Syria confronts protests with crackdown, promise of reform

The Syrian government said Thursday that it would consider sweeping reforms in a gambit to appease protesters, who gathered by the thousands after security forces in one southern town killed at least 15 people in a week of demonstrations. | 03/24/11 19:02:52 By - Hannah Allam

On the ground in Libya: Rebels with a cause, but little else

Rebel fighters who once vowed to seize Tripoli from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi instead have retreated from their forward positions to defend their homes, saying their rebel council isn't leading them, they don't trust their military commanders and their army is divided. | 03/24/11 17:21:54 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Obama: U.S. will support, but not lead Libyan effort

As a U.S. warplane crashed in Libya Tuesday, President Barack Obama assured Americans and the world that the U.S. would quickly cede the skies and the military campaign against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to allies. | 03/22/11 21:29:06 By - Steven Thomma, Tim Johnson and Nancy A. Youssef

Libya assault sets up battle between Obama, Congress

Sparked by the U.S. military assault on Libya, the historic struggle between the president and Congress over whether and how America should enter war is raging again. | 03/22/11 18:45:37 By - David Lightman and William Douglas

Yemeni leader's foes demand immediate resignation

In a last-ditch gambit to stay in power, Yemen's longtime president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, offered on Tuesday to step down after parliamentary elections in January as more officials and military units abandoned him to support anti-government protesters. | 03/22/11 17:19:58 By - Shashank Bengali and Warren P. Strobel

As Mideast roils, Al Jazeera finds its 'CNN moment'

What a difference the chain of Middle East uprisings — and a change of presidents in the White House — has made for Al Jazeera. | 03/22/11 15:35:43 By - William Douglas

A new uncertainty in Libya operation: Who's in charge?

The fragile international coalition supporting military action in Libya showed fresh signs of strain Monday, as the U.S., Europe and Arab nations wrestled with the issue of who will take charge of military operations if the U.S. gives up control in the days ahead. | 03/21/11 19:49:14 By - Warren P. Strobel

Allied airstrikes boost confidence of Libyan rebels

Two days after U.S. and coalition forces imposed a no-fly zone over Libya, rebels moved Monday to retake the city of Ajdabiya, a critical crossroads in their fight to regain the territory they lost week. | 03/21/11 17:47:04 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Sarah Palin skips Bethlehem in visit to Israel

Wearing a Star-of-David necklace, Fox News Channel commentator and former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu and right-wing politician and settlement supporter Danny Danon. | 03/21/11 16:26:59 By - Sheera Frenkel

Gaza protests stretch into a seventh day

Inspired by the "Arab Spring" revolutions across the Arab World, Palestinians protested for a seventh straight day Monday in both the West Bank and Gaza in an effort to force their divided leaders into reconciling with one another. | 03/21/11 16:26:33 By - Sheera Frenkel

Libyans in California raise money for Gadhafi's victims

Libyans in Sacramento, California, raised funds Sunday for people in their homeland who are desperate for medical care after being wounded by Moammar Gadhafi's forces. | 03/21/11 06:36:56 By - Stephen Magagnini

Now that U.S., allies have attacked Libya, what are the goals?

With U.S., British and French forces now fully engaged in attacking Moammar Gadhafi's military in Libya from the air and sea, and the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff declaring that a no-fly zone is now in effect, the question becomes: How does this end? Some military analysts worry that the West's urgent action over the weekend isn't backed by planning for what sort of Libya will be left behind when the aerial campaign stops. | 03/20/11 19:19:28 By - Mark Seibel, Nancy A. Youssef and Roy Gutman

Libya intervention draws mixed feelings in Arab world

The U.S. and allied bombing raid that began this weekend opened a floodgate of competing emotions across the Arab world, which supports the Libyan rebels but is wary of more Western intervention in the region. Arabs are watching the strikes against Moammar Gadhafi's regime with a blend of relief for the help to outgunned rebels, trepidation about ulterior motives of Western intervention, and envy in volatile countries where calls for international backup have gone unheeded. | 03/20/11 17:53:00 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Egyptians vote for changes that will speed elections

A majority of Egyptian voters — 77 percent — supported constitutional changes that will speed the country along to general elections within six months, according to results released Sunday after the first polls since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak. | 03/20/11 17:01:00 By - Hannah Allam

For Libyans fleeing Benghazi, U.N. action came too late

For the Libyan refugees gathered at the Egyptian border Saturday, the arrival of the French aircraft over Benghazi airspace and the firing of missiles by U.S. and its allies had come too late. They had, in a matter of hours, lost not only their home but also any hope that they could start a revolution in Libya. | 03/19/11 19:55:18 By - Nancy A. Youssef

U.S., allies launch strikes at Gadhafi to shield opposition

The U.S. and its allies attacked Libya Saturday, launching a wave of cruise missiles to knock out air defense sites and clearing the way for a sustained campaign against Moammar Gadhafi's forces. President Barack Obama, clearly not eager to launch the third U.S. military attacks in a Muslim nation after Afghanistan and Iraq, stressed that the U.S. action will be limited. | 03/19/11 10:41:04 By - Nancy A. Youssef and Steven Thomma

Egyptian turnout high in first post-Mubarak vote

Millions of Egyptians flooded into polling places throughout the country Saturday to vote on changes to the constitution, the first polls since the ouster last month of President Hosni Mubarak. Egyptians expressed joy at what they considered their first real vote, discounting the decades of rigged polls under Mubarak. | 03/19/11 12:38:07 By - Hannah Allam

Obama vows U.S. role in Libya will be limited

As Western powers and Arab allies prepared to meet Saturday for an emergency summit on Libya, President Barack Obama pledged to support a United Nations-backed military campaign against Col. Moammar Gadhafi but said that he wouldn't send troops to Libyan soil or take over the operation. | 03/18/11 19:38:14 By - Shashank Bengali, Margaret Talev and David Lightman

Arab leaders turn to deadly force to crush rebellions

Violence shook the Middle East on Friday after security forces attacked protesters in Yemen and Syria, leaving at least 40 dead in Yemen and three in Syria, as the region's authoritarian regimes turned to deadly force to stop pro-democracy uprisings. | 03/18/11 19:03:26 By - Hannah Allam and Mohannad Sabry

First post-Mubarak vote shows Egypt's divisions

Millions of Egyptians are expected to vote Saturday in a nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments, a poll that's likely to lay bare the competing visions for democracy put forth since Hosni Mubarak's ouster last month. | 03/18/11 16:15:13 By - Hannah Allam

Obama: Gadhafi must restore water, phones or face assault

Prsident Barack Obama said Friday that the United States will assist if international force is needed to stop Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi from killing his people, but will not send American ground troops to Libya or take over the effort. Any ceasefire must include an end to pro-Gadhafi troops marching on rebel-held cities. | 03/18/11 15:27:05 By - Margaret Talev

France's Draft Resolution on Libya

France's draft resolution on Libya | 03/17/11 19:07:10 By -

U.N. gives Britain, France go-ahead to strike at Gadhafi

The U.N. Security Council Thursday gave the go-ahead to Britain and France — backed by the U.S. and at least two Arab nations — to launch airstrikes to enforce a no fly zone over Libya and to protect civilians in rebel-held areas from forces loyal to dictator Moammar Gadhafi. | 03/17/11 13:29:42 By - Jonathan S. Landay, Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef

With helicopters and live fire, Bahrain cracks down on protests

Bahraini police and soldiers, firing live ammunition and backed by U.S.-built Apache assault helicopters, drove protesters from a key traffic square here Wednesday, then blocked wounded people from reaching hospitals, in a brazen crackdown aimed at ending a month of pro-democracy protests. | 03/16/11 18:19:10 By - Scheherezade Faramarzi

With Gadhafi's forces on the move, Benghazi rebels brace for death

Even before forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi took back the oil-rich towns of Brega, Ras Lanouf and Zawiya, and before they allegedly assassinated a correspondent for al Jazeera, someone in the government turned on cell phone text messaging services just long enough to remind at least one rebel here of their reach. | 03/14/11 19:40:26 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Gadhafi's forces roll east, build pressure on U.S. to step in

