Egypt Latest

Egypt Latest, At least 40 people were killed Monday in clashes outside a military building in Cairo where supporters of the former president were holding a sit-in, an Egyptian health ministry official said.

Ministry spokesman Khaled el-Khatib said initial reports also indicated at least 322 were wounded, although he gave no details on the circumstances of the killings.

Military spokesmen said gunmen opened fire on troops at the building, killing at least five supporters of Mohammed Morsi and one officer.

A spokesman from Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, Mourad Ali, and a witness at the scene however said military forces opened fire at dawn on the protesters outside the Republican Guard building. The different accounts could not be reconciled.

Satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera showed footage from a nearby field hospital of at least six dead bodies laid out on the ground, some with severe wounds. A medic from the area, Hesham Agami, said ambulances were unable to transport more than 200 wounded to hospitals because the military had blocked off the roads.

Al-Shaimaa Younes, who was at the sit-in, said military troops and police forces opened fire on the protesters during early morning prayers. “They opened fire with live ammunition and lobbed tear gas,” she said by telephone. “There was panic and people started running. I saw people fall.”

Women and children had been among the protesters, she said.

Morsi supporters have been holding rallies and a sit-in outside the Republican Guard building since the military deposed Morsi last week during massive protests against him. The military chief replaced Morsi with an interim president, until presidential elections are held.

But Morsi’s supporters refuse to recognize the change in leadership and insist Morsi be reinstated. Besides the Republican Guard sit-in, they are also holding thousands-strong daily rallies at a nearby mosque.

Egypt News Today

Egypt News Today, Obama is now facing one of the most delicate balancing acts in foreign policy – facing an allied nation in crisis in the Middle East no less.

As he watches the violent demonstrations in Egypt, Obama wants to restore democracy, and not be seen as supporting authoritarianism.

On the other hand, the President does not be regarded as helping to break a government – especially if his replacement is being anti-American, as happened in Iran in the 1970s.

“The United States will continue to defend the rights of the Egyptian people, and work with their government, seeking a more just, freer, and more hope,” Obama said Friday.

This being the Middle East, there is much at stake include peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the U.S. efforts to combat t*rror*sm, the peace process in the Middle East, and the impact that high prices oil might have on the U.S. economy.

Riots in Egypt upset Wall Street, which began to worry about oil supplies moving through the Suez Canal and the stability of other Arab governments.
At the time of the sale is complete, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 166.13 points to close at 11,823.70, the first decline in three digits of the year.

The selloff has been at least a short-term recovery of an upward rise that pushed the Dow above 12,000 level this week when both interday trading. Although she never closed more than 12,000, it reached its highest level since June 2008.

On Friday, the market has also considered the Government’s report on fourth quarter GDP to be positive. He showed the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.2 percent compared to a rate of 2.6 percent in the third quarter. Consumer spending grew at a rate of 4.4 percent per year, better than expected. The major impediment to the economy of public spending, which fell, and a slowdown in the growth rate of inventory accumulation.

Despite the economic news, Dickson said he would not be surprising to see the hide market in the coming days. “It can be seen extending down to 3 or 4 percent, which brings up a more normal if it happens,” he said. “What is happening in Egypt is one of those things where you just have to see what happens in other countries. ”

U.S. Senator John Kerry said Saturday that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to address the concerns of its citizens and the problems they have, like the demonstrations in this country have been observed at the World Economic Forum.

“I think we need to see how things develop today, and obviously the key here is for President Mubarak to meet the needs of its people in a way that is more directly related to their frustration, much more than apparently yesterday’s speech managed to do it, “the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told the Associated Press on Saturday on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Forum.

“I think he’s talking more to the real issues that people feel,” the Massachusetts Democrat said. “Rejecting the government does not talk about some of these challenges.”

Kerry’s comments came just minutes after the Egyptian state television said that the Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has resigned Learn Mubarak.

Salil Shetty, head of Amnesty International, told AP that Mubarak’s decision to fire his Cabinet would not suppress anti-government protests that rocked the country for five days.

“The idea of changing your wardrobe is a bit of a joke. People are very clear that they want fundamental change, constitutional change,” he said.