South Africa hit back to shock Ghana

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – South Africa created the first shock of the 2011 African Nations Championship with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory against Ghana in Sudan Saturday.

Most of the winning team play for third-tier league clubs as Premiership and first division sides refused to release their stars for a tournament restricted to home-based footballers.

Ghana, runners-up to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the first African Nations Championship two years ago, boasted a strong mix of experience and youth and their build-up included two weeks at high altitude in Kenya.

The script began predictably in Wad Medani, a regional centre south of Sudanese capital Khartoum, with Daniel Larbi scoring on 39 minutes for the Ghanaians.

But a South African team that left their country without fanfare after a two-week training camp in north-east city Nelspruit rocked the west Africans when Collins Zimba levelled on the hour mark.

And worse was to follow for Ghana as Bheki Shabangu struck five minutes before full-time to earn South Africa victory and top place on the Group B table on goals scored.

Niger joined them on three points after edging Zimbabwe 1-0 in the second half of a double-header through a 75th-minute goal from midfielder Abdelkader Amadou.

The result stunned Zimbabwe coach Madinda Ndlovu, who boasted before the kick-off that his squad were capable of going all the way and winning the February 25 final.

Zimbabwe suffered a series of blows since qualifying last year with nine of the successful team quitting the politically troubled southern Africa state to join clubs in South Africa, Libya and Cyprus.

Niger caused the shock of the regional elimination competition by defeating Nigeria 2-0 in Niamey and forcing a goalless second-leg draw to reach the final of a senior Pan-African tournament for the first time.

Uganda finished with nine men as they fell 2-0 to Algeria in Khartoum-based Group A with the goals coming from Abdelmounem Djabou on 17 minutes and Hilal Soudani just past the hour mark.

Reckless tackles led to red cards for Uganda captain Owen Kasule when his team trailed by one goal and striker Tony Odour midway through the second half of a match staged in scorching early afternoon heat.

DR Congo, title favourites with 11 players from 2010 Club World Cup runners-up TP Mazembe in their sqaud, tackle Cameroon in Omdurman Sunday followed by Ivory Coast against Mali.

Zimbabwe's main parties condemn violence

HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe's ruling political parties on Saturday condemned the recent outbreak of political violence that has been blamed on President Robert Mugabe's youth militia.

In the past two weeks, violent clashes erupted between the supporters of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), as the country braces for elections earmarked for this year.

"We believe as political parties we have not done enough in the past to denounce and condemn violence," said a joint statement signed by provincial leaders of both parties in Harare.

"We believe it is within our power to stop the violence which poses a threat to the lives of our people. Today it is violence, tomorrow it could be death," said the statement.

The MDC has blamed ZANU-PF youth supporters for fuelling the violence, mainly in the capital Harare.

Zimbabwe's 2008 presidential poll was marked by widespread political violence which prompted Tsvangirai to withdraw from the race, leaving Mugabe to win the vote unchallenged.

In 2009, the two leaders formed a power sharing government, which has been crippled by power struggles and infighting.

Mugabe who has led Zimbabwe since 1980, called for new elections to be held this year, saying the tense power-sharing government was no longer working.

Egypt gas pipeline attacked, Israel, Jordan flow hit

CAIRO (Reuters) – Saboteurs blew up a pipeline that runs through Egypt's North Sinai, state television said, disrupting flows to Israel and Jordan, after Islamists called on militants to exploit the unrest that has rocked the government.

"It is a big terrorist operation," a state TV reporter said.

A security source in North Sinai said "foreign elements" targeted the branch of the pipe that supplies Jordan.

A security source said the Egyptian army closed the main source of gas supplying the pipeline and were controlling the fire. Television footage showed a tower of flame at the scene.

Jordan said gas supplies from Egypt were expected to remain halted for a week until the pipeline was repaired. Israel said it expected to be without Egyptian gas "for a number of days."

A Jordanian energy source told Reuters the kingdom had switched power stations to burning fuel oil and diesel as a precaution, after the cut-off of the Egyptian gas supplies that help generate most of Jordan's electricity.

Israel's National Infrastructure Ministry said it also had alternative energy sources available and anticipated no disruption to domestic electricity production. "The Israeli economy should prepare for a number of days without the supply of natural gas from Egypt," the ministry said in a statement.

The attack happened as demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak entered their 12th day, with no sign of an end to the confrontation which has pitted the 82-year-old leader against thousands of anti-government protesters.

"Saboteurs took advantage of the security situation and blew up the gas pipeline," a state television correspondent said.

UNREST

The SITE intelligence group, which monitors al Qaeda and other Islamist websites, said some groups had been urging Islamic militants to attack the pipeline to Israel.

"Jihadists suggested that Muslims in Sinai take advantage of Egyptian unrest and strike the Arish-Ashkelon gas pipeline, arguing that it would have a major impact on Israel," SITE said.

Israel gets 40 percent of its natural gas from Egypt, a deal built on their landmark 1979 peace accord.

The company that supplies Egyptian gas to Israel is East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), and one of the major shareholders in the company is Mubarak associate and former Egyptian intelligence chief Hussein Salem.

Opposition groups have long complained that Egyptian gas is sold to Israel at preferential prices and that the contract with EMG violated bureaucratic regulations. The government insists it is done on commercial terms and everything is in order.

Egypt is a modest gas exporter, using pipelines to export to Israel, Jordan and other regional states. It also exports via liquefied natural gas facilities on its north coast, but those are not in the Sinai region.

The North Sinai source said the attack was carried out by "foreign elements."

"We are now relying on Bedouin leadership in the areas surrounding to help security apparatus with the investigation and give us hints of any other destructive acts," he said. Abdel Wahhab Mabrouk, the area's governor, told state TV: "By closing the taps they contained the fire and we assure the people there are no human losses. It is an act of sabotage."

Egypt declared a high state of alert in the area, another security source said. Gunmen opened fire on a governorate building in North Sinai but no casualties were reported.

Later, unknown assailants threw a grenade at an empty church in Rafah, near the border with Gaza. Rafah's public library was set also set on fire, witnesses said. Islamic books had been removed before the blaze started, they said.

Residents in the area reported a huge explosion and said flames were raging near the pipeline in the El-Arish area.

SITE quoted one Islamist website author as saying: "To our brothers, the Bedouins of Sinai, the heroes of Islam, strike with an iron fist because this is a chance to stop the supply to the Israelites."

Sinai Bedouins have long grumbled about being neglected and have sporadically clashed with Egyptian security forces. Many Bedouin were rounded up after a series of explosions in Sinai tourist resorts between 2004 and 2006.

Israel's Yam Tetis field off coastal Ashkelon was prepared to help compensate for the loss of Egyptian gas, the National Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday his country planned to draw increasingly on its own gas fields.

Chaos in Cairo as Mubarak backers, opponents clash

CAIRO – Thousands of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak battled in Cairo's main square Wednesday, raining stones, bottles and firebombs on each other in scenes of uncontrolled violence as soldiers stood by without intervening. Government backers galloped in on horses and camels, only to be dragged to the ground and beaten bloody.

At the one of the fighting's front lines, next to the famed Egyptian Museum at the edge of Tahrir Square, pro-government rioters blanketed the rooftops of nearby buildings and dumped bricks and firebombs onto the crowd below — in the process setting a tree ablaze inside the museum grounds.

On the street, the two sides crouched behind abandoned trucks and pummeled each other with hurled chunks of concrete and bottles. Some among the more than 3,000 government supporters waved machetes as their anti-Mubarak rivals filled the air with a ringing battlefield din by banging metal fences with sticks.

The Health Ministry announced one dead — a soldier who fell off a nearby highway overpass — and more than 400 people injured. Bloodied young men staggered or were carried into makeshift clinics set up in mosques and alleyways by the anti-government side.

Protesters pleaded for protection from soldiers stationed at the square, who refused. Soldiers did nothing to stop the violence beyond firing an occasional shot in the air and no uniformed police were in sight. Some protesters wept and prayed in the square where around 10,000 had massed Wednesday morning and where only a day before they had held a joyous, peaceful rally of a quarter-million, the largest yet in more than a week of demonstrations demanding Mubarak leave power.

Protesters contended there were plainclothed police among their attackers, showing police ID badges they said were wrested off them. Others, they said, were paid by the regime to assault them — a tactic that security forces have used in the past.

"After our revolution, they want to send people here to ruin it for us," said Ahmed Abdullah, a 47-year-old lawyer in the square. "Why do they want us to be at each other's throats, with the whole world watching us."

Another man shrieked through a loudspeaker, "Hosni has opened the door for these thugs to attack us."

The clashes marked a dangerous new phase in Egypt's 9-day-old upheaval: the first significant violence between supporters of the two camps. Clashes began, first in the port city of Alexandria, just hours after Mubarak — the country's authoritarian ruler for nearly 30 years — went on national television Tuesday night and rejected protesters' demands he step down immediately. He defiantly insisted he would serve out the remaining seven months of his term.

That speech marked an abrupt shift in the deteriorating crisis. A military spokesman appeared on state TV Wednesday and asked the protesters to disperse so life in Egypt could get back to normal. That was a major turn in the attitude of the army, which for the past few days allowed protests to swell.

Also, the regime for the first time Wednesday began to rally its supporters in significant numbers to demand an end to the unprecedented protest movement.

Some 20,000 pro-government demonstrators held an angry but mostly peaceful rally across the Nile River from Tahrir, saying Mubarak's concessions were enough and demanding protests end now that he has promised not to run for re-election in September, named a new government and appointed a vice president for the first time.

Their gathering was shot through with bitterness at the jeers hurled against the 82-year-old Mubarak over the past nine days.

