The trial in Egypt of those convicted of murdering a famous Lebanese pop singer will have to be repeated now that a Court of Appeal in Cairo has discovered a procedural error in the original proceedings.

A prominent politician and a former police officer were sentenced to death in 2009 after being convicted of he murdering singer Suzanne Tamim (30) in 2008.

Millionaire politician Hesham Talaat Moustafa apparently paid the former policeman two million US dollars to kill the pop singer. He is believed to have done so because he could not accept her having ended their three-year love affair.

The case made headlines in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East. Suzanne Tamim was a major star and Moustafa a member of the country's elite who, in practice, often manage to live above the law.

It is not known when the new trial will start.