Egyptians in nine provinces have started voting in the second round of the first parliamentary elections since a popular uprising ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February.

FOR a man who began the week with a performance that ranked as “the worst I have ever hit it as aprofessional,” Rory McIlroy left the Egyptian Open the knowledge that he is on the way back to his after finishing the tournament with his lowest score of the week, a four under par 68.

LATELY, when asked to justify the extraordinary high cost and necessity of Ireland’s network of motorways, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said they would be “a lasting legacy for the next 50 to 100 years”.

THERE has been much talk lately about the qualities required to be a successful Irish manager but, from my current vantage point here in grey and freezing Cardiff, not nearly enough about the importance of the new man having a decisive say in ensuring that a qualifying campaign concludes, if at all possible, in a balmy climate.

A MASSIVE statue of one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs, Ramses II, rolled through the streets of Cairo to a new home near the Pyramids yesterday to escape the corrosive pollution of its former spot in a crowded transit hub.

A bomber was seriously hurt today when an explosive device – believed to have been intended for tourist shops near the famous Pyramids of Giza – blew up, police said.

A new breed of holiday for those with lavish whims and large wallets has been launched by special-trip company Voyana.

An Egyptian vase that for 30 years was dismissed as fake by experts, was revealed as genuine – and older than the Pyramids.

Egypt’s motor racing boss is confident the country will be ready to stage a Formula One race by the end of 2004.

Egypt has become the latest country looking to join the Formula One calendar with plans for a circuit near the Pyramids.