"I feel humiliated," said Mohammed Hussein, a 31-year-old factory worker. "He is the symbol of our country. When he is insulted, I am insulted."

Having the rival sides on the streets is particularly worrying because there do not appear to be anywhere near enough police or military to control resurgent violence. The anti-Mubarak movement has vowed to intensify protests to force him out by Friday, and the scenes of violence may have aimed to intimidate people from joining.

International concern was also mounting. A day after President Barack Obama pressed Mubarak to loosen his grip on power immediately, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the U.S. "deplores and condemns the violence that is taking place in Egypt" and called for restraint.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Egyptian authorities must accelerate their political reforms and said that "if it turns out that the regime in any way has been sponsoring or tolerating this violence, that would be completely and utterly unacceptable." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, meeting Cameron in London, also condemned the violence as "unacceptable."

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the assault on the protesters "raises the urgent question whether the political leaders of Egypt understand the need for rapid democratic reform."

The violence began after nearly 10,000 anti-government protesters massed again in Tahrir on Wednesday morning, rejecting Mubarak's speech as too little too late and renewing their demands he leave immediately.

The rally was peaceful, but Mubarak supporters began to gather at the edges of the square, and protesters formed a human chain to keep them out. In the early afternoon, around 3,000 pro-government demonstrators broke through and surged among the protesters, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

They tore down banners denouncing the president, fistfights broke out, and protesters grabbed Mubarak posters from the hands of the supporters and ripped them to pieces.

From there, it escalated into outright street battles as hundreds poured in to join each side. They tore up chunks of pavement and grabbed ammunition from a nearby construction site, hurling stones, metal rods, concrete and sticks at each other and chasing each other.

At one point, a small contingent of pro-Mubarak forces on horseback and camels rushed into the anti-Mubarak crowds, trampling several and swinging whips and sticks. Protesters dragged some from their mounts, throwing them to the ground and beating their faces bloody. The horses and camels appeared to be ones used by the many touts around Cairo who sell rides for tourists.

The main battle line next to the Egyptian Museum — the famed treasury of pharaonic antiquities and mummies — surged back and forth repeatedly for hours. Anti-Mubarak protesters held up sheets of corrugated metal ripped from the construction site as shields from the hail of stones.

Some tried to charge into the buildings where government supporters on the roofs were pelting them with stones, but they were stopped by plainclothes security forces at the entrances. Several firebombs from the roof landed in the museum grounds, setting a tree ablaze. Soldiers tried to put it out with a hose.

Protesters were seen running with their shirts or faces bloodied. Scores of wounded were carried to a makeshift clinic at a mosque near the square and on other side streets. Doctors in white coats rushed about with bags of cotton, mercurochrome and bandages. One man with blood coming out of his eye stumbled into a side-street clinic.

As night fell, some protesters went to get food, a sign they plan to dig in for a long siege.

The army troops who have been guarding the square for days had been keeping the two sides apart earlier in the day, but when the clashes erupted they did not intervene. Most took shelter behind or inside the armored vehicles and tanks stationed at the entrances to the square.

"Why don't you protect us?" some shouted at soldiers, who replied they did not have orders to do so and told people to go home.

"The army is neglectful. They let them in," said Emad Nafa, a 52-year-old among the protesters, who for days had showered the military with love for its neutral stance.

The new tensions began to emerge immediately following Mubarak's speech Tuesday night. Later in the night, clashes erupted between pro- and anti-government demonstrators in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, while in Cairo groups of Mubarak supporters took to the streets, some carrying knifes and sticks.

Gatherings of Mubarak supporters were more hostile to journalists and foreigners. Two Associated Press correspondents and several other journalists were roughed up during various such gatherings. State TV reported Tuesday night that foreigners were caught distributing anti-Mubarak leaflets, apparently trying to depict the movement as foreign-fueled.

The violence could represent a dangerous new chapter after a series of dramatic and unpredictable twists in Egypt's upheaval.

After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by unrest in Tunisia took to the streets on Jan. 25 and mounted a once-unimaginable series of demonstrations across this nation of 80 million. Initially, police cracked down hard with deadly assaults on the demonstrators. Then police withdrew completely from the streets for the day, opening a wave of looting, armed robberies and arson — largely separate from the protests themselves — that stunned Egyptians.

But since Sunday, the army moved in to take control and the situation became more peaceful. The military announced it would not stop protests. As a result, the demonstrations swelled dramatically, protesters gained momentum and enthusiasm and many believed Mubarak's immediate fall was at hand. The United States put intense pressure on Mubarak to bring his rule to an end while ensuring a stable handover.

Wednesday's events could mean the regime has had enough, and that it and the military aim to ensure the end of the unrest to let Mubarak shape the transition as he choses over the next months. Mubarak has offered negotiations with protest leaders over democratic reforms.

As if to show the public the crisis was ending, the government began to reinstate Internet service after days of an unprecedented cutoff. State TV announced the easing of a nighttime curfew, which now runs from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. instead of 3 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Mubarak supporters were on the street in significant numbers for the first time on Wednesday. Across the Nile River from the chaos in Tahrir Square, around 20,000 pro-government demonstrators held a rally in front of Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in the upper-class neighborhood of Mohandiseen, after notices on state TV calling for attendance.

They waved Egyptian flags, their faces painted with the black-white-and-red national colors, and carried a large printed banner with Mubarak's face as police officers surrounded the area and directed traffic. They cheered as a military helicopter swooped overhead.

Some appeared to be the sort of young toughs that the opposition accuses the regime of paying to be its fist in the streets.

But the large majority were middle-class families, some of whom said Mubarak's concessions were enough and that they feared continued instability and shortages of food and other supplies if protests continue.

"I want the people in Tahrir Square to understand that Mubarak gave his word that he will give them the country to them through elections, peacefully, now they have no reason for demonstrations," said Ali Mahmoud, 52, who identified himself as middle-class worker from Menoufia, a Nile Delta province north of Cairo.

The movement against Mubarak, meanwhile, was working to prevent any slipping in its ranks after the speech and resist any sentiment that the concession may have been enough.

One protest organizer said the regime was going all out to pressure people to stop protesting.

"Starting with the emotional speech of Mubarak, to the closure of banks, the shortage of food and commodities and deployment of thugs to intimidate people, these are all means to put pressure on the people," said Ahmed Abdel-Hamid, a representative of the Revolutionary Committee, one of several youth groups that organized the protests.

The movement is fueled by deep frustration with an autocratic regime blamed for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant. Tuesday's massive rally in Tahrir showed a large cross-section of Egyptian society.

In his 10-minute speech Tuesday night, Mubarak emphasized the theme that he has often used in justifying his rule during his nearly three decades in power — that he can keep stability. Now he was promising to do so as he heads out the door.

The president, who almost never admits to reversing himself under pressure, insisted that even if the protests demanding his ouster had not broken out, he would not have sought a sixth term in September.

Somber but firm — without an air of defeat — he said he would serve out the rest of his term working "to accomplish the necessary steps for the peaceful transfer of power." He said he will carry out amendments to rules on presidential elections.

WikiLeaks nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO, Norway – A Norwegian lawmaker has nominated WikiLeaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, saying Wednesday that its disclosures of classified documents promote world peace by holding governments accountable for their actions.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee keeps candidates secret for 50 years, but those with nomination rights sometimes make their picks known.

Snorre Valen, a 26-year-old legislator from Norway's Socialist Left Party, told The Associated Press he handed in his nomination in person on Tuesday, the last day to put forth candidates.

"I think it is important to raise a debate about freedom of expression and that truth is always the first casualty in war," Valen said. "WikiLeaks wants to make governments accountable for their actions and that contributes to peace."

Valen also announced his choice on his blog, where he wrote that WikiLeaks had advanced the struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom of speech, just like last year's winner, Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

Valen cited disclosures of nepotism and corruption in Tunisia's presidential family, saying WikiLeaks "made a small contribution to bringing down" that regime.

The prize committee typically receives more than 200 nominations, so being nominated doesn't say anything about a candidate's chances of actually winning. And there's no way of knowing for sure that people who announce candidates actually submitted a legitimate nomination to the award committee.

Kristian Harpsviken, a leading Nobel-watcher and director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said he didn't consider WikiLeaks as a strong candidate for the 10 million kronor ($1.6 million) award.

"The reason I think it's unlikely is that there has been so much criticism of WikiLeaks, not least how they have handled identification issues of people in the documents," he said. "I don't think it quite does the trick."

Harpsviken keeps a list of "possible and confirmed nominations," based on public announcements and his own sources. His list this year includes WikiLeaks as well as Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of leaking material to the website.

Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva, Afghan human rights advocate Sima Samar, and several rights groups including U.S.-based Wings of Hope and Cuban opposition movement Damas de Blanco are also on the list.

His own top guess is Russian rights group Memorial, followed by activists Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Ory Okolloh of Kenya.

The committee will announce the winner in October.

Study finds jump in US immigration prosecutions

WASHINGTON – New government data shows the Obama administration has sharply increased immigration prosecutions and has stepped up cases against white-collar crimes, drug violations, organized crime and official corruption.

An analysis compiled by a private group using government data also found that there has been a decline in the Justice Department's felony prosecutions aside from immigration cases, particularly outside the Southwest.

The study was released Tuesday by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a private, nonpartisan group based at Syracuse University that compiled the data from the first two years of the Obama administration and the last two years of the Bush administration.

Justice Department spokeswoman Jessica Smith said Tuesday that the department cannot confirm TRAC's numbers or its methodology. She said the Justice Department's U.S. Attorney's offices filed a record number of criminal cases in U.S. District Courts last year.

