Ehud Barak quits Israel's Labour to form new party

Labour leader Barak served as Israel's prime minister between 1999 and 2001

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak says he is resigning as head of the Labour party to form his own faction.

Mr Barak is heading a breakaway group - Independence - which includes four other Labour MPs, reports say.

Correspondents say the move strengthens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, as it allows Mr Barak's party to remain in government.

Labour is due to vote on whether to quit the coalition over Mr Netanyahu's handling of the Mid-East peace process.

But Mr Barak's surprise move pre-empts that decision, due next month, suggesting he still believes Mr Netanyahu is genuine about seeking peace with the Palestinians, says the BBC's Jon Donnison in Jerusalem.

The fledgling peace talks broke down late last year over Israel's refusal to renew a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

New start

"We have presented a request to the Knesset to recognise us as a new faction that will be called Independence," Mr Barak told a press conference that was carried live on Israeli radio and television.

Analysis

Yolande Knell BBC News, Jerusalem

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Ehud Barak resigned from Labour amid rising discontent within the left-of-centre party about its role as a partner in the right-wing coalition of PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

His backing for the government's handling of the recently failed Mid-East peace talks was the main cause of complaint from party members.

With negotiations stalled for over three months, some Labour members urged him to pull out of the coalition. Last week, one of them, Daniel Ben-Simon, quit the party in protest at the decision to stay on.

The resignation does not immediately threaten Mr Netanyahu's governing coalition - Mr Barak and his four followers are expected to remain part of it and to retain ministerial posts.

However, the move may shift the government's policies further to the right and Mr Netanyahu's majority is reduced.

"[The new party] will be centrist, Zionist and democratic," he said.

There have been tensions within the Labour party - a key member of Israel's ruling coalition - for months. A party official said four Labour parliamentarians would be joining Mr Barak's new faction.

Israeli TV and radio stations said that Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon and deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai were among those who would join the Independence party.

Israeli army radio said Mr Netanyahu was aware of the initiative, and had pledged to allow the defence minister and the other two senior party members to continue in their ministerial posts.

The Labour movement was central to the creation of Israel in 1948 and had long dominated Israeli politics since then.

However, it placed fourth during the 2009 elections, behind the opposition Kadima party, Mr Netanyahu's Likud and the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

It is currently a key member of the ruling coalition, with 13 MPs prior to Monday's split. Mr Netanyahu's coalition currently has a majority, with 74 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

Analysts say Labour's eight remaining members, political doves who are in favour of getting peace talks back on track, are likely to quit the government.

Their departures could leave Mr Netanyahu with 66 seats in the 120-seat parliament, a smaller but more stable majority.

Tunisia unrest: Renewed anti-government protests

New protests have broken out on the streets of Tunisia's capital, Tunis, hours before the expected announcement of a new national unity government.

Police used water cannon to disperse several hundred demonstrators calling for the party of ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to relinquish power.

The country has been in a state of emergency since he fled on Friday.

Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has said an agreement between the political parties would be unveiled later.

Mr Ben Ali, who had been in power for 23 years, fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after a month of mounting protests across the country over unemployment, food price rises and corruption.

Mixed atmosphere

Monday's protesters shouted slogans against Mr Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), says the BBC's Lyse Doucet in Tunis, as they made it clear they wanted the ruling party to have no place in the new government.

Analysis

Magdi Abdelhadi BBC Arab affairs analyst

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It is becoming increasingly obvious that opposition parties, groups not recognised by the government and the protesters in Tunisia are not going to sit quietly and let the remnants of the old regime continue to rule after making some cosmetic changes.

They have taken to the streets demanding nothing short of dismantling the very system of repression and control the ruling party had in place for 50 years.

How the interim prime minister and president respond to such protests will give an indication as to whether they are serious about making genuine political reforms, or whether the old political class is determined to hold on to power.

