Ireland expels Russian diplomat over spy passports

By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press

DUBLIN – Ireland ordered a Russian diplomat to be expelled Tuesday, after an investigation concluded that the country's intelligence service used stolen Irish identities as cover for spies operating in the United States.

Ireland opened the investigation six months ago after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation smashed a Russian spy ring involving 11 men and women posing as American civilians, including 28-year-old Anna Chapman — who has since traded on her intelligence career to become an international tabloid star.

Several of the spies were found to have used Irish passports as part of their travels to and from Russia and other countries.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin announced that police have concluded that Russian agents stole the personal details of six real Irish citizens and used them to counterfeit Irish passports.

The U.S. expelled 10 spies to Russia in July in exchange for four people convicted in Russia of spying for the West.

Most of the Russian spies had been living in the U.S. since the 1990s and had instructions to work their way into influential business and political circles, but they largely failed in that mission. Their fabricated identities included surnames common in Ireland, including Murphy and Foley.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said a senior Irish official had issued a face-to-face reprimand Tuesday to Russia's ambassador to Ireland, Vladimir Rakhmanin.

In a statement it said the ambassador was told "that the activities of Russian intelligence services in connection with the forgery of Irish passports and the effective theft of the identity of six Irish citizens are completely unacceptable and not the behavior the (Irish) government would expect from a country with which we have friendly relations."

It declined to identify the Russian embassy official being expelled as punishment, or to specify whether the official was directly linked to the theft or counterfeiting efforts.

"It is regrettable that this action has been necessary. However, the primary responsibility of the government is to ensure the security and well being of Irish citizens, which includes protection of the integrity of Irish passports," the statement said.

South Korea's Lee open to summit with Kim Jong Il

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press – Tue Feb 1

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's president pressed North Korea on Tuesday to change its pattern of provocations and take responsibility for two deadly attacks last year, saying that could lead to a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

President Lee Myung-bak's appeal came as the rival Koreas are to hold a preliminary meeting next week to lay the groundwork for high-level defense talks — the first in more than three years — to ease months of hostility on the Korean peninsula that have raised fears of war.

Lee said the North must use the talks as a chance to show it is serious about improving ties with the outside world and changing its pattern of raising regional tensions with provocations and then seeking negotiations to wrest badly needed aid.

"North Korea has a good opportunity to change" its behavior, Lee said during a panel discussion televised live. "I have high hopes for a change."

Asked whether a summit with North Korea's leader Kim was possible if the North demonstrates sincerity and that leads to bilateral and multilateral talks with North Korea, Lee said; "Yes. I don't deny it. I'd hold a summit if necessary."

Tensions on the peninsula sharply rose after the North's artillery barrage killed four people on a front-line South Korean island in November. The bombardment came eight months after the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on Pyongyang. The North has denied its involvement in the sinking, which killed 46 South Korean sailors.

Before last year's attacks, the two Koreas reportedly pushed for a summit but failed to agree due to differences over the impoverished North's demand for food aid. Lee has said in the past that he was willing, in principle, to meet Kim at any time if that would help foster peace on the Korean peninsula, which has remained in a technical state of war since the three-year Korean War ended in a truce in 1953.

The leaders of the two Koreas held their first-ever summit in 2000, with then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung traveling to Pyongyang to meet with Kim Jong Il. The second summit was held in 2007 between then-President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim.

The North has pushed recently for talks with South Korea and the resumption of six-nation negotiations over its nuclear weapons program.

Last week, South Korea agreed to defense talks in what would be the rivals' first official contact since the November artillery barrage — the North's first attack on a civilian-area since the Korean War. Working-level officials of the Koreas are to meet at the border village of Panmunjom next Tuesday to discuss the agendas, a date and other details for the defense talks, Seoul's Defense Ministry said.

Lee said North Korea must change its pattern of behavior if it wants to improve ties with the South or see the resumption of nuclear-disarmament-for-aid negotiations.

"When (North Korea) has a position that it really intends to have genuine talks rather than armed provocation, we can have South-North Korea talks and economic exchanges, and discuss the six-party talks," Lee said.

___

Associated Press writer Haeran Hyun contributed to this report.

Jordan's king fires Cabinet amid protests

By JAMAL HALABY, Associated Press

AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's King Abdullah II, bowing to public pressure, fired his government on Tuesday and tasked a new prime minister with quickly boosting economic opportunities and giving Jordanians a greater say in politics.

The country's powerful Muslim opposition, which had demanded the dismissal of Prime Minister Samir Rifai in several nationwide protests inspired by those in Tunisia and Egypt, said the changes didn't go far enough.

Rifai, 45, who has been widely blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slow-moving political reforms, tendered his resignation early Tuesday to the king, who accepted it immediately, a Royal Palace statement said.

Abdullah named Marouf al-Bakhit, 63, as Rifai's replacement. Al-Bakhit, an ex-general who supports strong ties with the U.S. and Jordan's peace treaty with Israel, previously served as prime minister from 2005-2007.

Abdullah ordered al-Bakhit to "undertake quick and tangible steps for real political reforms, which reflect our vision for comprehensive modernization and development in Jordan."

"Economic reform is a necessity to provide a better life for our people," the king said in the statement. "But we won't be able to attain that without real political reforms, which must increase popular participation in the decision-making."

Abdullah also demanded an "immediate revision of laws governing politics and public freedoms," including legislation governing political parties, public meetings and elections.

Jordan's most powerful opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, dismissed the changes as cosmetic.

"We reject the new prime minister and we will continue our protests until our demands are met," said Hamza Mansour, leader of the Islamic Action Front, the Brotherhood's political arm.

Mansour repeated his call for constitutional amendments to curb the king's power in naming prime ministers, arguing that the post should go to the elected leader of the parliamentary majority.

Jordan's constitution gives the king the exclusive powers to appoint prime ministers, dismiss parliament and rule by decree.

"Unlike Egypt, we don't want a regime change in Jordan and we recognize the Hashemites' rule in Jordan," he said, referring to Jordan's ruling family. "But we want to see real political reforms introduced."

When he ascended to the throne in 1999, King Abdullah vowed to press ahead with political reforms initiated by his late father, King Hussein. Those reforms paved the way for the first parliamentary election in 1989 after a 22-year gap, the revival of a multiparty system and the suspension of martial law, which had been in effect since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

But little has been done since then. Although laws were enacted to ensure greater press freedom, journalists are still routinely prosecuted for expressing their opinion or for comments considered slanderous of the king and the royal family.

Some gains been made in women's rights, but many say they have not gone far enough. Abdullah has pressed for stiffer penalties for perpetrators of "honor killings," but courts often hand down lenient sentences.

Still, Jordan's human rights record is generally considered a notch above that of Tunisia and Egypt. Although some critics of the king are prosecuted, they frequently are pardoned and some are even rewarded with government posts.

It was not immediately clear when al-Bakhit will name his Cabinet.

A government official said al-Bakhit was consulting with lawmakers, opposition groups, unionists and civil society institutions on the makeup of his Cabinet.

The official, who is involved in the consultations, said al-Bakhit may name some opposition leaders in the new government. He declined to say whether al-Bakhit may approach the Muslim Brotherhood and insisted on anonymity because he is not allowed to brief the media.

Al-Bakhit is a moderate politician, who served as Jordan's ambassador to Israel earlier this decade.

Like Abdullah, he supports close ties with Israel under a peace treaty signed in 1994 and strong relations with the United States, Jordan's largest aid donor and longtime ally.

In 2005, Abdullah named al-Bakhit as his prime minister days after a triple bombing on Amman hotels claimed by the al-Qaida in Iraq leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

During his 2005-2007 tenure, al-Bakhit — an ex-army major general and top intelligence adviser — was credited with maintaining security and stability following the attack, which killed 60 people and labeled as the worst in Jordan's modern history.

Jubilant crowds flood Cairo, escalating protests

By SARAH EL DEEB and HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press

CAIRO – More than a quarter-million people flooded Cairo's main square Tuesday in a stunning and jubilant array of young and old, urban poor and middle class professionals, mounting by far the largest protest yet in a week of unrelenting demands for President Hosni Mubarak to leave after nearly 30 years in power.

The crowds — determined but peaceful — filled Tahrir, or Liberation, Square and spilled into nearby streets, among them people defying a government transportation shutdown to make their way from rural provinces. Protesters jammed in shoulder-to-shoulder, with schoolteachers, farmers, unemployed university graduates, women in conservative headscarves and women in high heels, men in suits and working-class men in scuffed shoes.