"The U.S. attorneys' offices and the litigating divisions have been extremely busy with active investigations not necessarily reflected in these numbers, as well as the thousands of criminal cases they've pursued in the last two years," Smith said. "In fact, we've seen increases in the last two years in some of the most complex areas of criminal prosecution, including white collar, organized crime, public corruption and significant drug trafficking cases."

TRAC said that felony immigration prosecutions in federal court systems along the border from Houston to San Diego went up 259 percent from 2007 to 2010, increasing nearly 16,000 to 36,321.

Nationally, felony prosecutions that were not immigration cases totaled more than 18,500 in 2007 and 2008, the last two years of the George W. Bush administration, while prosecutions declined to just over 16,000 in the first two years of the Obama administration, according to TRAC.

In complex top-priority areas, drug prosecutions rose modestly to 26,805 last year, up from 26,336 in the last year of the Bush administration, TRAC found. White-collar crime prosecutions topped 9,700 last year, up from 8,108 in the last year of the Bush administration. There were 727 public corruption prosecutions last year, up from 675 in the last year of the Bush administration. Organized crime prosecutions were 572 last year, up from 450 in 2009 and 481 in 2008.

Weapons prosecutions totaled 7,614 last year, TRAC reported, down from 8,188 in 2009, 8,484 in 2008 and 8,919 in 2007.

Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh 'to quit in 2013'

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he will not seek to extend his presidency when his current term expires in 2013, according to reports.

Mr Saleh, who has been in power for three decades, also pledged that he would not pass on power to his son.

He spoke to parliament ahead of a rally in the capital on Thursday which, echoing protests in Tunisia and Egypt, has been dubbed a "day of rage".

Mr Saleh came to power as president of North Yemen in 1978.

When the country was united with South Yemen in 1990 he became president of the new republic.

Speaking during an emergency session of the country's parliament and the consultative council, he laid out his plans to move aside.

"No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock," Mr Saleh said.

"I present these concessions in the interests of the country. The interests of the country come before our personal interests," he said.

He also called on the opposition to "freeze all planned protests, rallies and sit-ins".

He spoke ahead of the planned protests, organised by civil society groups and opposition leaders in a country which suffers from high population growth, 40% unemployment, rising food prices and acute levels of malnutrition.

Mr Saleh's statement was welcomed by the country's largest opposition party but it said the planned rally would not be called off.

"We consider this initiative positive and we await the next concrete steps. As for our plan for a rally tomorrow, the plan stands and it will be organised and orderly," Mohammed al-Saadi, under-secretary of the Islamist Islah party said, according to Reuters.

"This is a peaceful struggle through which the people can make their voices heard and express their aspirations," he added.

In January, Mr Saleh had proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow him to stand for re-election in the next presidential ballot in two years' time but, analysts say, he appears to have changed his mind after seeing the impact of public demonstrations across the region.

He made a similar promise to stand down before the 2006 presidential election, but eventually reversed this position.

Jordan's king fires Cabinet amid protests

AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's King Abdullah II, bowing to public pressure, fired his government on Tuesday and tasked a new prime minister with quickly boosting economic opportunities and giving Jordanians a greater say in politics.

The country's powerful Muslim opposition, which had demanded the dismissal of Prime Minister Samir Rifai in several nationwide protests inspired by those in Tunisia and Egypt, said the changes didn't go far enough.

Rifai, 45, who has been widely blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slow-moving political reforms, tendered his resignation early Tuesday to the king, who accepted it immediately, a Royal Palace statement said.

Abdullah named Marouf al-Bakhit, 63, as Rifai's replacement. Al-Bakhit, an ex-general who supports strong ties with the U.S. and Jordan's peace treaty with Israel, previously served as prime minister from 2005-2007.

Abdullah ordered al-Bakhit to "undertake quick and tangible steps for real political reforms, which reflect our vision for comprehensive modernization and development in Jordan."

"Economic reform is a necessity to provide a better life for our people," the king said in the statement. "But we won't be able to attain that without real political reforms, which must increase popular participation in the decision-making."

Abdullah also demanded an "immediate revision of laws governing politics and public freedoms," including legislation governing political parties, public meetings and elections.

Jordan's most powerful opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, dismissed the changes as cosmetic.

"We reject the new prime minister and we will continue our protests until our demands are met," said Hamza Mansour, leader of the Islamic Action Front, the Brotherhood's political arm.

Mansour repeated his call for constitutional amendments to curb the king's power in naming prime ministers, arguing that the post should go to the elected leader of the parliamentary majority.

Jordan's constitution gives the king the exclusive powers to appoint prime ministers, dismiss parliament and rule by decree.

"Unlike Egypt, we don't want a regime change in Jordan and we recognize the Hashemites' rule in Jordan," he said, referring to Jordan's ruling family. "But we want to see real political reforms introduced."

When he ascended to the throne in 1999, King Abdullah vowed to press ahead with political reforms initiated by his late father, King Hussein. Those reforms paved the way for the first parliamentary election in 1989 after a 22-year gap, the revival of a multiparty system and the suspension of martial law, which had been in effect since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

But little has been done since then. Although laws were enacted to ensure greater press freedom, journalists are still routinely prosecuted for expressing their opinion or for comments considered slanderous of the king and the royal family.

Some gains been made in women's rights, but many say they have not gone far enough. Abdullah has pressed for stiffer penalties for perpetrators of "honor killings," but courts often hand down lenient sentences.

Still, Jordan's human rights record is generally considered a notch above that of Tunisia and Egypt. Although some critics of the king are prosecuted, they frequently are pardoned and some are even rewarded with government posts.

It was not immediately clear when al-Bakhit will name his Cabinet.

A government official said al-Bakhit was consulting with lawmakers, opposition groups, unionists and civil society institutions on the makeup of his Cabinet.

The official, who is involved in the consultations, said al-Bakhit may name some opposition leaders in the new government. He declined to say whether al-Bakhit may approach the Muslim Brotherhood and insisted on anonymity because he is not allowed to brief the media.

Al-Bakhit is a moderate politician, who served as Jordan's ambassador to Israel earlier this decade.

Like Abdullah, he supports close ties with Israel under a peace treaty signed in 1994 and strong relations with the United States, Jordan's largest aid donor and longtime ally.

In 2005, Abdullah named al-Bakhit as his prime minister days after a triple bombing on Amman hotels claimed by the al-Qaida in Iraq leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

During his 2005-2007 tenure, al-Bakhit — an ex-army major general and top intelligence adviser — was credited with maintaining security and stability following the attack, which killed 60 people and labeled as the worst in Jordan's modern history.

Australians flee, jam shelters ahead of "catastrophic" cyclone

CAIRNS, Australia (Reuters) – Thousands of people fled their homes and crammed into shelters in northeastern Australia on Wednesday as the most powerful cyclone in the country's history barreled toward a string of popular tourist cities lining the coast.

Police were forced to turn away people from some shelters which were already full, and engineers warned that even "cyclone proof" homes could be blown apart by winds expected to reach 300 km (186 miles) per hour when it hits later on Wednesday.

"We are facing a storm of catastrophic proportions," Queensland state premier Anna Bligh said after Cyclone Yasi was upgraded to a maximum-strength category five storm.

More than 400,000 people live in the cyclone's expected path, which includes the cities of Cairns, Townsville and Mackay. The entire stretch is popular with tourists and includes Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Satellite images showed Yasi as a massive storm system covering an area bigger than Italy or New Zealand, with the cyclone predicted to be the strongest ever to hit Australia.

"All aspects of this cyclone are going to be terrifying and potentially very , very damaging," Bligh said.

The greatest threat to life could come from surges of water of up to seven meters above normal high tide levels along the coast at the town of Cardwell, she said. The storm is due to hit when the tide is high.

Mines, rail lines and coal ports have all shut down, with officials warning the storm could drive inland for hundreds of kilometers, hitting rural and mining areas still struggling to recover after months of devastating floods.

Outside a shuttered night market in the tourist city of Cairns, nervous backpackers tried to flag down cars and reach temporary evacuation centers at a nearby university.

"We are terrified. We have had almost no information and have never seen storms like this," said Marlim Flagar, 20, from Sweden.

Struggling with a surge of people arriving at the center, police later blocked more people from entering.

"We're disappointed we can't take any more people in but I've been through there but it's just not safe," Acting Inspector John Bosnjak told Reuters.

ABC media reported that all evacuation centers in the Cairns region were now at capacity and that several were closed.

The bureau of meteorology said in a bulletin that the impact of Yasi was "likely to be more life threatening than any experienced during recent generations." At a sprawling shopping center, hundreds of people streamed into a makeshift shelter carrying backpacks, blankets and food.

"We've only got a loaf of bread and a few other things, so we hope it doesn't last too long or we'll run out," said local woman Kirsty Munro as she tried to gather her three children aged two, four and eight in the crush of people.

WINDOWS TAPED

Australia has strict building standards and Queensland suffers regular cyclones, but experts warned that many homes and buildings may not be able to withstand winds of this magnitude.

"The building regulations make things a lot better off at lower wind speeds but once you get to extreme cases you are in uncharted ground," said Robert Leicester, a researcher at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, who has studied the impact of previous cyclones.

Hundreds of people were lining up in a supermarket on the western side of Cairns, stocking up on staples such as bread, milk and tinned goods.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall at 10 pm local time (7 a.m. EST) on the Queensland coast between Cairns and Innisfail. Its strength is on a par with Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. Media reports said Yasi had knocked out meteorology equipment on Willis Island in the Coral Sea, 450 km east of Cairns.

Some rain was starting to fall and winds were picking up in Cairns. The main streets were largely deserted. Shops were closed and windows taped to stop shards of flying glass.

