Egypt junta names panel to reform constitution

CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt's military regime warned on Tuesday that a wave of strikes sweeping the country was "disastrous," as it gave a panel of civilian experts 10 days to revise the constitution.
Against a backdrop of persistent nationwide walk-walkouts and street protests, the junta promised to rapidly restore constitutional rule following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's regime.
US President Barack Obama said the transition under way in Egypt was a model for autocratic Middle Eastern allies and encouraged the Iranian people to press their quest for democracy after protests on Monday in which two people died.
Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces instructed an eight-strong panel of jurists and scholars to "amend all articles as it sees fit to guarantee democracy and the integrity of presidential and parliamentary elections."
The panel "must finish its work in a period of no longer than 10 days after the date of this decision," and must strike down the articles giving presidents unlimited terms in office and the right to refer cases to military courts.
The military took power on Friday when Mubarak's near 30-year rule was brought to an end by an 18-day street revolt. Since then, Egyptian workers have begun testing the bounds of their new freedom with strikes.
On Sunday, the military suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament, but it has promised to oversee a six-month transition to democratic rule. It urged strikers to return to work but stopped short of ordering them to do so.
"The Supreme Council is aware of the economic and social circumstances society is undergoing, but these issues cannot be resolved before the strikes and sit-ins end," state news agency MENA quoted the military as saying.
"The result of that will be disastrous."
The constitutional panel got straight down to work.
"The armed forces want to hand over power as soon as possible. They want amendments to the constitution," said panel member Sobhi Saleh, a lawyer and former lawmaker from Islamist opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood.
"We are revising the constitution to remove all restrictions and obstacles, and to meet the aspirations of the revolution's and the people's demands."
The committee is headed by Tareq al-Bishri, a respected former head of Egypt's administrative court, and includes jurists and constitutional experts from a broad cross-section of communities.
The strikes and protests abated on Tuesday as Egyptians marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, but threaten to flare again as people use their new-found freedom to press long-suppressed grievances.
The central bank decided to keep banks closed until at least Sunday and the the stock exchange also stayed shut.
The Muslim Brotherhood -- which was banned but broadly tolerated under Mubarak -- confirmed that it plans to form an official political party to contest promised parliamentary elections.
Egypt's best organised opposition group fielded candidates as independents under the slogan "Islam is the solution" in 2005 elections, winning around 20 percent of the seats.
But it boycotted the second round of elections last year after failing to win a single seat in the first round amid widespread reports of violence and vote-rigging on behalf of the ruling party.
The Brotherhood belatedly joined the massive nationwide protests that led to Mubarak's ouster, but has said it will not put up a candidate in the election to replace him and has called for democratic reforms.
The group has triggered concerns in the West and among some of its secular rivals, who fear it may come to power through free elections only to then implement Islamic law in the most populous Arab country.
Brotherhood leaders adamantly reject such a scenario, insisting it supports the broader demands of the pro-democracy protesters and seeks a more open multi-party system.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said the economy was "severely affected by the political crisis that has shaken the country" and called for international aid.
At the height of the revolt Egypt was haemorrhaging more than $300 million a day, according to the Egyptian unit of French bank Credit Agricole, which lowered a growth forecast for 2011 from 5.3 percent to 3.7 percent.
In a boost for the vital tourism sector, Britain lifted its advice against travel to Cairo and other major cities, while Denmark and Sweden said it was now safe to visit Red Sea resorts.
Egypt's protest movement, which was inspired by the ouster of Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, has in turn triggered anti-government demonstrations around the Middle East, from Algeria to Bahrain and Yemen, as well as Iran.
Obama called on Western allies in the region to open up to their peoples and contrasted developments in Egypt with those in Iran, where the authorities crushed a wave of mass protests in 2009 and reacted furiously to opposition attempts to revive them on Monday.
"We have sent a strong message to our allies in the region saying let's look at Egypt's example, as opposed to Iran's example," he said . (found on yahoo.com)

Egypts food Prices

 Blog readers This post today is about food prices in Egypt and how it has contributed to the recent riots,I hope you find it very informative.

Egyptians are particularly vulnerable to increases in food prices because they spend an unusually high proportion of their income on food, according to a recent Credit Suisse survey. "Food inflation is a specific issue" in the country, the report notes, "having reached over 20 percent—amongst the highest rates globally." Egyptians spent more on food than respondents in any other emerging economy surveyed in the report—about 40 percent of their monthly income, versus about 17 percent for Brazilians and about 20 percent for Chinese and Saudi Arabians, The recent spike in wheat prices was not helpful for the millions of Egyptians who use it on a daily basis.