Forces loyal to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi advanced further eastward Sunday, moving into the coastal city of Brega and putting new pressure on the United States and its allies to either intervene militarily or risk seeing the anti-Gadhafi movement collapse. | 03/13/11 17:03:11 By - Nancy A Youssef and Warren P. Strobel

Outlook for democracy dims across much of the Middle East

A poster depicting 15 Middle Eastern heads of state stood out among the other signs hoisted in the air Saturday by hundreds of protesters at a rally outside the Arab League meeting in Cairo. | 03/13/11 00:53:21 By - Hannah Allam and Mohannad Sabry

Libya's rebels try to organize better, but it's not easy

As the conflict for control of Libya appears to be turning into a protracted war, the motley rebel forces that once charged forward easily to take parts of the east said Saturday that they now must organize themselves better militarily. | 03/13/11 00:52:58 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Obama says he's still weighing his options on Libya

President Barack Obama said Friday that U.S. and international actions are starting to have an impact on Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and that the U.S. is still debating military actions to stop Gadhafi from slaughtering more of his own people. | 03/11/11 14:26:55 By - Steven Thomma

White House, intel chief split on Libya assessment

The nation's top intelligence official told Congress Thursday that Moammar Gadhafi will eventually prevail in his war with Libya's rebels, provoking a rare public dispute with the White House, which says its policy is intended to force the Libyan dictator from power. | 03/10/11 19:47:52 By - Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay

As gasoline soars, Libyan rebels pay 46 cents a gallon

World fuel prices are surging, in part because of the bloody battle to topple Moammar Gadhafi, but there's one place where the price of a gallon of gasoline actually has dropped: war-torn Libya. Today, gasoline costs the equivalent of 46 U.S. cents a gallon; last week, the price was just over 62 cents. | 03/10/11 19:13:25 By - Nancy A. Youssef and Kevin G. Hall

Pro-Mubarak thugs blamed for rising violence in Egypt

A series of bloody clashes in recent days have heightened fears here that thugs loyal to Hosni Mubarak's former regime are fanning tensions in a bid to undermine political reforms promised by the country's military-led government. | 03/09/11 17:40:22 By - Hannah Allam and Mohannad Sabry

Gadhafi's offer to talk reveals division among Libya's rebels

An offer from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to open negotiations to end the three-week-old war has revealed a split within the rebel movement that controls this city and much of the eastern half of Libya. | 03/08/11 18:51:10 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Pro-Gadhafi forces appear to take the initiative

As the U.S. and NATO allies debated a no-fly zone and other military options in Libya, forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi appeared to seize the initiative Monday in brutal counter-assaults against opponents of the Libyan leader | 03/08/11 07:37:58 By - Nancy A. Youssef and Warren P. Strobel

Egypt faces new turmoil: Looted state security files

Less than a month after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's caretaker government faces a new crisis: what to do about thousands of documents that protesters seized from State Security offices over the weekend. | 03/07/11 19:11:18 By - Hannah Allam and Mohannad Sabry

After loss, rebels tell of their setback against Gadhafi's superior arms

Ibrahim Mohammed, 35, returned from fighting in the eastern Libyan city of Ben Jawad, convinced that he and his fellow ragtag forces had easily moved the rebels one city closer to the capital and to victory. Relieved, he jumped into his truck and drove 25 miles back from the frontline. | 03/06/11 18:03:52 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Libya rebels advance toward Sirte, keep fighting in Zawiya

A ragtag rebel force in pickups and commandeered tanks advanced Saturday from eastern Libya on Moammar Gadhafi's heavily defended hometown of Sirte as their counterparts in the western city of Zawiya repulsed fresh assaults by the dictator's forces. Several witnesses said anti-Gadhafi fighters had reached Bin Jawwad, a small town about two thirds of the way to Sirte from the key oil center of Ras Lanouf, which also had fallen to the rebels. | 03/05/11 23:07:58 By - Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan S. Landay

New day in Egypt: Protesters sack State Security offices

Hundreds of Egyptians Saturday surged into the Cairo headquarters of the dreaded State Security agency, grabbing up documents and trudging through dungeon-like cells where secret police had held and tortured untold numbers of prisoners over the years. Dismantling State Security was a key demand of protesters who forced Hosni Mubarak to resign, but until Saturday, the security apparatus had remained untouched. | 03/05/11 23:06:56 By - Hannah Allam

Massive blast rips arms depot key to Libya rebels

A massive explosion ripped through a major weapons depot for Libyan rebels Friday outside the rebel-held city of Benghazi, killing dozens and possibly dealing a major blow to the ongoing battle to topple Moammar Gadhafi. | 03/04/11 17:43:49 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Like new Middle East, Obama doctrine is a work in progress

Sens. John McCain and Joseph Lieberman met in Egypt and Tunisia recently with the new, post-revolution prime ministers of both countries. Almost as soon as they'd returned to Washington, both leaders were out of office. | 03/04/11 16:15:29 By - Warren P. Strobel

Wave of protests now touches nearly all of Arab world

From North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, virtually no Arab country remained untouched Friday by the two-month wave of revolts that's overthrown two heads of state and left many other leaders teetering or rolling out pre-emptive reforms. | 03/04/11 12:27:12 By - Hannah Allam

Deaths, disappearances drive war crimes probe of Gadhafi

The International Criminal Court in The Hague opened a war crimes investigation into Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and his sons Thursday amid growing reports of widespread human rights violations in a conflict that now seems likely to last for weeks. | 03/03/11 19:35:50 By - Hannah Allam and Jonathan S. Landay

Foreboding and euphoria mix in rebel-held Libya

One day after rebels repulsed the first major offensive by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in the liberated east, the fighters' euphoria over their victory mixed on Thursday with a sense of foreboding: Where would the regime launch its next attack? | 03/03/11 19:01:58 By - Nancy A. Youssef

In person, on camera, Obama calls for Gadhafi to go

For the first time, President Barack Obama called publicly and personally Thursday for Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi to go, said he'd authorized U.S. military aircraft to help evacuate refugees at the Libyan border and said the U.S. might need to intervene more there to get food to starving civilians. | 03/03/11 18:24:50 By - Margaret Talev

With more protests planned, Egypt's prime minister steps down

Egypt's military rulers announced the resignation Thursday of Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq — an apparent concession to opposition activists who are calling for a broad purge of former regime figures as Egypt plods toward a more democratic system. | 03/03/11 17:05:21 By - Hannah Allam

More bombs fall near Libyan town; war crimes probe begins

A Libyan jet fighter bombed the outskirts of this rebellious eastern town for a second day Thursday as the International Criminal Court opened a war crimes investigation of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, his sons and top aides. | 03/03/11 13:30:31 By - Nancy A. Youssef, Hannah Allam and Jonathan S. Landay

Bombs fall again near Libyan town; war crimes probe begins

A Libyan jet fighter bombed the outskirts of Brega for for a second day Thursday as the International Criminal Court opened a war crimes investigation of Moammar Gadhafi, his sons and top aides. The bombs exploded harmlessly in the desert. | 03/03/11 13:12:22 By - By Nancy A. Youssef, Hannah Allam and Jonathan S. Landay

Egypt's Prime Minister Shafiq steps down

Egypt’s military rulers announced the resignation Thursday of Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq — an apparent concession to opposition activists who are calling for a broad purge of former regime figures as Egypt plods toward a more democratic system. | 03/03/11 09:11:10 By - Hannah Allam

Despite reluctance, U.S. could be forced to act in Libya

While it is clearly reluctant to become militarily involved in Libya's burgeoning civil war, the Obama administration is coming under pressure to do just that. | 03/02/11 19:41:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Lack of information, not lack of oil, driving price rise