At a coffee shop on the Cairns waterfront, Scott Warren covered windows with black plastic sheeting and sandbags from a pickup truck, trying to work out how high he would need to build the barrier to escape a possible surge of seawater.

"We get a heap of cyclones every year, but this one has got everyone's attention," Warren said. "We're hoping for the best, but expecting the worst to be honest."

POWER, MOBILE PHONES MAY GO DOWN

State premier Bligh warned that the mobile phone network may go down and said current estimates were that 150,000-200,000 people could lose power if winds topple transmission towers.

She also said that those in low-lying areas facing a risk of flooding from storm surges had "a window of opportunity" of a matter of hours to leave.

"Do not bother to pack bags. Just grab each other and get to a place of safety," she said.

In Townsville alone, the storm surge could flood up to 30,000 homes, according to the town's web site.

The military has been helping to evacuate nearly 40,000 people from low-lying coastal areas, and also from the two major hospitals in Cairns.

At Cairns airport, people queued from dawn to catch the last flights out of the city before the terminal was locked down and sandbagged against potential storm surges.

"We're so relieved to be on," said Paul Davis, from Sydney, as he stood in the line with his partner Sylvia Leveridge and three-year-old daughter Ella.

Queensland, which accounts for about a fifth of Australia's

economy and 90 percent of steelmaking coal exports worth about A$20 billion ($20.2 billion) a year, has had a cruel summer, with floods sweeping the eastern seaboard in recent months, killing 35 people.

The state is also home to most of Australia's sugar industry and losses for the industry from Yasi approaching the north-eastern state of Queensland could exceed A$500 million, including crop losses and damage to farming infrastructure, industry group Queensland Canegrowers said on Wednesday.

($1=.9888 Australian Dollar)

NASA finds planets a plenty outside solar system

WASHINGTON – NASA's planet-hunting telescope is finding whole new worlds of possibilities in the search for alien life. An early report from a cosmic census indicates that relatively small planets and stable multi-planet systems are far more plentiful than previous searches showed.

NASA released new data Wednesday from its Kepler telescope on more than 1,000 possible new planets outside our solar system — more than doubling the count of what astronomers call exoplanets. They haven't been confirmed as planets yet, but some astronomers estimate that 90 percent of what Kepler has found will eventually be verified.

Kepler, launched in 2009, has been orbiting the sun between Earth and Mars, conducting a planet census and searching for Earth-like planets since last year. It has found there are more planets that are much smaller than Jupiter — the biggest planet in our solar system — than there are giant planets.

Some of these even approach Earth's size. That means they are better potential candidates for life than the behemoths that are more easily spotted, astronomers say.

While Kepler hasn't yet found planets that are as small as Earth, all the results are "pointing in the right direction," said University of California Santa Cruz astronomer Jonathan Fortney, a Kepler researcher.

Yale University exoplanet expert Debra Fischer, who wasn't part of the Kepler team but serves as an outside expert for NASA, said the new information "gives us a much firmer footing" in eventual hopes for worlds that could harbor life.

"I feel different today knowing these new Kepler results than I did a week ago," Fischer said.

Enemies of the Nation: The dark secrets of Tema Harbour

Courtesy Joyonline
By Anas Aremeyaw Anas

A veritable commercial beehive; the economic nerve centre of Ghana, sits on the shores of the Atlantic and overlooks the bubbling big blue sea. The sea breeze seems to have been directed purposely to produce a calming effect on the crammed and torrid atmosphere and on the bristling pace of business. The national flag, the Customs flag, and that of the Ports and Harbours go fluttering and flying at full mast. Gallant men and women resplendent in their uniform, complete with their berets embossed with the sacred Coat of Arms, walk around in high morale. Businessmen in their tuxedoes and clearing agents crisscross, moving from office to office with an air of tenacious dedication.

Do not be deceived, some of these men in Ghana’s iconic harbour city are busily stealing from the most fertile vineyards of the motherland.

The nation’s trusted farmhands at the Harbour have appropriated the farmland and its produce and denied their landlord (Ghana) the benefits due him. The Tema Harbour has been turned into a goldmine for some greedy security officials who are threatening to strip the mine facility to satisfy their selfish ends. Many officers from CEPS, the Ghana Police Service, National Security and the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority would do all it takes in the scramble to possess a piece of the prize.

It is a dark and murky world at the Tema Harbour, as these security officials collaborate with some clearing agents to steal money belonging to the state through tax evasion, bribery and personal greed, thereby defeating the nation’s revenue mobilization efforts. Invariably, potential investors, importers and ordinary Ghanaians are made to bear the brunt of the selfishness and greed exhibited by these officers and agents because prices are passed over.

These discoveries follow over three months of investigation by The New Crusading GUIDE into the operations of the Tema Harbour. Posing as a clearing agent under the name “Oblitey Sowah”, alias “Koose” from “Tiger Shipping agency”, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, together with a team of agents, obtained secret video footage on the daily cases of bribery and corruption that greet any importer or businessperson who calls at the port. Most importers are made to face the harsh realities of delays, payment of illegal fees, destruction and stealing of their goods as well as the sheer greed displayed by some security officers.

The investigations also brought to light multiple cases of bribery, corruption, stealing, several cases of collusion between security officials and clearing agents as well as loss of goods belonging to importers as a result of inadequate security measures at the facility. The investigation uncovered some of the worst forms of bribery and corruption, lack of professionalism and glaring examples of stealing by these security officials at the port.

Amidst all these corrupt activities, many agents have devised ways of adding the cost of bribe charges to the fees they usually charge importers. As a result, people who import goods into the country through the harbour go through unspeakable frustrations, not least the payment of huge sums of illegal charges which end up in the pockets of private individuals. In the process, it takes months to clear goods from the harbour. Sometimes, the nightmares of these importers are climaxed by the loss of their goods through theft or damages through mishandling. Over the years, there have been many reports of how unattractive the Harbour has become, with many importers channeling their frustrations through diverse ways. It is striking how very little has changed in the system.

The New Crusading GUIDE also got access into the Customs Electronic system – a repository of all transactions that go on at the port – where we found very worrying cases of tax exemptions and unrecovered debts owed to the state worth billions of cedis. It brought to the fore many cases of tax exemption offered in the name of the Office of the President over the years. Many other exemptions were given out to individuals and companies on condition of “Awaiting Parliamentary Approval”.

Here, we discovered that monies lost in bribery, corruption and some tax exemptions could help usher Ghana into an era of freedom from foreign donors.

DODGY “AWAITING PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL”, THAT NEVER WENT TO PARLIAMENT

Many Businessmen and friends of politicians have over the years used their association to parliamentarians to evade taxes whenever they clear goods from the Tema Harbour. These individuals sometimes import goods in their names for family members and their companies.

Undoubtedly, the use of the name of parliament has resulted in the state losing millions Cedis, as some government officials over the years deliberately abuse the system to clear goods for their business cronies.

Our checks also revealed that even when the code is used to clear genuine goods, the much-awaited parliamentary approval never comes to validate it. It was horrifying to realize that some of these people never went to parliament for approval.

Between March 2007 and December 2009, over GH¢ 900 million worth of tax exemptions was granted to some individuals and institutions in the name of “Parliament”. These tax exemptions were given out for goods ranging from medical equipment, household items, educational items and vehicles; with beneficiaries across public and private entities. Further figures obtained between January and November 2010 indicate that approximately GH¢ 17.9 million was lost by the state as a result of these special permits in the name of Parliament.

Parliament is constitutionally mandated to handle all tax issues that border on finances. Part of Article 174(1) of the constitution under chapter 13, sub-headed “finance” states that “no taxation shall be imposed otherwise than by under the authority of an act of parliament”. In this light, no taxes can be levied on anybody unless it is done under an act of parliament.

Although exemptions are given for special reasons based on parliamentary approval, The New Crusading GUIDE found out that the system was being abused by some individuals and organizations who always use the name of parliament to evade taxes. For the past six years, Parliament does not have any record of some of these exemptions.

In an interview with The New Crusading GUIDE, Chairman of the Finance Committee in parliament, Hon James Avedzi said although parliament has conferred the power of granting exemptions on the Ministry of Finance, it does not have an idea which individuals or organizations have been granted exemptions over these years.

“l have not seen anything like that as a deputy ranking member of the committee in 2007-2008 and as chairman from 2009 to 2010. l have not seen anything”, he admitted. Although he conceded that “the Ministry of Finance [is supposed] to do that on daily basis and report back to parliament after a period of time”. He was unable to state what period of time parliament is supposed to revise such exemptions.

When presented with the evidence of exemptions to institutions and individuals as we discovered on the Electronic system, Hon James Avedzi simply said, “l will not talk about the value that we have seen because l do not know what goes into that 18 million Ghana Cedis you are talking about but it is possible that there is something like that you can see from the system”.

THE WIDENING JAWS OF DEATH AND HOW OUR BROTHERS IN THE DIASPORA ARE TREATED

Many Ghanaians leave the shores of the land to go and work in foreign lands in order to return someday to build a better life for their kith and kin. These men and women toil in sweatshops and endure harsh conditions in foreign lands just to provide for themselves and their families. They return to Ghana, their homeland, only to have their hopes dashed at the Tema Harbour. Long held dreams are blown apart, as they are not able to get hold of their valuable possessions.

It usually is a tale of toil defeated by treachery, as Ghanaians who return from the Diaspora are always greeted with the grim reality of seeing their hard-earned properties stolen and destroyed by men at the Tema Harbour. When this happens, they are treated by port officials with so much disrespect and heartlessness. It is assumed that these Ghanaians have a lot to spend, little time to stay and fight for their goods. They [goods] are never found, although they spend sums of money in wearisome clearing process. Many are distressed in the process; those who endure usually leave the shores of Ghana with sad songs about their beloved country. It is a disturbing cycle of evil trumping goodwill.