They sang nationalist songs, danced, beat drums and chanted the anti-Mubarak slogan "Leave! Leave! Leave!" as military helicopters buzzed overhead. Organizers said the aim was to intensify marches to get the president out of power by Friday, and similar demonstrations erupted in at least five other cities around Egypt.

Soldiers at checkpoints set up the entrances of the square did nothing to stop the crowds from entering.

The military promised on state TV Monday night that it would not fire on protesters answering a call for a million to demonstrate, a sign that army support for Mubarak may be unraveling as momentum builds for an extraordinary eruption of discontent and demands for democracy in the United States' most important Arab ally.

"This is the end for him. It's time," said Musab Galal, a 23-year-old unemployed university graduate who came by minibus with his friends from the Nile Delta city of Menoufiya.

Mubarak, 82, would be the second Arab leader pushed from office by a popular uprising in the history of the modern Middle East, following the ouster last month of Tunisia's president.

The movement to drive Mubarak out has been built on the work of on-line activists and fueled by deep frustration with an autocratic regime blamed for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant. After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by the Tunisia unrest took to the streets on Jan. 25 and mounted a once-unimaginable series of protests across this nation of 80 million people — the region's most populous country.

The repercussions were being felt around the Mideast, as other authoritarian governments fearing popular discontent pre-emptively tried to burnish their democratic image.

Jordan's King Abdullah II fired his government Tuesday in the face of smaller street protests, named an ex-prime minister to form a new Cabinet and ordered him to launch political reforms. The Palestinian Cabinet in West Bank said it would hold long-promised municipal elections "as soon as possible."

With Mubarak's hold on power in Egypt weakening, the world was forced to plan for the end of a regime that has maintained three decades of peace with Israel and a bulwark against Islamic militants. But under the stability was a barely hidden crumbling of society, mounting criticism of the regime's human rights record and a widening gap between rich and poor, with 40 percent of the population living under or just above the poverty line set by the World Bank at $2 a day.

The chairman of the powerful U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. John Kerry, gave public voice to what senior U.S. officials have said only privately in recent days: that Mubarak should "step aside gracefully to make way for a new political structure."

The U.S. ambassador in Cairo, Margaret Scobey, spoke by telephone Tuesday with prominent democracy advocate Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, the embassy said. ElBaradei has taken a key role with other opposition groups in formulating the movement's demands for Mubarak to step down and allow a transitional government paving the way for free elections. There was no immediate word on what Scobey and ElBaradei discussed.

In an interview with Al-Arabiya television, ElBaradei rejected an offer late Monday by Vice President Omar Suleiman for a dialogue on enacting constitutional reforms. He said there could be no negotiations until Mubarak leave.

Suleiman's offer and other gestures by the regime have fallen flat. The Obama administration roundly rejected Mubarak's appointment of a new government Monday afternoon that dropped his interior minister, who heads police forces and has been widely denounced by the protesters. State TV on Tuesday ran a statement by the new prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, pleading with the public to "give a chance" to his government.

The United States, meanwhile, ordered non-essential U.S. government personnel and their families to leave Egypt in an indication of the deepening concern over the situation.

They join a wave of people rushing to flee the country — over 18,000 overwhelmed Cairo's international airport and threw it into chaos. EgyptAir staff scuffled with frantic passengers, food supplies were dwindling and some policemen even demanded substantial bribes before allowing foreigners to board their planes.

Normally bustling, Cairo's streets outside Tahrir Square had a fraction of their normal weekday traffic. Banks, schools and the stock market in Cairo were closed for the third working day, making cash tight. Bread prices spiraled. An unprecedented shutdown of the Internet was in its fifth day.

The official death toll from the crisis stood at 97, with thousands injured, thought reports from witnesses across the country indicated the actual toll was far higher.

But perhaps most startling was how peaceful protests have been in recent days, after the military replaced the police in keeping control and took a policy of letting the demonstrations continue.

Egypt's army leadership has reassured the U.S. that the military does not intend to crack down on demonstrators, but instead is allowing the protesters to "wear themselves out," according to a former U.S. official in contact with several top Egyptian army officers. The Egyptians use a colloquial saying to describe their strategy: A boiling pot with a tight lid will blow up the kitchen, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Troops and Soviet-era and newer U.S.-made Abrams tanks stood at roads leading into Tahrir Square, a plaza overlooked by the headquarters of the Arab League, the campus of the American University in Cairo, the famed Egyptian Museum and the Mugammma, an enormous building housing departments of the notoriously corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy.

Protester volunteers wearing tags reading "the People's Security" circulated through the crowds in the square, saying they were watching for government infiltrators who might try to instigate violence.

"We will throw out anyone who tries to create trouble," one announced over a loudspeaker. Other volunteers joined the soldiers at the checkpoints, searching bags of those entering for weapons. Organizers said the protest would remain in the square and not attempt to march to avoid frictions with the military.

Two dummies representing Mubarak dangled from traffic lights. On their chests was written: "We want to put the murderous president on trial." Their faces were scrawled with the Star of David, an allusion to many protesters' feeling that Mubarak is a friend of Israel, still seen by most Egyptians as their country's archenemy more than 30 years after the two nations signed a peace treaty.

Every protester had their own story of why they came — with a shared theme of frustration with a life pinned in by corruption, low wages, crushed opportunities and abuse by authorities.

Sahar Ahmad, a 41-year-old school teacher and mother of one, said she has taught for 22 years and still only makes about $70 a month.

"There are 120 students in my classroom. That's more than any teacher can handle," said Ahmad. "Change would mean a better education system I can teach in and one that guarantees my students a good life after school. If there is democracy in my country, then I can ask for democracy in my own home."

Tamer Adly, a driver of one of the thousands of minibuses that ferry commuters around Cairo, said he was sick of the daily humiliation he felt from police who demand free rides and send him on petty errands, reflecting the widespread public anger at police high-handedness.

"They would force me to share my breakfast with them ... force me to go fetch them a newspaper. This country should not just be about one person," the 30-year-old lamented, referring to Mubarak.

Among the older protesters, there was also a sense of amazement after three decades of unquestioned control by Mubarak's security forces over the streets.

"We could never say no to Mubarak when we were young, but our young people today proved that they can say no, and I'm here to support them," said Yusra Mahmoud, a 46-year-old school principal who said she had been sleeping in the square alongside other protesters for the past two nights.

Authorities shut down all roads and public transportation to Cairo and in and out of other main cities, security officials said. Train services nationwide were suspended for a second day and all bus services between cities were halted.

Still, many from the provinces managed to make it to the square. Hamada Massoud, a 32-year-old a lawyer, said he and 50 others came in cars and minibuses from the impoverished province of Beni Sweif south of Cairo.

"Cairo today is all of Egypt," he said. "I want my son to have a better life and not suffer as much as I did ... I want to feel like I chose my president."

Tens of thousands rallied in the cities of Alexandria, Suez and Mansoura, north of Cairo, as well as in the southern province of Assiut and Luxor, the southern city where some 5,000 people protested outside an ancient Egyptian temple.

The various protesters have little in common beyond the demand that Mubarak go.

A range of movements is involved, with sometimes conflicting agendas — including students, online activists, grass-roots organizers, old-school opposition politicians and the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood.

Perhaps the most significant tensions among them are between young secular activists and the Muslim Brotherhood, which wants to form a state governed by Islamic law. The more secular are deeply suspicious the Brotherhood aims to co-opt what they contend is a spontaneous, popular movement. American officials have suggested they have similar fears.

A second day of talks among opposition groups fell apart after many of the youth groups boycotted the meeting over charges that some of the traditional, government-condoned opposition parties have agreed to start a dialogue with Suleiman.

___

AP correspondents Maggie Michael, Maggie Hyde and Lee Keath in Cairo and Kimberly Dozier in Washington contributed to this report.

Afghan police look for 15 female Chechen militants

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Kunduz, Afghanistan - Police in the northern Afghanistan province of Kunduz are searching for up to 15 Chechen women, who have been assisting Taliban insurgents in the region, officials said Monday, confirming for the first time the presence of foreign female militants.

Information regarding the presence of foreign female militants emerged last week after Afghan forces recaptured Dashti Archi district, the Taliban's last redoubt in the province, provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili said.