The continued climb in global oil prices brought on by unrest in Libya is due more to fear than to a shortage of petroleum, but experts warned Wednesday that the Obama administration may have to take steps to drive prices down if they don't fall on their own soon. | 03/02/11 19:44:34 By - Kevin G. Hall

Gadhafi loyalists launch attack on oil center in Libya's east

Ground and air forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi attacked this key oil terminal city in eastern Libya Wednesday, but were repulsed by a motley army of volunteer fighters who flocked to this strategic coastal town as word of the assault spread. | 03/02/11 18:46:07 By - Nancy A. Youssef and Hannah Allam

Pro-Gadhafi forces launch attack on oil hub in eastern Libya

Witnesses said the attack on Brega about 120 miles south of Benghazi began around 6 a.m., with pro-govermment forces arriving in 50 to 60 military vehicles. The forces seized people at the university’s engineering school, then moved to the city's port. Air force jets dropped at least two bombs at the university. | 03/02/11 09:23:34 By - Nancy Youssef and Hannah Allam

S.C. Sen. Graham urges cautious approach on Libya

Sen. Lindsey Graham has traveled to war zones with Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman while sharing tough stances with them on Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terror. Now, Graham, R-S.C., is breaking with his close Senate allies for the first time on a major national security issue as he rejects their calls to arm rebels trying to topple Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. | 03/02/11 07:26:52 By - James Rosen

Libyan rebels ambivalent about U.S. military help

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces have surrounded Tarek Zawi’s hometown of Zawiya, he suspects, to stop shipments of food and medicine from coming in. When the rebel fighter steps outside his home to defend the city - which has been in rebel hands for more than a week - from the nightly attacks, it's always on an empty stomach. | 03/01/11 18:27:07 By - Nancy A. Youssef

U.S. moves ships, aircraft as Libya fighting rages

Moammar Gadhafi came under intensified international pressure Monday to halt attacks on anti-regime protesters, with the Pentagon dispatching ships and aircraft to the Mediterranean Sea and the Treasury Department freezing a record $30 billion in assets tied to the embattled dictator and his family. | 03/01/11 17:53:38 By - Nancy A. Youssef, Jonathan S. Landay, and Warren P. Strobel

Pro-Gadhafi forces said to block food for embattled Zawiya

Tank-backed troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi tightened a blockade of Libya’s fourth-largest city Tuesday after their latest assault was beaten back. Rebels defending Zawiya pleaded for international help, saying that only about two weeks of food and medical supplies remained for the estimated 100,000 residents. | 03/01/11 11:57:23 By - Hannah Allam, Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan S. Landay

Backwater no more, Gadhafi's hometown becomes crossroads

When Moammar Gadhafi came to power in 1969, at the age of 27, his hometown of Sirte was an unremarkable place, little more than a wide spot in the road where travelers moving along Libya's coastal highway might stop for gasoline. | 02/28/11 19:00:36 By - Nancy A. Youssef

By design, Gadhafi's loyalists will fight to the end

The armed organizations that are now Moammar Gadhafi's primary defense in Tripoli were designed specifically to counterbalance the influence of Libya's regular military and are likely to "fight to the death" because they have so much to lose, according to experts on Libya in London and Cairo. | 02/28/11 18:15:19 By - Sheera Frenkel

U.S. to position aircraft carrier off Libya as counter to Gadhafi

The United States is moving naval and air forces, including an aircraft carrier, into the Mediterranean Sea near Libya, U.S. officials said Monday, as the Obama administration and its allies consider how to respond to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's brutal efforts to suppress a widespread rebellion among civilians and army troops. | 02/28/11 12:32:44 By - Nancy A. Youssef, Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel

Rebels in Libya's east say they're not ready to take Tripoli

Military commanders in liberated eastern Libya said that while they're eager to wrest control of the capital, Tripoli, from dictator Moammar Gadhafi, they believe his personal forces are better equipped and trained than their newly cobbled together Libyan People's Army. The rebel army's lack of confidence may portend a protracted and bloody battle for the capital. | 02/27/11 18:01:59 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Libyan rebels get U.S. nod, fear Gadhafi counterattack

The Obama administration appeared Sunday to welcome the formation of a national opposition government in Libya, as rebels feared dictator Moammar Gadhafi was preparing forces to launch counterattacks. | 02/27/11 18:01:47 By - Nancy A. Youssef, Warren P. Strobel and Margaret Talev

Aid groups scramble as refugee crisis grows on Libya borders

Concerned about rapidly worsening conditions in Libya, international humanitarian groups on Sunday stepped up their presence at the country's borders and in opposition-controlled cities to assess reported shortages of food and medical supplies and to assist thousands of displaced people who’ve been stranded by the crisis. | 02/27/11 09:55:16 By - Hannah Allam

Defections further isolate Gadhafi; Obama calls for ouster

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi tightened his grip on Tripoli Saturday, reportedly paying and arming civilians to prop up his crumbling regime. Residents reached by phone said they were running out of food, and there were fears that Gadhafi was preparing to unleash new assaults to extend his control to rebellious areas outside of Tripoli. Meanwhile, Obama for the first time said Gadhafi must go. | 02/26/11 16:49:38 By - Nancy A. Youssef, Jonathan S. Landay and Margaret Talev

At long last, a reporter gets an unfiltered look at Libya

For the past five years, McClatchy's Hannah Allam has had a standing visa application with the Libyan government of Moammar Gadhafi, which had made it clear the visa would never be granted. So it was with a perhaps juvenile glee that Allam walked across the Egyptian-Libyan border and into the opposition-controlled eastern territory last week without anyone on the Libyan side even glancing at her passport. Here's what she found. | 02/26/11 16:49:18 By - Hannah Allam

Obama orders freeze on assets of Gadhafi, his family

Citing human rights abuses against peaceful demonstrators in Libya, President Barack Obama late Friday ordered that all the assets of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, his children and their wives be frozen in the United States, or in branches of U.S. banks. Earlier Friday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Libya's capital, Tripoli, in an ever more deadly battle for control of the country. | 02/25/11 13:56:00 By - Hannah Allam, Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay

Gadhafi's long rule may be a mystery, but ending isn't

Eccentricity has always been second nature for Moammar Gadhafi. Now the one-time army captain who seized power in a 1969 coup is watching his grip over Libya slip away as a 10-day insurrection, fueled by wholesale slaughters of protesters, leaves him and his hardest core loyalists all but cornered in their stronghold of Tripoli. When and how his end will come appears to be just a matter of time. | 02/25/11 17:23:47 By - Ameera Butt and Jonathan S. Landay

Gadhafi's isolation grows as rebels hold key Libyan cities

Rebels holding Libya's third- and fourth-largest cities Thursday repulsed tank-backed assaults by Moammar Gadhafi's forces as the embattled dictator struggled to reclaim areas outside the capital and fresh high-level defections further fractured his regime, residents and news reports said. | 02/24/11 19:48:39 By - Hannah Allam, Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel

Who'll control Libya's oil economy if Gadhafi falls?

If Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi falls, his nation's ability to return to normal will depend in no small part on who controls its production of oil, which is synonymous with the Libyan economy. | 02/24/11 18:42:36 By - Kevin G. Hall

At Radio Free Libya, change is on the air

"Radio Free Libya" is scribbled in black marker on the front door. The studio is a dingy room furnished with only a soundboard and a desk for the microphones. Nobody's receiving a salary anymore. But for the journalists who no longer have to stick to Moammar Gadhafi's party line, this new space is a laboratory for their long-crushed dreams. | 02/24/11 17:35:20 By - Hannah Allam

Gadhafi pounds 3 Libyan towns as he rails at bin Laden

Forces loyal to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi unleashed tank, mortar and anti-aircraft fire on protesters Thursday in murderous assaults on three rebellious cities outside the capital, witnesses and news reports said. | 02/24/11 16:15:42 By - Hannah Allam and Jonathan S. Landay

Saudi influence could be key to outcome in Bahrain

Even as mainly Shiite Muslim protesters camp out in Pearl Square demanding major reforms, the deciding factor in the outcome for Bahrain could be neighboring Saudi Arabia. | 02/23/11 18:43:05 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Gadhafi defiant as defectors call for regime's overthrow

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, vowing to “die as a martyr,” exhorted loyalists Tuesday to help him crush a rebellion even as top-level defections rocked the regime. New atrocity allegations emerged, including an effort to bury alive scores of protesters and soldiers who refused to shoot civilians. | 02/22/11 20:00:09 By - Hannah Allam, Jonathan S. Landay and Margaret Talev

Obama stays cautious on Libya as Americans await evacuation

With hundreds of U.S. citizens trapped for now in Libya, the Obama administration is responding cautiously to leader Moammar Gadhafi's brutal attempt to suppress a rebellion, fearing that the wrong move might bring retaliation against Americans, U.S. officials said Tuesday. | 02/22/11 19:19:13 By - Warren P. Strobel and Margaret Talev

Driving through Libya with armed men of all persuasions

A ragtag band of young gunmen, among them defectors still in uniform, burst into cheers late Tuesday when a group of journalists crossed from Egypt into "liberated" eastern Libya. Thus began a bizarre and harrowing drive from the Egyptian border to the coastal city of Tobruk for two western journalists and their Egyptian translator. | 02/22/11 19:18:48 By - Hannah Allam

Libyan chaos spooks oil markets, raises fear of wider disruption

Oil prices spiked around the globe Tuesday as traders reacted to the spreading chaos in oil-rich Libya and fretted that a winter of discontent for tyrants also could threaten global oil supplies and the fragile U.S. economic recovery. | 02/22/11 18:06:56 By - Kevin G. Hall

Gadhafi remains defiant; Kerry urges re-imposing sanctions

As Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi gave a defiant, rambling speech pledging "I will be a martyr at the end," world nations struggled Tuesday for a response to his regime's widespread massacre of civilian protesters. | 02/22/11 13:08:28 By - Warren P. Strobel and Margaret Talev

Gadhafi accused of genocide against his own people

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi was clinging to power Monday as his troops and mercenaries gunned down civilians and anti-government protesters in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, prompting international condemnation, and defections and cries of genocide from some members of his own government and military. | 02/21/11 19:52:54 By - Miret el Naggar, Jonathan S. Landay and Margaret Talev

Experts: Libya could inspire new uprisings, or crackdowns

The bloody battle for control of Libya, where leader Moammar Gadhafi has turned his military forces loose on civilians, slaughtering hundreds if not thousands, could have repercussions far beyond the isolated North African nation. | 02/21/11 19:34:56 By - Warren P. Strobel and Greg Gordon

Huge Bahraini counter-protest reflects rising sectarian strife

Tens of thousands of Bahrainis rallied in support of their beleaguered government Monday, dwarfing the opposition's movement and raising new questions about whether the calls for major reforms will lead instead to more sectarianism for a key American strategic ally. | 02/21/11 19:17:35 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Anti-government protesters, Libyan security forces clash

Clashes between protesters and security forces erupted again Monday, a continuation of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's brutal crackdown on demonstrations demanding the end of his 42-year rule, according to human rights groups and witnesses. | 02/21/11 08:28:14 By - Hannah Allam

Mideast volatility widens as uprising in Libya escalates

Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi, fell Sunday after a crack army unit defected to the opposition and clashes spread to the capital, Tripoli, as an uprising against Moammar Gadhafi appeared to threaten the Middle East’s longest ruling dictator’s 42-year grip on power. | 02/20/11 18:19:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay, Miret al-Naggar and Erika Bolstad

At Bahrain hospital, an effort to hold regime to account

The images of victims like Ridha Mohammed Hasan - lying in his hospital bed, allegedly shot in the brain by the Bahraini army - is splitting protesters between those who want government reforms and those calling for an end to the country's monarchy. | 02/20/11 15:03:00 By - Nancy A. Youssef

New bloodshed reported in Libya as Gadhafi battles protests

Libyan protesters in the flashpoint city of Benghazi gathered again Sunday to demand the overthrow of leader Moammar Gadhafi in an uprising that’s left more than 100 dead and hundreds wounded, according to human rights groups and Libyan activists. Amnesty International, the international human rights advocacy group, warned Sunday against a “spiraling death toll” and urged Gadhafi to “immediately rein in his security forces amid reports of machine guns and other weapons being used against protesters.” | 02/20/11 13:31:36 By - Hannah Allam, Miret el-Naggar, Nancy Youssef and Sahar Issa

Gadhafi tries to crush Libyan protests with brute force

Of all the revolutions and attempted revolutions sweeping the Middle East, the one in Libya is the murkiest. It's taking place in a police state, ruled by one man since 1969, where the handful of foreign journalists are barred from leaving the capital, outgoing international phone service is shut off and, as of early Saturday, the Internet was shut down. | 02/19/11 17:11:36 By - Warren P. Strobel and Erika Bolstad

Bahrain protesters occupy Pearl Square; Libya, Yemen seethe

Saturday was poised to be the most decisive day of the nearly week-long confrontation in Bahrain between enraged protesters calling for major reforms and armed government security forces who repeatedly had shot at them. And it was — but for reasons no one expected. What some feared could be the most violent day of clashes in this strategic ally of America turned into a major victory for the protesters — at least for now. | 02/19/11 12:54:47 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Violent repression of protests rocks Libya, Bahrain, Yemen

Protesters clashed Friday with security forces in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and fought for control of key eastern cities in the most serious challenge to dictator Moammar Gadhafi's 42 years in power, according to witnesses, online posts and news reports. | 02/18/11 19:53:19 By - Jonathan S. Landay, Warren P. Strobel and Arwa Ibrahim

Tolerant, tech-savvy young Islamists may reshape Egyptian politics

Ahmed Fatehelbab and his young Islamist friends used to speak in code to evade Egyptian authorities as they planned gatherings over the phone. With the overthrow this month of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, however, the old cover of "a doctor's appointment at 4 p.m." is obsolete. | 02/18/11 15:40:12 By - Hannah Allam

Bahraini troops fire on peaceful protesters in chaotic scene

The Islamic call to prayer and the sound of gunfire competed for this nation’s attention Friday as both rang out at the same time. Men who'd been kneeling in prayer sprang up and ran as Bahraini troops fired live ammunition and tear gas at thousands of peaceful protesters in the capital's main square. | 02/18/11 13:15:26 By - Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan S. Landay

3 killed in pre-dawn raid on Bahrain protesters

Security forces deployed across the strategic Persian Gulf island of Bahrain on Thursday after a middle-of-the-night raid on an anti-government protest camp left at least three dead and hundreds injured, according to news sources. | 02/18/11 07:41:16 By - Shashank Bengali

Mideast violence spreads to home port of U.S. 5th Fleet

The toll of dead and injured from an overnight attack on peaceful protesters in Bahrain mounted Thursday, and with threats of new unrest in this strategic emirate, the United States faced a painful new foreign-policy dilemma in the home port of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. | 02/17/11 19:29:35 By - Nancy Youssef, Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay

Gaddafi next? Anti-government protests spread to Libya

The anti-government protest wave unleashed in Tunisia and Egypt in the past few weeks swept into Libya, where security cracked down on protesters planning a Thursday demonstration against longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, according to the organization Human Rights Watch. One person was killed, and at least 14 were arrested, the group said. | 02/16/11 19:55:48 By - Jonathan S. Landay, Warren P. Strobel and Shashank Bengali

As Obama sides with protesters, new Mideast posture emerges

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he'd told U.S. allies as well as foes in the Middle East that they must "get out ahead of" growing demands for reform, or risk the fates of the deposed presidents of Egypt and Tunisia. | 02/15/11 19:04:46 By - Warren P. Strobel, Margaret Talev and Jonathan S. Landay

