Leaders from the US, UK, France and Germany have urged Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak to avoid violence and enact reforms as protests continue. In Cairo, thousands of demonstrators have ignored a curfew. The army is standing by and not intervening. Mr Mubarak has appointed his first ever vice-president and a new prime minister as he struggles to regain control after five days of street demonstrations. At least 74 people have been killed since Tuesday, and looting is ongoing. US President Barack Obama met national security officials on Saturday to discuss the situation in Egypt.
Person | About | Day |
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نسرین ستوده: زندانی روز | Dec 04 | |
Saeed Malekpour: Prisoner of the day | Lawyer says death sentence suspended | Dec 03 |
Majid Tavakoli: Prisoner of the day | Iterview with mother | Dec 02 |
احسان نراقی: جامعه شناس و نویسنده ۱۳۰۵-۱۳۹۱ | Dec 02 | |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day | 46 days on hunger strike | Dec 01 |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Graffiti | In Barcelona | Nov 30 |
گوهر عشقی: مادر ستار بهشتی | Nov 30 | |
Abdollah Momeni: Prisoner of the day | Activist denied leave and family visits for 1.5 years | Nov 30 |
محمد کلالی: یکی از حمله کنندگان به سفارت ایران در برلین | Nov 29 | |
Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |
John Simpson's Take
by Darius Kadivar on Sat Jan 29, 2011 04:04 PM PSTJohn SimpsonWorld Affairs Editor, BBC News, Cairo
In spite of the turmoil, one or two things are becoming clearer here. It looks pretty likely that President Mubarak and his military leaders have been told in no uncertain fashion by the Americans that the Tiananmen Square option, by which the authorities restore order by shooting the protestors down by the hundred, is simply not acceptable.
Mr Mubarak's only hope, therefore, is to form a government which the demonstrators might accept, hard though that is to imagine. He's now appointed a new prime minister and a new vice-president - Omar Suleiman, the head of military intelligence.
Mr Suleiman isn't just a secret policeman: he's also an experienced diplomatic negotiator, respected in the West. But tonight, the crowds have been chanting slogans against him as well.
If the new government can't calm the anger in the streets, it's hard to see how President Mubarak can stay in power. Hard, too, to think that the Americans, who keep Egypt afloat with their money, would want him to.
Omar Suleiman, the new vice-president, once saved President Mubarak's life in an assassination attempt. Saving him a second time may prove more of a problem.