New dawn for Egypt as Mubarak toppled

GEO
CAIRO: Thousands of Egyptians were still singing and waving flags as dawn broke over a nation reborn on Saturday, after a popular uprising forced president Hosni Mubarak from power.

The streets and squares of downtown Cairo were still in the hands of the mostly young demonstrators whose determined 18-day revolt overturned 30 years of autocratic rule and triggered an outpouring of national solidarity.

But political power now rests with the military commanders who stepped into the vacuum left by Mubarak's departure, and many people were anxiously waiting to see whether they will make good their promise to respect the popular will.

In Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the revolt, many of the anti-regime protesters who had occupied the city's vast central plaza since January 28 were still sleeping in makeshift shelters, now joined by exhausted wellwishers.

"It's party time! We are born again," declared 40-year-old agricultural engineer Osama Saadallah. "We were behind other countries, now we are worth something in the eyes of others, of the Arab world."

The army began moving tanks to the sides of roads leading into the central square and dragging away the metal barriers, barbed wire and burned wrecks of cars that had served as a cordon during the revolt.

The Cairo press, including state-run titles that had initially dismissed the uprising or charged that it was being fomented by foreigners, hailed the "Revolution of the Youth."

But if Egypt's revolution is indeed to serve as an example to the region, as Tunisia's revolt inspired Egypt, much will depend on the stance of the junta that stepped into the breach when Mubarak's nerve broke.

Headed by a longtime Mubarak loyalist, 75-year-old Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was expected to make a statement about its plans to form a transitional government.

So far, it has given little clue as to the direction it will take. In its "Statement Number Three" since announcing that it was taking charge, it said simply that it would respect the mood of the newly energised street.

The council "will issue further statements that will announce forthcoming steps, measures and arrangements, and it affirms at the same time that it is not a replacement for the legitimacy that is acceptable to the people."

If the generals go back on their word, the protests could start again.

"We're waiting for a new statement from the army," said Mohammed Rida, a 26-year-old activist. "We don't want to be ruled by the military. We want a coalition government with experienced figures."

In the euphoric atmosphere -- all night Egyptians had drummed, sang and danced, firing jets of flame from aerosol bottles -- it was hard to believe the news had broken just hours earlier.

A grim-faced Vice President Omar Suleiman announced the handover on state television late Friday after more than a million furious marchers took to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Port Said and beyond.

Egypt ruling party leaders resign, protesters unmoved

Daily Times
* Mubarak’s son Gamal resigns, Hossam Badrawi named new secretary general * Muslim Brotherhood says no Islamic revolution in Egypt * Saboteurs attack gas pipeline to Jordan 

CAIRO: The leadership of Egypt’s ruling party quit on Saturday, but the protesters who have rocked the political establishment dismissed the move as a ruse that would not deter them from their goal of toppling the president.

Reports by Al Arabiya saying President Hosni Mubarak had resigned as head of the party were later withdrawn by the Dubai-based television news channel.

State television said only the leadership of the party, including Mubarak’s son Gamal, had resigned and named the new secretary general as Hossam Badrawi, seen as more liberal. But the protesters were not impressed by the latest gesture. “These are not gains for the protesters, this is a trick by the regime. This is not fulfilling our demands. These are red herrings,” said Bilal Fathi, 22.

Earlier, Mubarak met some of the new ministers, the state news agency said, in a clear rebuff to the hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s influential Muslim Brotherhood is keeping a low profile in the current unrest because it does not want the revolt to be seen as an Islamic revolution, one of its leaders said.

“It is an uprising of the Egyptian people,” spokesman Rashad al-Bayoumi told the German weekly Der Spiegel, while accusing Mubarak’s government of distorting the image of the movement.

“The West won’t listen to us, but we’re not devils. We want peace not violence,” he said. Separately, unknown saboteurs attacked an Egyptian pipeline supplying gas to Jordan, forcing authorities to switch off gas supply from a twin pipeline to Israel, an official told AFP.

The attackers used explosives against the pipeline in the town of Lihfen in northern Sinai, near the Gaza Strip, the official said. It was initially thought the pipeline to Israel was attacked.

Egypt's Facebook Use Skyrockets Following Internet's Return

Huffingtonpost

Use of Facebook by users from Egypt has surged following the restoration of Internet service to the country.

Egypt was plunged into an Internet blackout last week after ISPs caved to government demands and shut off access to the web. The crackdown lasted several days, though service was restored on Wednesday, the same day that the block on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter was lifted.

Facebook has seen activity on its site increase dramatically since the country went back online.

"Since access was restored, we have more users than ever," Facebook spokesperson Andrew Noyes told The Huffington Post in an email.

Facebook has around 5 million users in Egypt, a fifth of which are mobile users.

Noyes observed that the number of Groups and Pages created by users from Egypt have "risen sharply": in the past two weeks, around 32,000 groups and 14,000 pages have been created. The most popular Facebook Page among users from Egypt belongs to Amr Khaled, a preacher who has over 2 million "likes," followed by that of an Egyptian radio host, Amr Diab.

Prior to the Internet shutdown, Egyptians had turned to Facebook, among other sites, to organize protests.

