Three Hamas fighters are reported killed after Israeli aircraft bombed what the military described as a “terror tunnel” in Gaza.

Syrian authorities have beefed up security measures in Damascus as rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad urged supporters to mark the second anniversary of the country’s uprising by stepping up attacks against the regime.

Egypt’s Islamist president has given the army temporary power to arrest civilians during a constitutional referendum he is determined to push through despite the risk of bloodshed between his supporters and opponents accusing him of a power grab.

France will bar radical Muslim preachers from entering the country to participate in an Islamic conference next month as part of a crackdown after shootings by an al Qaeda-inspired gunman, president Nicolas Sarkozy said.

Egypt’s reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei is pulling out of the country’s presidential race to protest at the military’s failure to put the country on the path to democracy.