Egypt's opposition fights itself as army tightens control

Three days after Hosni Mubarak's resignation, Egypt's political opposition was bitterly divided over its next moves as the army expanded its near-total control over the country with no overt signs that it's included anti-government protesters in its decision-making. | 02/14/11 19:39:06 By - Shashank Bengali

Anti-government protests spread to Iran, Bahrain and Yemen

Tens of thousands of protesters faced baton-wielding security forces Monday in Bahrain, Yemen and Iran in what experts say may be shaping up as a pro-democracy wave ignited by the revolts that drove Egypt's and Tunisia's aging autocratic rulers from power. | 02/14/11 19:17:39 By - Jonathan S. Landay, Warren P. Strobel and Shashank Bengali

In Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, protesters take to streets

Street clashes broke out across the Persian Gulf region on Monday as demonstrators in Iran, Bahrain and Yemen sought to capitalize on the recent uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia and swept into the streets, where they were met by riot police. The tumult in a region normally kept tranquil under the heavy-handed security of conservative Gulf regimes underscored the widening reverberations of new pro-democracy movements in the Middle East. | 02/14/11 17:05:14 By - Ramin Mostaghim and Kim Murphy

Egypt's army dissolves parliament, vows elections

Egypt's new military rulers said Sunday that they'd dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution and would hold elections for a civilian government in as little as six months, addressing some of the key demands of the protesters who ousted President Hosni Mubarak. | 02/14/11 16:26:33 By - Shashank Bengali

Egypt insider: Mubarak's fall was years in the making

Mohammed Abdellah, 64, one of the last living founders of the Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party, found himself just yards from the seething crowds as he returned from an appointment downtown. He rushed home and swallowed a Xanax. In the first insider account of the events that led to Mubarak's resignation, Abdellah blames a series of events that go back to 2005, when Mubarak surrounded himself with yes men. | 02/14/11 16:25:50 By - Hannah Allam

Resort town Mubarak built may be his permanent home

It was Hosni Mubarak who championed the building of Sharm el Sheik, a once sleepy fishing village on the Red Sea at the tip of Sinai peninsula which Israel returned to Egypt under a 1979 peace treaty. Now, the sparkling resort town has perhaps become the final retreat of the ousted president. | 02/13/11 18:28:19 By - Sheera Frenkel

Boehner breaks with most in GOP, praises Obama over Egypt

House Speaker John A. Boehner said Sunday he thinks the Obama administration handled "a very difficult situation" in Egypt about as well as possible, undercutting potential Republican presidential candidates who have charged that President Barack Obama botched the U.S. response to a popular revolt against a key ally. | 02/13/11 23:27:54 By - Ken Dilanian

Egypt's military dissolves parliament, sets September vote

Egypt's new military rulers said Sunday that they would dissolve parliament, suspend the constitution and hold elections for a civilian government in September, quickening the pace of reforms demanded by the protesters who ousted Hosni Mubarak from the presidency two days ago | 02/13/11 16:27:00 By - Shashank Bengali

Egyptian army vows civilian rule, but offers no timetable

On the first day of a new era following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's military caretakers pledged Saturday to pave the way to democratic elections. But the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces didn't offer a timetable, saying only that it would "guarantee the peaceful transition of power in the framework of a free, democratic system which allows an elected civilian power to govern the country." | 02/12/11 22:28:59 By - Shashank Bengali

Three young Egyptians who helped make a revolution

The story of Egypt's historic uprising has a lot to do with the organizing power of the Internet. Perhaps the movement's greatest force, however, was the strength of a generation of young Egyptians who overcame fear, economic hardship, the memories of countless crushed demonstrations and wave upon wave of state-sanctioned violence to occupy the streets of their capital for 18 consecutive days. | 02/12/11 19:27:25 By - Shashank Bengali

Obama hails Mubarak's resignation, 'moral force of non-violence'

Bowing to 18 days of a popular revolt that showed no sign of slowing down, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned Friday and handed over power to the military, an ignominious end to his 30 years of authoritarian rule. The military later said it was "studying the situation" and praised Mubarak for putting the nation's interests above his own. Obama said "Today belongs to the people of Egypt." | 02/11/11 11:19:20 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Mubarak's resignation a triumph for 'people power'

"Leave!" the protesters chanted for 18 days. And on Friday, he left. Bowing to a popular rebellion that showed no signs of letting up, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Friday ceded authority to the military and headed to a Red Sea resort town in a dizzying celebration of people power. | 02/11/11 20:30:41 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Analysts: 3 key moments likely drove Egypt's military

Each of the developments put the military — the country's most respected institution — in an untenable position: Cracking down on protesters to preserve the economy and the state and keep Mubarak in power. That was the likely trigger that drove the military to abandon Mubarak, analysts said. | 02/11/11 20:30:01 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Egypt's revolution will remake the Middle East, but how?

Egypt's revolution, a secular popular revolt that used nonviolent means to humble an entrenched autocrat, will remake the Middle East — and could mark the end of the era that began on Sept. 11, 2001, according to U.S. officials, former officials and analysts here and in the Middle East. | 02/11/11 19:36:41 By - Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay

As Mubarak leaves, Egypt erupts in celebration

Not even 24 hours after venting fury over Hosni Mubarak's refusal to step down as president, Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted Friday into perhaps the biggest street party in Egyptian history the moment Mubarak's resignation was announced. | 02/11/11 18:32:15 By - Shashank Bengali and Hannah Allam

Biden calls Mubarak resignation 'a pivotal moment in history'

Vice President Joe Biden said Friday that the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak "is a pivotal moment in history" and that it is America's hope it will bring "a path toward democracy." | 02/11/11 16:32:44 By - Jack Brammer

Can an army famous for abuse really install democracy?

Before dawn on Feb. 4, Ramy Salah, a 33-year-old writer and poet, was stopped by a civilian patrol, one of many that sprang up during the popular revolt in this capital. He had anti-government pamphlets in his bag, and the patrol turned him over to the Egyptian army, beginning what he says was a 48-hour saga of detention and torture. | 02/11/11 17:40:06 By - Shashank Bengali

Israelis in 'big trouble' with loss of staunchest Arab ally

Israeli officials Friday were full of misgivings and uncertainty over the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, fearing the Jewish state will lose its staunchest ally in the region and that the popularity of Islamist groups is on the rise. | 02/11/11 17:35:53 By - Sheera Frenkel

As protests expand, Egyptian army backs Mubarak

A day after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak again refused to cede power despite nearly three weeks of huge anti-government protests, the Egyptian armed forces on Friday said it would support his plan to serve until elections this fall while pledging to defend "the lawful demands of the people." | 02/11/11 07:51:32 By - Shashank Bengali

Despite fits and starts, Obama threaded the needle on Egypt

President Barack Obama is getting good marks from experts for his response to the first major foreign crisis of his presidency, the popular uprising in Egypt that led to President Hosni Mubarak's decision to step down and leave Cairo Friday. | 02/11/11 20:31:12 By - Steven Thomma

In Cairo's Tahrir Square, festive mood turns furious

They came for a celebration. They brought their children and their nephews and their cameras to revel in what they thought would be a defining moment in their nation's history. Instead, the tens of thousands of Egyptians who flocked to Tahrir Square Thursday night expecting President Hosni Mubarak to announce his resignation were left stunned, some near tears, when he didn't. | 02/10/11 19:38:23 By - Shashank Bengali

Obama officials surprised by Mubarak's decision to stay

As the drama in Egypt and the fate of its embattled president captivated the world Thursday, the Obama administration appeared to be as much in the dark as everyone else. CIA Director Leon Panetta even told Congress in a televised hearing that Mubarak was about to go. | 02/10/11 20:37:03 By - Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef

The big question: What will Egypt's army do?