Million march against Mubarak in Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA: Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in Egypt's second city Alexandria on Tuesday calling for President Hosni Mubarak to quit, hoping to swell their numbers to a million on an eighth day of anger.

A vast crowd of smiling protesters massed in a light-hearted atmosphere in front of Qaed Ibrahim mosque near El-Raml station in the Mediterranean port before marching off down the corniche.

However, many protesters were staying away from the corniche, marching through side streets and making it impossible to accurately assess the crowd's size.

Organisers of the protests against Mubarak's three-decade rule called for a "march of a million" in Alexandria after the authorities cancelled all train services in a bid to stymie a similar march in Cairo on Tuesday.

The Alexandria demo took place at the same time as several hundred thousand people massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square, all demanding that Mubarak stand down.

Many demonstrators waved Egyptian flags, including one scrawled with "Get out you scum, go be with Zine El Abidine', in reference to Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, forced into exile by popular protests last month.

Members of popular committees set up after police evaporated from the street were checking identity papers, fearing that police troublemakers would infiltrate the crowd.

Nearby a group of angry protesters carried a symbolic Mubarak coffin, shouting "Mubarak is dead without God's mercy."

A sea of thousands cheered as one when a rumour spread quickly through the crowd the Mubarak had left the country, with many protesters prostrating to God.

The United Nations estimates that at least 300 people have been killed in clashes with police since protests began on January 25, demanding that Mubarak quit and calling for democracy, jobs and an end to corruption and human rights abuses.

Just released from hospital after losing his hand when he was caught up in protests on Friday, Osama Maghazi is now demonstrating. Police shotgun pellets blew off the fingers of one hand, which has now been amputated.

The port worker said that on Friday he happened to be passing by the protests when he became embroiled in the violence.

"It's the people's right to define their fate," Maghazi, in his 30s, said. "I never expected the people's will to be stronger than the regime but now it's the people's will that rules."

He said he was happy that the police mangling of his hand had spurred on protesters on Friday.

"The people demand the toppling of the president," the crowd shouted, along with "One people, one demand."

Protesters also sought to stress the popular nature of their demand for Mubarak to go, crying "No parties, no groups; it's a revolution by the youth."

A huge banner flapped under the Mediterranean winter sunshine, proclaiming: "We die and Egypt lives."

As part of the protest headed off down the corniche, they passed a just-married couple driving in the other direction and greeted them with celebratory whistling.

When asked what she thought of the protest, bride Nagla said: "I'm very happy people are happy for me, but I want Mubarak out."

At around dusk, many people began leaving the protest, having ignored the curfew that came into effect at 3:00 pm but with streets haunted by insecurity over looters.

Battlefield Egypt

Daily Times
* Army called in, curfew imposed across country

* 5 killed, 870 injured as protesters clash with police

* Several govt buildings, vehicles torched

* Opp demands interim govt

CAIRO: Tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Egypt on Friday, prompting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to impose a curfew to cover all 28 governorates in the country, state television announced at the end of a fourth day of mass nationwide protests.

He had earlier declared a curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez.

“Following the earlier decree... the commander of the armed forces has decided to extend the curfew to cover all governorates in the country,” state television said.

The curfew was to run from 6pm to 7am until further notice.

The president “has asked the armed forces, in cooperation with the police, to implement the decision, and maintain security and secure public establishments and private property,” it said.

In Cairo, protesters poured out of mosques after Friday prayers and ran rampant through the streets, throwing stones and torching two police stations as police chased them with batons, firing tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets.

In the canal city of Suez, protesters overran a police station, seized weapons and set fire to security force vehicles in fierce clashes in which a demonstrator was killed, witnesses said.

The nationwide demonstrations, inspired by the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia, have swelled into the largest uprising in three decades, sending shockwaves across the region. Eight people have been killed, hundreds injured and some 1,000 arrested.

But in a hint that authorities might heed the rising tide of popular anger, a senior lawmaker and member of the ruling party called for “unprecedented reforms” in order to stave off a revolution.

Egypt is one of Washington’s closest allies in the region, but analysts say the United States is growing increasingly concerned that its refusal to implement more political reforms could lead to further unrest and instability.

That was reflected on Friday when Fitch ratings agency said it had revised its ratings outlook for Egypt to negative.

Demonstrations spread around the capital of Cairo, where police appeared overwhelmed as protesters broke through several police barriers.

Protesters were seen being dragged away and pushed into police vans, as others defied the heavy police presence and made their way to the central Tahrir Square.

Leading dissident Mohamed ElBaradei, who has said he would be prepared to lead a transitional authority if he were asked, was among a crowd of around 2,000 targeted by police and was forced to take refuge inside a mosque in Giza Square and not allowed to lead.

The crowd attacked police vans, torching one, after a civilian had most of his hand blown away, allegedly by police.

Protesters also set fire to the governorate building in the centre of Alexandria.

Medical sources said at least five protesters killed and 870 were wounded on a day that saw security forces using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds. Some were in a serious condition with bullet wounds.

The main opposition party, Wafd, said Egypt needs a period of transitional rule, new parliamentary elections and amendments to the constitution so a president can stand for only two six-year terms. agencies