"Some of these women are working as nurses to treat injured Taliban fighters, while others are experts in making roadside bombs and suicide vests," he said.

Former Taliban fighters have confirmed the presence of female militants, Sayedkhili said.

Around 300 Taliban have surrendered in the province in the past two months after Afghan forces backed by German and US troops began a massive operation.

Prior to the offensive, Kunduz was the main hub for the Taliban insurgency in the otherwise relatively peaceful northern region.

Mullah Jamalluddin, one of the former Taliban commanders, confirmed the presence of Chechen women in an interview with Kunduz's government-run television.

The former militant leader, who commanded around 30 fighters and worked closely with foreign militants, said that some of the Chechen women had married Afghan Taliban fighters.

The militants have carried out dozens of roadside bombings and suicide attacks in Kunduz in recent months.

Provincial authorities have repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the presence of fighters of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and al-Qaeda, but for the first time confirmed the presence of female militants.

"We have information that these women are here, but we don't know their exact whereabouts," Sheikh Sadruddin, district governor of Dashti Archi, said. "Police forces are searching the area for them and their Taliban partners."

Meanwhile, police have also rescued two Afghan men who were accused of spying for Afghan and NATO forces in Dashti Archi district, Sayedkhili said. The men had been sentenced to death by the militants.

The militants publicly executed a man and a woman after a Taliban court accused them of adultery in August. The couple was stoned to death by hundreds of people in Mullah Quli village of Dashti Archi.

The government recently launched an investigation after footage of the execution emerged.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365109,15-female-chechen-militants.html.

EU cracks down on Belarus leaders, supports society - Summary

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Brussels - European Union foreign ministers decided to crack down on Belarus' leaders and offer more support to the opposition and civil society as they met in Brussels on Monday.

In recent years, the EU has offered the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko a cautious rapprochement, suspending a raft of sanctions in the hope of encouraging more democratic behavior. But that attitude lost favor in December after the regime cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

"In view of these recent events and developments, the Council (of EU member states) has decided to impose travel restrictions and an asset freeze against persons responsible for the fraudulent presidential elections ... and the subsequent violent crackdown on democratic opposition," ministers said in a joint statement.

Ministers also decided to revive the suspended visa bans and asset freezes on over 100 regime figures, including Lukashenko himself, the statement read.

Diplomats would not say whose names would be added to the list in the new round of sanctions, saying that that would be made public in the EU's official journal. But reports suggested that Lukashenko's sons would be among the new targets.

"The release and rehabilitation of all people detained on political grounds would be an essential element" to any future decision to lift the sanctions, the statement read.

A number of ministers at the meeting, especially those from countries closest to Belarus, had insisted that the sanctions be matched with moves to make life easier for the Belorussian opposition and non-governmental organizations.

"We should adopt and pass strict measures on official people, and ... we should take the political decision on the fast opening of the European borders to Belorussian civil society," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis said as he arrived at the meeting.

Lithuania and Poland have already made it easier for Belorussian citizens to obtain visas to their countries, but it would take the agreement of the whole bloc to grant them easier access to the Schengen zone, which covers most of the EU.

That is a sensitive issue, as recent moves to extend visa freedom to Albania and Bosnia led to EU states complaining of a surge in asylum applications from those countries.

"If we take just restrictive measures on officials it's quite easy, but to go through all the bureaucracy of the EU to open (the borders) is a much bigger challenge," Azubalis acknowledged.

EU ministers decided to compromise on that issue, agreeing that each member state should start by looking at ways to ease Belorussians' access to national visas, and look towards EU-wide visa facilitation in the longer term.

Meanwhile, the bloc is also "working on measures to provide urgent support to those repressed and detained on political grounds and their families, as well as support to civil society," ministers said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365197,supports-society-summary.html.

At least 17 civilians killed by anti-aircraft gun in Somalia

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Mogadishu - At least 17 civilians were killed and 56 injured in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday when a soldier fired an anti-aircraft gun into a crowd, witnesses and officials said.

Soldiers had killed a plainclothes policeman, triggering a tense standoff as his heavily armed colleagues came to confront the troops. A soldier then triggered the anti-aircraft gun mounted atop a truck, although it was not clear if it was accidental or intentional.

Witness Soleman Abdirahshid told the German Press Agency dpa that dozens of people were cut to pieces as high-caliber bullets ripped through the crowd.

"Everyone was terrified because all you could see were dead bodies littered around," he said.

"Five people died while receiving treatment, while 12 others were dead-on-arrival," Mohamed Yusuf Hassan, director of Medina Hospital, told dpa. "Fifty-six people, most of them seriously injured, were admitted."

Abdihakin Mohamed Fiqi, Somalia's Defense Minister, visited the wounded and promised an investigation.

"We are very sorry for what happened, but we should bring to justice those responsible for the incident," he said.

Somalia's ineffectual government is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives over the last few years.

The mandate of the Transitional Federal Government, which only controls around half of Mogadishu with the support of African Union peacekeepers, runs out later this year with nothing to show for its efforts.

Regional body the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), meeting on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, said it had agreed the government's mandate should be extended, although the AU criticized the TFG for performing badly.

"This non-performance, if you may, has impacted negatively on perceptions of its legitimacy and credibility," African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping told the IGAD meeting.

Somalia has been engulfed in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365203,killed-anti-aircraft-gun-somalia.html.

Merkel echoes Israel's fears on Egypt stability

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Jerusalem - Visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed Israeli fears over the stability of the Middle East on Monday as unrest swept Egypt.

But she also urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt construction of Jewish housing in Palestinian areas.

The German chancellor is in Israel for two days of meetings, along with much of her cabinet.

"We know of course that Egypt has played a very positive role for Israel in particular in the many efforts to establish peace, as well as a stabilizing role," she said.

Merkel insisted that Germany supported democratic rights and implicitly criticized embattled Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak for not going far enough in his offer of dialogue. She said that it was crucial for him to act wisely in the coming days.

Netanyahu referred after his meeting with Merkel of the "dramatic events" in neighboring Egypt and said he was concerned Islamists would take over.

"In a situation where chaos rules, there could be an Islamist factor that seizes power," he said.

"We don't want to revert to the bad old days," he said in reference to the period before Egypt and Israel made peace in 1979.

Netanyahu appeared to imply that the current popular protests in Arab nations made it more difficult to achieve peace terms with the Palestinians.

"Peace has to be anchored in stability," he said. "A piece of paper does not guarantee peace."

Merkel disagreed in the joint remarks to reporters, stressing the importance of driving forward the Middle East peace process, even in the current climate.

"Deadlock is no viable basis, and deadlock is unacceptable, in this situation more so than ever. For me, and I made this clear today, deadlock is also illusory," the chancellor said.

Merkel rebuked Israel over housing construction in the West Bank and referred to the international community's "roadmap" for the peace process.

"From our point of view, settlement building is not in conformity with the commitments made in the roadmap - and we spoke about that too."

The chancellor had arrived earlier in the day with key ministers for a round of meetings with Israeli counterparts on cooperation in science and development aid and stepping up youth exchanges.

While the German ministers were set to head home afterward, Merkel was to stay over for a second day of meetings with Israeli officials.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365204,israels-fears-egypt-stability.html.

EU foreign ministers push for fair elections in Egypt - Summary

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Brussels - European Union foreign ministers advised Egypt on Monday to restore calm and assure that free and fair elections are held soon, calling on embattled President Hosny Mubarak to share power with the opposition in the meantime.

The EU has been taken by surprise by the wave of unrest sweeping from Tunisia across the Arab world. The pre-arranged monthly meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers came as the bloc was grappling to find an answer.

"The Council (of EU member states) urges the Egyptian authorities to embark on an orderly transition through a broad-based government leading to a genuine process of substantial democratic reform ... paving the way for free and fair elections," ministers said in a joint statement.

That transition should begin with talks between the government and its opponents, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.

"There needs to be a peaceful way forward based on an open and serious dialogue with the opposition parties and all parts of civil society, and we believe it needs to happen now," she said.

The meeting had been set to discuss a range of flashpoints, with Tunisia, Belarus and Ivory Coast all on the agenda. But Egypt dominated proceedings, with ministers united in calling for fair elections to be held at an early date.

