LA Times News

LA Times News

U.S. cautiously prepares for post-Mubarak era

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 07:18 PM PST

Mindful of other allies in the region, U.S. officials have been careful not to abandon the Egyptian leader, urging him to implement a transition to democracy. But they are also preparing for the possibility of his ouster.

Even as the Obama administration maintained its cautious approach to the crisis in Egypt, suggesting that President Hosni Mubarak might be able to remain in power if he acts quickly on reforms, a former senior administration official said the White House also is preparing for a post-Mubarak era.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood mutes its religious message for protests

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 06:01 PM PST

The Islamist opposition group backs Mohamed ElBaradei, a secularist with Western democratic principles. Longer term, it's unclear how its ideology will fit in a new Egypt.

The medical students marched and sweated in protest.

Tunisians wary as Islamists emerge from hiding

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 05:06 PM PST

Islamists, long oppressed under the former regime, had little to do with the uprising, but they could benefit from a transition to democracy. The thought unsettles some in this largely secular country.

In the mornings, barber Fadhi Ayari blasts recordings of Koranic verses from his shop's stereo. But it's just a habit, he explains as he turns down the volume. He says he rarely ventures to the mosque just across the street.

White House quietly prepares for a post-Mubarak era in Egypt

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 12:56 PM PST

The White House stance has been even-handed as officials have suggested President Hosni Mubarak might stay in power if freedoms, competitive elections are allowed. But an insider says the U.S. is not ready to keep Mubarak in power at all costs.

A tight-lipped White House is taking an even-handed approach to the crisis in Egypt, suggesting that President Mubarak might be able to hold onto power if he allows competitive elections and restores individual freedoms. But inside the Obama administration, there are signs that officials are preparing for a post-Mubarak era after three decades.

Top Obama aide William Daley says U.S. not trying to steer Egypt

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 11:54 AM PST

Chief of Staff William Daley says in his first interview that the White House is hoping the Egyptian people will find a solution to the standoff.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's top aide, William Daley, signaled in an interview Sunday that the U.S. did not want to steer events in Egypt but, rather, hoped the Egyptian people would come up with a solution to the standoff between President Hosni Mubarak and protesters who want him ousted.

Israel 'anxiously monitoring' turmoil in Egypt

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 03:17 PM PST

The political upheaval could threaten the decades-old alliance between the neighbors, a cornerstone of Israel's regional strategy.

As turbulence continued to rock Egypt on Sunday, next-door neighbor and ally Israel was watching and preparing for possible strategic, diplomatic and even economic repercussions.

5 alleged Somali pirates arrive in South Korea to face trial

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 01:24 PM PST

Authorities say the five were among 13 pirates who this month seized the South Korean freighter Samho Jewelry and kidnapped its crew. If convicted, the men could be sentenced to life in prison.

Five alleged Somali pirates arrived in South Korea on Sunday to face trial in the recent foiled hijacking of a cargo ship, charges that could bring them life in prison, officials here say.

Egypt's military moves to take control of parts of Cairo

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 09:10 AM PST

The show of force is seen as a sign that the army may be preparing to crack down. Thousands of protesters defy a curfew to gather for a demonstration that ends with an appearance by Mohamed ElBaradei, who promises 'change is coming.'

Egypt's military moved more aggressively Sunday to take control over parts of the capital, but the sixth day of unrest ended with increasing questions about how much longer President Hosni Mubarak could withstand calls for his resignation, including an electrifying demand from opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei that he step down to "save the country."

Hillary Clinton says U.S. not pushing for ouster of Egyptian President Mubarak

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 08:10 AM PST

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes clear in TV interviews Sunday that the United States is not demanding that President Hosni Mubarak step down. She also backs away from earlier threats to pull Egypt's billions of dollars in aid.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday called for Egypt to move toward "real democracy" but also made clear that the United States was not demanding that embattled President Hosni Mubarak step down in the face of continuing demonstrations.

10 killed in German train crash; toll could rise

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 11:27 AM PST

A head-on collision between a cargo train and a passenger train killed 10 people and injured 23 others in eastern Germany, and left wreckage scattered across a frost-covered field.

German authorities said Sunday that the death toll could still rise from a head-on collision between a cargo train and a passenger train that killed at least 10 people, injured 23 others and left wreckage scattered across a frost-covered field.

Clinton: Egypt must transition to democracy

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 07:00 AM PST

"I want the Egyptian people to have a chance to chart a new future," said Clinton, who addressed the volatile situation in back-to-back interviews on the five morning TV news shows before leaving on a trip to Haiti.

The U.S. expects that the protests in Egypt will lead to free and fair elections as part of an "orderly" transition to "real democracy," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday as the Obama administration worked to get a handle on the fast-moving upheaval shaking the American ally.

Egyptians guard against looting on sixth day of protests

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 06:41 AM PST

Officials say thousands of Islamist inmates have escaped, but activists say the government may be trying to create panic. As unrest continues, the U.S. Embassy tells Americans to consider leaving promptly.

Egyptian authorities scrambled fighter jets low over a crowd of thousands of protesters in the capital city of Cairo Sunday afternoon as a sixth day of mass protests got underway and the military announced full control over major cities, Arab television showed.

Suicide bomber kills a top official in key Afghan province

Posted: 30 Jan 2011 12:22 AM PST

The Taliban claims responsibility for the killing of Deputy Gov. Abdul Latif Ashna as he was driving to work in Kandahar city. It is the highest-profile strike of its kind in months.

A suicide bomber killed the deputy governor of strategic Kandahar province Saturday, raising fears that insurgents were reigniting an assassination campaign against public servants that terrorized the south's main urban hub for much of last year.

Afghan musician returns to keep a tradition alive

Posted: 29 Jan 2011 09:55 PM PST

Master tabla player Asif Mahmoud had fled to Britain, to escape violence and fanatics who opposed music. Now he's back in Kabul's music quarter, helping train a new generation of musicians.

The master sits in a newly painted house on Kharabat Street, in the oldest quarter of this ancient city in the mountains.

Egypt protesters tend to put faith in army

Posted: 29 Jan 2011 09:55 PM PST

Experts say the goodwill between the army and the people stems largely from the fact that the military has rarely been called upon to cope with civilian unrest. That could change now.

As Yousef Ahmed, a 25-year-old protester, marched along a riverfront boulevard Saturday, a soldier atop one tank extended an arm and helped him climb aboard. They embraced and posed for a picture.

At Cairo bakery, protest is a luxury; bread is not

Posted: 29 Jan 2011 04:27 PM PST

Though demonstrators fill the streets, and the government has yet to deliver its daily supply of flour, Milad Zari and his colleagues keep working at the ovens. The poor need to eat, and so do they.

The revolution has not yet come to Milad Zari's bakery.