Mala tempora currunt ...

Da:"LiriciGreci.org"Egypt protest intensifies, Mubarak turns to armyFactboxesSecurity developments in Egypt 5:44am ESTMajor foreign companies operating in Egypt 4:43am ESTMohamed ElBaradei: Opposition leader and diplomat 5:45am ESTInternational reaction to crisis in Egypt 6:40am ESTU.S. plans charter flights out of Egypt Sun, Jan 30 2011Related NewsScenarios: U.S. walks tightrope in Egyptian crisis Sun, Jan 30 2011Governments move to fly nationals out of Egypt 5:29am ESTMoody's cuts Egypt rating, warns on government spending 5:54am ESTEgyptian icon Omar Sharif says time Mubarak went 3:57am ESTEgyptians have reservations about ElBaradei 5:48am ESTMachetes, gunshots transform leafy Cairo suburb Sun, Jan 30 2011Egypt Brotherhood says seeking group for talks with army 6:05am ESTAnalysis: Is Mubarak's time up after 30 years in power? 1:50am ESTAnalysis: Egypt has limited war chest to avert financial crisis 1:50am ESTBritain says "repression will end badly" for Egypt 3:44am ESTEgypt's Suez Canal working as normal: canal official 4:49am ESTLooters pillage Egyptian antiquities warehouses 6:18am ESTWorld support for Egypt1:03am ESTElBaradei joins protesters in Cairo Egypt fears hit Asia stocks, oil up Egypt arrests scores of prisoners Tense calm in Cairo Egypt TV shows post-curfew arrests Mubarak talks to army chiefs   1 / 31

Protesters take part in a demonstration at Tahrir Square in Cairo January 30, 2011. Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei told thousands of protesters in central Cairo on Sunday that an uprising against Hosni Mubarak's rule ''cannot go back''. The banner reads: ''Leave, Mubarak.'' Credit: Reuters/Asmaa Waguih By Sherine El Madany and Marwa AwadCAIRO | Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:40am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters intensified their campaign on Monday to force Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak to quit as world leaders struggled to find a solution to a crisis that has torn up the Middle East political map.Crowds flocked in the morning to Tahrir Square, which has become the focus of the uprising over poverty, corruption and unemployment, to join protesters who had camped out overnight in defiance of a curfew imposed by Mubarak.Soldiers checked IDs but the crowd steadily grew, chanting "Down, down, Mubarak."The uprising against Mubarak's 30-year-rule, now in its sixth day, unnerved global markets. Share prices fell across Asia on Monday morning, Brent oil hit a 28-month high, and Egypt's financial markets were closed for a second day in a row.The mood between the troops and the protesters in the square remained generally relaxed, with people sharing food and standing by tanks daubed with anti-Mubarak graffiti.The army appears to hold the key to Mubarak's fate but although the generals have held back from crushing the revolt, they have also not withdrawn support for Mubarak."The army has to choose between Egypt and Mubarak," read one banner in Tahrir Square.The protests in the world's most populous Arab nation broke out last week when frustration over repression and the lack of democracy under Mubarak's rule boiled over.More than 100 people were killed in clashes with security forces in scenes that overturned Egypt's standing as a stable country, promising emerging market and attractive tourist destination.Mubarak, a close U.S. ally and a stalwart in Western policy toward the Middle East, responded by offering economic reform to address public anger at rising prices.He also sacked his cabinet and appointed a vice president and new prime minister. Both, however, were military men and the moves have done nothing to appease a protest movement who want him and his associates from the old guard to be swept away.WEST WAIT-AND-SEEThe United States, which has poured billions of dollars of aid into Egypt since Mubarak came to power, stopped short of saying openly that it wanted him out. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton instead urged reform and spoke about "an orderly transition."A senior U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said the feeling among Obama's national security aides was that Mubarak's time had passed, but it was up to Egyptians to determine what happens next.Washington has long seen Mubarak as a bulwark in the Middle East, first against communism then against militant Islam.