Mubarak trial may scare Arab rulers, placate Egyptians, Posted by Meosha Eaton

(Reuters) - Egypt's fallen leader, Hosni Mubarak, goes on trial Wednesday over his role in killing protesters, in a stark message to Arab rulers elsewhere that they too may one day be held to account.

In domestic politics, putting the former president in the dock may help quell criticism of the generals now running Egypt, suspected by protesters of protecting their former commander.

Egypt new PM visits Tahrir Square, seeks legitimacy, Posted by Meosha Eaton

CAIRO, March 4 (Reuters) - Egypt's new Prime Minister-designate Essam Sharaf told thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square on Friday that he would work to meet their demands and saluted the "martyrs" of the country's revolution.

He told the crowd he had come "to draw legitimacy" from them. He was cheered by the crowd and carried away from the podium on the shoulders of protesters and escorted by military police.

Sharaf, a former transport minister, was appointed by Egypt's military rulers on Thursday to replace Ahmed Shafiq, the former air force officer who had been appointed by Hosni Mubarak before he was toppled from the presidency on Feb. 11.

(Reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Egypt to investigate three more former politicians, Posted by Meosha Eaton

CAIRO, March 1 (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor will investigate claims made against three more prominent former politicians, state news agency MENA said on Tuesday, with growing public demand for officials to be punished for graft.

The prosecutor will look into various claims against Egypt's former parliament speaker Fathi Sorour; the former secretary general of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP),Safwat el-Sherif; and former presidential chief of staff Zakaria Azmi.
MENA did not elaborate on what the claims were.

"The public prosecutor has ordered that the Central Auditing Organization, the Administrative Supervisory Authority and the Public Funds Investigation Department be notified of these claims to investigate them," MENA said.

Prosecutors have been investigating corruption allegations made against former officials and businessmen since an uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak erupted on Jan. 25.

(Writing by Shaimaa Fayed; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Egypt's Moussa indicates will run for president, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Referendum on constitutional reform expected in March
* Military seen lifting law that curbed political parties
* US senator: "Great country, great history, great future"

(Recasts with Amr Moussa)

By Marwa Awad

CAIRO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Veteran Egyptian diplomat Amr Moussa said on Sunday he intends to run for president, a post held for three decades by Hosni Mubarak until he was toppled from power by a mass uprising this month.

Moussa, 74, and Arab League secretary general for a decade, said in a statement it was his intention to run for the post but would make a decision later once constitutional amendments are finalised that will open up competition for the job. The military council, in power since Mubarak's ouster on Feb. 11, is expected to call a referendum on the constitutional changes for March, Sobhi Saleh, a lawyer who helped draft them said on Sunday. It would announce the date this week, he said.

It is also set to cancel a law which gave Mubarak's administration the power to decide who was allowed to form a party, Saleh, a member of the 10-man judicial committee appointed by the military council, told Reuters. Both steps will be big milestones on the road to elections, which officials have signaled could happen within months. Egyptians hope for a new democratic era, though some are concerned the transition from decades of autocracy is too fast. "The military council hands power to the people in a gradual process," Saleh said. "The parties law will be cancelled."

The reforms will limit a leader's time in the presidency to two four-year terms and ensure judicial oversight of elections. Mubarak was in his fifth, six-year term when he was toppled. The proposed constitutional amendments have not triggered major objections from opposition groups which had long called for the reforms outlined by the judicial committee. However, many Egyptians say the country needs an entirely new constitution -- something the judicial committee has said will happen after elections. "No one has objected to the constitutional amendments proposed," Sobhi said.

The military council has suspended the existing constitution and dissolved both houses of parliament. Elections to both the upper and lower chambers would follow the referendum, Saleh said, without saying when, and presidential elections would happen thereafter. The reforms will make it much easier for Egyptians to run for the presidency, removing requirements which made it almost impossible for anyone but the ruling party and representatives of weak opposition parties to field a candidate for the post.


"GREAT COUNTRY, GREAT HISTORY, GREAT FUTURE"
That will open the door to Moussa, who served as Mubarak's foreign minister for 10 years until 2001 and enjoys wide respect among Egyptians for outspoken remarks often directed against Israel and the United States. He warned that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 would open the "gates of hell" in the region. More recently, following the toppling of Tunisia's president in January, he warned Arab leaders of unprecedented anger among the Arab public.