The Egyptian military appeared to have a new commander in chief Thursday — Omar Suleiman, a notorious former intelligence chief who within minutes of gaining new power ordered demonstrators in Tahrir Square to go back to their homes and jobs. But with angry protesters saying they'll remain in the square until President Hosni Mubarak actually steps down, the question remained: What will the military do? | 02/10/11 20:37:44 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Mubarak doesn't resign in speech that enrages opponents

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday that he had passed many of his powers to his vice president, but he declined to step down, leaving tens of thousands of demonstrators crowding Cairo's Tahrir Square angry and promising a continuation of protests. | 02/10/11 16:39:05 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Statement of President Barack Obama on Egypt

The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient. Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy, and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world. | 02/10/11 20:39:25 By -

Mubarak expected to step down today; crowds await speech

State television said Thursday evening that Mubarak would address the nation "within hours" on the 17th day of anti-government protests that have shaken his three-decade grip on power. As news of the impending announcement spread, large crowds of people were streaming toward Tahrir Square, the epicenter of protests in Cairo. | 02/10/11 11:40:01 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

What's next for Egypt now that Mubarak's refused to resign?

A defiant President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down Thursday, saying in a televised speech that he'd remain Egypt's head of state until elections in the fall but had delegated powers to his vice president. Anticipation turned to rage in Cairo's main square, where hundreds of thousands of Egyptians had gathered in hopes of witnessing history. | 02/10/11 22:36:21 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

CIA's Panetta says Mubarak to resign, but 'no specific word'

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could resign Thursday, bowing to the chief demand of 17 days of massive anti-regime protests, CIA Director Leon Panetta said. | 02/10/11 17:01:35 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Egypt's working class joins anti-government revolt

Thousands of workers throughout industry, education and transportation joined Egypt's popular revolt Wednesday by staging strikes or protests that raised the specter of a general strike, an ominous sign for U.S.-backed President Hosni Mubarak's regime. | 02/09/11 19:40:50 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Egypt's vice president not seen as force for reform

A close collaborator of the CIA and Israel for years, Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman bristles at calls for rapid reform and a process to replace Mubarak by an Obama administration worried about the stability of the Arab world's most populous nation. | 02/09/11 21:40:24 By - Jonathan S. Landay

In the 'Republic of Tahrir,' Egypt gets its Woodstock moment

Cairo is slowly regaining its normal rhythms. With every passing day, Hosni Mubarak, the 82-year-old president, seems likelier to withstand the indignity of resignation and serve out his term. Inside what's become known as the Republic of Tahrir, however, little of that matters to protesters who see this as their generation's Woodstock moment. | 02/08/11 20:41:58 By - Shashank Bengali

Poll: Obama has public's support on his handling of Egypt

The poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that 57 percent of the respondents said the Obama administration is handling the situation in Egypt about right. | 02/08/11 17:43:20 By - Michael Muskal

Democracy in Egypt is California man's goal

Muhammed Abdul Azeez fights relentlessly for Egyptian democracy in Northern California, giving speeches and leading protests. Azeez is also manning the battlements of social media, communicating with Egyptians via cell phone and home computer. Azeez, 35, has joined a cadre of influential Egyptian Americans who fled Egypt's dictatorship and are now breathing the fresh air of American democracy into the Egyptian revolution. | 02/08/11 16:43:55 By - Stephen Magagnini

Egypt's government begins work on revamping constitution

Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that committees of legal experts would hammer out amendments to Egypt's constitution to set presidential term limits and allow judicial oversight of elections. Demonstrators in Tahrir Square rejected the committees, but other opposition factions approved and the committees began work. | 02/08/11 18:42:47 By - Hannah Allam

Coptic Christians fear less friendly Egyptian government

While much of the world roots for democracy in Egypt, Coptic Christians, a persecuted minority in Egypt that make up a majority of its immigrant population in the U.S., are raising concerns that an even less friendly Islamist government could take his place. | 02/08/11 20:41:29 By - Jaweed Kaleem

Youth protests in Sudan struggle amid state crackdown

As angry Egyptians stormed into Cairo's streets, the wave spilled across Egypt's southern border into Sudan. Loosely organized bands of Sudanese youth are entering their second week of a declared uprising against the strong-arm rule of President Omar al Bashir's National Congress Party. | 02/07/11 19:02:42 By - Alan Boswell

Muslim Brotherhood joins talks aimed at ending revolt

The Muslim Brotherhood joined other opposition groups Sunday in talks with Vice President Omar Suleiman on ways to end Egypt's anti-government revolt, a landmark meeting that could pave the way for official recognition of the Islamist group but also could damage its credibility among its supporters. | 02/06/11 18:45:21 By - Hannah Allam and Miret El Naggar

Despite talk of concessions, Egyptian military cracking down

The Egyptian military has rounded up scores of human rights activists, protest organizers and journalists in recent days without formal charges, according to watchdog groups and accounts by the detainees. While most arrests have been brief — lasting fewer than 24 hours — experts say they're a sign that the regime's notorious tradition of extrajudicial detentions is continuing even as Mubarak appears to be on his way out of power. | 02/06/11 18:44:44 By - Shashank Bengali

Mubarak allies make concessions in bid to quell protests

Senior officials resigned from Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party on Saturday in the latest government shake-up aimed at quelling the sweeping pro-democracy movement that's demanded President Hosni Mubarak's resignation. Among those quitting: the president's son Gamal, who was once heir apparent but now under Egyptian political laws would no longer be eligible to run for president. | 02/05/11 16:47:32 By - Shashank Bengali and Miret El Naggar

Mubarak allies make concessions in bid to quell protests

Senior officials resigned from Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party on Saturday in the latest government shake-up aimed at quelling the massive movement demanding President Hosni Mubarak's resignation. Among those quitting was Mubarak's son and onetime heir apparent, Gamal. Officials opened talks with opposition leaders over the transition to a post-Mubarak era. | 02/05/11 18:46:24 By - Shashank Bengali and Miret El Naggar

Obama officials urge Egyptians to back slow-motion change

The Obama administration joined other Western nations Saturday in endorsing embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's gradual exit from power and, in a shift, urged Egyptians to back the power transition Mubarak and his closest advisers have set in motion. | 02/05/11 17:46:51 By - William Douglas and Warren P. Strobel

New head of Egypt's ruling party is known as reformer

Hossam Badrawy was appointed secretary general of the National Democratic Party on Saturday, the top administrative position in the NDP. A professor of obstetrics, he broke ranks with the party over some of its policies and called for constitutional amendments to make it easier for candidates to run for the presidency. | 02/05/11 18:03:18 By - Miret El Naggar

'Day of departure' ends with Mubarak still in power

The protesters called it his "day of departure," but Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak showed no overt sign of resigning Friday despite the hundreds of thousands who gathered in Tahrir Square for the 11th straight day to call for his removal. | 02/04/11 19:48:08 By - Shashank Bengali and Hannah Allam

In battle dress, post-prayer crowd calls for Mubarak to go

In Cairo's Tahrir Square, the atmosphere was upbeat as hundreds of thousands of all ages called for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to leave office. Some set up lines of rocks to use as weapons in case of attack, and many wore hard hats for protection. But there was no confrontation. | 02/04/11 16:50:24 By - Shashank Bengali and Hannah Allam

Marching to Tahrir Square: 'Welcome to liberated territory'

Dozens of Egyptian women spilled out of a mosque in the Dokki neighborhood Friday, only their eyes visible from black veils that flapped in the breeze. Marching in formation, they set off for downtown Cairo, where they hoped to join hundreds of thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square who were calling for the removal of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. | 02/04/11 16:49:56 By - Hannah Allam

Obama: Timing of Mubarak exit not up to United States

President Barack Obama said the decision of when the Egyptian leader leaves office will be made by Mubarak and the Egyptian people. He said he has warned Mubarak "going back to the old ways is not going to work." | 02/04/11 17:49:24 By - Margaret Talev

Obama walks delicate line with Egypt crisis

For President Barack Obama, the crisis in Egypt presents two sometimes contradictory challenges: How to intervene into another country's business in a way that protects or advances U.S. global interests, or, at minimum, doesn't make the situation worse. And how to act in a way that also sits well with U.S. voters. | 02/04/11 18:48:46 By - Margaret Talev

