Hamas PM to visit Muslim countries, in first trip since 2007

A deputy says Gaza's prime minister is leaving on his first official trip outside the territory since the militant Hamas movement overran the coastal strip in June 2007. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's deputy, Mohammed Awwad, said on Sunday the Gaza leader will visit Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Bahrain, Tunisia and Turkey - all countries that have been affected by the upheavals sweeping the Arab world. Awwad says Haniyeh's objective is to discuss development projects. Haniyeh has been confined to Gaza, in part because of tensions with Egypt. But Egypt's new rulers have warmed up to Hamas since longtime President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.