Moussa met U.S. Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman and Republican Senator John McCain on Sunday. They later toured Tahrir Square, the hub of the protests that overthrew Mubarak, a long-time ally of the United States. "We're very happy to be here, it's very exciting new era for a great country, great history, great future," Lieberman said. Saleh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, said the presidential powers would stay in the hands of the military until a president is elected.

The military council has said it hopes to hold the elections and hand power back to a civilian authority within six months. Some opposition figures are concerned that a rush towards elections is not in the best interests of democratic change. Mubarak's administration had suppressed opposition groups for decades and they say they need time to regroup.

They say only the Muslim Brotherhood, which was formally banned under Mubarak, is in the position to mount an election campaign, though the group says it will not seek a majority in parliament or the presidency. A quick election will also suit the remnants of the National Democratic Party, the ruling party which had dominated parliament under Mubarak. "The interim period should have been longer," said Hassan Nafaa, a political scientist.

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh, Patrick Werr, Shaimaa Fayed and Ashraf Fahim; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)

Egypt army says sorry after protester clashes, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Egyptian soldiers move against protesters, protesters say
* Army says sorry, no orders given, blames "altercations"
* Thousands in Tahrir Square had called for new cabinet
* Egyptian investigators detain former information minister
(Adds military releases all protesters detained)
By Marwa Awad and Dina Zayed


CAIRO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Soldiers used force on Saturday to break up a protest demanding more political change in Egypt in the toughest move yet against demonstrators who accused the country's military rulers of "betraying the people".
Protesters said the soldiers had moved against them after midnight, firing in the air and using sticks to break up the remnants of a demonstration urging the military to enact deeper reforms including a complete overhaul of the cabinet. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has been ruling Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak stepped down in the face of a mass uprising, apologised, said there had been no order to assault the protest and the incident was unintentional.

Protesters detained overnight would be released, it said, without stating how many of them there were. It said "infiltrators" had thrown bottles and rocks at soldiers.
"What happened last night was ... the result of unintentional altercations between the military police and the children of the revolution," the council said on a Facebook page that has become a main tool in its public relations effort. Ashraf Omar, a demonstrator, said soldiers had used tasers and batons against the protesters. "I thought things would change. I wanted to give the government a chance but there is no hope with this regime," he said.

The military council has promised constitutional changes leading to free and fair elections within six months. The judicial council tasked with drafting the constitutional reforms is expected to announce its proposals soon. As it manages domestic affairs for the first time in decades, the military also wants Egyptians to get back to work to revive an economy drained by weeks of turmoil unleashed by the mass uprising that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11.

Thousands of people had gathered in Tahrir Square on Friday to press broader demands including the replacement of the prime minister, who was appointed by the ousted president in the last weeks of his rule and had long served his administration.
As day broke, a few dozen protesters left in the square flagged down motorists, telling them that the army had attacked the protest. A number of the activists held aloft signs declaring "the army betrayed the people".

One taxi driver remonstrated with a protester, telling him: "The people can't find food to eat." His view reflected the feelings of those Egyptians who believe continued protests are obstructing a return to normality.


FOR NOW, MILITARY APPEARS HESITANT ON FURTHER REFORM
Witnesses said they saw several protesters fall to the ground but it was not clear if they were wounded and if so, how seriously. Protesters were heard yelling and shouting as they were chased down side streets surrounding Tahrir Square. The protesters want the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq as well as the removal of other ministers associated with Mubarak's rule and the immediate release of remaining political detainees.  A partial cabinet reshuffle has not satisfied them.

Opposition groups want a complete break with the past in the run up to democratic elections promised by the military. Having committed to constitutional changes and democratic elections, the military appears reluctant to enact further reforms, a Western diplomat said. The military council appears to want to leave further reforms to an elected civilian government, the diplomat added.

The military appeared to want to "get out from under the obligation" of government, the diplomat added.  An anti-corruption campaign targeting prominent figures in Mubarak's era is one of the clearest signs yet of a break with the past. The foreign ministry has instructed governments overseas to freeze the assets of Mubarak and his family.
Several former ministers and businessmen linked to the ruling party are also under investigation.

In the latest case, investigators have ordered the detention of former Information Minister Anas el-Fekky for 15 days on charges of profiteering and wasting public funds, the state news agency MENA said on Saturday. (Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Mohamed Abdellah; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Caroline Drees)

Egypt's army turns to the Web after protests, looks like they are taking notes from the protesters! Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:

* Mubarak's govt cut Internet at early point in protests
* Egyptians sign up to army site as supporters


By Edmund Blair
CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The army, thrust to the forefront of Egyptian politics with Hosni Mubarak's overthrow, has turned to the Web to win over youths who used the Internet to such devastating effect in bringing down the president.