The Egyptian government does subsidize bread and other staples for poorer Egyptians, ameliorating the price increase somewhat. But most Egyptians purchase bread beyond what the subsidy allows. And the threat of instability has already pushed food costs higher in the Egyptian capital and elsewhere. Plus, rising food prices have a long history of causing social unrest in the country. In 1977, the state cut subsidies of basic staples, leading to deadly riots. In 2008, when food prices hit their first peak, Egyptians again took to the streets.

None of that comes as a surprise to social scientists. 

So what is causing the rise in food prices—and might prices abate, easing tensions in Egypt? Unfortunately, the answer is probably no. Commodity speculation by hedge funds and financial entities might be contributing to the global run-up in prices. But much of the recent increase can be explained by the simple laws of supply and demand. First, there are constraints on yields, caused by recent droughts in Russia, floods in Australia and Pakistan, and increased production of crops for ethanol and other biofuels, rather than food. At the same time, demand for food commodities has continued to climb in big and fast-growing countries like India and China. And rising oil prices—a key component of food costs, given the cost of shipping goods—aren't helping, either.

So why haven't Americans noticed an uptick in costs at the supermarket? Mostly because raw food costs are a smaller proportion of overall food costs for American consumers. When you buy a box of Wheaties, you're paying for packaging, advertising, and processing, as well as the wheat, making the price more insulated from inflation. In addition, U.S. food producers tend to trade in the futures markets to smooth costs—meaning ingredient costs get locked in months or even years in advance.

So, the global food crisis has remained mostly invisible in the United States. But it is all too visible in Egypt and other Northern African emerging economies. And the economic forces do not look like they will abate any time soon.So how has this affected people in Egypt.Well for a country where the average salary is 2 dollars a day it's a big deal.

Egypt rejoices as Hosni Mubarack leaves

If you haven't heard already Hosni Mubarak and his family have left.Mubarak has officially resigned from power and the military has taken control of the government.What I want to now is what is next for Egypt.Who will take Mubarak's spot.To date no official leader has one favor with the country,but the speculation is sky high.Will the Muslim brotherhood have an influence on who next will go into power?Or will the election system change making it a nation which can chose it's president.I am spectacle about what will happen next.I was considering the investment opportunity's of Egypt with a new government and I think its safe to say its to early in the game to tell for sure who Egypt will pick as their leader.

Turmoil in Egypt is growing as the days go by and Hosni Mubarich is still in power. As stated by Egyptnews.net

''Efforts by the United States to broker a gradual transition of power have been rejected by the local population. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Tuesday to demand Mubarak and his government be removed now with one protester holding a banner saying, "U.S.A. it's our decision, not yours."

The United States initially stood by Mr Mubarak, 82, an ally for the past three decades, but then in an apparent shift began hinting he should go. Then in another about-face, the United States backed a plan for newly-installed Vice President Omar Suleiman to assume some of the presidential powers, to play a greater role in implementing reforms, and, with Mr Mubarak, to oversee the election process. Mr Suleiman is believed to be a candidate for president. On Tuesday it emerged from leaked cables that Israel has made known to the United States it would prefer Mr Suleiman to succeed Mr Mubarak.

It also emerged Tuesday that Mr Mubarak and his family have amassed a fortune in his time in public office, with his net worth estimated to be between $40 billion and $70 billion. Most of the funds have been invested in Swiss banks and U.S. real estate raising concerns about the effectiveness of money-laundering laws in both those countries. The news has angered Egypt's 82 million population, the majority of which survive on less than $2 a day.

Meantime Mr Mubarak has been hastily announcing reforms, and pay increases of up to 15% for people on government payrolls, in an effort to curb the public anger. On Tuesday it appeared the tactics were not working as momentum seemed to be building for his immediate ouster.

Anger seemed to be mounting too that Mr Mubarak should be involved in the election process, and an announcement on Tuesday that he was changing Egypt's constitution.

The youth of Egypt appear to be taking a more prominent part in protests with Mr Suleiman on Tuesday saying Mr Mubarak recognized their right to a say in the future of their country. He told protesters they would not be prosecuted and would not be restricted from expressing their views. Many of those turning out on Tuesday were encouraged to do so by messages on Twitter and Facebook which warned that if the momentum was not maintained the Mubarak regime would stay in power and continue to orchestrate Egypt's future."