Becky Mensah is a Ghanaian-born philanthropist based in Canada. In January last year, Becky, with the help of some friends and benevolent institutions in Canada, collected some materials to help students of an educational institution in Cape Coast.

They shipped a 40-foot container loaded with educational materials, computers, sewing machines, food items and a boxful of household effects to help support Ghanaian school children.

Although the container, which was addressed in the name of the Paramount chief of Cape Coast, was originally destined for the Takoradi Harbour, it never arrived. Becky eventually had to travel from Canada to Ghana to locate it. After a long search, the container records were finally found at the Tema Harbour in June 2010.

She was asked by Port authorities to pay the necessary duties in order to have her container released. With the help of her agents, she paid the required fees, totaling about GHc 5000. Yet, it took another five months and a trip back to Ghana to see her container. When she finally got access to it in November 2010, it had been broken into, with almost half the humanitarian items stolen.

“When we got there, the customs officer checked without tag on our papers, the tag number and check the thing that closes the container, the seal that seals the container and the numbers did not match but the thing that was to my surprise was one of the carrier there just got closer to it and he just wiggled the thing and the whole thing opened”, she told The New Crusading GUIDE in an interview.

Among other things, three laptops, 800 stuffed backpacks for students, 68 bedspreads, 4 sewing machines, a boxful of household items and several bottles of water were stolen. Nobody gave her any answers and she had to make do with a half-empty container which she took to Cape Coast to support needy students. Becky has finally returned to Canada after this trouble with port authorities. In all, she lost goods worth over one 120,000 dollars.

When she approached security officials at the port, they refused to pay any attention to her. “I was actually shocked, but the customs guy never said a word. l started to complain to him and he just walked away”, she said with tearful eyes. “There was a group of them sitting under a tree and l said to them ‘will you guys help us’, they just stared at our face and didn’t say one word. It was so humiliating and painful, these people in uniform at the Harbour, we their customers were standing there and saying ‘can you see what has happened to us’; our container is almost empty. But all four of them sat there and just stared at us as l looked on helplessly”.

Like Becky, countless individuals have harrowing tales of abuse they endure when they ship goods from various destinations to Ghana through the Tema port.

Emmanuel Ahulu, a Ghanaian who recently returned from Virginia in the United States of America also had a similar story. After shipping a brand new car, together with goods through the Tema Harbour, Emmanuel got to Ghana only to realize that all his goods were stolen and his car badly dented. This was after he had engaged the services of a clearing agent, done the necessary documentations and got assured that “things were under control”.

“Everything in the car actually was stolen. l couldn’t find anything, items that were bought and packed in the car actually in their brand new state – in boxes and in bags – everything was gone, nothing had been left”, he told The New Crusading GUIDE. “The car trunk was broken and they entered it and took every item that l brought”, he added.

When he approached port officials, Emmanuel was greeted with the same fate as Becky: he could not get anyone to listen to his plight. He has since threatened legal action.

“l believe that the next line of action is that the authority be held responsible, whoever is in charge of those terminals, whoever is in charge of those containers or all the cars that come in. l think he should be held responsible and he should be accountable for if that is done, l believe very well we are going to get somewhere; we are going to get to the bottom of this”, he said.

It appears security officers who are mandated to take care of the port have failed woefully in the performance of their duties. Apart from the numerous cases of bribe-taking we witnessed, little can be said about the role these officials play at the port. Sometimes, they look on as agents and some people break into and sell goods in containers belonging to some importers in the full glare of the public.

Johnson Clarkson, an investor from the United Kingdom also faced a similar ordeal at the port. In an interview with The New Crusading GUIDE, he narrated how over hundred bicycles which he shipped from the United Kingdom to support Ghanaian farmers in the Brong Ahafo Region got missing.

“After going through hell to pay all those duties, I was bewildered when I found more than half of my goods missing”, he told the paper. He has since returned to his country, after he could not get any response from the Harbour Police and port authorities.

Nii Lantey Okunka Bannerman, a Ghanaian living in the Diaspora, once posted an article on Ghanaweb titled “Belly of the Beast”. It was a recount of his experiences in clearing a car at the Tema Harbour sometime in 2005. Nii Lantey, in an apparent state of exasperation, wrote about how his car got “trapped” in the “jaws of death” [the Tema Harbour], citing an unending web of bribe taking, bureaucratic bottlenecks and acts of collusion which hamper the smooth clearing of goods from the port.

More than five years on, it appears little has been done to turn the toxic-breathing jaws of the harbour into a friendly environment for importers. The cases of Becky Mensah, Emmanuel Ahulu are the recurring features in the unchanging script of the Harbour story.

THE CANADIAN SAGA

Following the experiences of Becky Mensah, The New Crusading GUIDE made a trip to Canada to assess the Canadian situation. True to Becky’s accounts, the ports in Canada – including Port Calgary, where she shipped the container from – are orderly and well managed. There is an absence of corruption and most of the systems are automated. It is difficult to find port officials demanding bribes from importers and exporters. Also, goods shipped to meet Humanitarian needs are exempted from all taxes or duties.

There were also no reports of stealing as exists in the Ghanaian setting. Undoubtedly, Canada provides an example for Ghanaian officials in-charge of the ports to emulate. Like other developed countries, the Canadian ports have very efficient systems which make shipping less stressful.

In an interview with Prof Atsu Amegashie, an Associate Proffessor in the Department of Economics at the University of Guelph in Canada, he stated that the problem of revenue leakages can only be solved if the authorities take serious actions.

“There’s the need for a committed leadership, that is willing to incentivize and induce agents to go after corrupt officials who are in charge of tax administration”, he opined.

The Professor, who is also a Ghanaian, maintained that the Canadian situation offers a shining example for Ghanaians to follow.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE TYCOONS

Beyond the disturbing spate of corruption between security officials and clearing agents, the abuse of the name of Parliament and the fate of those from the Diaspora who clear goods through the Harbour, The New Crusading GUIDE also uncovered a tide of sleazy deals which stretch even higher. The “Office of the President” has also been used over the years as a rubber stamp by certain individuals and organizations to rob the state of its needed revenue.

Section 44 of the Customs, Excise & Preventive Service (Management) Law provides the legal basis for CEPS to grant exemption from the payment of import duty to privileged persons, like THE PRESIDENT. This position is exemplified as Tariff No. 3AF.1 of PART A of the THIRD SCHEDULE of the CEPS Tariff at page 653.

Thus, “OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT”, which is under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, is different from "THE PRESIDENT”. Office of the President does not enjoy any duty and tax exemption under the laws of Ghana. The exemption covers items imported or purchased locally by the President for his personal use, not items imported or purchased locally by the state. These exempted items are the personal property of the President. For the present purposes, these are items imported or purchased by the person who, for the time being is the President of Ghana. These are items that he will continue to own, even when he is no longer President of the Republic of Ghana.

For instance, an official who works in the office of the President cannot clear his goods for free simply because he works in the office of the President. The New Crusading GUIDE however, discovered that the rights given to the President were abused by senior officials of various governments. Goods, which had nothing to do with the President’s person, had found themselves being cleared in the name of the office of the President by various government officials. This is done usually without the President’s knowledge.


Discoveries on the system total exemptions under the code, indicated that the office of the president comes to GHC14, 190, 336 (an equivalent of 9, 511, 000 dollars). An examination of the entries as sighted had questionable declarations, including luxury vehicles imported under the name of a member of parliament, assorted used vehicles, used clothing, fish meal, second hand air conditioners, second hand sewing machines and rather non-presidential materials.


“I am shocked at this list because I know our Presidents do not use used cars. I also do not know any of our Presidents who has a poultry farm. So why these second hand cars and imported fishmeal by the Office of the President?” asked an official at the Finance Ministry when he saw the list of special permits in the name of the President.

We found out that, the Ministry of Finance had also had its fair share of granting exemptions. It had granted permit for the clearance of goods without permit to the tune of about 5million Ghana Cedis (an equivalent of over 3 million two hundred dollars).

GHANA’S GOLDFIELD STRIP-MINED BY MEN IN UNIFORM PAID TO SECURE IT

The police, Customs Excise and Preventive Service, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority Security, officials from National Security are fully engaged in bribery and corruption. They usually demand specific amounts from agents who are found evading tax through mis-classification, under-valuation or over-valuation of goods. Sometimes, they demand money before allowing entry into certain points within the port or before signing documents for the agents.

It is common to see security officials admonishing agents to learn how to give bribes. “Without this, you cannot succeed in this business”, they usually say. On one occasion, we encountered a Senior CEPS officer named Mr. Kwakye at the CEPS laboratory who demanded money before approving our goods. When The New Crusading GUIDE could not pay the money the officer demanded, this is part of what transpired:

LAB MAN: You! See you should always remember that, this is like when you come, next time come here again, and then you have become our friend. You see!
TIGER: Yeah! Yeah!
LAB MAN: So how much are you saying?
TIGER: Boss! Boss! Let me give you GHC 50
LAB MAN: How much? GHC 50, add something
TIGER: Pardon sir?
LAB MAN: Add something; is that all you have?
TIGER: That is why I am saying…
LAB MAN: You cannot say anything
TIGER: We can be saying something which will be looking so provocative, you being in the system and this being our first time, you can tell us this is how we are doing it and we also say oh! So far as this is our first time, Boss we, we are now becoming friends.
LAB MAN: You just make it GHC 100
TIGER: GHC100?
LAB MAN: Nice lady and nice like this, you are thinking of opening your company in the future, you have to know certain things on the ground, you see!