The atmosphere was mixed, adds our correspondent, with the sound of teargas being fired and gunshots ringing out during occasional skirmishes, interspersed with scenes of celebration and a rendition of the national anthem.

Mr Ghannouchi - who was also prime minister during Mr Ben Ali's rule - has pledged rapid action to fill the power vacuum, after being asked to form a government by interim President Foued Mebazaa, the former speaker of the parliament.

Sources close to the negotiations with opposition parties are quoted as saying some portfolios have already been agreed.

After a night of fighting between troops and gunmen loyal to Mr Ben Ali, tanks were patrolling in the capital and other cities in an attempt to restore order on Monday.

Days of violence have cut off supplies to shops and petrol stations, causing shortages. Correspondents say many people just want life to get back to normal and are keen for details of the unity government to be announced.

The demonstrations gained momentum in December after a 26-year-old unemployed man, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in protest against a lack of jobs in the country. He died in early January.

Amid concerns the protests may spread across the region, a man set himself on fire outside the Egyptian parliament buildings in Cairo on Monday. His motivation was not immediately clear.

There have also been several such incidents in Algeria which, like Egypt and Tunisia, has high unemployment and has been facing political unrest.

'Zero tolerance'

Secular leftist Moncef Marzouki has said he will challenge for the presidency in elections which, under the present Tunisian constitution, must be held within 60 days.

Fall from power

• 17 Dec: Man sets himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid over lack of jobs, sparking protests
• 24 Dec: Protester shot dead in central Tunisia
• 28 Dec: Protests spread to Tunis
• 8-10 Jan: Dozens of deaths reported in crackdown on protests
• 12 Jan: Interior minister sacked
• 13 Jan: President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali promises to step down in 2014
• 14 Jan: Mr Ben Ali dissolves parliament after new mass rally, then steps down and flees
• 15 Jan: Parliamentary Speaker Foued Mebazaa sworn in as interim president

• Residents of Tunis 'unable to leave homes'
• Profile: Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali
• Will there be a domino effect?

In the meantime, Mr Ghannouchi has pledged "zero tolerance" against anyone threatening the security of the country.

But the country remains volatile, and there was heavy gunfire at the Presidential Palace in Carthage, north of Tunis, overnight. In Tunis fighting also continued at the the presidential residence and the interior ministry, where two gunmen firing from a nearby roof were reportedly shot dead by security forces.

The BBC's Wyre Davies, in Tunis, says that while the Tunisian army does not appear to be interfering in the process of political reform, the motives of some members of the police and security services loyal to the ousted president may be more sinister.

The former head of the presidential security force, Ali Seriati, was arrested on Sunday and accused of threatening state security by fomenting violence.

Meanwhile, long queues have appeared at petrol stations and many people are complaining of food shortages caused by the unrest.

On Sunday evening, some Tunis residents blocked roads with makeshift barriers of branches and bins, in an attempt to protect their homes from looters.

Also in Tunis, people have been tearing down the massive portraits of Mr Ben Ali, some of them several stories high, that hung from lampposts and billboards.

There have also been attacks targeting businesses and buildings connected with the former president and his family.

In another development, a group of Swedish nationals - who said they were in the country on a wild boar hunting trip - were attacked and badly beaten in Tunis after it is believed they were mistaken for a group of foreign mercenaries.

No sign Egypt will take the Tunisian road

By Jon Leyne BBC News, Cairo

A handful of protesters gathered outside the Tunisian embassy in Cairo

If Tunisia is to be the first of a series of dominos, the first of many Arab autocracies to collapse, there is no sign yet of the contagion spreading to Egypt.

On the face of it, Egypt faces many similar problems.

Rising food prices and tough economic conditions have left many millions struggling. Official corruption is notorious. There is less and less opportunity for people to voice their feelings within the political system.

Parliamentary elections last November and December left the ruling party almost with a monopoly of power. The ageing president has been in office three decades, and looks likely to seek and gain re-election this autumn.