A reporter recalls the start of the battle for Tahrir Square

McClatchy's Shashank Bengali recounts what he saw as pro-Mubarak forces poured into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday and the scene early today. | 02/03/11 17:04:20 By - Shashank Bengali

Egypt’s Islamists, caught off guard by uprising, still defining role

The Muslim Brotherhood, long relegated to the fringes of Egyptian politics, is playing a growing role in the popular revolt against President Hosni Mubarak but is still defining its goals for the country, according to political analysts familiar with the Islamist movement. | 02/03/11 20:00:15 By - Hannah Allam

Egypt's prime minister apologizes for violence in Cairo

Ahmed Shafiq, who was named to his position just Saturday, told a news conference that the attack on anti-Mubarak demonstrators by pro-Mubarak mobs Wednesday "will not be repeated." Meanwhile, the public prosecutor froze the assets of several Mubarak senior officials. | 02/03/11 16:53:37 By - Miret El Naggar

Egyptian protesters bloodied and shaken but unmoved

The day after Wednesday's rampage, blood stained the streets of Tahrir Square. It oozed through the bandages wrapping the heads of the protesters and crusted around their bleary eyes. People walked around in a daze, barely able to articulate what had been done to them or what they'd dealt out in return. | 02/03/11 20:51:46 By - Shashank Bengali

Mubarak warns of chaos if he resigns, blames external forces for violence

As the toll of dead and injured from overnight clashes mounted here Thursday, the beleaguered Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak again refused to resign, warning that his abrupt departure would catapult the nation into unchecked turmoil. | 02/03/11 19:53:06 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Media, White House decry attacks on journalists in Cairo

Attacks on news media covering the political upheaval in Cairo reached a crescendo on Thursday, as gangs of Egyptian government loyalists clubbed, stabbed and punched dozens of journalists and security forces and military police detained others for hours. | 02/03/11 20:52:18 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Yemen's Saleh says he won't run again (but he's said it before)

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh vowed Wednesday to step down from office before 2013 elections and to remove his son as his likely successor, an apparent concession to opposition groups ahead of a day of planned protests in the capital, Sana. | 02/02/11 18:55:52 By - Borzou Daragahi

U.S. officials: Cairo clash shows army won't push Mubarak out

The Egyptian military's failure Wednesday to keep pro- and anti-government forces from clashing violently in Cairo's Tahrir Square provided persuasive evidence that the army has no intention of helping force President Hosni Mubarak from office, U.S. officials said. | 02/02/11 20:54:01 By - Nancy A. Youssef, Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay

Israeli military's disarray adds to fears over Egyptian uprising

Israel's top military leadership was in turmoil Wednesday, lacking an army chief or even the prospect of an early appointment as the Arab world continued to erupt in upheaval around it. | 02/02/11 19:54:48 By - Sheera Frenkel

Pro-Mubarak mob attacks protesters with stones, fire-bombs

A day after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he wouldn't seek re-election, tens of thousands of his supporters poured into downtown Cairo on Wednesday and clashed with the pro-democracy demonstrators who've been demanding Mubarak's resignation after nearly 30 years in power. | 02/02/11 08:57:08 By - Shashank Bengali and Hannah Allam

Wednesday's crackdown was vintage Mubarak

Not long after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak pledged political reforms and promised not to run for a sixth five-year term, pro-government demonstrators with reported connections to the Egyptian security forces laid siege to a downtown square Wednesday and fought fierce battles with anti-government protesters. It's a tactic Mubarak opponents have seen for years. | 02/02/11 18:56:19 By - Hannah Allam

Chaos erupts in Cairo as Mubarak supporters attack protesters

Barely 12 hours after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he'd step down at the end of his term, a club-wielding mob chanting his name overwhelmed pro-democracy protesters in Tahrir Square on Wednesday, hurling stones and gasoline bombs at the people who've demanded that Mubarak resign immediately after nearly 30 years in power. | 02/02/11 19:55:21 By - Shashank Bengali and Hannah Allam

A brief look at major players in Egypt's political crisis

Although President Hosni Mubarak announced Tuesday that he wouldn't run for a sixth consecutive term, he will retain a considerable ability to influence the political upheaval unleashed by the biggest anti-government protests in his 30-year rule. | 02/01/11 22:57:32 By - Jonathan S. Landay and Miret El Naggar

Obama to Mubarak: Egypt transition 'must begin now'

With Egypt's major cities flooded by protesters Tuesday demanding the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, President Barack Obama took another major step away from the U.S.'s strongest Arab ally, telling him that an orderly transition to a new regime "must begin now." | 02/01/11 21:58:30 By - Warren P. Strobel, Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan S. Landay

Despite close contacts, U.S. in dark about Egypt military's views

Despite 30 years of having a major role in training Egypt's military officers, the United States has had limited exposure to the Egyptian army's inner machinations, making it difficult, U.S. officials concede, for them to predict what it will do in the current crisis. | 02/01/11 20:59:39 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Huge crowd demands Mubarak go in largest protest yet

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians flooded downtown Cairo Tuesday in the biggest and most dramatic show of opposition to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak since protests began eight days ago. The chant of the day was “leave,” but the mood was festive, and there were no immediate reports of violence. | 02/01/11 17:05:23 By - Hannah Allam

Mubarak expected to announce he won't seek reelection

Embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is expected to announce Tuesday he will step down at elections scheduled for later this year, according to Al Arabiya Arabic language satellite channel. The channel reported that the speech was already recorded and is expected to be delivered shortly. | 02/01/11 17:05:02 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Jordan's government tumbles in wake of Egypt unrest

Yet another government fell Tuesday to the rumblings of revolution that are sweeping the Middle East, as Jordan's King Abdullah II dismissed the country's prime minister and Cabinet after weeks of protests. | 02/01/11 17:03:46 By - Sheera Frenkel

Mubarak won't seek re-election, but will that be enough?

Faced with an unprecedented popular revolt that drew record crowds of protesters to downtown Cairo Tuesday, U.S.-backed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he'd step down before elections this fall, a humbling end to his 30 years of authoritarian rule. "I've spent enough time serving Egypt," Mubarak said. | 02/01/11 17:00:58 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Timeline of Egyptian protests

Eleven days of massive street protests throughout Egypt have shaken that country and the entire Arab world, and brought a pledge by President Hosni Mubarak to step down after three decades of rule. Here's how the protests evolved day-to-day as recorded by McClatchy's Middle East bureau chief, Hannah Allam: | 02/01/11 20:59:08 By - McClatchy Newspapers

Obama sends veteran diplomat to meet with Mubarak regime

The Obama administration Monday dispatched a retired top U.S. diplomat to Egypt to deliver a U.S. call for the embattled government to open talks with the political opposition on holding "free and fair" elections. | 01/31/11 20:06:19 By - Jonathan S. Landay

Egypt crisis has far-reaching impact for U.S. in Middle East

The U.S. faces its most precarious moment in the Middle East in years, with the dangers to U.S. interests growing as a tense standoff drags on between tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's embattled regime, according to analysts and former officials. | 01/31/11 20:06:51 By - Warren P. Strobel

Egypt's unrest may have roots in food prices, U.S. Fed policy

Economists and experts in food security have warned repeatedly in recent years that an unbridled rise in food prices could trigger the very kind of explosion of citizen anger that's now threatening to topple the Egyptian government. Such anger is likely to rise elsewhere, too. | 01/31/11 19:08:04 By - Kevin G. Hall

Egypt's military says it won't use force on 'our great people'

The Egyptian military vowed Monday not to use force against protesters ahead of a planned million-person protest set for Tuesday, buttressing what had been growing signs that the military wouldn't step in to ensure the survival of President Hosni Mubarak's regime. "Your armed forces, who are aware of the legitimacy of your demands and are keen to assume their responsibility in protecting the nation and the citizens, affirms that freedom of expression through peaceful means is guaranteed to everybody," the statement said. | 01/31/11 17:08:55 By - Nancy A. Youssef