TIGER: Yes sir!
LAB MAN: But if you start with your hands like this…
TIGER: Oh! No sir that is not that
LAB MAN: If you open your company things will not go well

On another occasion, this reporter met a GPHA Security official who demanded money before allowing him entry into the port:

SECURITY MAN: You be agent?
TIGER: Yeah!
SECURITYMAN: Then you get money, bring am make l chop inside. Yes! Bring your requirements. I go chop ooh!!
TIGER: You go chop?
SECURITY MAN: I go chop small one
TIGER: No! Problem
OFFICER: No be big one

Clearly, the case of bribery and corruption as it exists between agents and CEPS has far-reaching consequences as far as national revenue mobilization is concerned. As these shady deals come to a head, current and potential investors are seriously frustrated as agents normally include the proverbial “Bribe-fees” to their charges. Though most importers overlook the illegality and pay these monies, they sometimes go through hell to get access to their goods. The cases of Becky Mensah and Emmanuel Ahulu typify the order at the Tema Harbour.

BETWEEN CORRUPTION AND FOREIGN AID

Financial and policy experts have suggested that Ghana could wean itself off donor support if those in charge of Ghana’s ports city worked hard enough and cut out the corruption and negligence. The exemption system granted under the name of Parliament and the Office of the President has been abused, and this has taken a toll on the National treasury.

“The situation where it seems as if these exemptions were being abused instead of bringing in materials and the rest that will prop up our economy becomes worrying”, says Dr. Lloyd Amoah, a policy analyst and professor at Ashesi University. To put an end to the incessant borrowing by government, he maintains that the Harbour, as an entry point, “provides a lot of revenue and so it means that fundamentally for a developing country this ought to be looked at critically”.

A senior fellow at IMANI Ghana, Kofi Bentil, also argued, that “If we manage our ports well, we could actually make more money out of the port system than we are making out of cocoa for instance”.

He continued, “If we were to make services a central issue in this economy, it is possible that we will improve the economy, l means government revenue, and actually serve the sub-regions, and one of the areas l identified as a note for such service economy is the port system. Between Tema and Takoradi port, we can actually establish a system which will serve the whole West Africa sub-region”.

The question of Ghana’s inability to meet its revenue targets is more an issue of mismanagement and corruption rather than the lack of resources.

The World Bank Country director to Ghana, Ishac Diwan, believes Ghana’s revenue mobilization efforts needs to be improved.

“ The various taxes need to be linked together in a database so that, knowing how much VAT, how much volume of business which is useful for the VAT, informs the tax authority about incomes and profits so that cooperate taxes can be collected. So, there is the need for more efficiency in terms of the different services working together and finally, also, facilitating the entry of business into the formal economy”, he says.

“It is very important to close the loop falls and to have a more disciplined system. There are just too many exemptions that have been granted left and right through lobbying by the various industries, sectors, companies”, he points out.


Coming up: Tomorrow, we bring you the story of how GCNet, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and Destination Inspection Companies have contributed to the loss of huge sums of money belonging to the State. The electronic system, the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) is the repository of all transactions engaged in by both genuine and dubious businesspersons across the length and breadth of the country. It is only a select few of special people who know the secrets and can interpret the electronic system. We got in there and found out all the dirty tricks used to evade tax and starve mother Ghana. The story takes you through the raw deal that the state suffers as a result of acts by these institutions. It is Part two of the Enemies of the Nation. We also bring you details of how Deputy CEPS Commissioner, Annie Anipa played merry-go-round with The New Crusading GUIDE in the unfolding saga.



Source: New Crusading Guide/Ghana

Mubarak pledge to step down dismissed as too slow

CAIRO (Reuters) – 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, and prompting the United States to say change "must begin now."

The 82-year-old leader said he would not seek re-election when his presidential term ends in September. "I will work in the remaining months of my term to take the steps to ensure a peaceful transfer of power," he said in televised address.

And to those demanding he leave Egypt, he said, "This is my country ... and I will die on its soil."

His 10-minute speech was greeted with dismay among protesters whose numbers swelled above 1 million across Egypt on Tuesday after week-long demonstrations.

"We will not leave! He will leave!" some chanted.

Washington, caught off guard by the wave of anger over oppression and hardship which has spread from Tunisia to one of its closest Arab allies, added pressure on Mubarak to speed up his response while stopping short of calling on him to quit.

"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.

But inside Egypt the immediate future remained unclear.

Soon after Mubarak's speech, state television, which had largely ignored anti-government protests, broadcast footage of smaller demonstrations held in support of the president.

These pro-government marches were an unusual development given there had so far been almost no sign of any counter-demonstrations.

At Cairo's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, focus of protests for a week, people defying a curfew bitterly criticised Mubarak for failing to heed their call for him to quit.

"The speech is useless and only inflames our anger," said Shadi Morkos. "We will continue to protest."

In Alexandria, the second city, troops in tanks fired shots in the air to keep order after skirmishes between anti-government and pro-Mubarak groups.

ARMY ROLE CRUCIAL

Much will depend on the army, once Mubarak's power base, which has dominated Egypt since it toppled the monarchy in 1952.

Many see it as trying to ensure a transition of power that would allow it to retain much of its influence. It has promised not to fire on protesters and called their demands legitimate.

But some analysts said tensions could rise even within the army if Mubarak were to hang on too long, and if senior officers were seen to be protecting a leader who had lost legitimacy.

"The longer this goes on, the more people will associate the military top brass with Mubarak. That is very dangerous," said Faysal Itani, deputy head of Middle East and North Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis.

"It will put enormous strain on the security services."

A British-based cleric from the Muslim Brotherhood, the officially banned Islamist party and the most organized Egyptian opposition group, also said there was a risk of conflict.

"It will add fuel to the fire. His speech will bring the danger of conflict in the country. We were expecting him to be stubborn, but not to that extent," Kamel el-Helbawy said.

Retired diplomat Mohammed ElBaradei, who has emerged as a leading figure in the opposition, was quoted by CNN calling Mubarak's move a "trick."

Tuesday's demonstration was an emphatic rejection of Mubarak's appointment of a new vice president, Omar Suleiman, and an offer to open a dialogue with the opposition.

Many protesters spoke of a new push on Friday to rally at Cairo's presidential palace to dislodge Mubarak: "This won't fly any more," said 35-year-old doctor Ahmed Khalifa. "If Egyptians stay on the streets till Friday, probably Mubarak's next offer will be to step down right away."

U.S. DIPLOMATIC TIGHTROPE

Obama spoke to Mubarak for a half hour by telephone after he announced plans to step down in September.

A senior administration official said Obama's conversation with Mubarak was frank and direct and left no doubt that "the time for transition is now, it can't be put off."

"He said it was clear how much he (Mubarak) loves his country, and how difficult this is for him. President Obama explained to him that an orderly transition can't be prolonged, it must begin now," the official said.

Obama's comments were the clearest sign yet that Washington believes Mubarak might have to leave sooner rather than later. But officials were reluctant to press openly for his resignation to avoid undermining other allies in the region who might face similar uprisings.

His departure would reconfigure the politics of the Middle East, with implications from Israel -- which signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 -- to oil giant Saudi Arabia.

Just four weeks since the death of Mohammed Bouazizi, the Tunisian who set himself on fire to protest at oppression and corruption, the wave of anger he set in motion has gathered strength across the region.

King Abdullah of Jordan replaced his prime minister on Tuesday after protests. Yemen and Sudan have also seen unrest.

The unrest has sent oil prices higher on fears of trouble in Saudi Arabia and on Egypt's Suez Canal. That in turn has raised worries about a further rise in inflation, increasing the potential for social unrest far beyond the Middle East

Sudan says accepts south secession vote: Vice President

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan's vice president said on Monday he accepted the oil-producing south's split after the first official results showed a 99 percent vote for independence in a referendum hoping to end a bitter cycle of civil war.

The January 9 vote culminated a 2005 north-south peace deal, which aims to put an end to the conflict which claimed 2 million lives and destabilized much of east Africa. The south will likely celebrate independence on July 9.

"We announce our agreement and our acceptance of the result of the referendum announced yesterday," Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha told reporters in the north's first reaction since the results.

"We wish our brothers in the south good luck and a fruitful future in organizing the issues surrounding the new country."

The comments end speculation that hard-line elements in the Khartoum government would delay recognition of the referendum to garner leverage ahead of talks on how to divide the country's assets and liabilities.

Taha negotiated the 2005 accord with southern rebel leader John Garang who died three weeks after taking office in the coalition government formed under the deal.

The south is now looking to the international community to recognize its independence, which will likely happen once the final results are confirmed next month.

"We expect this outcome to be confirmed by members of the international community," South Sudan's President Salva Kiir said at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

"We have no interest in returning to the bitterness and divisions of the past. We desire the democratic transformation of Sudan. Today the ballot box has triumphed over the bullet."

Observers have urged the north and south to resolve outstanding disputes over the border -- along which much of the country's oil wealth lies -- and the status of the central Abyei region claimed by both.

Both Taha and Kiir said Monday they were ready to engage. "Resolution of all outstanding issues is essential to maintaining stability and progress throughout Sudan and the region," Kiir said, offering reassurances to northern nomads that they will maintain grazing rights in the south post- secession.

Sudan's civil war was fueled by differences over oil, ethnicity, religion and ideology.

Canadian oil producers to see higher profits

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Higher oil prices and improved refining profits are likely to strengthen fourth-quarter earnings at Canada's biggest oil companies, though weak returns from natural gas and pipeline woes may dampen gains.