The Higher Military Council has launched its own page on Facebook, the website that became an essential tool alongside others like Twitter in galvanising the masses on to the streets.

The once-feared interior ministry in Tunisia, where protesters ousted their own leader a month before Mubarak stepped down, has had the same idea. [ID:nAMA639171]
The Egyptian army site has drawn more than 98,000 supporters -- and rising. Among them were those who demonstrated in Tahrir Square. Some thanked the military, others called for a purge of old ministers and others urged the army to deliver on reform.
The council's site addressed its audience as the "sons of Egypt and the noble youths who ignited the Jan. 25 revolution".

The council's statement says it launched the page "in the belief that fruitful cooperation in the period ahead with the noble sons of Egypt will lead to stability, security and safety for our beloved Egypt".

In the early days of the revolt, the authorities shut down the nation's Internet system, stunning the world with such a brazen act of censorship. Mobile lines were cut too.
But youths still found the means to keep the protest momentum going, as the numbers of those turning out of the street surged from the thousands to hundreds of thousands.

On Friday, to mark the revolt, millions flooded Egypt's cities.
Ahmed N. Ibrahim, posting his comment on the council's page, wrote simply: "This is an admirable initiative. More and more reassuring."
Reflecting the anger many have towards Mubarak and his allies who they accuse of stealing Egypt's wealth, Maha Anwar Mostafa urged the council "to pursue the money of all the Mubarak family ... and freeze the foreign assets."

Others appealed to the army to remove old faces from a cabinet mainly made up of ministers appointed before Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11.

"I salute the Egyptian army and ask how there can be ministers from the old regime, not to mention Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq," who was also the former civil aviation minister, Mohamed Adel wrote.

Ahmed Abouraia thanked the army but listed demands, including a call that it "continue to protect the revolution until all the demands are realised."

The Arabic-language Facebook page can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/Egyptian.Armed.Forces#!/Egyptian.Armed.Forces

Egypt-inspired protests gain pace across region, Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:

* Clashes reported in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Iran

   * Obama says Mideast rulers must "get out ahead of change"

   * Rulers mix economic, political concessions with repression

    (updates throughout, adds death in Yemen para 10)

    By Paul Taylor

    Feb 16 (Reuters) - Anti-government protests inspired by

popular revolts that toppled rulers in Tunisia and Egypt are

gaining pace around the Middle East and North Africa despite

political and economic concessions by nervous governments.

    Clashes were reported in tightly controlled oil producer

Libya, sandwiched between Egypt and Tunisia, while new protests

erupted in Bahrain, Yemen and Iran on Wednesday.

    The latest demonstrations against long-serving rulers came

after U.S. President Barack Obama, commenting on the overthrow

of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, declared: "The world is

changing...if you are governing these countries, you've got to

get out ahead of change, you can't be behind the curve."

[ID:nN15125693]

    With young people able to watch pro-democracy uprisings in

other countries on satellite television or the Internet, and to

communicate with like-minded activists on social networks hard

for the secret police to control, governments across the region

have grounds to fear contagion.

    Hundreds of opponents of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in

power since 1969, clashed with police and government supporters

in the eastern city of Benghazi overnight, a witness and local

media said. [ID:nLDE71F07J]

    Reports from the port city, 1,000 km (600 miles) east of the

capital Tripoli, said protesters armed with stones and petrol

bombs set fire to vehicles and fought with police in a rare

outbreak of unrest in the oil-exporting country.

    The riot in Libya's second city was sparked by the arrest of

human rights activist Fethi Tarbel, who has worked to free

political prisoners, Quryna newspaper said.

    Gaddafi's opponents used the Facebook social network to call

for protests across Libya on Thursday. 

    In a possible concession to the protesters, Libya will free

110 members of the banned militant organisation the Libyan

Islamic Fighting Group from Tripoli's notorious Abu Salim prison

on Wednesday, another human rights activist said.

   

    POLITICAL, ECONOMIC CONCESSIONS

    In Yemen, a 21-year old protester died from gunshot wounds

after fierce clashes broke out between police and demonstrators

in the southern port town of Aden, his father said, as unrest

spread across the Arabian Peninsula state.

    Mohammed Ali Alwani was among two people hit as police fired

shots into the air to try to break up around 500 protesters.

