Middle Orient News

Hundreds of thousands of anti-government supporters have gathered in central Cairo for what the organisers are calling a Friday of Departure. It is the eleventh day of demonstrations and those calling for the immediate departure of President Hosni Mubarak are hoping

Greek President Karolos Papoulias and his Cyprus counterpart Demetris Christofias on Thursday expressed hope that calm will prevail in Egypt and Cairo’s stand over issues of national interest to Athens and Nicosia will not change.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday (February 1st) called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to end his 30-year rule amid mass protests in Cairo. “Mr. Mubarak, all of us will die and will be questioned over what we left behind,” Erdogan

By George Friedman, STRATFOR It is not at all clear what will happen in the Egyptian revolution. It is not a surprise that this is happening. Hosni Mubarak has been president for more than a quarter of a century, ever since the assassination of Anwar Sadat. He is old and …

By STRATFOR Summary Egypt’s internal security forces are reportedly redeploying across the country Jan. 30 after abandoning the streets the previous day in a demonstration, showing what chaos would ensue should they be undermined by the military. As the protests show early signs of dwindling, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and …

By STRATFOR Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak remains the lifeblood of the demonstrators, who still number in the tens of thousands in downtown Cairo and in other major cities, albeit on a lesser scale. After being overwhelmed in the Jan. 28 Day of Rage protests, Egypt’s internal security forces — with …

By STRATFOR The following is a report from a STRATFOR source in Hamas. Hamas, which formed in Gaza as an outgrowth of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB), has an interest in exaggerating its role and coordination with the MB in this crisis. The following information has not been confirmed. Nonetheless, …

By STRATFOR Egypt’s former air force chief and minister for civil aviation, Ahmed Shafiq, has been designated the new prime minister by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and tasked to form the next Cabinet, Al Jazeera reported Jan. 29. The announcement comes shortly after Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was appointed …

WASHINGTON — For one of his first foreign visits, President Barack Obama will call on NATO ally Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim country viewed as critical to aiding the U.S. pullout from Iraq, turning around the Afghanistan war and blocking Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The invasion of Iraq has strained the long …

A man held a gun to his head in front of the Turkish Prime Minister’s office in Ankara on Monday in protest against economic conditions before surrendering to bodyguards, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. The man, who was alone, gave a letter to police before being led away …