The fourth quarter was marked by renewed investor confidence in Canada's oil and gas sector as an improving global economy buoyed oil prices and raised demand.

Though problems with Enbridge Inc's pipeline system dampened Canadian heavy oil prices, the benchmark price of the commodity surged in fourth quarter.

It averaged $85.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was up 12 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009, boosting the profit picture for the country's oil companies, most of which report in the coming weeks.

"The oil price is quite healthy so it's going to be a reasonably (good) quarter," said Michael Dunn, an analyst at FirstEnergy Capital.

The impact of higher oil prices could be seen in the fourth-quarter results of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd, the biggest shareholder in the Syncrude Canada Ltd oil sands project.

The company said on Thursday that its profit more than tripled to C$311 million ($311 million), or 64 Canadian cents a share, well above the 35 Canadian cent a share profit expected by the market. The higher oil price and lower royalty payments lifted results.

Along with higher oil, refining profits improved for the first time in more than a year, adding to the bottom lines of the integrated production and refining companies such as Suncor Energy Ltd, Imperial Oil Ltd and Husky Energy Inc.

"Refining margins are finally working in favor of the integrated (companies)," said Andrew Potter, an analyst at CIBC World Markets. "They've been a big drag on stocks for the last five quarters."

Despite the high oil prices, the picture could be somewhat clouded by the disruptions in Enbridge's oil pipeline network during the quarter. Trouble on its U.S. pipelines lowered the system's capacity, trapping crude in Alberta and cutting into cash crude prices in the province.

Although there is no quantitative assessment of the impact, analysts said the problem could cut into the earnings of heavy oil producers such as Canadian Natural Resources Ltd or Cenovus Energy Inc.

"It obviously is going to play a role on the bitumen side for companies that are bitumen producers," said Phil Skolnick, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity. "That's where you'll see the impact of Enbridge."

Though higher oil prices will lift profits, they could be somewhat offset by continuing weakness in the natural gas markets. Benchmark natural gas prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange averaged $3.97 per million British thermal units in the quarter, 19 percent lower than in the year-before period as supply outstripped demand.

Those low prices will cut into the earnings of Encana Corp, the country's biggest natural gas producer, though the company's aggressive hedging program is expected to offer some protection from the weak pricing.

Rising profits have already translated into higher share prices for oil producers. Over the first three quarters of 2010, the Toronto Stock Exchange's Energy Index sagged 4.2 percent. However in the fourth quarter the index surged 13.5 percent.

There may be more room to run as fourth quarter earnings for the sector roll in over the next few weeks.

CIBC's Potter estimates that that fourth-quarter cash flow per share for the Canada's biggest oil companies - a key measure for investors - will rise about 23 percent on average in the quarter. But he warned much of those gains may already be priced into the shares.

"Better earnings reports help, but the market has already factored in some of that benefit," he said.

COMPANY RELEASE DATE EXPECTED EPS*

Suncor Energy Feb 02 C$0.50

Imperial Oil Ltd Feb 08 C$0.65

Encana Corp Feb 10 $0.15

Husky Energy Inc Feb 15 C$0.41

Talisman Energy Inc Feb 16 C$0.17

Nexen Inc Feb 17 C$0.44

Cenovus Energy Feb 18 C$0.31

Canadian Natural Resources n.a. C$0.64

Japan kingpin Ozawa charged in funding scandal

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese ruling party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa was charged on Monday over a funding scandal, adding to Prime Minister Naoto Kan's woes as he struggles to survive in the face of a divided parliament and sagging support.

Ozawa's indictment will give fresh ammunition to opposition parties who control parliament's upper house and are refusing to join multiparty talks on tax reform to curb Japan's huge debt and opposing the government-sponsored budget for the year from April.

The opposition is instead trying to force Kan either to resign or call a snap election for the powerful lower chamber.

"We want him (Ozawa) to explain in his own words. We want him to testify in parliament," Nobuteru Ishihara, secretary-general of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told reporters.

Ozawa, a seasoned political strategist who once headed the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), faced mandatory indictment over suspected misreporting by his political funds body after a lay judicial panel decided last year that he must be charged.

Ozawa, 68, reiterated that he was innocent and told reporters he had no intention of leaving the party or parliament.

"I have done nothing to be ashamed of, and will make clear my innocence in court," Ozawa said. "In order to realize policies that put the people's livelihood first, I want to make efforts sincerely as a Democratic Party lawmaker."

Ozawa and his backers maintain that his indictment differs from past cases in which prosecutors decided to file charges themselves after evaluating the evidence. Prosecutors twice decided not to charge him due to lack of evidence.

Ozawa's prosecution could widen a split in the DPJ and further distract Kan and his government from making decisions on deep-seated policy problems as it seeks ways to pass bills in a divided parliament and bolster a weak economy.

The scandal has helped drag down voter support for the government to about 30 percent and caused a split in the DPJ over Ozawa's fate, after Kan hinted that he should leave the DPJ and even resign his seat in parliament once he was indicted.

SEEKING VOTES

Kan and DPJ executives will now have to decide how to respond to Ozawa's indictment, including whether to try to issue a warning that he should leave the party.

"It is very regrettable that a lawmaker who belongs to the party, and especially one who headed the party as well as served as secretary-general, has been indicted," said Katsuya Okada, the DPJ's secretary-general.

Kan echoed that, adding that how to handle the matter would be discussed by DPJ executives led by Okada.

Attempting to push out Ozawa would further fray party unity just as the government is seeking opposition help to pass laws to implement a record $1 trillion budget for the year from April 1.

One option to pass the budget bills is to seek votes from tiny former coalition partner the Social Democrats to obtain the two-thirds majority in parliament's powerful lower house needed to override the opposition-controlled upper chamber.

But if Ozawa and some of his backers leave the DPJ, getting the required numbers would be harder.

"I think the backup option of securing a two-thirds majority is something they'd be stupid to lose, given that negotiations with the opposition (in the upper house) are not going very well," said Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano.

"But you need party unity for that purpose."

Ozawa has indicated that he has no intention of leaving the DPJ or resigning his seat in parliament.

Ozawa left the then-ruling LDP in 1993 with about 40 lawmakers, sparking a chain reaction that briefly pushed the party from power. Analysts say that with his influence waning, it is unclear how many of his backers would follow him into the opposition. (Additional reporting by Linda Sieg and Yoko Kubota; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Cairo airport a scene of chaos as foreigners flee

CAIRO – Cairo's international airport was a scene of chaos and confusion Monday as thousands of foreigners sought to flee the unrest in Egypt and countries around the world scrambled to send in planes to fly their citizens out.

Nerves frayed and shouting and shoving matches erupted as thousands crammed into Cairo airport's new Terminal 3 seeking a flight home. The airport's departures board stopped announcing flight times in an attempt to reduce the tension — but the plan backfired, fueling passengers' anger.

Making matters worse, check-in counters were poorly staffed because many EgyptAir employees had been unable to get to work due to a 3 p.m.-to-8 a.m. curfew and traffic breakdowns across the Egyptian capital.

"It's an absolute zoo, what a mess," said Justine Khanzadian, 23, a graduate student from the American University of Cairo. "I decided to leave because of the protests, the government here is just not stable enough to stay."

Food was scarce at the airport, with people buying up chocolate in the duty free shop. Airport staff shouted at travelers to get in line, but many were in no mood to listen. The scheduling board listed flight numbers without destinations or times of departure.

Occasionally, an official emerged and shouted out the destination of a departing flight, triggering a rush of passengers with boarding passes. The process worked smoothly for nationals of countries that had sent planes — Denmark, Germany, China, Canada — others had no such support.

By curfew time, some people who had apparently failed to get on a flight out of Egypt had boarded buses for the ride back into Cairo.

The State Department said more than 2,400 Americans had contacted U.S. officials seeking government-chartered evacuation flights from Egypt, and more than 220 had already left.

One U.S. military plane landed Monday at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus on ferrying 42 people — mostly U.S. citizens working at embassies in Cairo. Another plane was expected later in Larnaca carrying about 180 people.

EgyptAir resumed its flights Monday morning from Cairo after a roughly 14-hour break because of the curfew and its inability to field enough crew. Over 20 hours, only 26 of about 126 EgyptAir flights operated, airport officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Greek oil worker Markos Loukogiannakis, who arrived in Athens on a flight carrying 181 passengers including 65 U.S. citizens, said confusion reigned at Cairo airport and travelers had to negotiate a string of checkpoints just to get there.

"In a 22-kilometer (14-mile) route from our suburb to the airport we had to get through 19 checkpoints, including nine manned by civilians," he said. "There were lots of people gathering at the airport and it was very difficult to get in."

He said security had deteriorated sharply over the past three days in Cairo after police withdrew from the streets.

"There was a wave of attacks by criminal elements who engaged in burglaries and wrecked shops and banks. There was a lot of shooting and residents took up the burden of protecting their property," he said.

Jane Travis, an American tourist from Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, who was evacuated to Athens, said she and her husband heard shooting from their hotel.

"We are very concerned that there was no warning from our State Department before we came on this trip," she said. "From our hotel, which was well guarded, we heard the gunshots and it was very terrifying."

In a geopolitical shift, even Iraq decided it would evacuate its citizens, sending three planes to Egypt — including the prime minister's plane — to bring home for free those who wish to return. Thousands of Iraqis had once fled to Egypt to escape the violence in their own country.

About 800 Iraqis had left Cairo by Monday afternoon, said Capt. Mohammed al-Moussawi, a crew member for the prime minister's office. He said the flights would continue until all those who wished to return had done so.

