Blast on Egypt bus near Israel border kills 3 tourists

CAIRO, Feb 16 (AFP): A blast ripped through a bus near an Egyptian resort town bordering Israel on Sunday, killing at least three foreign tourists, police said.

The cause of the blast near the resort town of Taba in south Sinai was not immediately clear.

Militants in the restive peninsula have waged a deadly insurgency against the military and police since the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.

Meanwhile:  Deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was Sunday facing charges of espionage and carrying out "terror attacks" in Egypt, as a third trial against him was due to get under way.

The latest court case is part of a relentless government crackdown targeting Morsi and his Islamist supporters since he was ousted by the military on July 3.

Morsi and 35 others, including former aides and leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood, are accused "of spying for the international organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood, its military wing and the (Palestinian) Hamas movement".

They are also charged with "carrying out terror attacks inside the country against state property, institutions and their employees to spread chaos".If found guilty, the defendants could face the death penalty.

Morsi, who was ousted by the military after a single year of turbulent rule, is already on trial for his alleged involvement in the killing of opposition protesters in December 2012.