Gaza Hamas leader heads for Egypt talks

Gaza's Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya left the coastal strip for neighbouring Egypt Monday, after plans for a visit there were postponed twice over the past four days. Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nunu told AFP that Haniya would meet Egyptian premier Hisham Qandil Monday evening for talks "mainly about electricity." He said that Haniya was accompanied by his interior and economy ministers, but he gave no further details of their itinerary. Cash-strapped Gaza has been suffering from a chronic energy crisis for years, exacerbated by an Israeli blockade of varying intensity imposed in 2006. Hamas's exiled supreme chief Khaled Meshaal is expected to meet Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo on Tuesday, according to a Hamas official. Haniya had originally been scheduled to visit Egypt last Thursday but the trip was postponed until Sunday for what Nunu called "technical reasons." The visit was again put off and Haniya and his delegation finally crossed into Egypt through the Rafah border terminal on Monday morning, another Hamas official said.