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Unrest in Egypt at Tahrir Square
Bursts of gunfire are erupting in the area around Cairo’s Tahrir Square as pro- and anti-government protesters continue to defy an Egyptian government curfew.
News reports cite witnesses saying at least three people have been killed in the latest violence early Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak charged into the square on horseback and camels while others rained firebombs from rooftops in what appeared to be an orchestrated assault against protesters calling for an end to his near-30-year-rule.
Anti-government demonstrators, after first trying to respond peacefully, fought back with rocks and Molotov cocktails as battles broke out around Tahrir Square. Doctors set up a makeshift clinic in a mosque near the square to help the more than 640 injured. Egypt’s health ministry says three people were killed in Wednesday’s clashes.
Reporters said Egyptian troops initially fired Read more…
Muslim Brotherhood: ‘Prepare Egyptians for war with Israel’
A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt told the Arabic-language Iranian news network Al-Alam on Monday that he would like to see the Egyptian people prepare for war against Israel, according to the Hebrew-language business newspaper Calcalist.
Muhammad Ghannem reportedly told Al- Alam that the Suez Canal should be closed immediately, and that the flow of gas from Egypt to Israel should cease “in order to bring about the downfall of the Mubarak regime.” He added that “the people should be prepared for war against Israel,” saying the world should understand that “the Egyptian people are prepared for anything to get rid of this regime.”
Ghannem praised Egyptian soldiers deployed by President Hosni Mubarak to Egyptian cities, saying they “would not kill their brothers.” He added that Washington was forced to abandon plans to help Mubarak stay in power after “seeing millions head for the streets.”
‘Something big’ transferred to Gaza Strip
Aaron Klein
JERUSALEM – Egypt and Israel have information a large quantity of weapons, including new and sophisticated firepower, was smuggled from Egypt into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in the last two days, according to informed Middle East security officials.
Israeli security officials fear a growing state of anarchy exists along the Gaza-Egypt border, with Islamist groups there taking advantage of the chaos in Egypt amid mass protests threatening the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian security forces have been focused largely on quelling the riots.
“Something big was brought into the Gaza Strip,” said an informed security official.
The official said it was not known yet exactly what was transferred into Gaza, but he speculated it may have been a large quantity of antiaircraft missiles.
The Sinai borders the Gaza Strip as well as Israel’s southern border with Egypt.
Israeli officials say Israel agreed to allow the Egyptian army to move two battalions, or about 800 soldiers, into the Sharm el-Sheikh area on Sinai’s southern tip, far from Israel.
Huge protest to kick off in Egypt
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| The army has said it is aware of the “legitimate demands” of the people, and has promised not to use force [Reuters] |
Protesters in the Egyptian capital have begun gathering for a planned “march of a million”, calling for Hosni Mubarak, the embattled Egyptian president, to step down.
Thousands of demonstrators began gathering from early on Tuesday morning in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, which has been the focal point of protests in the capital and served as the meeting area for the march to begin on the eighth day of an uprising that has so far claimed more than 125 lives.
Another million-strong march is planned in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, as national train services were canceled in an apparent bid to stymie protests. Protest organizers have also called for the march to coincide with the beginning of an indefinite strike.
Reporting from Cairo, an Al Jazeera correspondent reported that the number of people gathered in Tahrir Square on Tuesday morning, was Read more…
Oil Prices: Egypt’s Crisis Could Hurt Europe First
Some crude oil prices brushed $100 a barrel Monday as fears escalated that the violence in Egypt would spread to other parts of the oil-producing Middle East. But so far, no reports have surfaced that the disturbances in Egypt have disrupted oil deliveries.
Brent crude oil surged to $99.97 a barrel on London’s ICE futures exchange, up about 5% since the beginning of last week, when violence spread from Tunisia to Egypt. In U.S. trading, West Texas Intermediate shot up 1.7% on Monday, but was still about $10 a barrel cheaper than Brent crude, its European counterpart.
Julius Walker, a senior analyst at the International Energy Agency in Paris, says the organization has received no reports that oil shipments were being delayed, but the website of the agency that runs the Suez Canal has been shut down by the ban on Internet use in Egypt, so a precise reading isn’t available.
“Nothing has been affected. It’s just the worry of it,” Walker says.
A Chokepoint for Europe-Bound Oil
Egypt is a small oil producer, and its output is almost exactly equal to Read more…
Egyptian riots day 6: THOUSANDS of Prisoners escape, Musems Looted,many stranded.
More than 102 dead and thousands of prisoners on the loose in Egypt as 30,000 stranded Britons struggle to leave the country
Around 30,000 British tourists were stranded in Egypt today as army planes buzzed low over Cairo on the sixth day of uprisings.
At least 102 people have been killed, more than 2,000 are injured and there were calls for a multi-party democracy to emerge as President Hosni Mubarack’s grip on power loosens.
Gangs of armed men attacked at least four jails across Egypt before dawn today, helping to free hundreds of Muslim militants and thousands of other inmates as police vanished from the streets of Cairo and other cities.
