Before embarking on her first tour of the Middle East, Karen Hughes, the new US minister for propaganda, said she was coming to listen to how the US could improve its image. Yesterday however, she turned into lecturing mode as she urged Egypt's prime minister to ensure fairer parliamentary elections in November.

Mrs Hughes, undersecretary for public diplomacy, was "extremely direct" in telling prime minister Ahmed Nazif of US hopes that the elections would mark an improvement on this month's presidential poll, a State Department official said.