photo from Al Jazerra Blog
EGYPT: Police barracks in North Sinai town bordering Gaza come under rocket attack
"Police barracks in Rafah, the town in North Sinai that borders the Gaza strip,
came under attack early Monday morning when a group of unknown perpetrators
fired rocket-propelled grenades at the building, Egyptian media reported.
"According to Agence France-Presse, at least one Egyptian police officer was injured. Meanwhile, a reporter in North Sinai for Egyptian state-run TV named the victim as Muhammad Ahmad Mahmud, 21, but didn't mention his profession.
"The attackers were deterred by tribesmen in the area who identified them as members of "extremist religious groups and foreign elements from the other side of the border," added the reporter, speaking on Egypt's Channel 1.
"Sinai's Bedouin's have testy relations with Egyptian authorities that have been heightened by days of nationwide political unrest." - LA Times
"According to Agence France-Presse, at least one Egyptian police officer was injured. Meanwhile, a reporter in North Sinai for Egyptian state-run TV named the victim as Muhammad Ahmad Mahmud, 21, but didn't mention his profession.
"The attackers were deterred by tribesmen in the area who identified them as members of "extremist religious groups and foreign elements from the other side of the border," added the reporter, speaking on Egypt's Channel 1.
"Sinai's Bedouin's have testy relations with Egyptian authorities that have been heightened by days of nationwide political unrest." - LA Times
Police barracks in Rafah
An Egyptian anti-government protester prays next to an army tank in
Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images
"Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has warned of a "perfect storm" enveloping the Middle East if leaders do not implement political and social reforms to meet the demands of their people. Clinton was speaking on Saturday at a high-level security conference in Munich, where EU leaders have appeared divided in their response to events in Egypt. The secretary of state urged European nations to join the US in pressing for broad political and economic reform in the Middle East. She said half measures were "untenable" as they would only breed further discontent. Some European leaders such as David Cameron, the British prime minister, have also called for a rapid transition in Egypt." - Al Jezeera
Camping Ground at Tahrir Square, Cairo - from The Guardian
"CAIRO — Egypt's vice president met a broad representation of major
opposition groups for the first time Sunday and offered new concessions
including freedom of the press, release of those detained since
anti-government protests began nearly two weeks ago and the eventual
lifting of the country's hated emergency laws."Two of the groups that attended the meeting said this was only a first step in a dialogue which has yet to meet their central demand -- the immediate ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak.
"People still want the president to step down," said Mostafa al-Naggar, a protest organizer and supporter of Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate and one of the country's leading democracy advocates.
"The protest continues because there are no guarantees and not all demands have been met," he added. "We did not sign on to the statement. This is a beginning of a dialogue. We approve the positive things in the statement but ... we are still demanding that the president step down."
"The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, made a similar statement after its representatives attended the meeting." - Huffington Post
photo from Al Jazerra Blog
"With Egypt in revolt and the country’s future uncertain, concern
is growing over whether a new government in the Arab world’s most
militarily and industrially advanced country could accelerate an arms
race in one of the world’s most volatile regions.
"At the heart of the concern is intelligence indicating that Egypt has
quietly carried out research and development on weapons of mass
destruction, including nuclear, chemical, biological and missile
technology. The research and development has continued virtually without pause over the past three decades, according to interviews with U.S. officials and a review of intelligence and other government documents by NBC News.
Specifically, the intelligence indicates that Egypt has carried out experiments in plutonium reprocessing and uranium enrichment, helped jump-start Saddam Hussein’s missile and chemical weapons programs in Iraq, and worked with Kim il-Jung on North Korea’s missile program.
“If we found another country doing what they’ve done, we would have been all over them,” said a former U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity." - Drudge Report
"CAIRO — With Egypt’s revolt entering a third week, thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square, demanding the immediate departure of President Hosni Mubarak, even as his government portrayed itself as already in the midst of American-approved negotiations to end the uprising.
