LA Times News

LA Times News

Egypt protesters seeking Hosni Mubarak's ouster survive a day of battles with his backers

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 07:58 PM PST

The Mubarak foes hold on to Tahrir Square in Cairo after deadly clashes. The military calls for an end to the protests, signaling that it hasn't abandoned the president.

Anti-government protesters held their grip on the square at the center of efforts to oust Egypt's president early Thursday, after a day of battles marked by horse- and camelback charges, rhythmic banging of makeshift metal shields and the glow of firebombs hurled in the dark.

Egypt crackdown echoes years of Mubarak's iron rule

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 05:59 PM PST

Egyptians have long lived in fear and desperation under President Hosni Mubarak. Now they are standing up.

His anger hides in the mask of a smile.

Rebuffed U.S. turns to Egypt military in the crisis

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 05:59 PM PST

'Our sense is that the military, on balance, is still serving as a buffer between both sides and they likely still hold the key to a peaceful transition,' says one senior U.S. Defense official.

Faced with a bloody rejection of its call for a rapid, orderly transition of power in Egypt, the Obama administration finds itself with diminished leverage over President Hosni Mubarak, and has stepped up its contacts with the Egyptian military to try to exert influence over events rocking a key ally.

Cyclone pummels Australia's Queensland state

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 05:59 PM PST

Cyclone Yasi, packing 175-mph winds, damages homes in Queensland, already reeling from recent floods. The storm cuts off power and phone service and produces offshore waves up to 39 feet in height.

A powerful cyclone roared across the coastline of northeastern Australia late Wednesday and early Thursday, damaging homes, cutting off power to thousands of people and bringing fresh misery to a region still recovering from devastating floods last month.

Unrest in Egypt poses obstacle for Republicans

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 04:50 PM PST

The GOP hasn't been able to get a foothold for their battle against Obama's policies. And now Egypt has forced them to drop their invective and strive for unity again.

For weeks Republicans have tried to find some political traction against President Obama, but events keep getting in their way.

Celebration turns to chaos in Egypt

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 04:32 PM PST

Enraged mobs, for and against President Hosni Mubarak, fight each other with sticks, rocks and their bare hands in Cairo's Tahrir Square. At least three Egyptians are killed.

Within minutes, the buoyant mood inside Tahrir Square turned into a fight for survival — and for Egypt's future.

Egypt crisis taking economic toll on people

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 04:04 PM PST

Workplaces have closed, and prices have risen. The ATMs don't work even if someone has money saved.

Fahim Sayed walked Cairo's streets Wednesday, watching as government supporters charged protesters with rocks and then darted back, because he had nothing better to do.

Protests raise hope for women's rights in Egypt

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 04:27 PM PST

Women, long considered second-class citizens, say they have found an unexpected equality on the front lines of the demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak. 'It's a revolution in how we're perceived,' says one.

Of all the astounding things that Rihab Assad has witnessed during these days of tumult, one stood out for her: the sight of a woman with a megaphone leading a crowd of demonstrators in chants.

White House warns Egyptian government not to instigate violence among protesters

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 11:44 AM PST

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs condemns the wave of violence among pro- and anti-government demonstrators in Cairo and reiterates that the U.S. believes the time for a transition of power has come.

The White House on Wednesday warned the Egyptian government that it should not instigate violence among demonstrators in Cairo and should stop if it had a role in the dangerous confrontations.

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he won't run in 2013 elections

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 01:31 PM PST

Before a day of planned protests, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he won't seek another term and his son won't be his successor. Critics note that he has reneged on a similar promise.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh pledged Wednesday not to run in 2013 elections and to remove his son as his likely successor, an apparent concession to opposition groups before a day of planned protests in the capital, Sana.

Hosni Mubarak supporters attack protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 12:49 PM PST

Thousands expressing support for President Hosni Mubarak, some on horses and camels, push their way through side streets into Tahrir Square to attack anti-government protesters. State television broadcasts an order for all to clear the square.

Thousands of supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attacked anti-government forces in Cairo's main square Wednesday, some charging in on camels and horses in a dramatic escalation of violence that prompted an official order to clear the area.

Violence in Egypt as foes, supporters of Hosni Mubarak clash

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 06:57 AM PST

Fighting erupts in Tahrir Square as anti-government demonstrators and supporters of President Hosni Mubarak throw rocks and brandish clubs. The clashes follow a call by the Egyptian military for protesters to go home.

Thousands of supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak besieged anti-government forces ensconced in Tahrir Square on Wednesday, leading to violent clashes and some injuries.

Invested in 'soft power,' India awaits Karzai visit

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 12:52 AM PST

India's lack of a border with Afghanistan, giving it no road access except via Pakistan, and the attacks against its missions and aid workers have blunted New Delhi's enthusiasm and effectiveness.

Indian leaders hope visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai this week will emphasize the safeguarding of mutual interests between the two countries based on historical and cultural links as talks cover the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan expected to begin this summer.

South Korea anxiously hopes for heroic captain to recover

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 12:52 AM PST

Seok Hae-kyun misled Somali pirates who took over his ship. When commandos boarded the vessel, his captors opened fire on him.

The ship's captain lies sedated in a hospital bed here, breathing tubes thrust down his throat, fragments from six bullets fired by Somali pirates lodged in his body. As he fights for his life, Seok Hae-kyun is being called a hero.

Australia in path of 'monster, killer storm'

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 08:55 PM PST

Tens of thousands stock up on food and hunker down in shelters ahead of Cyclone Yasi. With gusts of 186 mph, it's the strongest storm to hit the area in almost a century.

Tens of thousands of Australians stocked up on food and hunkered in sturdy shelters Wednesday as a monster cyclone approached the northeast coast with furious winds, rains and surging seas on a scale unseen there in generations.

Critic's Notebook: Al Jazeera English leads the way in news coverage from Egypt

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 07:07 PM PST

The young network is providing intimate, round-the-clock reports of events as they unfold.

Would the American Revolution have been fought sooner if colonists had tweeted from the scene of the Boston Massacre? Would Madame Guillotine have survived for more than a day if there had been live streaming from the Place de la Revolution?