So it is no surprise that many Egyptians have been quick to welcome the downfall of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

At a lunch stand in central Cairo, one unemployed man said: "I am very happy as an Arab. It is good for the people of Tunisia, that they succeeded. This is the level of democracy we need to reach. I call on God to make it happen in all Arab and African countries."

Another said: "This is just the start... I hear from a lot of Egyptians that they might do the same. We need complete change, not just political change."

Yet the bold words have translated into almost no action whatsoever.

A handful of demonstrators gathered outside the Tunisian embassy, calling on President Hosni Mubarak to follow President Ben Ali's example and go.

On one Facebook page, Egyptians are urged to begin the campaign to change their government - but not until 25 January.

And life here has continued as normal, no major protests, no visible extra security.

Anyone attempting to foment change in Egypt faces formidable obstacles.

No dream

There are deep frustrations in society. Yet Egyptians are almost as disillusioned with the opposition, as they are with the government. Even the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Islamist movement, seem rudderless.

After their candidates failed to win a single seat in the parliamentary elections, they blamed ballot rigging, but staged no major protests.

“Start Quote

No state can live just by figures or by numbers. You have to give people meaning”

End Quote Ali Eddin Helal National Democratic Party

Egypt is widely seen to have lost power, status and prestige in the three decades of President Mubarak's rule. It is not just the lack of achievements in the economy, or education or international affairs.

Egyptians will tell you that this country needs a dream, a vision. Under President Gamal Abdel Nasser it was Pan-Arabism. Under President Anwar Sadat it was peace with Israel and economic liberalisation.

Under President Mubarak there is no such dream, as a senior figure in the ruling National Democratic Party candidly acknowledged recently:

"While Egyptian officials fell in love with numbers - of streets paved, of hospitals built, the number of hotels and so on - somewhere the symbolic or the ideological mission of the state withered away," said Ali Eddin Helal.

"No state can live just by figures or by numbers. You have to give people meaning."

The response from Egyptians is a widespread feeling of hopelessness. Suicides have risen sharply in recent years, according to UN estimates.

Turnout in parliamentary elections, as a proportion of all Egyptians of voting age, is probably now down to single figures - and that is achieved with a degree of government "encouragement" to its employees, and plenty of vote buying.

Not aspirational

But equally, political demonstrations here usually only generate a few hundred people. Reporting on them in central Cairo, you soon become familiar with the faces of the handful of activists who reliably turn out.

Usually they are well outnumbered by the surrounding police.

Unlike Tunisia, the population has a much lower level of education. Illiteracy is high, internet penetration is low.

No-one could describe Egyptian society as "aspirational". Most people simply struggle to survive.

And historically, Egypt's strategic importance has made it highly vulnerable to foreign interference.

US President Barack Obama can watch what is going on in Tunisia with a degree of detachment. Similar disorder in Egypt could threaten his whole political future, just as events in Iran destroyed Jimmy Carter's presidency three decades ago.

The simple fact is that most Egyptians do not see any way that they can change their country or their lives through political action, be it voting, activism, or going out on the streets to demonstrate.

Maybe what is happening in Tunisia will change that. But in Egypt there are decades of inertia to overcome.

Court adjourns trial of Egyptian accused of spying for Israel

MENA

Mon, 17/01/2011 - 13:54

حسن عبد الرازق عضو المجلس المحلي لحي العجمي ، الإسكندرية .

" title="حسن عبد الرازق" class="imagecache imagecache-highslide_zoom" width="536" height="402">

Photographed by المصري اليوم

• 1

The trial of a Egyptian businessman charged with spying for Israel was on Monday postponed until 12 February.

Tarek Abdel Razeq Hussein, 37, owner of an export-import company, was arrested in August for allegedly recruiting Egyptian communications officials to spy for Israel.

Judicial sources said the Supreme State Security Court adjourned the trial so that the suspect’s defense team could obtain a copy of the investigation files.

Egyptian news reports said that Hussein also faces charges of recruiting Syrian and Lebanese agents to work for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.