"Vice President Omar Suleiman of Egypt, center back, met with leaders of Egyptian parties and the Muslim brotherhood leadership in Cairo on Sunday. More Photos »
"While the crowd seemed smaller than on previous days, the protesters mustered enough support to form a human chain blocking the entrance to the Mugamma, a huge edifice on Cairo’s central square built in the 1950s to house the city’s labyrinthine bureaucracy — a central part of everyday life.
"Outside the square, the authorities struggled to restore a kind of normalcy, as businesses reopened. But armored vehicles remained outside some government buildings and plans to reopen the stock exchange were postponed until Sunday. News reports said the government, reorganized by Mr. Mubarak in the early days of the uprising, would assemble on Monday for its first formal meeting.
"On Sunday, the government announced that the transition had begun with a meeting between Vice President Omar Suleiman and two representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood, the outlawed Islamist group the Egyptian government has sought to repress for many years as a threat to stability. They met as part of a group of about 50 prominent Egyptians and opposition figures, including officials of the small, recognized opposition parties, as well as a handful of young people who helped start the protest movement.
"While both sides acknowledged the meeting as unprecedented, its significance quickly became another skirmish in the battle between the president and the protesters. Mr. Suleiman released a statement — widely reported on state television and instantly a focal point in Washington — declaring that the meeting had produced a “consensus” about a path to reform, including the promise to form a committee to recommend constitutional changes by early March. The other elements echoed pledges Mr. Mubarak had already made, including a limit on how many terms a president can serve." - New York Times
"Pro-democracy protesters are continuing their occupation of Tahrir Square, despite the commencement of talks between the vice president Omar Suleiman and some opposition politicians.
More arrests of activists have been reported (10.46am), including independent film maker Samir Eshra and Abdel-Karim Nabil Suleiman, who blogs under the name Karim Amer. Amer was the first blogger to be prosecuted in the country, when he was jailed for four years in 2007 for insulting Islam and the president (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/feb/23/news.newmedia). He was released in November last year.
"A symbolic funeral has been held in Tahrir Square for the first journalist to be killed in the unrest, Ahmad Mohamed Mahmoud, a photographer with Al-Ta'awun (11.14am).
"The Egyptian government is to try to raise £1.5bn from the financial markets today. The sale was originally scheduled to take place last week but was postponed because of the protests (10.38am).
"The first Egyptian cabinet meeting since the protests began and Mubarak rejigged his cabinet his currently taking place." The Guardian
"WRAPUP 5-Mubarak cabinet meets, "Nile Revolution" digs in Related News
Young Opposition Supporter Near Tahrir Square
* Egypt opposition says talks to end crisis not enough3:06am IST
* Egypt govt holds crisis talks with opposition
Sun, Feb 6 2011
* Egypt govt holds crisis talks with opposition
Sun, Feb 6 2011
* Egypt's vice president meets opposition parties
Sun, Feb 6 2011
* Egypt's vice president meets opposition parties
Sun, Feb 6 2011
Mon Feb 7, 2011 9:02pm IST
* First full meeting of new cabinet starts
* Talks with opposition include Brotherhood
* U.S. may have softened position on Mubarak
* Egyptian pound weakens slightly
(Adds Brotherhood official, firms resuming operations)
By Yasmine Saleh and Andrew Hammond
"CAIRO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - President Hosni Mubarak's new cabinet on Monday held its first full meeting since an uprising started nearly two weeks ago, with no concrete progress in talks with Islamists and an opposition who demand his immediate exit.
"Mubarak, 82, who has refused calls to end his 30-year-old presidency before September polls, saying his resignation would cause chaos in the Arab world's most populous nation, has tried to focus on restoring order.
"Protesters, barricaded in a tent camp in Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo, have vowed to stay until Mubarak quits and hope to take their campaign to the streets with more mass demonstrations on Tuesday and Friday.
"The banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement was among the groups that met Egyptian government officials at the weekend, a sign of how much has already changed in an uprising that has rocked the Arab world and alarmed Western powers.
"Opposition figures reported little progress in the talks. While protesters want Mubarak to step down immediately, many worry that when he does leave, he will be replaced not with the democracy they seek but with another authoritarian ruler." - Reuters
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