Nearly 320 Indian nationals arrived in Mumbai on a special Air India flight and another 275 were expected later. An Azerbaijan flight carrying 103 people and the body of an Azeri Embassy accountant killed in the unrest arrived in Baku, and Turkey sent five planes to Cairo and Alexandria, evacuating 1,548 Turkish nationals.

Indonesia was sending a plane to Cairo to start evacuating some 6,150 Indonesians — mostly students and workers — and SAS Denmark was flying home some 60 Danes.

China sent four planes to help pick up an estimated 500 Chinese stranded in Cairo and warned citizens not travel to Egypt.

That echoed earlier warnings from Britain, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and the Czech Republic, which all advised against all nonessential travel to Egypt. Many European tour companies canceled trips to Egypt until Feb. 23, while others left the cancellations open until further notice.

One big question was what to do with the tens of thousands of tourists in other parts of Egypt. Tour operators say they will fly home all their customers this week when their holidays end, or on extra flights, stressing there has not been any unrest in Red Sea resort cities like Hurghada or Sharm el-Sheik. Still, food shortages were starting to be felt at some Egyptian resorts and some restaurants were refusing to serve foreigners.

All major German tour operators — among them TUI AG and Thomas Cook's German subsidiary — canceled day trips to Cairo and Luxor.

Germany, which sends about 1.2 million tourists to Egypt each year, was not officially evacuating its citizens. But Deutsche Lufthansa AG on Monday was operating an additional flight at the request of the foreign ministry to bring more German tourists home. Foreign ministry spokesman Dirk Augustin said thousands more Germans currently live in Egypt, with up to 7,000 around Cairo.

Britain estimated there were 30,000 U.K. tourists and long-term residents in Egypt but said it had no plans to evacuate them. Foreign Secretary William Hague warned people against all but essential travel to Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Suez.

German tour operator Rewe Touristik advised clients booked on a holiday in Egypt through Feb. 7 to cancel their trip and allowed them to switch to another destination without surcharge. The company has 3,100 clients in the country.

Many companies organized their own evacuations for their workers. German utility company RWE said its oil and gas subsidiary RWE Dea repatriated some 90 people — employees and their families — with a chartered plane that arrived in Hamburg on Monday.

The Danish company shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S chartered a plane to pick up relatives of its Danish employees in Egypt. The company said there were no terminal operations in Egypt on Monday and the Maersk Line, Safmarine and Damco offices were closed.

Air France canceled its daily flight from Paris to Cairo on Monday and planned to increase its capacity Tuesday by an extra 200 seats.

Portugal sent a C-130 military transport plane to evacuate its citizens. Greece was sending three C-130 military transport planes to Alexandria on Tuesday and Polish airline LOT was flying to Cairo.

Egypt's opposition calls for 1 million on streets

CAIRO – A coalition of opposition groups called for a million people to take to Cairo's streets Tuesday to demand the removal of President Hosni Mubarak, the clearest sign yet that a unified leadership was trying to emerge for Egypt's powerful but disparate protest movement.

In an apparent attempt to defuse the weeklong political upheaval, Mubarak named a new government Monday — dropping the widely hated interior minister in charge of security forces. But the lineup was greeted with scorn in Tahrir Square, the central Cairo plaza that has become the protests' epicenter, with crowds of more than 10,000 chanting for Mubarak's ouster.

"We don't want life to go back to normal until Mubarak leaves," said Israa Abdel-Fattah, a founder of the April 6 Group, a movement of young people pushing for democratic reform.

In what appeared to be a reaction to the opposition call, state TV aired a warning from the military against "the carrying out of any act that destabilizes security of the country."

If Egypt's opposition groups are able to truly coalesce, it could sustain and amplify the momentum of the week-old protests. A unified front could also provide a focal point for American and other world leaders who are issuing demands for an orderly transition to a democratic system, saying Mubarak's limited concessions are insufficient.

But unity is far from certain among the array of movements involved in the protests, with sometimes conflicting agendas — including students, online activists, grassroots organizers, old-school opposition politicians and the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, along with everyday citizens drawn by the exhilaration of marching against the government.

So it was not clear how much the groups that met Monday represent everyone. The gathering of around 30 representatives, meeting in the Cairo district of Dokki, agreed to work as a united coalition and supported a call for a million people to turn out for a march Tuesday, said Abu'l-Ela Madi , the spokesman of one of the participating groups, al-Wasat, a moderate breakaway faction from the Muslim Brotherhood.

But they disagreed on other key points. The representatives decided to meet again Tuesday morning at the downtown Cairo headquarters of Wafd, the oldest legal opposition party, to finalize and announce a list of demands. They will also decide whether to make prominent reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei spokesman for the protesters, Madi said.
Then, he said, they will march to Tahrir Square to demand the ouster of Mubarak, 82, whom they blame for widespread poverty, inflation and official indifference and brutality during his 30 years in power. The coalition also called for a general strike Monday, although much of Cairo remained shut down anyway, with government officers and private businesses closed.

The mood in Tahrir — or Liberation — Square, surrounded by army tanks and barbed wire, was celebratory and determined as more protesters filtered in. Some played music, others distributed food to their colleagues. Young men climbed lampposts to hang Egyptian flags and signs proclaiming "Leave, Mubarak!" A speakers corner formed on one side where people have a chance to grab the microphone and make their voices heard.

Egypt endured another day of the virtual halt to normal life that the crisis has caused. Trains stopped running Monday — raising the prospect that the government was trying to prevent residents of the provinces from joining protests in the capital. Banks, schools and the stock market in Cairo were closed for the second working day. An unprecedented complete shutdown of the Internet was in its fourth day.

Long lines formed outside bakeries as people tried to replenish their stores of bread, the main source of sustenance for most Egyptians.

Cairo's international airport was a scene of chaos and confusion as thousands of foreigners sought to flee the unrest in Egypt and countries around the world scrambled to send in planes to fly their citizens out.

A wave of looting, armed robbery and arson that erupted Friday night and Saturday — after police disappeared from the streets — appeared to ease as police reappeared in many districts. Neighborhood watch groups armed with clubs and machetes kept the peace in many districts overnight.

Still some incidents continued. One watch group fended off a band of robbers who tried to break in and steal antiquities from the warehouse of the famed Karnak Temple on the east bank of the Nile in the ancient southern city of Luxor. The locals clashed with the attackers who arrived at the temple carrying guns and knives in two cars around 3 a.m, and seized five of them, handing them over to the military, said neighborhood protection committee member Ezz el-Shafei.

In Cairo, soldiers detained about 50 men trying to break into the Egyptian National Museum in a fresh attempt to loot some of the country's archaeological treasures, the military said.

The official death toll from the crisis stood at 97, with thousands injured, but reports from witnesses across the country indicated the actual toll was far higher.

The White House said President Barack Obama called Britain, Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia over the weekend in the U.S. to convey his administration's desire for restraint and an orderly transition to a more responsive government.

European Union foreign ministers urged a peaceful transition to democracy and warned against a takeover by religious militants.

Mubarak's naming of a new Cabinet appeared to be aimed at showing the regime is willing to an extent to listen to the popular anger. The most significant change was the replacement of the interior minister, Habib el-Adly, who heads internal security forces and is widely despised by protesters for the brutality some officers have shown. A retired police general, Mahmoud Wagdi, will replace him.

Of the 29-member Cabinet, 14 were new faces, most of them not members of the ruling National Democratic Party. Among those purged were several of the prominent businessmen who held economic posts and have engineered the country's economic liberalization policies the past decades. Many Egyptians resented the influence of millionaire politician-moguls, who were close allies of the president's son, Gamal Mubarak, long thought to be the heir apparent.

Mubarak retained his long-serving defense minister, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

State newspapers on Monday published a sternly worded letter from Mubarak to his new prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, ordering him to move swiftly to introduce political, legislative and constitutional reforms and pursue economic policies that will improve people's lives.

But as news of the new government was heard in Tahrir Square, many of the protesters renewed chants of "We want the fall of this regime."

Mostafa el-Naggar, a member of the ElBaradei-backing Association for Change, said he recognized no decision Mubarak took after Jan. 25, the first day of Egyptian protests emboldened by Tunisians' expulsion of their longtime president earlier in the month.

"This is a failed attempt," said el-Naggar of the new government. "He is done with."

The various protesters are united by little, however, except the demand that Mubarak go. Perhaps the most significant tensions among them is between young secular activists and the Muslim Brotherhood, which wants to form an Islamist state in the Arab world's largest nation. The more secular are deeply suspicious the Brotherhood aims to coopt what they contend is a spontaneous, popular movement.

ElBaradei, a pro-democracy advocate and former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, invigorated anti-Mubarak feeling with his return to Egypt last year, but the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood remains Egypt's largest opposition movement.

In a nod to the suspicions, Brotherhood figures insist they are not seeking a leadership role.

"We don't want to harm this revolution," Mohamed Mahdi Akef, a former leader of the group.

Still, Brotherhood members appeared to be joining the protest in greater numbers and more openly. During the first few days of protests, the crowd in Tahriri Square was composed of mostly young men in jeans and Tahrir. Today, many of the volunteers handing out food and water to protesters are men in long traditional dress with the trademark Brotherhood appearance -- a closely cropped haircut and bushy beards.

Mubarak, a former air force commander in office since 1981, is known to have zero tolerance for Islamists in politics, whether they are militants or moderates, and it remains highly unlikely that he would allow his government to engage in any dialogue with the Brotherhood.

Rashad al-Bayoumi, the Brotherhood's deputy leader, said besides Mubarak's ouster, the opposition coalition's provisional demands include the release of political prisoners, setting up a transitional government to run the country until free and fair elections are held and prosecuting individuals thought to be responsible for the killing of protesters.