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The situation in Egypt is threatening to spiral out of control as mass protests continued and the country's military was deployed on the streets. The West is calling for restraint and urging immediate political reforms.
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The UK stock market extended its decline on Friday, following losses on Wall Street and as security forces battled demonstrators across Egypt in a fourth day of unprecedented protests.
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The violent epicenter of protests in Egypt is an industrial city few outsiders know much about: the seaport town of Suez, which sits astride the Suez Canal as it opens southward into the Red Sea.
Suez has seen its share of blood over the years. In 1967, the coastal town was nearly wiped out during the Six Day War with Israel and thereafter was the scene of sporadic guerrilla fighting between the two sides. The canal remained closed for nearly eight years, reopening only in 1975.
In recent years, Suez has seen growing prosperity, sending billions in tax revenue from its factories and workers to the government in Cairo. But as in the rest of Egypt, that prosperity hasn't been widely shared, leading to the same sort of dashed hopes that proved so explosive in Tunisia.
This week, Suez erupted in anger as protesters took to the streets to complain about economic conditions and their lack of freedom under Hosni Mubarak's government. It got ugly fast, with several deaths and reports of demonstrators hurling Molotov cocktails in response to a harsh police crackdown.
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Suez has seen its share of blood over the years. In 1967, the coastal town was nearly wiped out during the Six Day War with Israel and thereafter was the scene of sporadic guerrilla fighting between the two sides. The canal remained closed for nearly eight years, reopening only in 1975.
In recent years, Suez has seen growing prosperity, sending billions in tax revenue from its factories and workers to the government in Cairo. But as in the rest of Egypt, that prosperity hasn't been widely shared, leading to the same sort of dashed hopes that proved so explosive in Tunisia.
This week, Suez erupted in anger as protesters took to the streets to complain about economic conditions and their lack of freedom under Hosni Mubarak's government. It got ugly fast, with several deaths and reports of demonstrators hurling Molotov cocktails in response to a harsh police crackdown.
source and pictures
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(Reuters) - Islamists, leftists and trade unionists gathered in central Amman Friday for the latest protest to demand political change and wider freedoms.
A crowd of at least 3,000 chanted: "We want change."
Banners and chants showed a wider range of grievances than the high food prices that fueled earlier protests, and included demands for free elections, the dismissal of Prime Minister Samir Rifai's government and a representative parliament.
The protest after Friday prayers was organized by the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood which is the only effective opposition and biggest party, but included members of leftist parties and trade unions.
Jordan's protests, as in several Arab countries, have been inspired by the uprising that overthrew the Tunisian president.
"After Tunisia, Arab nations have found their way toward the path of political freedom and dignity," said Zaki Bani Rusheid, a leading Islamist politician.
Demonstrations have taken place across Jordan calling for reversal of free-market reforms which many blame for a widening gap between rich and poor.
Jordan is struggling with its worst economic downturn in decades. The government has announced measures to reduce the prices of essentials, create jobs and raise salaries of civil servants. Protesters say the moves do not go far enough.
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A crowd of at least 3,000 chanted: "We want change."
Banners and chants showed a wider range of grievances than the high food prices that fueled earlier protests, and included demands for free elections, the dismissal of Prime Minister Samir Rifai's government and a representative parliament.
The protest after Friday prayers was organized by the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood which is the only effective opposition and biggest party, but included members of leftist parties and trade unions.
Jordan's protests, as in several Arab countries, have been inspired by the uprising that overthrew the Tunisian president.
"After Tunisia, Arab nations have found their way toward the path of political freedom and dignity," said Zaki Bani Rusheid, a leading Islamist politician.
Demonstrations have taken place across Jordan calling for reversal of free-market reforms which many blame for a widening gap between rich and poor.
Jordan is struggling with its worst economic downturn in decades. The government has announced measures to reduce the prices of essentials, create jobs and raise salaries of civil servants. Protesters say the moves do not go far enough.
source
Egypt is in the grip of a food crisis, overtly authoritarian leadership, a lack of democracy and socialism for the people and it's finally tipped them over the edge. This may impact the thousands of ships that use the canal and so impact prices for the rest of us as these ships will have to travel thousands of miles further to get to the same destination.
It's also having a rippling effect with Jordan getting in on the act, pretty much, for the same reasons.
Why go to the land of the free, when with the will of the people, you can create that freedom in your mother land?
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already.
