- Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by A_beshoy

In Egypt, Debate Grows Over a Successor to Hosni Mubarak

Beshoy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:21:31 +0000

Hosni Mubarak has ruled Egypt for 28 of his 81 years, but he’s not likely to run for reelection in 2011. And growing public debate over the identity of his successor is fueled in no small part by the fact that Egyptians are not fond of a president who is widely believed to be grooming his 45-year-old son, Gamal Mubarak, to take the reins. (Neither man acknowledges such a plan.) But while such a familial handoff would hardly be atypical in the Middle East, it’s far from a done deal in Egypt.

Russia's new scramble for Africa

Beshoy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:44:23 +0000

ONCE it would have been Cold War rhetoric and “fraternal greetings” to Marxist guerrillas. Yesterday Russia returned to Africa in a scramble to restore its Soviet-era influence - only this time with profits and natural resources in mind.
President Medvedev arrived in Egypt at the start of a four-nation tour to a continent where communist ideology and Cold War alliances shaped its post-colonial landscape.

Now Russia is keen to revive relations in a region where it still has several old friends, and some, albeit faded, influence.

Vladimir Putin visited South Africa and Morocco as President in 2006 but Russia currently lags far behind China in winning access to the region’s resources. In the past few years China has invested huge sums to buy influence in Africa and gain access to the raw materials it needs.

During the 1970s the Soviets spent billions of dollars backing Marxist guerrilla movements in places such as Ethiopia, Mozambique and Angola, where military aid included airlifting 20,000 Cuban troops to support rebel forces. By the middle of that decade almost 35,000 Soviet political and economic “advisers” worked in Africa, many of them KGB officers.

Egypt pressuring Hamas, Fatah to reconcile

Beshoy — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:27:51 +0000

Egypt is making unprecedented efforts to persuade Hamas and Fatah to sign a reconciliation agreement by July 7, 2009, Palestinian sources told Ynet Saturday. The sources said it was the first time that Egypt has applied serious pressure to both sides.

According to the sources, it appears that efforts this time around are likely to convince the sides to sign an agreement, although such an agreement would not actually bring the sides closer in terms of their differences. The sources say the agreement is meant to preserve the status quo until January of 2010.

Obama vs. bin Laden: A battle for Muslim hearts

Beshoy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:30:44 +0000

Audiotapes attributed to Al Qaeda’s two top leaders have sought to discredit President Obama on the eve of his much-heralded speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, declaring that he is no different from his predecessor and follows the same anti-Muslim policies.

Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden accused Obama of “antagonizing Muslims” and of “laying the foundation for long wars,” said the Qatar-based TV channel Al Jazeera, which aired excerpts of the tape shortly after the American president arrived in Saudi Arabia.

A day earlier, Mr. bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, urged Muslims not to heed Obama’s “elegant” words, arguing that Obama’s policies are already clear.

“His bloody messages were received and are still being received by Muslims, and they will not be concealed by public relations campaigns or by farcical visits or elegant words,” said a 12-minute audio recording attributed to Mr. Zawahiri and posted on an al-Qaeda-linked website Tuesday.

Guns, women and misappropriated funds: Iraqi Trade Minister charged

Beshoy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:29:06 +0000

Guns, women and fistfuls of allegedly misappropriated dollars: the trail leading to the arrest of the former Iraqi Trade Minister has the perfect ingredients for a corruption scandal.

Abdul-Falah al-Sudani, who resigned from his position last month, was held after his aircraft was ordered back to Baghdad airport having taken off for Dubai.

Mr al-Sudani, a member of the Dawa party of the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is due to be transferred today to al-Samawah in southern Iraq, where he will face charges of mismanaging the Trade Ministry by importing expired foods, engaging in illegal contracts and nepotism.

Egypt tries to tackle deadly bread crisis

Beshoy — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:55:17 +0000

Clashes have been breaking out among Egyptians waiting in long lines for subsidized bread and the president has ordered the army to start baking more to contain a political crisis. The turmoil in the world’s most populous Arab country is a...