News stories by Adam Morrow, page 6

As the Cairo-based Arab League continues to back western military intervention in support of the popular rebellion in Libya, the League's failure to back similar uprisings in other Arab countries - most notably Bahrain - has led to charges of double standards.

In mid-March, Egypt's transitional government formally dissolved the hated State Security Investigations (SSI) apparatus, meeting a longstanding demand of the opposition. But in the month since, authorities have remained tight- lipped about the SSI's planned successor agency, raising fears that the transformation will be in name only.

Two months since the ouster of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's new transitional government is turning its attention to unpopular Mubarak-era foreign policies - with the ongoing Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip top of the list.

Egyptians overwhelmingly endorsed a raft of proposed constitutional changes in a nationwide referendum on Saturday. But while the vote -- the first since the Feb 11 ouster of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak -- was hailed as the freest in recent Egyptian history, it also served to polarise public opinion along broadly sectarian lines.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week paid a highly-publicised visit to Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicentre of Egypt's recent popular uprising. But young leaders of the revolution declined an invitation to meet with her, citing Washington's tepid support for anti-government protesters over the course of the 18-day rebellion.

Egyptians voted in a nationwide referendum yesterday on proposed amendments to the constitutional articles that govern the electoral process. But regardless of the outcome, political analysts are certain that the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed throughout the 30-year rule of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, remains poised to be an electoral force to be reckoned with.

Several hundred thousand protesters massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square exploded into joy Friday, after Vice-President Omar Suleiman made the announcement that Hosni Mubarak had resigned as president of Egypt after three decades in office.

In a televised address late Thursday night, embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak delegated executive authority to his newly-appointed vice-president, but stopped short of stepping down. The announcement enraged anti-Mubarak demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square, who say they will maintain their uprising - now in its 18th day - until Mubarak's unconditional resignation.

Over recent years, Egypt has witnessed mounting tension between its Muslim majority and its sizeable Coptic Christian minority. But in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the site of ongoing mass protests against the ruling regime, members of both faiths chant in unison: 'Muslim, Christian, doesn't matter; We're all in this boat together!'

Tens of thousands of protesters continue to occupy Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand the ouster of longstanding President Hosni Mubarak. The regime is waging a war of attrition aimed at exhausting demonstrators - and the population at large. But the protest is holding firm.