"What we are supporting is the democratic process and letting the people decide for themselves. It means free elections and elections where people can express their will freely," said Markos Kyprianou, foreign minister of Cyprus, as he arrived at the meeting.

"What is critical is the election that will be held this year in Egypt, that it is done in a free and fair way and creates legitimacy in the government," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt agreed.

A number of ministers said that the EU should have paid more attention to the wishes and frustrations of citizens in North Africa.

"We have forgotten that there are people who want democracy and the right to share in decision-making living there," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn criticized.

The joint statement echoed that theme, saying that the EU "recognizes the legitimate democratic aspirations and grievances of the Egyptian population. These should be listened to carefully and addressed through urgent, concrete and decisive measures."

But at the same time, ministers were careful not to call for the resignation of embattled President Hosny Mubarak - a man whom the EU has long seen as a force for stability and moderation in the region.

"We should promote a normal democratic way without adopting a choice of who is better, who is not. It is not up to us, it is up to the Egyptians," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.

According to diplomats, a number of ministers at the meeting raised the fear that a free election could bring to power the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, seen in EU circles as a radical force.

"It is important to prevent any process of radicalization. We don't want radical free-riders to be able to profit from such a demonstration of freedom," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said as he arrived at the meeting.

In an echo of those concerns, the statement said that the EU "reiterates its support for a democratic, pluralist and stable Egypt ... sharing the goal of building stability, peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean and the Middle East region."

But Frattini played down those fears.

"When I talk about a democratic way, I think radicalism is not a democratic way. I am sure that Egyptians will be in the condition to choose democracy and civil rights, not extremism, not radicalism," he said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365205,elections-egypt-summary.html.

Israel allows first Egyptian troops into Sinai since 1979 - Summary

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Jerusalem - Israel has allowed Egyptian troops into the Sinai Peninsula for the first time since 1979, Israeli radio reported Monday, while the Israeli president warned of the possibility of the radical Islamist opposition rising to power in Egypt.

A high-ranking member of the government had confirmed that at Egypt's request hundreds of troops had been allowed on to the peninsula because of ongoing protests in the country.

Since the 1979 peace agreement between the two countries, Egypt had only been allowed to station police forces there.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not confirm or deny the report.

"In all the last decades Egypt has respected the peace agreement and has not breached it," he said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Jerusalem. "It hasn't breached in the last few days either," he added.

Meanwhile, President Shimon Peres told a reception at his Jerusalem residence for newly appointed ambassadors that a fanatic religious regime in Egypt would not be better than a lack of democracy.

"We always had and still have great respect for President Mubarak," he said.

"We don't say that everything he did is right but he did one thing for which we are thankful to him: he kept the peace in the Middle East," Peres added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his government not to comment on the developments in Egypt.

But in Israel, the president, whose duties are largely ceremonial, does not answer to the government.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365206,sinai-1979-summary.html.

Anti-government activists start to organize in Syria, Sudan

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Cairo - Activists looking for democratic reforms in Syria and Sudan have begun to organize on Facebook and other social media outlets.

A Facebook group of Syrians, completely in the Arabic language, managed to get over 6,000 members in just two days, under the title "Syrian Revolution against (President) Bashar al-Assad."

The group's manifesto calls for citizens to protest on February 4 and says they should "no longer keep silent about injustices." The drafters say they drew inspiration from events in Egypt and Tunisia.

Meanwhile, in Sudan, a student has died from wounds sustained when he was beaten by police during violent anti-government demonstrations in Khartoum, calling for reforms in the country.

Those protests were also organized online under the name the January 30th Group, and gathered 17,000 members on Facebook.

A smaller group in impoverished Yemen also formed on the social media website.

Egypt has cut off all internet in the country since Friday, in an effort to contain growing unrest.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365207,start-organise-syria-sudan.html.

US prepares for fresh winter storm chaos

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Washington - The United States was gearing up Monday for more snow and ice chaos as a massive storm system stretching from the western Rocky Mountains to north-eastern New England prepared to strike.

About 100 million people could be affected, though weather forecasters predict the Mid West will bear the brunt of the storm. About half a meter of snow could fall within just a few hours Tuesday on Chicago, Illinois, bringing the metropolis to a standstill.

A mixture of snow, sleet and ice was to begin falling Monday night and is expected to last for three days, with winds of up to 65 kilometers per hour and the peak only coming on Wednesday. The wintry weather could stretch as far south as Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas.

The onslaught comes just one week after the North East was hit by snowfall that left hundreds of thousands in Washington without power and caused major travel disruptions. But the region was likely to see less snow from this weather system than past storms this winter.

"A storm of this size and scope needs to be taken seriously," said Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government body overseeing natural disasters.

"It's critical that the public does its part to get ready. Already this winter we have seen how snow and ice can knock out power and affect transportation," Fugate said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365211,fresh-winter-storm-chaos.html.

US joins EU in slapping new sanctions on Belarus

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Washington - The United States on Monday announced new travel and financial sanctions on Belorussian officials believed to have participated in the violent crackdown on dissidents during last year's presidential election.

The US State Department said the list of Belorussian officials barred from traveling to the United States will be "significantly" expanded. Those individuals will also be subject to unspecified financial restrictions.

At the same time, the US government would also revoke a ruling that temporarily allowed US citizens to engage in business with two subsidiaries controlled by Belneftekhim, Belarus's largest state- owned petroleum and chemical conglomerate, the State Department said.

The European Union also announced similar measures on Monday.

The US and EU have been closely coordinating their response to the crackdown on and jailing of dissidents, journalists and other groups during the December re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, often described as "Europe's last dictator."

The US and EU have demanded the release of all of those jailed during the demonstrations surrounding the December 19 election.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365212,slapping-new-sanctions-belarus.html.

Foreigners being flown out of Egypt

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Cairo - Increasing numbers of foreigners left Egypt on Monday as the United States, Germany, India and other countries chartered planes to evacuate their citizens.

The US was relocating citizens to "safe havens" in Europe, including Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters in Washington about 1,200 citizens were flown out on Monday with additional flights planned for Tuesday.

People with severe medical conditions are to be granted priority access to the flights, which passengers will be billed for at a later date. Around 90,000 US citizens are estimated to live in Egypt.

Cypriot officials said more than 19 chartered flights evacuating Canadian, American, German, Dutch, Chinese and British citizens were expected to arrive on the eastern Mediterranean island in the afternoon.

Greece also said it had military transport planes on standby to get its citizens out of the country.

Two flights from Cairo arrived in Frankfurt after the German embassy arranged transport for around 140 diplomatic staff and other citizens living in the city.

Energy giant RWE also chartered a flight for around 90 employees and their families based at the company's Egyptian operations. RWE- chief Juergen Grossmann said the situation had "taken us all by surprise."

The head of the German school in the port city of Alexandria hoped the 20-odd German staff would be able to leave the country soon, and said the city's police force had been entirely replaced by militia.

"We keep experiencing that people are being beaten up or dragged away and even being killed with knives and sabers," said school director Hubert Mueller.

Greece announced plans to fly two C-130 military transport aircraft to evacuate citizens from Alexandria, but had to wait for permission to land in Egypt.

"The planes are ready to take off. We are in contact with the local authorities. But we can only fly once the landing is secured in Alexandria," said a Foreign Ministry spokesman. The hardest part was arranging for people to reach the airport safely, he added.

Around 300 Indians arrived in Mumbai - around half of the total number who asked the Cairo embassy to fly them home. A second flight was due to leave later in the day.

Two passenger jets also set off from China on Monday to evacuate more than 500 Chinese citizens stranded at Cairo's main airport, state media said. Taiwan also announced plans to evacuate more than 450 holiday-makers.

Turkey, Australia and Indonesia also organized flights to repatriate citizens.

Meanwhile, Austria demanded that the European Union play a greater role in coordinating the repatriation of EU nationals.

"We have a real problem there, as our citizens in the region are already endangered here and there," said Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger.

As each EU country is organizing its own evacuations, the minister said Austria was starting with its citizens in Cairo, where the risk was greatest.

"But this is a coordinating role that the European Union should have in this context," Spindelegger added.

Cairo's international airport, to the north-east of the city, has been filled in recent days with foreigners attempting to leave the country on an insufficient number of outbound flights.

The US football team also canceled a planned friendly in Cairo, which was to have taken place February 9, due to concerns about the security situation.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365226,foreigners-being-flown-egypt.html.

