been requested by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

The prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC at The Hague in July to issue a warrant to arrest al-Bashir for the killing of Darfurians.

Kernex Microsystems India Ltd has informed that it has won a bid for a contract, which is valued at US$ 16.05 million from an Egypt-based firm.

In the month of May, the company participated as prime bidder in a bid for execution of 136 Level Crossing developments for Egyptian National Railways (ENR).

The company received a communication from its local representative in Egypt, reporting that Kernex has won the bid. However on receiving the official intimation from ENR, the contract will be signed.

Luxor - Egyptians working in tourism are in a state of anxiety and fear for the future of the industry in Egypt, following the transfer of kidnapped tourists and their Egyptian companions to Libya.

The abduction "is considered a major threat to the industry, and it will affect the inflow of foreigners to the country," said Egyptian tourism expert Lotfi al-Sebaei.

Al-Sebaei said that the kidnapping "threatens the country's stability and shakes the international confidence in our security system," and he suggested adopting a new strategy to combat such incidents.

"Securing people is the responsibility of everybody, including travel companies," al-Sebaei said, refusing to blame security forces.