LA Times News

LA Times News

The day a nation's fear dissolved

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 05:54 PM PST

The tide turned Jan. 28, when a surge of protesters confronted police and left them in disarray. If police had held their lines that day, the outcome might have been much different.

Police radios crackled with panic the day President Hosni Mubarak's grip on the nation was shattered.

Surge of immigrants from India baffles border officials in Texas

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 05:06 PM PST

Thousands from India have entered Texas illegally from Mexico in the last year. Most are Sikhs who claim religious persecution at home.

Thousands of immigrants from India have crossed into the United States illegally at the southern tip of Texas in the last year, part of a mysterious and rapidly growing human-smuggling pipeline that is backing up court dockets, filling detention centers and triggering investigations.

Egypt uprising brings tourism to a standstill

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 04:42 PM PST

Despite one estimate that the country has lost $1 billion in tourism revenue because of the rebellion, some Egyptians whose livelihoods depend on the tourist trade are sympathetic to the protesters' cause.

The tourist camels are idle. The trinket shops are empty. The gates of the pyramid complex are locked up tight.

Egypt's military treads carefully in Cairo

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 04:00 PM PST

As rumors circulate that the army is going to take down barricades protecting Tahrir Square, a crowd faces off with a general in the gentlest of confrontations.

The rumors had buzzed all morning. The Egyptian army was taking down the barricades that sealed off the main boulevard into Tahrir Square from violent supporters of President Hosni Mubarak.

Mideast protests cause a shift in U.S. policy

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 03:46 PM PST

The Obama administration initially backed away from a strong push for reforms in the Middle East, but with Egypt's uprising now in its second week, activists credit it for changing tack and backing pro-democracy protesters.

Although President Obama has sided firmly with pro-democracy protesters in Egypt, his administration spent its first two years easing the U.S. push for human rights reforms in that country.

Palestinians feel solidarity, and unease, with uprising in Egypt

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 01:28 PM PST

Palestinians identify with an uprising that also puts their leadership — which has benefited from Egypt's largess — in an uncomfortable position. Demonstrations sympathizing with Egyptians have been suppressed in the West Bank and Gaza.

It's been a first for many Palestinians.

Clamor for change now reaches Iraq

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 01:00 PM PST

Protests against poor government services break out in Baghdad and other cities. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announces he'll cut his pay in half and later vows not to seek a third term.

Clamor for political change across the Arab world has reached Iraq, where protests against poor government services have broken out in the capital and other cities.

Amid strident Egyptian protests, civility reigns

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 12:47 PM PST

In crowded Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the anti-government uprising, protesters are sharing supplies and picking up their trash, thefts are unheard of and women are treated respectfully.

A man walking in Tahrir Square fished his last cigarette out of a pack, dropped the empty box on the ground and kept walking.

Hiker imprisoned in Iran describes ordeal, pleads for companions' release

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 12:00 PM PST

A new film tells the story of three Americans who were hiking in Iraq but ended up being detained by Iranian soldiers. Sarah Shourd spent 410 days in Tehran's Evin Prison; her companions, including her fiance, are still there.

There were days when Sarah Shourd couldn't bring herself to get out of bed. She didn't eat. She wanted to disappear.

Leadership of Egypt's ruling party resigns; opposition groups resist meeting with vice president

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 12:21 PM PST

The top leadership of the National Democratic Party resigns, including Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal. An Obama administration official says major opposition groups fear losing leverage if they attend talks before Hosni Mubarak steps down.

The top leadership of Egypt's governing National Democratic Party, which has long been synonymous with corruption and rigged elections, resigned Saturday as the regime struggled to convince the country it was instituting change while still holding onto power.

Egyptian army reasserts control in central Cairo

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 09:12 AM PST

President Hosni Mubarak reportedly resigns as leader of the ruling National Democratic Party. Hundreds of soldiers take positions around Tahrir Square as Egypt's government emphasizes a return to normality while preparing to negotiate with a divided opposition.

The Egyptian army began to reassert control around Tahrir Square on Saturday, with the government emphasizing a return to normality while preparing for negotiations with a divided opposition struggling to devise a common strategy.

Leadership of Egypt's ruling party resigns

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 08:26 AM PST

State TV says the top leadership body of Egypt's ruling party, including the president's son Gamal Mubarak and the party secretary-general Safwat el-Sharif, resigned Saturday in a new gesture apparently aimed at convincing anti-government protesters that the regime is serious about reform.

Egyptian army moves to restore order

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 04:42 AM PST

The government meets with opposition leaders to discuss election proposals.

The Egyptian army began Saturday to reassert control around Tahrir Square, while government officials attempted to negotiate an end to the crisis with opposition leaders.

Gas pipeline explodes in north Sinai

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 05:42 AM PST

The attack, believed to be an act of terrorism or sabotage, disrupts gas flow and signals that Egypt's unrest could create problems for energy suppliers.

An Egyptian pipeline providing gas to Jordan was attacked and set ablaze Saturday near the northern Sinai town of El Arish, media reports said, disrupting gas flow and sending a stern warning to Israel and the world about the volatility of the political upheaval in Egypt.

Egypt protester's daily trek could lead to historic change

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 02:31 AM PST

Tens of thousands in Tahrir Square have labeled this day the 'Friday of Departure' for Mubarak

Here is the morning commute of Emad Mohammed, a soft-spoken 35-year-old accountant:

Change in Egypt could restore its centrality to the Arab world

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 04:45 PM PST

'Egypt is the heart of our world,' says an activist in the gulf state of Bahrain. 'It's either the sick man of the Arab world, or it could be the healthy man that could take us to new heights.'

For centuries, before its steady decline of recent decades, Egypt was the center of the Arab world; Cairo its focus of learning, culture and political power. Now, the country suddenly is changing again in ways likely to reshape the region for years to come.

Expatriate returns to Egypt to join protests

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 03:52 PM PST

As many fled the turmoil roiling Egypt, Hatem Refaat boarded a near- plane in Dubai and headed back home to Cairo to join the massive demonstrations against longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

As many foreigners and natives fled the turmoil roiling Egypt, Hatem Refaat boarded a near-empty plane in Dubai on Thursday night and headed back home to Cairo to join the massive demonstrations against longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

Israel fears regional regime change

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 03:25 PM PST

Even as the U.S. pushes Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down, Israel's leaders are urging caution, fearing free elections by Arab neighbors will usher in governments that are more hostile.

Israel likes to call itself an island of democratic stability in a Mideast sea of dictatorships. But now that democratic winds are blowing through the region, Israelis have been reluctant to embrace mounting calls for regime change beyond their border.