Protesters flood Cairo, calls for mass Tuesday march

Mon, 31 Jan 2011

Cairo - Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters rejected overtures from the Egyptian presidency late Monday and stayed for a seventh day in central Cairo's Tahrir Square, pledging to hold a "march of a million" the following morning.

The protesters said they would not relent until President Hosny Mubarak stepped down and the country was put on the path towards serious economic and democratic reforms.

Mubarak appointed a new cabinet and Vice President Omar Suleiman told state television a dialogue would be opened with the opposition.

Suleiman said that there would even be a review of some disputed seats in parliament, from last November's parliamentary election. The ruling national Democratic Party (NDP) swept the election, amid accusation of widespread fraud.

In Tahrir Square, the statement was seen as a concession to the opposition, after they earlier derided the new cabinet as one mostly filled with loyalists and former ministers.

"We will spend as many nights here as it takes to get the snake out," chanted the demonstrators in Tahrir Square, referring to Mubarak.

The European Union issued a statement, supporting "free and fair elections" in Egypt, following a similar message the day before from Cairo's main ally, the United States - upping the international pressure on the embattled Mubarak.

Egypt's military also said it saw the protesters' demand as "legitimate." The armed forces urged citizens not to loot, but assured them soldiers would not open fire.

Many more thousands of protesters were gathered in other parts of Cairo, in the coastal city of Alexandria and the port town Suez.

Unrest was also widespread in other remote regions across the vast and mostly poor country of 80 million people, almost half below the age of 35. The protests are the largest in a generation.

Many of the signs people held up were hand-made and crudely drawn, but called for the president to step down. Some urged a repeal of the draconian Emergency Laws, which grant police extended powers.

The government moved to freeze rail services connecting cities on Monday, in what appeared to be an effort to contain unrest, especially in light of Tuesday's planned "march of a million."

Internet services and text messaging were still off for the fourth straight day, under government orders.

Observers were watching to see how much determination the opposition and general population would have for keeping up the protests, which started on January 25.

Egypt's economy was suffering with its bonds being downgraded. The country's stock market and banks were also to remain closed.

The port in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria, was also closed, according to traders. But the Suez Canal, vital for international trade, remained functional.

Residents in certain areas of Cairo, mostly in poor neighborhoods, reported rapidly rising food and petrol prices and many shops were closed. Many cash machines had been looted or had not been restocked.

With the economy very much government-led, and subsidies a mainstay, concern was mounting that food shortages were a possibility, with staple items like bread already becoming hard to obtain for the poorest.

For most in Egypt, where the average daily income barely covers basic costs, the disruptions were threatening their ability to earn a meager living. People were forced to stay at home and many businesses were shut.

The daily curfew, which started in the afternoon and was to be in effect until Tuesday morning, was being enforced by the military, which so far has refrained from clashing with the protesters.

The opposition has attempted to band together. The largest bloc, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, was working with other groups. Mohammed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been appointed to lead talks for the opposition.

The anti-government groups said they were also aiming to talk with the army, a much respected body in Egypt, and were trying to form a national unity government without the ruling NDP or Mubarak.

Police, pushed off the streets by anti-government protests last week, were also returning to some neighborhoods, though witnesses said many were not wearing their uniforms.

Some officers have been accused of taking part in rampant looting that caused chaos in Cairo and other cities in recent days.

The turmoil has caused foreign governments to fly many of their nationals out of Egypt and arrange special flights for those who still wanted to leave.

Unconfirmed reports by medics in several cities say at least 150 people have died in the unrest, and human rights groups are concerned by possible "excessive use of force" by the police against protesters.

The impact of the unrest was being felt globally, as stock markets were nervous and currency investors fled to the dollar and Swiss franc, considered safe havens. The European benchmark Stoxx 600 index made up early losses, however, edging up by 0.03 per cent to 280.53 points as the trading day came to an end.

The price of crude oil on global markets was rising, owing to concerns about stability in Cairo and possible contagion of political unrest to other exporters in the region.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365230,calls-mass-tuesday-march.html.

Fla. judge strikes down Obama health care overhaul

By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press – Mon Jan 31

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A federal judge declared the Obama administration's health care overhaul unconstitutional Monday, siding with 26 states that argued people cannot be required to buy health insurance.

Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson agreed with the states that the new law violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties. He went a step further than a previous ruling against the law, declaring the entire thing unconstitutional if the insurance requirement does not hold up.

Attorneys for the administration had argued that the states did not have standing to challenge the law and that the case should be dismissed.

Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said Monday the department strongly disagrees with Vinson's ruling and intends to appeal.

"There is clear and well-established legal precedent that Congress acted within its constitutional authority in passing this law and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail on appeal," she said in a statement.

The final step will almost certainly be the U.S. Supreme Court. Two other federal judges have already upheld the law and a federal judge in Virginia ruled the insurance mandate unconstitutional but stopped short of voiding the entire thing.

At issue was whether the government is reaching beyond its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce by requiring citizens to purchase health insurance or face tax penalties.

Vinson, who was appointed to federal bench by Ronald Reagan in 1983, said it is, writing in his 78-page ruling that if the government can require people to buy health insurance, it could also regulate food the same way.

"Or, as discussed during oral argument, Congress could require that people buy and consume broccoli at regular intervals," he wrote, "Not only because the required purchases will positively impact interstate commerce, but also because people who eat healthier tend to be healthier, and are thus more productive and put less of a strain on the health care system."

Obama administration attorneys had argued that health care is part of the interstate commerce system. They said the government can impose a tax penalty on Americans who decide not to purchase health insurance because all Americans are consumers of medical care.

But attorneys for the states said the administration was essentially coercing them into participating in the overhaul by holding billions of Medicaid dollars hostage. The states also said the federal government is violating the Constitution by forcing a mandate on the states without providing money to pay for it.

Vinson said the courts have generally not accepted similar arguments about Medicaid as a violation of state sovereignty and that the states did not provide enough evidence in this case.

"I appreciate the difficult situation in which the states find themselves," he wrote. "It is a matter of historical fact that at the time the Constitution was drafted and ratified, the Founders did not expect that the federal government would be able to provide sizable funding to the states and, consequently, be able to exert power over the state to the extent that it currently does."

He said that the only way the states would have legal standing to claim the Medicaid portion of the law is coercion would be for the Supreme Court to change the Constitution.

"Unless and until that happens, the states have little recourse to remaining the very junior partner in this partnership," Vinson wrote.

Still, opponents of the health overhaul praised his decision Monday afternoon. House Speaker John Boehner said it shows Senate Democrats should follow a House vote to repeal the law.

"Today's decision affirms the view, held by most of the states and a majority of the American people, that the federal government should not be in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and punishing you if you don't," he said in a statement.

Democrats just as quickly slammed the ruling.

"This lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt by those who want to raise taxes on small businesses, increase prescription prices for seniors and allow insurance companies to once again deny sick children medical care," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a prepared statement.

Former Florida Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum filed the lawsuit just minutes after President Barack Obama signed the 10-year, $938 billion health care bill into law in March. He chose a court in Pensacola, one of Florida's most conservative cities. The nation's most influential small business lobby, the National Federation of Independent Business, also joined.

Officials in the states that sued lauded Vinson's decision. Almost all of them have Republican governors, attorneys general or both.

"In making his ruling, the judge has confirmed what many of us knew from the start; ObamaCare is an unprecedented and unconstitutional infringement on the liberty of the American people," Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement.

Other states that joined the suit are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

___

Associated Press Writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report.

Egypt's army promises no force against protesters

By HAMZA HENDAWI and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press

CAIRO – Egypt's military pledged not to fire on protesters in a sign that army support for President Hosni Mubarak may be unraveling on the eve of a major escalation — a push for a million people to take to the streets Tuesday to demand the authoritarian leader's ouster.

More than 10,000 people beat drums, played music and chanted slogans in Tahrir Square, which has become the epicenter of a week of protests demanding an end to Mubarak's three decades in power.

With the organizers' calling for a "march of a million people," the vibe in the sprawling plaza — whose name in Arabic means "Liberation" — was of an intensifying feeling that the uprising was nearing a decisive point.

"He only needs a push!" was one of the most frequent chants, and a leaflet circulated by some protesters said it was time for the military to choose between Mubarak and the people.

The latest gesture by Mubarak aimed at defusing the crisis fell flat. His top ally, the United States, roundly rejected his announcement of a new government Monday that dropped his highly unpopular interior minister, who heads police forces and has been widely denounced by the protesters.

The crowds in the streets were equally unimpressed.

"It's almost the same government, as if we are not here, as if we are sheep," sneered one protester, Khaled Bassyouny, a 30-year-old Internet entrepreneur. He said it was time to escalate the marches. "It has to burn. It has to become ugly. We have to take it to the presidential palace."

Another concession came late Monday, when Vice President Omar Suleiman — appointed by Mubarak only two days earlier — went on state TV to announce the offer of a dialogue with "political forces" for constitutional and legislative reforms.

Suleiman did not say what the changes would entail or which groups the government would speak with. Opposition forces have long demanded the lifting of restrictions on who is eligible to run for president to allow a real challenge to the ruling party, as well as measures to ensure elections are fair. A presidential election is scheduled for September.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs dismissed the naming of the new government, saying the situation in Egypt calls for action, not appointments.

Publicly, the Obama administration has declined to discuss the subject of Mubarak's future. However, administration officials said Monday that Washington prefers Mubarak not contest the upcoming vote. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of diplomacy.

The State Department said that a retired senior diplomat — former ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner — was now on the ground in Cairo and will meet Egyptian officials to urge them to embrace broad economic and political changes that can pave the way for free and fair elections.

The army statement, aired on state TV, said the powerful military recognizes "the legitimacy of the people's demands" — the strongest sign yet that it is willing to let the protests continue and even grow as long as they remain peaceful, even if that leads to the fall of Mubarak.

If the 82-year-old president, a former air force commander, loses the support of the military, it would likely be a fatal blow to his rule.

For days, army tanks and troops have surrounded Tahrir Square, keeping the protests confined but doing nothing to stop people from joining.

Military spokesman Ismail Etman said the military "has not and will not use force against the public" and underlined that "the freedom of peaceful expression is guaranteed for everyone."

He added the caveats, however, that protesters should not commit "any act that destabilizes security of the country" or damage property.

Looting that erupted over the weekend across the city of around 18 million eased — but Egyptians endured another day of the virtual halt of normal life, raising fears of damage to the economy if the crisis drags on. Trains stopped running Monday, possibly an attempt by authorities to prevent residents of the provinces from joining protests in the capital.

A curfew imposed for a fourth straight day — starting an hour earlier, at 3 p.m. — was widely ignored. Banks, schools and the stock market in Cairo were closed for the second working day, making cash tight. Long lines formed outside bakeries as people tried to replenish their stores of bread.

An unprecedented shutdown of the Internet was also in its fourth day. At about 11 p.m. on Monday, the last of the service providers, the Noor Group, which had remained online even after the four main providers abruptly stopped shuttling Internet traffic into and out of the country Friday morning, went dark.

Cairo's international airport was a scene of chaos as thousands of foreigners sought to flee the unrest, and countries around the world scrambled to send in planes to fly their citizens out.

Incidents of looting continued. In Cairo, soldiers detained about 50 men trying to break into the Egyptian National Museum in a fresh attempt to steal the country's archaeological treasures, the military said. An attempt to break into an antiquities storehouse at the famed Pharaonic Karnak Temple in the ancient southern city of Luxor was also foiled.

The official death toll from the crisis stood at 97, with thousands injured, but reports from witnesses across the country indicated the actual toll was far higher.

Mubarak appeared fatigued as he was shown on state TV swearing in the members of his new Cabinet. The most significant change in the shake-up was the replacement of the interior minister, Habib el-Adly, who heads internal security forces and is widely despised by protesters for the brutality some officers have shown. A retired police general, Mahmoud Wagdi, will replace him.

Of the 29-member Cabinet, 14 were new faces, most of them not members of the ruling National Democratic Party. Among those purged were several of the prominent businessmen who held economic posts and have engineered the country's economic liberalization policies the past decades. Many Egyptians resented the influence of millionaire politician-moguls, who were close allies of the president's son, Gamal, long thought to be the heir apparent.

Mubarak retained his long-serving defense minister, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

A major question throughout the unprecedented unrest has been whether protests that began as a decentralized eruption of anger largely by grass-roots activists can coalesce into a unified political leadership to press demands and keep up momentum.

There were signs Monday of an attempt to do so, as around 30 representatives from various opposition groups met to work out a joint stance.

The gathering issued the call for Tuesday's escalated protests but did not reach a final agreement on a list of demands. They were to meet again Tuesday to try to do so and decide whether to make prominent reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei spokesman for the protesters, said Abu'l-Ela Madi, a spokesman of one of the participating groups, al-Wasat, a moderate breakaway faction from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Unity is far from certain among the array of movements involved in the protests, with sometimes conflicting agendas — including students, online activists, grass-roots organizers, old-school opposition politicians and the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, along with everyday citizens drawn by the exhilaration of marching against the government.

The various protesters have little in common beyond the demand that Mubarak go. Perhaps the most significant tensions among them is between young secular activists and the Muslim Brotherhood, which wants to form an Islamist state in the Arab world's largest nation. The more secular are deeply suspicious the Brotherhood aims to co-opt what they contend is a spontaneous, popular movement. American officials have suggested they have similar fears.

ElBaradei, a pro-democracy advocate and former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, invigorated anti-Mubarak feeling with his return to Egypt last year, but the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood remains Egypt's largest opposition movement.

In a nod to the suspicions, Brotherhood figures insist they are not seeking a leadership role.

"We don't want to harm this revolution," Mohamed Mahdi Akef, a former leader of the group.

Still, Brotherhood members appeared to be joining the protest in greater numbers and more openly. During the first few days of protests, the crowd in Tahrir Square was composed of mostly young men in jeans and T-shirts.

On Monday, many of the volunteers handing out food and water to protesters were men in long traditional dress with the trademark Brotherhood appearance — a closely cropped haircut and bushy beards.

___

AP correspondents Sarah El Deeb, Lee Keath and Michael Weissenstein in Cairo contributed to this report.

Egyptians seek million-strong march to oust Mubarak

By Samia Nakhoul and Sherine el Madany – Mon Jan 31

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's anti-government protesters, scenting victory after President Hosni Mubarak agreed to discuss sweeping political reforms, rallied support for what they hope can be a million-strong march for democracy on Tuesday.

Mubarak's newly appointed vice-president began talks with opposition figures and the army declared the protesters demands "legitimate" and said it would hold its fire.

But protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where thousands kept vigil through the night in defiance of a curfew, vowed to continue their campaign until the 82-year-old Mubarak quit.

"The only thing we will accept from him is that he gets on a plane and leaves," said 45-year-old lawyer Ahmed Helmi.

The United States and other Western powers which have backed Mubarak throughout his 30 years of rule, have demanded he submit to free elections. Even if he holds out against the calls for his resignation, it seems unlikely he could win a vote.

At least 140 people have died since demonstrations began last Tuesday, inspired in part by Tunisians' overthrow of their aging strongman after similar protests focusing on economic hardships and frustration with political oppression.

The army's pledge to hold its fire was seen as tipping the scales against Mubarak. "Mubarak has become a liability for the institution of the army," Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics said. "And so it is becoming more difficult by the day for Mubarak to remain in office."

For the military establishment, which has run Egypt since its officers ousted British-backed King Farouk in 1952, the aim may be to provide reforms that preserve military influence.

For Washington and Mubarak's allies in Europe, as well as Israel, attention will focus on how far Islamist groups, notably the hitherto banned Muslim Brotherhood, can gain power in any new Egyptian political system.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, used to calm on his southern border since a 1979 peace treaty with Cairo, said Egypt could turn into the kind of militant theocracy installed in Iran that same year.

BROTHERHOOD SAYS ALL MUBARAK MEN MUST GO

The Brotherhood, which says it wants a pluralist democracy, has taken a cautious approach to joining in protests led by the young and the urban professional classes.

But it said on Monday it was calling on people to continue protests until the whole establishment departed -- "including the president, his party, his ministers and his parliament."

In the second city, Alexandria, thousands of people gathered near the main railway station, many with food and blankets, saying they would join Tuesday's "march of a million."

Officials said rail services would be disrupted on Tuesday by curfew orders, which may keep some people away from protests.

Newly-appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman appeared on state television on Monday to say Mubarak had asked him to begin talks with all political forces on constitutional and other reforms. The channel later said talks had begun.

Suleiman, an intelligence chief named on Saturday, also said a new government sworn in by Mubarak on Monday would fight unemployment, inflation and corruption.

The United States said Mubarak must also revoke the emergency law under which he has ruled since 1981. Washington has sent a special envoy, former ambassador to Cairo Frank Wisner, to meet Egyptian leaders.

"The way Egypt looks and operates must change," said Robert Gibbs, spokesman for President Barack Obama.

Western powers have been caught off guard by the speed with which Mubarak's police state has been pushed back by furious but unarmed citizens. Some analysts believe the army is now seeking a face-saving way to have Mubarak leave.

A presidential election due in September might give Mubarak the opportunity simply to say he will not run again. But such a tactic may underestimate the desire on the street to see him go. "It won't work. These are stalling tactics. I don't think Mubarak quite realizes the gravity of the situation," said Faysal Itani of Exclusive Analysis. "If this deadlock goes on much longer there could be a further breakdown of order."

At Cairo University, politics professor Hassan Nafaa said: "This all aims to gain time, calm the mood on the street, drive the protesters away and diminish the revolution ... The president must end his rule and leave, there is no alternative."

Foreign governments, meanwhile, scrambled to ensure the safety of their nationals trapped by the unrest in Egypt.

Companies, from gas drillers to supermarkets, also pulled out staff as confrontation brought economic life to a halt. Financial markets and banks were closed for a second day.

Internationally, Europe's benchmark Brent crude oil hit $101 a barrel on fears the unrest could spread to oil producing states like Saudi Arabia. Smaller Arab countries such as Yemen, Sudan, Syria and Jordan were all mentioned by analysts as candidates for popular expressions of discontent.

Moody's downgraded Egypt's credit rating to Ba2 with a negative outlook from Ba1, saying the government might damage its weak finances by increasing social spending.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Hammond, Patrick Werr, Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad, Shaimaa Fayed, Yasmine Saleh, and Alison Williams in Cairo, writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Myra MacDonald)

Hamas inmates flee Egypt jail, return to Gaza

Sun Jan 30

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Two out of eight Hamas prisoners who broke out of a Cairo prison as a wave of anti-government protests swept Egypt arrived back in Gaza on Sunday, an official source said.

A senior official in the Hamas government confirmed all eight were on their way back to Gaza, with the report also confirmed by one of the escapees.

By Sunday morning, at least two of the prisoners who had been held in Abu Zaabal prison, northeast of Cairo, had made it back to Gaza, entering the strip through the tunnels which run under the border, a Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity.

They made their escape when thousands broke free from jails across Egypt as officials struggled to control the wave of chaos sparked by nationwide riots demanding the end of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

Among those who arrived back in Gaza on Sunday was Mohamed al-Shaer, a big name in the cross-border smuggling enterprise, who was arrested in Egypt six months ago after completing the haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Shaer entered Gaza through the tunnels, witnesses said.

Several hours later, a second prisoner, Hassan Wishah also made his way through the tunnels to El Bourej camp in central Gaza. He had served three years of a 10-year sentence at the Cairo jail for unspecified security offenses.

"All the Palestinian prisoners escaped from Abu Zaabal," Wishah told AFP.

The remaining six prisoners were said to have reached the port city of Al Arish and were expected to reach Gaza later on Sunday, official sources said.

More than 100 people have so far been killed in Egypt which is being rocked by the biggest protests to sweep the country in more than 30 years.

Gaza's southern border is closed

31-01-2011

Al Qassam website - Rafah - Palestinian sources reported that Gaza's southern border with Egypt has been closed by Gaza government.

it should be mentioned since the matters go down in Egypt, Israel warned that the turmoil could result dangerous situation for its interests.

The closure of the Rafah border crossing was expected to last for several days at least, said Ghazi Hamad, the official in charge of the Gaza side of the terminal.

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-4116-Gazas_southern_border_is_closed.html.

'Israel provides weapons for Egypt'

31-01-2011

Al Qassam website- Egypt - Israel has provided the Egyptian government with weapons amid the country's popular uprising demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, reports say.

The reports followed phone conversations between the US, Egyptian and Israeli defense ministers as the anti-government protests entered the seventh day on Monday.

Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi has warned the protesters against defying curfew that has now been extended and is to be in place from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. local time.

On Thursday, an Israeli cabinet minister who spoke on condition of anonymity to Israeli media had stated that the Egyptian president backed by a strong militarily prowess will eventually subdue the crisis, The Washington Post reported.

"His regime is well-rooted in the military and security apparatus," said the Israeli minister, adding that, "They will have to exercise force, power in the street and do it. But they are strong enough according to my assessment to overcome it," the Israeli minister had said.

The protesters took to the streets in the sixth day of demonstrations on Sunday despite the warnings and the presence of the army.

The armed forces have threatened a crackdown on anyone who refuses to obey the curfew imposed in major cities.

Meanwhile, Mubarak reportedly visited an army military operations center and met with top army commanders and troops at their headquarters.

Following the visit, the army has received orders to open fire on the protesters in a bid to protect the Mubarak-run regime, according to the Muslim Brotherhood's website.

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-4115-Israel_provides_weapons_for_Egypt.html.

Demonstrators to storm Israeli embassy

31-01-2011

Al Qassam website - Cairo - Egyptian demonstrators tried at noon Sunday to storm the Israeli embassy in downtown Cairo, the Russia Today TV reported.

The TV broadcast did not include any other details.

The Israeli embassy staffers and their families have reportedly fled Cairo last Friday after one of the Egyptian marches approached their building near Cairo University in Giza.

Press sources said that a chopper carried the staffers to an air base where a private jet then flew them to Tel Aviv.

Source: Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades - Information Office.
Link: http://www.qassam.ps/news-4114-Demonstrators_try_to_storm_the_Israeli_embassy_in_Cairo.html.

Robert Fisk: Egypt: Death throes of a dictatorship

Our writer joins protesters atop a Cairo tank as the army shows signs of backing the people against Mubarak's regime

Sunday, 30 January 2011

The Egyptian tanks, the delirious protesters sitting atop them, the flags, the 40,000 protesters weeping and crying and cheering in Freedom Square and praying around them, the Muslim Brotherhood official sitting amid the tank passengers. Should this be compared to the liberation of Bucharest? Climbing on to an American-made battle tank myself, I could only remember those wonderful films of the liberation of Paris. A few hundred meters away, Hosni Mubarak's black-uniformed security police were still firing at demonstrators near the interior ministry. It was a wild, historical victory celebration, Mubarak's own tanks freeing his capital from his own dictatorship.

In the pantomime world of Mubarak himself – and of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Washington – the man who still claims to be president of Egypt swore in the most preposterous choice of vice-president in an attempt to soften the fury of the protesters – Omar Suleiman, Egypt's chief negotiator with Israel and his senior intelligence officer, a 75-year-old with years of visits to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and four heart attacks to his credit. How this elderly apparatchik might be expected to deal with the anger and joy of liberation of 80 million Egyptians is beyond imagination. When I told the demonstrators on the tank around me the news of Suleiman's appointment, they burst into laughter.

Their crews, in battledress and smiling and in some cases clapping their hands, made no attempt to wipe off the graffiti that the crowds had spray-painted on their tanks. "Mubarak Out – Get Out", and "Your regime is over, Mubarak" have now been plastered on almost every Egyptian tank on the streets of Cairo. On one of the tanks circling Freedom Square was a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Beltagi. Earlier, I had walked beside a convoy of tanks near the suburb of Garden City as crowds scrambled on to the machines to hand oranges to the crews, applauding them as Egyptian patriots. However crazed Mubarak's choice of vice-president and his gradual appointment of a powerless new government of cronies, the streets of Cairo proved what the United States and EU leaders have simply failed to grasp. It is over.

Mubarak's feeble attempts to claim that he must end violence on behalf of the Egyptian people – when his own security police have been responsible for most of the cruelty of the past five days – has elicited even further fury from those who have spent 30 years under his sometimes vicious dictatorship. For there are growing suspicions that much of the looting and arson was carried out by plainclothes cops – including the murder of 11 men in a rural village in the past 24 hours – in an attempt to destroy the integrity of the protesters campaigning to throw Mubarak out of power. The destruction of a number of communications centers by masked men – which must have been co-ordinated by some form of institution – has also raised suspicions that the plainclothes thugs who beat many of the demonstrators were to blame.

But the torching of police stations across Cairo and in Alexandria and Suez and other cities was obviously not carried out by plainclothes cops. Late on Friday, driving to Cairo 40 miles down the Alexandria highway, crowds of young men had lit fires across the highway and, when cars slowed down, demanded hundreds of dollars in cash. Yesterday morning, armed men were stealing cars from their owners in the center of Cairo.

Infinitely more terrible was the vandalism at the Egyptian National Museum. After police abandoned this greatest of ancient treasuries, looters broke into the red-painted building and smashed 4,000-year-old pharaonic statues, Egyptian mummies and magnificent wooden boats, originally carved – complete with their miniature crews – to accompany kings to their graves. Glass cases containing priceless figurines were bashed in, the black-painted soldiers inside pushed over. Again, it must be added that there were rumors before the discovery that police caused this vandalism before they fled the museum on Friday night. Ghastly shades of the Baghdad museum in 2003. It wasn't as bad as that looting, but it was a most awful archeological disaster.

In my night journey from 6th October City to the capital, I had to slow down when darkened vehicles loomed out of the darkness. They were smashed, glass scattered across the road, slovenly policemen pointing rifles at my headlights. One jeep was half burned out. They were the wreckage of the anti-riot police force which the protesters forced out of Cairo on Friday. Those same demonstrators last night formed a massive circle around Freedom Square to pray, "Allah Alakbar" thundering into the night air over the city.

And there are also calls for revenge. An al-Jazeera television crew found 23 bodies in the Alexandria mortuary, apparently shot by the police. Several had horrifically mutilated faces. Eleven more bodies were discovered in a Cairo mortuary, relatives gathering around their bloody remains and screaming for retaliation against the police.

Cairo now changes from joy to sullen anger within minutes. Yesterday morning, I walked across the Nile river bridge to watch the ruins of Mubarak's 15-storey party headquarters burn. In front stood a vast poster advertising the benefits of the party – pictures of successful graduates, doctors and full employment, the promises which Mubarak's party had failed to deliver in 30 years – outlined by the golden fires curling from the blackened windows of the party headquarters. Thousands of Egyptians stood on the river bridge and on the motorway flyovers to take pictures of the fiercely burning building – and of the middle-aged looters still stealing chairs and desks from inside.

Yet the moment a Danish television team arrived to film exactly the same scenes, they were berated by scores of people who said that they had no right to film the fires, insisting that Egyptians were proud people who would never steal or commit arson. This was to become a theme during the day: that reporters had no right to report anything about this "liberation" that might reflect badly upon it. Yet they were still remarkably friendly and – despite Obama's pusillanimous statements on Friday night – there was not the slightest manifestation of hostility against the United States. "All we want – all – is Mubarak's departure and new elections and our freedom and honor," a 30-year-old psychiatrist told me. Behind her, crowds of young men were clearing up broken crash barriers and road intersection fences from the street – an ironic reflection on the well-known Cairo adage that Egyptians will never, ever clean their roads.

Mubarak's allegation that these demonstrations and arson – this combination was a theme of his speech refusing to leave Egypt – were part of a "sinister plan" is clearly at the center of his claim to continued world recognition. Indeed, Obama's own response – about the need for reforms and an end to such violence – was an exact copy of all the lies Mubarak has been using to defend his regime for three decades. It was deeply amusing to Egyptians that Obama – in Cairo itself, after his election – had urged Arabs to grasp freedom and democracy. These aspirations disappeared entirely when he gave his tacit if uncomfortable support to the Egyptian president on Friday. The problem is the usual one: the lines of power and the lines of morality in Washington fail to intersect when US presidents have to deal with the Middle East. Moral leadership in America ceases to exist when the Arab and Israeli worlds have to be confronted.

And the Egyptian army is, needless to say, part of this equation. It receives much of the $1.3bn of annual aid from Washington. The commander of that army, General Tantawi – who just happened to be in Washington when the police tried to crush the demonstrators – has always been a very close personal friend of Mubarak. Not a good omen, perhaps, for the immediate future.

So the "liberation" of Cairo – where, grimly, there came news last night of the looting of the Qasr al-Aini hospital – has yet to run its full course. The end may be clear. The tragedy is not over.

The main developments: A nation in turmoil

Protests Undeterred by threats from the Mubarak regime, tens of thousands of protesters swarmed on to the streets of Egypt's cities. Buildings burned, and police and some elements of the army fired mainly rubber bullets on crowds.

Casualties The death toll from two days of unrest was put at 62 by officials, and nearly twice that by independent news agencies. More than 20 bodies were seen in an Alexandria mortuary by an al-Jazeera crew. There were casualties yesterday, including an unknown number when 1,000 people tried to storm the interior ministry and were shot at by police.

Regime The cabinet, as ordered by Mubarak, resigned yesterday morning. Mubarak, 82, then named his intelligence chief and confidant Omar Suleiman as vice-president. Mubarak's sons landed in London, said the BBC.

Restrictions The curfew was extended so that it runs from 4pm to 8am, but was ignored by tens of thousands across the country. Tourist access to the pyramids was banned, and banks will close today.

Looting Cairo residents boarded up homes against gangs of thugs roaming the streets with knives and sticks, and set up neighborhood watches armed with guns, clubs and knives yesterday as looting engulfed the capital, despite the deployment of troops. At least some violence was perpetrated by police to discredit protesters.

Flights Hundreds of people packed Cairo's main airport yesterday hoping for a flight – 1,500 to 2,000 flocked to Cairo International, many without reservations, but Western carriers were canceling or delaying services. All non-essential travel to Egypt is ill-advised.

The UK David Cameron unites with Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel to warn Egypt to avoid violence against civilians who they said had 'legitimate grievances'. They called for 'free and fair elections'.

Voices of protest

"I've never seen men so angry, yet so happy to be expressing their anger. I walked next to girls in hijabs screaming for the downfall of Hosni Mubarak. I walked behind men begging God for freedom.

Courtney Graves, American living in Giza, in email to the BBC

"I have to pay 150 pounds a day to bribe police officers to let me sell on this pavement. How can I be this educated and not find proper work?"

Ramadan Mohamed, Law graduate selling sunglasses on Cairo street

"I'm standing here to defend and to protect our national treasure."

Farid Saad, Engineer, one of the men protecting the museum

"They are torching down the prisons. Our lives and property are at risk. Get out of the way."

Unknown shopper, Overheard echoing the anxieties of many as they raced to stock up at stores

"The crowds are very pro-army. I filmed an amazing moment when a charismatic one-star general addressed the public and spoke of the importance of maintaining public order. People kept shouting, are you with or against Mubarak? He answered that his mission is making sure the looting stops, and that the issue of who governs is the people's decision, not the army's, and that government should be civilian."

Issandr El Amrani, Blogging as The Arabist

Source: The Independent.
Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-egypt-death-throes-of-a-dictatorship-2198444.html.

King discusses situation with world leaders

AMMAN (JT) - His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday discussed developments in Egypt and the region in telephone conversations with world leaders.

A Royal Court statement said that His Majesty received phone calls from US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Bahraini King Hamad Ben Isa Al Khalifa and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.

The Monarch also checked on the situation in Egypt in a telephone call with President Hosni Mubarak. During the call, the King wished the country security and stability.

31 January 2011

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://jordantimes.com/?news=34009.

Gazans stockpile fuel as tunnel trade stops

31/01/2011

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- Gazans were on Sunday stockpiling fuel over fears that supplies from Egypt, which are brought in through smuggling tunnels, could be halted by the political unrest gripping the country, witnesses said.

The witnesses in the southern city of Rafah said the daily passage of goods through the cross-border tunnels had ground to a halt since Friday as the political unrest sweeping the country reached the Egyptian half of Rafah.

The majority of petrol and diesel supplies in Gaza are brought in through the tunnels, but the Hamas-run ministry of economy insisted there was no shortage and called for an end to panic-buying.

"There is enough fuel in the stores and enough food. We urge people not to worry about fuel or other goods," a ministry statement said.

The reports came as Palestinian officials said the Rafah crossing would remain closed because there was no-one to man the Egyptian side of the terminal.

More than 100 people have so far been killed in Egypt which is being rocked by the biggest protests to sweep the country in more than 30 years.

Demonstrators are demanding the removal of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who has ruled the country since 1981.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=355551.