THE BURDEN OF EGYPT

Isaiah 19:1-4  The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the
Lord, the LORD of host


More than 102 dead and thousands of prisoners on the loose in Egypt as 30,000 stranded Britons struggle to leave the country

• Cameron and Obama hold crisis talks, both calling for 'political reform'
• Death toll reaches 102 and at least 2,000 have been injured
• Thousands of prisoners escape from jails as riots go into sixth day

Around 30,000 British tourists were stranded in Egypt today as army planes buzzed low over Cairo on the sixth day of uprisings.
At least 102 people have been killed, more than 2,000 are injured and there were calls for a multi-party democracy to emerge as President Hosni Mubarack's grip on power loosens.
Gangs of armed men attacked at least four jails across Egypt before dawn today, helping to free hundreds of Muslim militants and thousands of other inmates as police vanished from the streets of Cairo and other cities.

Now scroll down to see the video

Show of strength: Egyptians surround an army tank during protests in central Cairo on the sixth day of action

Last night a handful Brits that managed to board flights returning back from Cairo described their relief at escaping the riot-torn country.
They told how vigilantes were protecting neighbourhoods at night after police withdrew from the streets.
Several Britons arrived home on an Egyptair flight at London's Heathrow Airport.
Brendan Keating, 49, an oil worker from Purley, Surrey, who lives in Maadi, in southern Cairo, said: 'Last night the local people organised themselves into groups to protect property because there's no police.
'This morning I had to break the curfew to get to the airport, and had to go through about a dozen roadblocks set up by these people.'
Geoff and Heather Booth, from Dronfield, Derbyshire, whose planned near two-week holiday was cut to just four days because of the chaos.
Mr Booth, 74, said: 'We weren't in the worst part but it was still quite bad. The main thing is that we are home safe.
'We were there for four days, but most of it was spent in the hotel under strict instructions not to go out.
'The holiday company has brought us home and frankly we just wanted to get back.'

Looters stand outside Abu Zaabel prison in thLooters stand outside Abu Zaabel prison in the Egyptian capital Cairo after a mass breakout by convicts amid a nationwide revolt

Helicopters were yesterday hovering over Cairo and trucks appeared in a central square where protesters were gathered.
It was the latest show of military might on Sunday in an apparent effort to send protesters back to their homes before a 4pm curfew.
The warplanes flew over the city several times. At least a dozen troop trucks and extra tanks drove towards the square as more protesters gathered in defiance of the curfew.
'The planes are out there to scare the people. It's time for the curfew and no one is going home," a 45-year-old engineer who was protesting in the main Tahrir square said.
'It's clear to me that the army is here to protect Mubarak.'
Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, said on Sunday he wanted to see a multi-party democracy emerge in Egypt but could not say how soon that might happen.
Meanwhile David Cameron and US President Barack Obama called for an 'orderly transition' to a democratic government in Egypt.
As the crisis threatening to unseat Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak escalated, the two leaders held talks and agreed that a 'comprehensive process of political reform' was needed.

Tourists and Egyptians hoping to escape the country were sleeping in the departure area at the international airport

An Egyptian fighter jet flows over Cairo in a display of military strength as protests entered their sixth day

Earlier U.S. embassy officials called for Americans to get out of the country as soon as possible - and advised citizens not to travel because of the unrest, violence and on-going demonstrations.
The warning is an escalation in the assessment of the situation by the U.S. government, which previously had advised against non-essential travel to Egypt.
Britons trapped in the country were told by the Foreign Office yesterday to stay clear of the nationwide violence and abide by a 4pm curfew ordered by President Hosni Mubarak.
The British Government also advised against all non-essential travel to Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria and Suez as all flights from the UK to Egypt were cancelled.
One BMI flight en route to Cairo from London was turned around at 30,000ft as the situation worsened yesterday.
British Airways chartered an extra aircraft to rescue stranded tourists from Cairo as its airport witnessed chaotic scenes, with tourists desperately trying to flee the violence.
Yesterday mummies in the country's national museum were destroyed by looters attempting to steal the treasures of King Tutankhamun.
Soldiers were positioned at the Pyramids and Cairo’s Egyptian Museum – the holding place for Tutankhamun’s priceless golden mask and other artifacts – on the fifth day of anti-government demonstrations in the country’s capital.
The military deployment came amid an almost complete collapse of law and order, with the violence escalating outside the capital. Residents in Alexandria, north-west of Cairo, were forced to stand guard outside their homes armed with sticks as gangs rampaged through the city.
The death toll was estimated to have reached 74 yesterday, with at least 48 of those being killed since Friday and 2,000 people suffering injuries.
President Mubarak also gave the first indication of a succession plan when he announced that his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, had been appointed his deputy, a position last filled by the president himself 30 years ago.
The latest wave of violence has been most notable for the widespread looting, indicative of the scale of the breakdown in law and order.

