The best laid plans


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Mubarak pledge to step down dismissed as too slow

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The Egyptian Presidents pledge to surrender in September has angered protesters who want an immediate end to his 30-year-rule. Photo by AP CAIRO: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Tuesday he would surrender power in September, angering protesters who want an immediate end to his 30-year-rule. The United States called for the transition of power to begin straight away, stopping short of endorsing Mubaraks plan to stay in office for another six months. What is clear and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful and it must begin now, President Barack Obama said after speaking to him by phone. In the streets of Cairo, protesters whose numbers swelled above 1 million across Egypt on Tuesday, many renewed their calls for the 82-year-old leader to quit. We will not leave! He will leave! some chanted. A leading reformist figure, retired diplomat Mohammed ElBaradei, was quoted by CNN calling Mubaraks mov...
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Hafeez, Afridi and Akmal highlight in crushing win

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Umar Akmal (L) and Misbah-ul-Haq celebrate the wicket of Jamie How. -Photo by AFP CHRISTCHURCH: A maiden century by Mohammad Hafeez and a blistering 65 by Shahid Afridi set up Pakistan for a 43-run win over New Zealand in their one-day cricket international Saturday. The batting heroics, which rescued Pakistan from a disastrous start, were complemented by the fielding exploits of Umar Akmal who featured in three crucial New Zealand dismissals. The result levelled the six-match series at 1-1, with one game washed out and three to play. It was a sharp turnaround in fortunes from the first match, which New Zealand won by nine wickets with more than 32 overs to spare. They showed the hallmarks of that domination in Christchurch when they won the toss, put Pakistan into bat on a green-tinged wicket, and had them two for eight by the fourth over. But from there Pakistan worked their way up to take control, compiling 293-7 in their 50 overs, with Afridi starring in a 126-run charge over the ...
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Gagged Al Jazeera a powerful counter to Mideast regimes

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Egyptian protesters shout slogans against President Hosni Mubarak's regime at Tahrir Square in Cairo on January 30, 2011. -Photo by AFP DUBAI: Al Jazeera television, banned in Egypt on Sunday, has often angered Arab governments with its coverage of dissent and served as a counterweight to regimes which accuse it of stirring dissent. Egypts official MENA news agency said the outgoing information minister, Anas al-Fikki, ordered Al Jazeeras closure in Cairo after its blanket coverage of anti-government protests sweeping the country. The Doha-based Al Jazeera slammed the move as an attempt at censoring and silencing the voices of the Egyptian people. In this time of deep turmoil and unrest in Egyptian society it is imperative that voices from all sides be heard, the Arab satellite news channel said. On Saturday, it broadcast an appeal from Yusef al-Qaradawi, a popular Egyptian-born television preacher and mentor of Egypts officially banned Muslim Brotherhood, urging President Hosni Mu...
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