Clinton tours Cairo’s Tahrir SquareMarch 16, 2011 - 13:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday, March 16, toured Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the popular uprising that toppled Egypt's longtime autocratic leader last month. "It's just a great reminder of the power of the human spirit and universal desire for freedom and human rights and democracy," Clinton said. "It's just thrilling to see where this happened." Surrounded by a heavy contingent of U.S. and Egyptian security guards, Clinton smiled, waved and shook hands with the Egyptian citizens who thronged her during her unscheduled 15-minute stroll through the square. "To see where this revolution happened, after all that it has meant to the world, is extraordinary for me," she said before entering a meeting with interim Prime Minister Essam Sharaf. Clinton's two-day visit to Egypt is aimed at encouraging the Egyptian people and their transitional leaders to hold true to the ideals of democratic reforms that propelled the revolution. She is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted last month and she has pledged America's support for the transition. Her trip underscores the Obama administration's concern that gains made since last month's ouster of President Hosni Mubarak may be lost to impatience or a hijacking of the political system by extremists. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |