This is the high season for European holidaymakers and Sharm's beaches are crowded with bronzed and bikini-clad tourists. By noon, music was pumping loudly while sunbathers set out on paddle boats, drifting past the boats reserved for local officials being carried to the site of Saturday's crash.Some four miles offshore, near the hulk of Tiran Island, helicopters hovered over the floating wreckage while search teams pulled up "every single thing", according to Samy Hamdy, director of Sharm el-Sheikh's Search and Rescue Centre. As the beaches came to life in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday, search and recovery teams were already out on the water for the second day from first light, pulling up the remains of Egypt's worst plane crash since 1999. Seaside hedonism, however, continued to pulse in this huddle of luxury resorts perched on the edge of Sinai's beautiful desert mountain range. Al-Jazeera played the tape while showing a still photo of bin Laden.. The wording was also reportedly altered to state specifically that men and women should be treated equally.Rivals of Mr Karzai, mainly from the Northern Alliance factions that helped American forces overthrow the Taliban, succeeded in securing some measures that strengthened the role of parliament by extending its veto power over appointments. ¿ In an audiotape shown by the satellite channel al-Jazeera yesterday, a voice said to be that of Osama bin Laden urged Muslims to continue fighting a holy war rather than co-operate with peace efforts in the Middle East. The speaker said the region?s problems were part of a religious and economic war in which "big powers" were trying to take over its oil.

But there were other disputes over fundamental issues such as the constitution's relationship with Islamic law, human rights and the recognition of the rights of women, which have been long suppressed.During the proceedings, religious conservatives forced through amendments to make the constitution more Islamic. They know he is the favourite to win the elections and fear he will enjoy excessive powers The deliberations lasted for more than three bruising weeks. Six days ago, the chairman, an elderly professor in Islam, reportedly walked out and went home in frustration, only returning on the urgings of senior officials from the interim government.By then, the loya jirga was already at a standstill, with scores of delegates boycotting the voting on final amendments because of alleged government interference.The talks snagged seriously towards their close over whether to grant official status to minority languages. This is what the Americans had sought and what Mr Karzai, the leader of the US-sponsored Afghan transitional government, had insisted on.Both believe this is necessary as a means of containing the rivalries between Afghanistan's ethnic groups, which have been a troubled part of its history for centuries.Mr Karzai, who is from the Pashtun majority, took this stance despite opposition from Tajiks, who have dominated Kabul since the Taliban's fall.

Yet even so, officials say rebuilding a nation shattered by foreign invasion and civil war is inevitably a slow process.If it holds, yesterday's agreement at least represents a step forward. "There is no winner or loser," the President, Hamid Karzai, told delegates. "Everybody has won, it is everybody's, it belongs to every Afghan."Although details of the contents of the constitution had not been released by last night, it is expected to provide for a centralised presidency with sweeping powers. Corruption abounds, large areas of the country, which is awash with arms, are lawless. After weeks of rancorous debate in which proceedings almost broke down, a grand assembly of Afghans agreed yesterday on a national constitution - a move that officials hope will clear the way for elections more than two years after American-led forces overthrew the Taliban. "At issue is an individual who is using his rank and position to voice a political position and is trying to involve the army in politics," a spokesman said..