Farouk Hosny

Egyptian authorities deny US writer entry into the country. An Egyptian airport official says an American writer and translator has been denied entry into the country.

Egypt cancels synagogue unveiling, citing Israeli maltreatment of Palestinians. Egypt canceled the inauguration of a restored synagogue on Sunday citing objections to Israel's treatment of Muslims in the occupied territories as well as alleged excesses during an earlier ceremony.

Egypt scales back ties with Israel in another obstacle to US efforts on Mideast peace. A sharp deterioration in Egypt's relations with Israel is further complicating Washington's faltering efforts to move the Middle East peace process forward.

In Egypt, a synagogue renovation elicits complicated feelings about preserving Jewish history. The warren of slum alleys is called the Jews' Quarter, but no Jews live there. The ancient synagogue still stands, but its roof is gone. The government is renovating it, but is doing so at a moment when anti-Israel feeling is running especially high in Egypt.

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Egyptian culture minister blames 'world's Jews' for blocking his selection as UNESCO chief. Egypt's culture minister on Wednesday blamed a conspiracy "cooked up in New York" by the world's Jews for keeping him from becoming the next head of the U.N.'s agency for culture and education.

Bulgarian diplomat defeats controversial Egyptian in race to lead UNESCO. A Bulgarian diplomat on Tuesday became the first woman to lead the U.N.'s agency for culture and education, beating out a controversial Egyptian candidate whose one-time threat to burn Israeli books had galvanized opposition.