Egyptian men try to protect the Arcadia shopping centre from looting. It was already damaged and partially set on fire

Alleged looters were captured and tied to the floor by Egyptian soldiers. Citizens from Suez to Cairo had formed neighbourhood defence groups overnight to protect their families and property

Nine men broke into the Egyptian Museum in the early hours of yesterday, taking advantage of damage caused to the building’s security by a fire in the neighbouring headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party.
They were caught by police and a crowd of civilians while carrying out the skulls of two mummies and two statues estimated to be more than 2,000 years old.
One statue, believed to be of Tutankhamun, was broken into two pieces by the thieves, although officials said they hoped to be able to repair it.
Zahi Hawass, chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said: ‘They tried to attack and rob from the showcases of King Tut, but they failed. These people are criminals, they are not true Egyptians. The nine men were caught carrying skulls and two statues, one of which was broken. But the army are now guarding the museum and all the museums are now safe.’
The Egyptian military closed tourist access to the Pyramids as tanks and armoured personnel carriers sealed off the site at Giza, normally packed with visitors.
Clashes have also occurred in Suez, and eight prisoners were killed during an attempted mass escape from Abu Zaabal prison, north-east of Cairo.

 

Pledge: President Mubarak made a TV address in which he called for dialogue to prevent further protests. Right, U.S. President Barack Obama urged him to take steps to improve the rights of Egyptian people

Tour operators said that most British tourists in Egypt were in ‘peaceful’ areas of the country, such as the resort of Sharm-el-Sheik.
However, at Cairo airport a group of holidaymakers who had booked through Thomas Cook told of their anger after being stranded when they landed yesterday.
They said that when they boarded their flight they had followed the advice of the Foreign Office that travel to Egypt was safe but had been amazed to discover the state of the country on arrival.

Alleged looters were captured and tied to the floor by Egyptian soldiers. Citizens from Suez to Cairo had formed neighbourhood defence groups overnight to protect their families and property

Istanbul: Turkish Muslims burn a picture of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as they protest against his regime in front of the Egyptian consulate

Lesley Scyan, from Crawley, West Sussex, who had travelled to Cairo with two friends to celebrate her 60th birthday, said: ‘I am stamping with rage. There was no information for us when we landed. We followed Foreign Office advice which said it was safe to travel, and then we get here and because of the curfew no one is around to help. We don’t know what to do.’
A Foreign Office spokesman said the advice given to passengers had been correct when it was issued.
A Thomas Cook spokesman said that their customers would be returned home this morning.
British Airways said it had rearranged flights in order to avoid take-offs during the curfew.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said: ‘President Mubarak spoke last night of his commitment to take new steps towards greater democracy. We call on him to listen urgently to the aspirations expressed by the Egyptian people.’
President Mubarak has fired his cabinet in response to the violence but has refused to stand down.

Thousands of protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo as the army send out hundreds more troops and armored vehicles onto the streets

‘Pharaoh’ and his half-Welsh wife are worth £25 billion

Big bucks: President Hosni Mubarak with his wife Suzanne, who is half-Welsh and has a British passport

Dubbed ‘the Pharaoh’ for his 30-year iron rule, President Hosni Mubarak is said to have amassed a fortune of £25 billion for his family.
Mubarak, 82, his half-Welsh wife Suzanne and sons Gamal and Alaa are seen in Egypt as symbols of nepotism and corruption with properties and business interests worldwide, including London.
The First Lady keeps a firm grip on Egypt’s leading social circles and is often pictured at diplomatic and charity events in stylish outfits alongside dignitaries’ wives including Carla Bruni.
Her charity donations total millions of pounds a year, though rumours have swirled that some of this money has found its way into her bank accounts. As her profile in the state-controlled media has soared, critics have likened her to French Queen Marie-Antoinette.
Critics say the closest their sons have got to ordinary Egyptians was when they were driven past them in limousines. Both sons have been linked to arms-dealing.
Mubarak has survived at least six assassination attempts and fears have also been growing that he plans to groom the more political Gamal to inherit the throne.

Will first family flee to London (and Selfridges)?

When a Cairo newspaper claimed on Tuesday
that members of President Mubarak’s family had fled, speculation spread that they were on their way to Britain.
The newspaper reported that Gamal Mubarak, the president’s son and possible successor, had boarded a private jet bound for London, taking his family and 97 pieces of luggage with him.
Egyptian baggage handlers at Heathrow were also quoted as saying that they had seen President Mubarak’s wife Suzanne, who is half-Welsh and holds a British passport, at the airport.

UK links: Gamal Mubarak (left), son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and his wife Khadiga have previously lived in west London (below)

Though the claims were denied by Egyptian diplomats in London, there have since been other apparent sightings, with one member of the public claiming on an internet site that she had seen Mrs Mubarak shopping in Selfridges in Oxford Street.
The Foreign Office would not confirm last night whether Mrs Mubarak and her sons Gamal and Alaa had British passports.
The family, who have relatives in Britain, are regular visitors and Gamal, 47, once lived and worked in London, initially for Bank of America before, in 1996, he set up his own investment vehicle, Medinvest Associates.
He lived in a five-storey Georgian townhouse in Knightsbridge, on the same street as the five-star Berkeley Hotel and a stone’s throw from Hyde Park. The most recent similar property to sell on the street went for £5.59 million.
The offices of Medinvest Associates are based a five-minute walk away, above expensive boutiques in the centre of Knightsbridge.
Suzanne Mubarak was born in Upper Egypt in 1941, but her mother Lily May Palmer was a nurse from Pontypridd, Wales, who married an Egyptian paediatrician, Saleh Sabet in
1934.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351826/Egypt-protests-Over-102-dead-30k-stranded-Britons-struggle-leave.html