Egypt PM's visit to Saudi Arabia heralds breakthrough in relations - Egypt. Egypt PM's visit to Saudi Arabia heralds breakthrough in relations Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s visits to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have been cancelled but high hopes run on his trip to Saudi Arabia Ahram Online , Thursday 21 Apr 2011 Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf will pay his first visit to Saudi Arabia, his first since being appointed. He was meant to take in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates before it became clear that the two leaders, Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani and Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will both be away from their respective countries.
These trips have been postponed. According to senior diplomatic sources, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil El-Arabi achieved a breakthrough in Egypt-Saudi relations yesterday. It is also expected that Saudi Arabia will shortly announce a massive economic support package for Egypt. Also on Sharaf’s agenda is the matter of an Egyptian nominee for the position of Arab League secretary-general. Short link: Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on Egypt’s Revolution, His Potential Presidential Candidacy and Middle East Uprisings. This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: In Egypt, a committee of legal experts has announced reforms to several articles of the constitution that would open presidential elections to more competition and impose a two-term limit on future presidents. The changes will be put to a national referendum next month. One of those who is widely expected to run is Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa. Sharif, talk about who Amr Moussa is.
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, Amr Moussa is a career diplomat and probably one of the best well-known politicians in the Middle East. Two days after Mubarak was forced out of office, he announced that he is going to step down from the Arab League position in March, this month. But I was — after a lot of calls, I was granted an interview with him in the Arab League headquarters, which is just outside of Tahrir, and I asked him about his potential candidacy, about Israel, about the Egyptian uprising.
"A Celebration, Not a Protest": Massive Crowd Packs Cairo’s Tahrir Square to Mark One Week Since Mubarak’s Ouster. This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. JUAN GONZALEZ: Tens of thousands have gathered for a victory march through Tahrir Square, Liberation Square, to celebrate the overthrow of longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Allegations of government corruption helped spark the uprising that lasted 18 days. And on Thursday, authorities arrested three ex-ministers on corruption charges, including former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly and the ex-ministers for housing and tourism, Ahmed Maghrabi and Zuhair Garana.
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, labor strikes and protests are occuring across the country. Sharif, you’ve just come from Tahrir. SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Amy, Tahrir today is filled with people, one of the biggest protests we’ve seen so far. So, one thing that’s never changed — that has changed forever is that Egyptians will be willing to speak out now, not afraid to speak out, and you’ve been seeing that since this week.
Show Full Transcript › ‹ Hide Full Transcript. "It’s Time to Push the Borders of Freedom": Egyptian Students Defiantly Publish Newspaper Without Government Permission. Egypt unrest: What if Mubarak goes? 31 January 2011Last updated at 12:39 By Jeremy Bowen BBC Middle East editor, Cairo The events of the last week will have profound consequences for the Middle East for years to come. Egypt's role in the region is going to change. President Hosni Mubarak has been the central pillar of the alliance between Western powers and authoritarian Arab leaders and without him it may not be sustainable.
He has been the only Arab leader the Israelis trusted. Their biggest fear is that without him their cold - but so far resilient - peace with Egypt will be in danger. The president has been the West's necessary man in the Middle East for 30 years. That is why Egypt has continued to receive vast amounts of American aid, as well as political support from Britain and other European countries - despite a deplorable human rights record, crooked elections, the suppression of virtually all organised political opposition and rampant corruption. Succession question. Egypt protests: America's secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising. Weekend tech reading: How Egypt shut down the Internet.
In Egypt, Political Crisis Turns Into Economic One. Z on TV: ABC's Amanpour, CNN's Cooper amp up Egypt TV - TV show critic David Zurawik on the show business, culture and craziness of television. Updated: Mar 30, 2014 I watched "The Good Wife" tonight because Josh Charles told me in an interview last week how moving he found his last moments on-camera as Will Gardner to be. Read more ... Josh Charles tells The Sun: 'I didn't know it would be this intense' Updated: Mar 25, 2014 "It's crazy," Josh Charles said in a telephone interview with The Sun late Monday night. "I didn't know it would be this intense -- the kindness and emotion of the emails, the tweets and the texts. Read more ... Lawmakers invited to hang with Kevin Spacey Updated: Mar 20, 2014 Kevin Spacey, the star of the hit TV show "House of Cards," will visit Annapolis to schmooze with legislators Friday night as they weigh the fate of a film tax credit that has contributed millions to the show during its two years of production in Maryland.
