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Mubarak Cedes Some Authority But Refuses to Quit

(Washington Post) Craig Whitlock - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ceded some authority to Vice President Omar Suleiman on Thursday but refused to quit, insisting that he would stay in office to oversee a drawn-out transfer of power. His defiance stunned and angered hundreds of thousands of protesters in the capital, who responded with chants of "revolution, revolution." Mubarak insisted that he would remain in office until the end of his term in September so he could oversee what he called a transition to "free and transparent" elections. Afterward, Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's ambassador to the U.S., told CNN that Mubarak had transferred all authority to Suleiman, making the latter the de facto president. Earlier Thursday, CIA Director Leon Panetta had told Congress that "there is a strong likelihood that Mubarak may step down this evening." After Mubarak finished speaking in a televised address, Suleiman followed, saying, "The president puts the supreme interests of the country above everything else. He has empowered me to preserve its achievements and restore stability and happiness....We have opened the door to dialogue, and the door is still open to dialogue."
2011-02-11 00:00:00
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