Now scroll down to see the video:
Show of strength: Egyptians surround an army tank during protests in central Cairo on the sixth day of action
Last night a handful Brits that managed to board flights returning back from Cairo described their relief at escaping the riot-torn country. Read more…
Without Egypt, Israel will be left with no friends in Mideast
The fading power of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s government leaves Israel in a state of strategic distress. Without Mubarak, Israel is left with almost no friends in the Middle East; last year, Israel saw its alliance with Turkey collapse.
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An anti-government protester ripping a poster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, January 26, 2011. |
From now on, it will be hard for Israel to trust an Egyptian government torn apart by internal strife. Israel’s increasing isolation in the region, coupled with a weakening United States, will force the government to court new potential allies.
Israel’s foreign policy has depended on regional alliances which have provided the country with strategic depth since the 1950s. The country’s first partner was France, which at the time ruled over northern Africa and provided Israel with advanced weaponry and nuclear capabilities.
After Israel’s war against Egypt in 1956, David Ben-Gurion attempted to establish alliances with non-Arab countries in the region, including Iran, Turkey and Ethiopia. The Shah of Iran became a significant ally of Israel, supplying the country with oil and money from weapons purchases. The countries’ militaries and intelligence agencies worked on joint operations against Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s rule, which was seen as the main threat against Israel and pro-Western Arab governments. Read more…
The coming US Depression has an added dimension: “…a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension” which may fuel unprecedented unrest.
by Tom Dennen
Money talks and here is what it is saying: Here are the Current Account Balances of 163 Countries in the World COMPARED WITH LEVELS OF STREET VIOLENCE (all except Egypt at the bottom of the debt list) :
Notice the amazing entry at the bottom of this list (scroll down) taken from Gerald Celentes’ Trends Journal, the full report, 2011.The Current Account Balance records a country’s net trade in goods and services, plus net earnings from rents, interest, profits, and dividends, and net transfer payments (such as pension funds and worker remittances) to and from the rest of the world during the period specified. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
China is No. 1, Hong Kong No. 15, Egypt N.37 … check who is No. 163
World Ranking – Current Acct Balance (in Millions of US$)
1 People’s Republic of China (PRC) 179,100
2 Japan 174,400
3 Germany 134,800 Read more…
As Egypt Explodes, Oil Set to Increase
By David A. Patten
Violent anti-government riots in Egypt and a grassfire of unrest torching across the sands of the Middle East fueled fears of $200-a-barrel oil and an instability some say could spread to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, and beyond.
Police Friday clashed with tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo and Alexandria. Shortly after 11 a.m. ET, as a government-ordered curfew took effect, CNN carried pictures of dozens of military trucks and armored vehicles loading police and leaving downtown Cairo as Egyptian army regulars moved in.
“We have yet to see if they will take the place of the hated Egyptian police who have cracked down so violently,” CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman reported from Iraq before his communication was disrupted. The government had responded to the “day of rage” by pulling the plug on telephone and Internet links, so protesters could not communicate.
The wave of unrest in the Middle East that began with the Jasmine Revolution is now having repercussions around the globe.
After the recent fall of governments in Tunisia and Lebanon, angry marches in Yemen, and the brutal crackdown in Egypt that has left seven dead and hundreds wounded, analysts worry that the governments of Algeria and Jordan could be next to see disturbances. Read more…
Violent anti-government riots in Egypt and a grassfire of unrest torching across the sands of the Middle East fueled fears of $200-a-barrel oil and an instability some say could spread to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, and beyond.
Police Friday clashed with tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo and Alexandria. Shortly after 11 a.m. ET, as a government-ordered curfew took effect, CNN carried pictures of dozens of military trucks and armored vehicles loading police and leaving downtown Cairo as Egyptian army regulars moved in.
“We have yet to see if they will take the place of the hated Egyptian police who have cracked down so violently,” CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman reported from Iraq before his communication was disrupted. The government had responded to the “day of rage” by pulling the plug on telephone and Internet links, so protesters could not communicate.
The wave of unrest in the Middle East that began with the Jasmine Revolution is now having repercussions around the globe.
After the recent fall of governments in Tunisia and Lebanon, angry marches in Yemen, and the brutal crackdown in Egypt that has left seven dead and hundreds wounded, analysts worry that the governments of Algeria and Jordan could be next to see disturbances. Read more…
How Egypt shut down the internet
Virtually all internet access in Egypt is cut off today as the government battles to contain the street protests that threaten to topple President Hosni Mubarak.
Organisations that track global internet access detected a collapse in traffic in to and out of Egypt at around 10.30GMT on Thursday night.
The shut down involved the withdrawal of more than 3,500 Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routes by Egyptian ISPs, according to Renesys, a networking firm. Only one ISP out of 10, Noor Data Networks, appeared largely unaffected. It connects to the outside world via an undersea cable operated by Telecom Italia.
According to BGPMon, another networking firm, 88 per cent of Egyptian internet access was successfully shut down, however.
Renesys speculated that the apparent anomaly of Noor Data Networks may be a result of the fact it provides services to the Egyptian stock exchange. Read more…
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