Sharm el-Sheikh - Egypt on Tuesday announced its proposal for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, to be followed by meetings to end the blockade of Gaza.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced the proposal during a press briefing with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy after their talks late Tuesday at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Paris - French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Tuesday described as "stupid and revolting" an apparently anti-Semitic attack in which a car was sent hurtling against the gates of a synagogue in the city of Toulouse and then set on fire.

Alliot-Marie told RMC radio that the perpetrators would be found quickly but she refused to say that the attack was related to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

France has Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities, and strife between Palestinians and Israel has in the past provoked a wave of anti-Semitic attacks.

- Pirates off the Nigerian coast have seized a French ship and taken its nine crew members hostage, the ship owners said Monday in Paris.

The ship, which conducted transport of materials and personnel for oil companies, was taken Sunday night, shipping company Bourbon said.

The crew includes five Nigerians, and men from Ghana, Cameroon and Indonesia. They were reportedly in good condition.

Nigeria is Africa's most important oil producer, with reserves estimated at 36 billion barrels.

Ramallah - French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Monday night for an urgent truce between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip, and blamed Hamas for the violence which has seen 550 Palestinians killed and over 2600 wounded in 10 days of Israeli attacks.

Beirut -  French President Nicolas Sarkozy, due to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday, promised to exert more effort to resolve lingering issues between Lebanon and neighbouring Syria.

"Lebanon and Syria are now cooperating to restore relations based on trust and mutual respect," Sarkozy was quoted by Lebanese televisions on Monday.

"I am not naive and I realize that there are still several stages that need to be crossed," he said.

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy left Paris on Monday on a two-day visit to the Middle East in a unilateral attempt to negotiate a ceasefire in the fighting in Gaza.

Traveling in his capacity as co-president, with Egypt, of the Union for the Mediterranean, Sarkozy is scheduled first to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

He will then travel on to West Bank city of Ramallah to hold talks with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, before meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert late Monday in Jerusalem.