North Africa unrest

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CIA Chief Blamed for Getting Egypt's Hopes Up

Panetta testified to 'strong likelihood' of Mubarak exit

(Newser) - CIA director Leon Panetta is being blamed for prematurely raising the hopes of millions of Egyptians yesterday. Panetta testified before Congress that there was a "strong likelihood"of Hosni Mubarak stepping down before the day was out. His remarks spread like wildfire, and protesters in Cairo were left stunned...

Hosni Mubarak Again Refuses to Step Down

Protesters are newly enraged, despite his transfer of more power to VP

(Newser) - Egypt's Hosni Mubarak defied expectations today and again refused to resign as president. His televised address instantly turned the mood of the expectant throngs in Tahrir Square from jubilant to incensed, and violence is expected through the night and into tomorrow. Protesters are expected to try to march on the...

Obama on Egypt: We Are Watching History Unfold

He promises to help orderly transition

(Newser) - President Obama took a few moments at the beginning of a planned speech in Michigan today to address the topic of the hour/day/week: “We are following today’s events in Egypt very closely,” he said. “We’ll have more to say as this plays out. But what...

Military: Mubarak Will Meet Protesters' Demands

President expected to step aside; 'They won,' party's secretary-general says

(Newser) - Hosni Mubarak will address the nation today to announce that he will meet the protesters’ demands, Egypt’s military and ruling party officials tell the AP . After an all-day meeting of the military's supreme council, the military issued a televised statement pledging its "support of the legitimate demands of...

Egypt to Protesters: Military 'Will Intervene'

Suleiman says there will be a 'coup'

(Newser) - Egypt’s government has started dropping dark hints that the military will stop playing nice if protests continue much longer, the New York Times reports. In a televised interview today, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told protesters that “if chaos occurs, the armed forces will intervene to control the...

Rights Groups: Egyptian Army Torturing Protesters

Military accused of 'disappearing' hundreds

(Newser) - The Egyptian military says it is playing a neutral role in the protests rocking the country but the reality is very different, human rights groups tell the Guardian . Hundreds, possibly thousands of protesters have been secretly detained by the military and some have been tortured, the groups say. Some families...

Google's Wael Ghonim Calls for 'Friday of Martyrs'

Says he's 'ready to die' for change

(Newser) - Recently-freed Google executive Wael Ghonim appears to be calling for another huge demonstration. “We are hoping that the ‘Friday of Martyrs’ will be the world largest funeral to bid farewell to 300 Egyptians,” Ghonim tweeted today. Ghonim also talked to CNN , saying it is “no longer...

US Changes Tune on Killing Egypt's Aid

Top lawmakers figure out that might not be such a bright idea

(Newser) - Many top US lawmakers are backing off their calls to cut aid flowing to Egypt, as consensus builds that the money offers necessary leverage over the Egyptian military. John McCain, who had previously said that aid cuts were “on the table,” said yesterday that it is “just...

Mubarak Won't Go to Luxe German Clinic

He's not sick, vice president says

(Newser) - OK, forget that exit plan: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said thanks, but no thanks, to an offer of an escape to Germany. Rumors had swirled that Mubarak might be suffering from cancer and could thus make a graceful exit by moving to a swanky German clinic , but Vice President...

Egypt's VP to Protesters: We're Losing Patience

Warning comes on huge day of protest at Tahrir Square

(Newser) - Let's hope these two developments don't collide in a bad way: On a day when Tahrir Square saw perhaps its largest demonstration yet , the nation's new vice president issued what both AP and al-Jazeera described as a "sharply worded" statement that the government is losing its patience. "We...

Tahrir Square Sees Biggest Protest Yet

Hundreds of thousands flood in

(Newser) - Even as life returned to normal in some parts of Cairo, Tahrir Square saw its largest day of protests yet as hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered to call for the removal of Hosni Mubarak's government, the BBC reports. Protesters are not satisfied despite government concessions and Mubarak’s promise...

Mubarak Creates Committees to Suggest Reforms

He also orders investigation into clashes

(Newser) - Hosni Mubarak took another stab at appeasing protesters today, setting up one committee to recommend the kind of constitutional amendments pro-Democracy advocates are clamoring for, and another to monitor the implementation of such reforms, the AP reports. He also promised an investigation into last week’s violent clashes between his...

Is This Luxe Clinic Mubarak's Way Out?

Talks are being held with hospitals in Germany

(Newser) - Is Hosni Mubarak planning to exit stage left by way of a luxury clinic in Germany? It's looking more and more likely, reports Der Spiegel . Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that the US government and Egyptian military officials were secretly talking about a plan in which Mubarak...

Egypt's Toll: 297 Dead, Plenty More Tortured

Human Rights Watch delivers estimates from prisons, hospitals

(Newser) - At least 297 people have been killed in Egypt’s uprising, and that estimate is expected to rise significantly in the days ahead, Human Rights Watch announced yesterday, after touring Egypt’s hospitals and morgues. The lion’s share of those deaths—232—occurred in Cairo, the Huffington Post reports,...

Egyptian Rage Falls Hard on Mubarak Crony

Steel oligarch, became symbol of cronyism

(Newser) - The violence and popular wrath rumbling through Egypt are falling hard against Ahmed Ezz, a steel oligarch with a near-monopoly and a close friendship with Hosni Mubarak's son. Ezz's Cairo digs was torched three times, and popular resentment against Mubarak cronies is reaching critical mass—now Ezz finds his assets...

Egypt Protesters Win Free Press, Concessions

But Mubarak doesn't agree to leave

(Newser) - From today's meetings between Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman and various protest groups comes a pretty significant list of concessions the regime is granting. The down low, as per the AP:
  • Free press: The government promised it would stop impeding the media, Internet access, and text messaging.
  • Protesters: Cairo agreed
...

Muslim Brotherhood Takes Seat at Egypt Table

But won't back down on demand for Mubarak's departure

(Newser) - It's officially outlawed, but the Muslim Brotherhood is taking a seat at the table to resolve Egypt's crisis. The controversial group met today with Vice President Omar Suleiman, along with supporters of Mohamed ElBaradei and leftist supporters, reports the New York Times. “The brothers decided to enter a round...

Don't Credit Twitter for Egypt
 Don't Credit Twitter for Egypt 
FRANK RICH
Feb 6, 2011 6:08 AM CST

Don't Credit Twitter for Egypt

Connecting social media to uprisings evidence of American ignorance

(Newser) - The American media's attempts to link the Egyptian protests to the Internet and online networking are just another sign of America's isolation and ignorance, writes Frank Rich in the New York Times . Rich calls the focus on Facebook and Twitter "implicit, simplistic Western chauvinism"—"How fabulous that...

Palin: 3am Call 'Went Right to Answering Machine'

She's 'not real enthused' by Obama's handling of Egypt

(Newser) - Just after pronouncing America "on the road to ruin," Sarah Palin weighed in on the White House's handling of the chaos in Egypt and neighboring countries in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network . "I'm not real enthused about what it is that that’s being done...

Tunisian Police Kill 2, Injure 17

Protest turned violent after police chief slapped a woman

(Newser) - Two people were killed by police gunfire and 17 were injured in northwestern Tunisia yesterday, after a local police chief allegedly slapped a woman during a demonstration, causing protesters to turn against the police. About 1,000 people threw stones and small firebombs at the local police station, burning two...

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