He is further charged with receiving some US$37,000 in return for spying.

Two Israeli Mossad officers, Idi Moshe and Joseph Demore, will be tried in absentia.

Pope Shenouda back in Cairo following therapeutic trip

MENA

Mon, 17/01/2011 - 12:44

" title="Pope Shenouda III" class="imagecache imagecache-highslide_zoom" width="536" height="402">

Photographed by Mohamed Abdel Ghany

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Pope Shenouda III returned to Cairo on Monday morning after an eight-day therapeutic trip to the US.

The pope decided to return early to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany for which he will conduct the mass on Tuesday night.

Celebrations were held at the papal residence in Cairo to welcome the pope, who thanked those present and gave reassurances about his health.

A source from the pope's office said the medical examinations the pope underwent at Cleveland Clinic hospital in Ohio showed that the pope's health has improved following a medical procedure he underwent in 2008.

The pope was received by members of the Holy Synod, priests from Cairo's churches, and other church officials.

Maged Abdel Fattah, Egypt’s permanent delegate to the UN, visited the pope while he was in hospital in the US.

ElBaradei calls for Egypt's peaceful power transfer to avoid Tunisian scenario

Staff

Mon, 17/01/2011 - 11:06

Photographed by Staff

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Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the National Association for Change (NAC) and a potential candidate for the 2011 presidential election, called for the Egyptian regime to allow a peaceful transition of power to avoid a repetition of the Tunisian scenario in Egypt.

In a message on Twitter, ElBaradei said that the violence in Tunisia is a response to suppression.

He said the Egyptian regime must understand that peaceful change is the only way to avoid painful repercussions.

News reports had said that Egyptian authorities have taken precautionary measures to preempt the possibility of repercussions such as those currently sweeping a number of Arab countries.

President Hosni Mubarak held a closed-door meeting with the National Defense Council (NDC) on Saturday, Qatar-based satellite television network Al Jazeera reported. According to Al Jazeera, the NDC has decided on a number of “precautionary measures to avoid provoking citizens in the coming period,” including the postponement of any planned “price hikes or new taxes."

Egypt's Constitution stipulates that the NDC as the president's principal advisory body for all matters relating to national security. The council is comprised of the president, the ministers of defense, interior and foreign affairs, the director of general intelligence, and a number of other top officials.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, meanwhile, ruled out the possibility of Tunisian-style revolutions in other Arab countries. He said that fears of the uprising spreading are just "nonsense".

"Those who have such illusions and attempt to add fuel to the flames will not achieve their objectives and will themselves be harmed."

He further said that some satellite channels seek to increase tensions in Arabic countries, adding that these are either Western channels or those serving Western interests.

Egyptian sets himself on fire before parliament

Nora Younis

Mon, 17/01/2011 - 11:09

Photographed by other

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An eyewitness told Al-Masry Al-Youm that an Egyptian citizen set himself on fire Monday at 9 AM in front of People’s Assembly while shouting chants against the Egyptian security service.

While standing on the pavement opposite to parliament’s main gate, the man doused himself with gasoline and shouted “Security service, my rights are lost in this country,” then set himself on fire, the witness said in a phone call.

“He was all caught up with fire,” said the witness. “Guards used fire extinguishers to put the fire out. And then he was put in an ambulance.”

“Security staff were keen to rectify the situation in the street, but a big wet spot remained outside the parliament due to the fire extinguishers,” the witness added.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the citizen, Abdou Abdel Moneim Gaafar, 49, owner of restaurant in Qantara in the Ismailia governorate, is currently being treated in Mounira hospital. It is not yet clear if his condition is serious or not.

The incident follows the self-immolation of a Tunisian youth in Tunisia on 17 December, which led to the resignation of president Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali, who fled with his family on Friday to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in office.

Several Algerians have also set themselves on fire to protest unemployment and the unavailability of suitable housing. One died late on Saturday in Tebsa.