CAIRO (Reuters) – Arab states will on Saturday discuss a no-fly zone for Libya and the idea of extending formal recognition to rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi at a meeting that European states hope will guide their next steps.

But divisions among Arab states will likely preclude agreement on those ideas, experts on Arab diplomacy say, which could disappoint European governments hoping for clear Arab League positions that will help shape their policy.

CAIRO (Reuters) – There were, give or take, 1,000 tanks. They tore up Tripoli’s seafront boulevard, literally. None had rubber pads to protect the road surface from the metal tracks. The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, looked on.

He was seated on a podium, with a handful of other African and Arab leaders and officials. It was 1994 and he was celebrating 25 years of a revolution that swept him to power.

CAIRO, Feb 25 (Reuters) – There were, give or take, 1,000
tanks. They tore up Tripoli’s seafront boulevard, literally.
None had rubber pads to protect the road surface from the metal
tracks. The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, looked on.

He was seated on a podium, with a handful of other African
and Arab leaders and officials. It was 1994 and he was
celebrating 25 years of a revolution that swept him to power.

By Edmund Blair

(Reuters) – The army, which took charge after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, has vowed to get Egypt back to work and introduce civilian rule with swift elections.

But alongside questions about whether it can meet the timetable, some ask to what extent the army wants to relinquish power.

CAIRO (Reuters) – The army, thrust to the forefront of Egyptian politics with Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow, has turned to the Web to win over youths who used the Internet to such devastating effect in bringing down the president.

The Higher Military Council has launched its own page on Facebook, the website that became an essential tool alongside others like Twitter in galvanizing the masses on to the streets.

CAIRO (Reuters) – People took to the streets in their thousands demanding the end of the government. They marched on the headquarters of the state broadcaster which had been churning out the government line. The president fell. The army took charge.

Cairo in 2011? No, Sudan in 1985.

As I watched the unprecedented protests in Egypt that have overturned what seemed like the immutable ruling system of President Hosni Mubarak, I have constantly found myself thinking of the last time I had a front row seat at a military takeover.

CAIRO (Reuters) – People took to the streets in their thousands demanding the end of the government. They marched on the headquarters of the state broadcaster which had been churning out the government line. The president fell. The army took charge.

Cairo in 2011? No, Sudan in 1985.

As I watched the unprecedented protests in Egypt that have overturned what seemed like the immutable ruling system of President Hosni Mubarak, I have constantly found myself thinking of the last time I had a front row seat at a military takeover.

CAIRO (Reuters) – A furious wave of protest swept Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond.

Mubarak, the second Arab leader to be overthrown by a popular uprising in a month, handed power to the army after 18 days of relentless rallies against poverty, corruption and repression caused support from the armed forces to evaporate.

CAIRO, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Hosni Mubarak stepped down as
Egypt’s president on Friday, handing over to the army and ending
three decades of autocratic rule, bowing to escalating pressure
from the military and protesters demanding that he go.

Vice President Omar Suleiman said a military council would
run the affairs of the Arab world’s most populous nation. A free
and fair presidential election has been promised for September.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s finance minister sought to reassure foreign investors on Friday, saying that the military was not intervening in daily government matters and that the budget and inflation were under control.

In a telephone interview with Reuters, minister Samir Radwan acknowledged that economic growth would take a knock from the country’s political upheaval, adding that the government’s budget deficit would rise but only to last year’s level.