Read more ... Find a little Hollywood in Baltimore Updated: Feb 14, 2014 If Baltimore is indeed becoming Hollywood east — and who are we to argue the point? Who are potential players in Egyptian reform? UPDATE 1-Egypt army: will not use violence against citizens. (adds detail, quote) CAIRO Jan 31 (Reuters) - The army said on Monday it would not use force against Egyptians staging protests demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down, a statement said. It said "freedom of expression" was guaranteed to all citizens using peaceful means. It was the first such explicit confirmation by the army that it would not fire at demonstrators who have taken to the streets of Egypt since last week to try to force Mubarak to quit.
"The presence of the army in the streets is for your sake and to ensure your safety and wellbeing. The armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people," the army statement said. "Your armed forces, who are aware of the legitimacy of your demands and are keen to assume their responsibility in protecting the nation and the citizens, affirms that freedom of expression through peaceful means is guaranteed to everybody. " Egypt crisis: Mohamed ElBaradei says he will run for presidency. The Muslim Brotherhood After Mubarak. With the end of the Mubarak era looming on the horizon, speculation has turned to whether the Muslim Brotherhood will dominate the new Egyptian political landscape. As the largest, most popular, and most effective opposition group in Egypt, it will undoubtedly seek a role in creating a new government, but the consequences of this are uncertain. Those who emphasize the risk of "Islamic tyranny" aptly note that the Muslim Brotherhood originated as an anti-system group dedicated to the establishment of sharia rule; committed acts of violence against its opponents in the pre-1952 era; and continues to use anti-Western, anti-Zionist, and anti-Semitic rhetoric.
But portraying the Brotherhood as eager and able to seize power and impose its version of sharia on an unwilling citizenry is a caricature that exaggerates certain features of the Brotherhood while ignoring others, and underestimates the extent to which the group has changed over time. To continue reading, please log in. Register. Sharif Kouddous Reports Live from Tahrir Amid Massive Protest. This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: We begin our coverage of Egypt with Democracy Now! Senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous in Tahrir Square in Cairo. He’s been on the ground in Egypt reporting on events as they unfold.
In the last few days he has been interviewed on independent radio stations in the United States, on Al Jazeera, last night on two programs on MSNBC and other news outlets. We go right now to Sharif Abdel Kouddous, who is in Tahrir Square. Sharif, what is it like on the ground? SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Amy, today is the one-week anniversary of this popular uprising in Egypt, this unprecedented revolt where hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets.
If today is not the day, then the next big decider will be Friday. And the solutions that they see after — these people are very politically aware. AMY GOODMAN: Sharif, what are the numbers that are being expected today? SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Thank you, Amy. Egypt risks losing Arab League leadership - Region - World. Egypt risks losing Arab League leadership Mustafa El-Fiqi's controversial nomination for secretary-general of the Arab League has provoked Egyptian activists to propose potential alternatives and member states to consider rotating the position among themselves Ahmed Eleiba , Friday 22 Apr 2011 Since the creation of the Arab League in 1945, the protocol has been that an Egyptian is elected to the post of secretary-general. There was only one exception at the end of the 1970s following Egypt’s recognition of Israel and the Camp David Agreement. This was viewed as a break from the Arab ranks and the League’s headquarters were relocated to Tunisia and headed by Al-Shazli Al-Qoleibi.
The League returned to Cairo once again at the beginning of the 1990s and the tradition of an Egyptian secretary-general was restored. But it seems that the winds of change in Arab states brought on by the January 25 Revolution have put the League’s seat at the centre of a storm, and now Egypt could lose its lead.