After days of looting, once-vibrant Cairo smolders

Egypt's vast popular revolt has transformed Cairo into an urban battlefield, where the smell of smoke hangs in the air and residents walk though ransacked shopping districts in search of bread. | 01/31/11 17:29:18 By - Hannah Allam

Egyptian protesters plan march to Mubarak's doorstep

On Monday, the Egyptian government halted all trains throughout the country in hopes of preventing Egyptians in outlying provinces from joining throngs of protesters planning an audacious march on the presidential compound in Cairo Tuesday. The outcome of Tuesday's march is likely to dictate how the crisis ends. | 01/31/11 19:07:24 By - Hannah Allam

Israel, knocked off-balance by Egypt upheaval, backs Mubarak

Israel threw its support behind Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday, appealing to the U.S. and other governments to support the embattled leader and giving the Egyptian military the go-ahead to deploy forces in the Sinai Peninsula once again. | 01/31/11 17:55:14 By - Sheera Frankel

Former President Carter says Mubarak 'will have to leave'

Former President Jimmy Carter called the week-long political unrest and rioting in Egypt an “earth shaking event” and said that the country’s president, Hosni Mubarak, “will have to leave.” | 01/31/11 17:15:45 By - Chuck Williams

Protesters in Egypt continue to call for Mubarak's ouster

Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters are gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square, rejecting President Hosni Mubarak's new cabinet appointments and vowing to draw 1 million marchers until the U.S.-allied authoritarian president gets the message: he must go. | 01/31/11 17:16:10 By - Hannah Allam

ElBaradei addresses protesters, calls for ‘new era’ in Egypt

Opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei emerged from house arrest Sunday evening to join tens of thousands of protesters in central Cairo, calling on President Hosni Mubarak to resign and perhaps establishing himself as the face of Egypt’s six-day pro-democracy uprising. | 01/30/11 17:14:36 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Why has Egypt's army not confronted protests?

Even as it occupied key points around Cairo, the Egyptian army took no decisive action to end the protests and on Monday pledged not to fire on demonstrators. The army's position reflects the military's long status as the face of Egyptian nationalism, and its stand on the protests indicates that its leaders understand that keeping its revered status is more important than preserving the Mubarak government. | 01/30/11 19:09:58 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Egyptian upheaval a 'complete surprise' to Israel

The dramatic outpouring of Egyptians demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, Israel's longest standing ally in the Arab world, has shaken Israel's foreign policy establishment. Despite its renown for gathering precise intelligence about its Arab neighbors, Israel was caught completely off guard by the political upheaval in Egypt, officials said. | 01/30/11 17:11:54 By - Sheera Frenkel

Clinton calls for 'peaceful, orderly transition' in Egypt

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday called for a "peaceful, orderly transition to greater democracy" in Egypt that includes the military, the ruling party and the ordinary Egyptians who've taken to the streets to call for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's leadership. | 01/30/11 18:11:16 By - Erika Bolstad, Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel

Egypt's Mubarak on the brink; ElBaradei demands 'new era'

Opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei emerged from house arrest late Sunday to join throngs of protesters in central Cairo, echoing their demand that U.S.-allied President Hosni Mubarak resign. The dramatic nighttime appearance suddenly placed ElBaradei at the forefront of a leaderless grassroots revolt that's brought Egypt's government to the brink of collapse. | 01/30/11 19:10:38 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Amid protests, many ask what Egyptian army will do

Tens of thousands of Egyptians broke curfew Saturday to march in Cairo and other major cities in a clear message to U.S.-allied president Hosni Mubarak that nothing short of his resignation would end anti-government protests. Throughout the day, the military showed extraordinary restraint. The hated police had vanished from the street. | 01/29/11 17:17:04 By - Hannah Allam, Miret el Naggar and Erika Bolstad

Mad scene in Suez showed the depth of Egypt's anger

A peaceful march after Friday's midday prayers turned into an anarchic riot when throngs of young Egyptians pushed through tear gas and volleys of rubber bullets to breach the District 40 police station's main gate. Policemen who’d tried to escape were yanked off their motorbikes and beaten bloody. At least six armored personnel carriers were set ablaze — perhaps with police inside. | 01/28/11 17:12:36 By - Hannah Allam

U.S. urges Egypt to halt crackdown, begin reforms

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Egypt's government Friday to halt the use of violence against protesters, end "unprecedented" curbs on communication and begin implementing political and economic reforms. Clinton's remarks represented an incremental toughening of the Obama administration's stance in Egypt's unfolding political crisis, but they fell short of a complete U.S. break with President Hosni Mubarak. | 01/28/11 07:13:23 By - Warren P. Strobel

Mubarak refuses to step down as Egyptian protests swirl

Facing the gravest challenge to his 30-year rule, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down on Saturday after mobs set fire to his ruling party's headquarters and state security buildings, stormed police stations and confronted armored military vehicles in defiance of a nationwide curfew. | 01/28/11 17:12:59 By - Hannah Allam and Shashank Bengali

Will Mubarak heed Obama's call to listen to protesters?

President Barack Obama dramatically increased pressure Friday on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to overhaul the political system in response to nationwide protests, telling Mubarak it's time to open "a meaningful dialogue" with his opponents. | 01/28/11 20:14:05 By - Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay

Protesters in Suez, Egypt storm, sack main police station

SUEZ, Egypt_Thousands of Egyptian protesters stormed the main police station in the port city of Suez Friday, overwhelming security authorities and raising an even bigger challenge to the embattled regime of President Hosni Mubarak. | 01/28/11 17:02:22 By - Hannah Allam

What's behind the unrest in the Arab world? An explainer

In the three short weeks since a poor, unlicensed Tunisian fruit-seller set himself on fire after police seized his wares, protests have ousted his country's long-time authoritarian ruler and confronted Egypt's octogenarian president with the greatest challenge of his 30 years in power. | 01/27/11 19:53:00 By - Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel

ElBaradei returns to Egypt ahead of more protests

Nobel laureate and prominent pro-democracy activist Mohamed ElBaradei returned to his native Egypt Thursday in hopes of leading the biggest wave of mass protests in decades. Clashes continued in Cairo and other cities as protesters set fire to government property and fought with police, who used rubber bullets and tear gas to break up crowds. | 01/27/11 19:17:22 By - Miret el Naggar

Small protests continue as Egypt cracks down on opposition

Clashes erupted again Wednesday in downtown Cairo, where riot police had used rubber bullets and water cannons overnight to disperse a huge anti-government demonstration. Hundreds of protesters defied a government order and gathered in Cairo and other cities, vowing to topple the U.S.-backed authoritarian Egyptian regime even as momentum appears to have dissipated since the first wave of demonstrations. | 01/26/11 17:17:48 By - Hannah Allam and Miret el Naggar

Tunisia effect: Protesters in Egypt want Mubarak to go

Thousands of Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo and at least four other major cities Tuesday, demanding an end to the 30-year rule by President Hosni Mubarak less than two weeks after a popular uprising toppled Tunisia's dictator and sent shockwaves through the Arab world. | 01/25/11 17:18:15 By - Miret El Naggar

Egypt church bombing may be warning of rising instability

As Egyptian authorities questioned suspects Sunday in connection with a deadly New Year's Day church bombing, thousands of demonstrators massed in two cities and accused the government of failing to protect the country's Christian minority. "The bombing fits within the emerging narrative of Egypt as a failing state," one expert said. | 01/02/11 17:19:10 By - Shashank Bengali and Miret El Naggar

Israelis, Palestinians agree: Obama mediation effort a failure

Israeli and Palestinian leaders traded accusations Wednesday over who was to blame for the collapse of talks that the Obama administration had hoped would lead to a comprehensive peace settlement within a year. | 12/08/10 17:01:00 By - Sheera Frenkel

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