    In the Yemeni capital Sanaa at least 800 anti-government

protesters marched against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a U.S.

ally in the fight against al Qaeda. [ID:nLDE71F0N3]

    In power for more than 30 years, Saleh has pledged to step

down when his term expires in 2013 and offered dialogue with the

opposition, but radical protesters are demanding he go now.

    In Bahrain, protesters poured into the capital of the Gulf

island kingdom, Manama, for a third successive day to mourn a

demonstrator killed in clashes with security forces on Tuesday.

[ID:nLDE71F002]

    The emirate has a history of protest over economic hardship,

the lack of political freedom and sectarian discrimination by

the Sunni rulers against the Shi'ite majority.

    Some 2,000 protesters demanding a change of government were

encamped at a major road junction in Manama, seeking to emulate

rallies on Cairo's Tahrir Square that toppled Mubarak.

    In Iran, supporters and opponents of the hardline Islamic

system clashed in Tehran during a funeral procession for a

student shot at an anti-government rally two days ago, state

broadcaster IRIB reported. [ID:nLDE71F0KK]

    Both sides claimed Sanee Zhaleh was a martyr to their cause

and blamed the other for his death.

    Monday's rallies in Tehran and several other Iranian cities

were the first staged by the Green pro-democracy movement since

security forces crushed huge protests in the months after

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 re-election.

    Rulers in several countries, drawing lessons from events in

Tunisia and Egypt, have announced political changes and moved to

cut prices of basic foodstuffs and raise spending on job

creation in efforts to pre-empt spreading unrest.

    

    SOCIAL NEEDS

    Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika promised to lift a

19-year-old state of emergency soon and has acted to reduce the

cost of staple foods in the North African oil and gas exporter.

    Authorities deployed an estimated 30,000 police in Algiers

on Saturday to prevent a banned pro-democracy march. Several

hundred protesters defied the ban and dozens were detained.

    A coalition of civil society and human rights groups and an

opposition party vowed afterwards to demonstrate every Saturday

until the military-backed government is removed. [ID:nLDE7130EC]

    Morocco, where the main banned Islamist opposition movement

warned last week that "autocracy" would be swept away unless

there were deep democratic reforms, announced on Tuesday it

would almost double state subsidies to counter an increase in

commodity prices and address social needs. [ID:nLDE71E1FZ]

    Syria, controlled by the Baath Party for the last 50 years,

released a veteran Islamist activist on Tuesday after he went on

hunger strike following his arrest 11 days ago for calling for

Egyptian-style mass protests, human rights activists said.

[ID:ID:nLDE71E2HW]

    Jordan's King Abdullah has sacked his prime minister and

appointed a new government led by a former general who promised

to widen public freedom in response to anti-government protests.

[ID:nLDE718247]

    Countries with oil and gas wealth such as Saudi Arabia and

Algeria appear better placed than poorer countries like Egypt

and Tunisia to buy social peace.

   (Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Savages rape CBS correspondent Lara Logan on Friday, Feb 11, Posted by Meosha Eaton

On Friday February 11, the day Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a "60 Minutes" story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.

In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal attack and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering.

This is truly disgusting and devastating when you do something like this to an innocent woman or ANY woman in such a pivotal time in their country's history. We send our best to Ms. Lara Logan, she is in everyone's prayers for a successful recovery.

Al Arabiya TV says Mubarak, family leave Cairo, Posted by Meosha Eaton

(Adds Al Arabiya saying confirms travels to Sharm el-Sheikh)

CAIRO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Al Arabiya television reported on Friday that President Hosni Mubarak and his family had left Cairo from a military airbase in the suburbs and had travelled to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

It did not give a source for the series of reports on the movement of the president and his family. Al Arabiya said it had confirmed the arrival of the president and his family in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The news comes as protesters moved overnight to the Ittihadiya presidential palace in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis for the first time since protests started in Jan. 25.
The protesters gathered up against a barbed wire cordon around the palace, about 50 metres (yards) from the palace walls at its closest point.

Tanks and soldiers of the elite Republican Guard, responsible for the president's security, surrounded the palace, a Reuters witness said.
"The Republican Guard are protecting the presidential palaces," an armed forces source told Reuters.

A senior military source contacted by Reuters declined to comment on the report that Mubarak had left Cairo. Al Arabiya had initially reported Mubarak and his family had left Egypt.

The president often spends time in Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular tourist destination on the Red Sea, and receives guests there.

(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul, Marwa Awad and Jonathan Wright; Editing by Alison Williams)