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Posts Tagged ‘Egypt’

Iranian MPs call for execution of opposition leaders

February 16, 2011 Comments off

Moussavi and Karroubi under house arrest

222 members of Iran’s 290-seat Parliament calling for the execution of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who remain under house arrest after being detained from attending anti-government protests in Read more…

Tens of thousands march against Yemen’s president

February 16, 2011 Comments off

By AHMED AL-HAJ
Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen (AP) – Thousands of people marching for the ouster of Yemen’s U.S.-allied president clashed Tuesday with police and government supporters, and at least three demonstrators were injured in a fifth straight day of Egypt-inspired protests.

Police tried to disperse the demonstrators using tear gas, batons and stun guns, but about 3,000 protesters defiantly continued their march from Sanaa University toward the city center, chanting slogans against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, including “Down with the president’s thugs!”

The procession gained momentum with hundreds of students and rights activists joining along the way.

The unrest comes as ties between the U.S. and Saleh have been Read more…

Riots Break Out in Bahrain

February 15, 2011 2 comments
Bloomberg
By Glen Carey – Mon Feb 14 15:04:21 GMT 2011
Bahrain Deploys Police as Demonstrators Demand Freedom, Jobs

Police fired tear gas into a crowd of protesters in the Diraz area today. Photographer: -/AFP/Getty Images

Bahraini riot police were deployed to break up protests across the island nation as demonstrators, inspired by revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, demanded more political freedom and jobs.

Police fired tear gas into crowds in the areas of Diraz and Bani Jamrah. Earlier, residents of the Shiite Muslim village of Nuweidrat said clashes broke out between activists and police after morning prayers. Police were present on the outskirts of Nuweidrat, where Shiite flags adorned buildings along alleyways.

”We were starting our peaceful protests when riot police attacked us with tear gas,” Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, said in an interview after the protest in Bani Jamrah was dispersed. “We will continue Read more…

US Internet censorship fight falling short: report

February 15, 2011 Comments off

WASHINGTON — State Department efforts to combat Internet censorship in China and other countries have fallen short and funding for the drive should be shifted to another US agency, a Senate committee report says.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee report sharply criticizes the State Department for being slow in spending money allocated by Congress for Internet Censorship Circumvention Technology (ICCT).

The report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, recommends that the funding be given instead to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and other US radio and TV networks.

The report is to be released on Tuesday, the same day Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to Read more…

Gaddafi tells Palestinians: revolt against Israel

February 14, 2011 Comments off

Ali Shuaib and Salah Sarrar

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Palestinian refugees should capitalize on the wave of popular revolts in the Middle East by massing peacefully on the borders of Israel until it gives in to their demands, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Sunday.

Gaddafi is respected in many parts of the Arab world for his uncompromising criticism of Israel and Arab leaders who have dealings with the Jewish state, though some people in the region dismiss his initiatives as unrealistic.

He was giving his first major speech since a popular uprising in neighboring Egypt forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign, an event which electrified the Arab world and prompted speculation that other Arab governments could also be toppled.

“Fleets of boats should take Palestinians … and wait by the Palestinian shores until the problem is resolved,” Gaddafi was shown saying on state television. “This is a time of popular revolutions.”

“We need to create a Read more…

Egypt’s military dissolves parliament, suspends constitution

February 13, 2011 Comments off
Egypt’s new military leadership dissolves parliament, suspended the constitution and says it will form a panel to amend the country’s constitution before submitting the changes to a popular referendum. Troops, meanwhile scuffle with holdout protesters in Tahrir Square as they move in to dismantle the protest camp and the Egyptian Museum reported the theft of major treasures
Protester shouts as they resist being removed by Egyptian soldiers from Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday. AFP photo
Protester shouts as they resist being removed by Egyptian soldiers from Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Sunday. AFP photo

Egypt’s military leaders dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution on Sunday, meeting two key demands of protesters who have been keeping up pressure for immediate steps to push forward the transition to democratic, civilian rule after forcing Hosni Mubarak out of power.

In their latest communique, the military rulers that took over when Mubarak stepped down Friday, said they will run the country for six months, or until presidential and parliament elections can be held.

The military leaders said they were forming a committee to amend the constitution and set the rules for popular referendum to endorse the amendments.

Both the lower and upper houses of parliament are being dissolved. The last parliamentary elections in November and December were Read more…

Algeria shuts down internet and Facebook as protest mounts

February 13, 2011 1 comment

Internet providers were shut down and Facebook accounts deleted across Algeria on Saturday as thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators were arrested in violent street demonstrations.

Internet providers were shut down and Facebook accounts deleted across Algeria on Saturday as thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators were arrested in violent street demonstrations.
Algerian protesters chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers Photo: EPA
By Nabila Ramdani 7:25PM GMT 12 Feb 2011

Plastic bullets and tear gas were used to try and disperse large crowds in major cities and towns, with 30,000 riot police taking to the streets in Algiers alone.

There were also reports of journalists being targeted by state-sponsored thugs to stop reports of the disturbances being broadcast to the outside world.

But it was the government attack on the internet which was of particular significance to those calling for an end to President Abdelaziz Boutifleka’s repressive regime.

Protesters mobilising through the internet were largely credited with bringing Read more…

World hunger threat Shown By Arab Protests:Economist

February 13, 2011 Comments off

DAKAR: Uprisings across the Arab world are just a foretaste of the instability facing other poor states unless a global food crisis is tackled, leading development economist Jeffrey Sachs said on Saturday.

Popular anger at rising food prices has been an explosive ingredient in the mix of grievances that triggered the fall of leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, and is now putting the heat on authorities in Algeria and Jordan.

Sachs, a long-time adviser of governments and world agencies on the fight against poverty, said the root causes applied right across an already unstable belt of states stretching from Iraq through the Sahara to the shores of Read more…

Ahmadinejad calls for Mideast without Israel and US

February 12, 2011 Comments off

Print Edition TEHRAN – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Egypt’s popular uprising shows a new Middle East is emerging, one that will have no signs of Israel and US “interference.”

The Iranian president spoke as the country marked the 32nd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. His remarks came hours after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down, angering hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who have been demanding he relinquish his three-decade grip on power.

Ahmadinejad says Egyptians have the right to live in freedom and choose their own government.

Iran crushed opposition protests against Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 re-election and on Thursday, Iranian opposition leader Mahdi Karroubi was placed under house arrest because of calls for a rally in support of Egyptian protesters.

On Thursday, Iranian opposition leader Mahdi Karroubi announced via his website, Sahamnews.org, that he has been placed under house arrest, because he called for a rally in support of anti-government demonstrations in Egypt.

Karroubi petitioned the government for permission to hold a rally, but State Prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi rejected the request, warning of repercussions should a demonstration take place.

Hosni Mubarak steps down

February 11, 2011 Comments off

Omar Suleiman said Mr Mubarak, who earlier left Cairo for Sharm el-Sheikh, has handed control to the military.

Car horns were heard around the capital in celebration following the announcement.

Crowds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square chanted: “The people have brought down the regime.”

“In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic,” Mr Suleiman said. “He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor.”

Mohammed ElBaradei, one of Egypt’s key opposition leaders, said: Read more…