VANCOUVER
- Since the uprising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak began
last month, Vancouver's Matteo Amed Yacoub hasn't gotten much sleep.
Yacoub,
who moved to Canada from Alexandria 30 years ago, has been staying up
every night, glued to news coverage of the protests.
"My
[four] laptops were beside me day and night — I had one with CNN, one
with BBC, one with Al Arabiya, one with Al Jazeera. I was watching
everything at the same time," said Yacoub. "I had to take over another
bedroom because my wife couldn't take it anymore."
Last night, Yacoub's lack of sleep finally caught up with him and he dozed off for a couple of hours.
When he awoke, his four computers had all gone to sleep.
"I
went to the bathroom to brush my teeth," he said. "I had my phone with
me to check messages and I saw the news [of Mubarak's resignation]. I
went to the balcony, took a deep breath and wanted to scream. ... I
wanted this to happen so badly. It's unbelievable."
Yacoub,
the chef at Bistro de Paris, has a big pre-Valentine's Day crowd coming
for dinner tonight. But he doesn't feel the least bit tired.
"There's a joy inside me that's keeping the energy going," he said.
Yacoub said his family has wanted Mubarak to leave for decades but never thought he could actually be forced out.
"These people have so much power," he said. "I'm shaking as I'm talking to you because this was not supposed to happen."
Yacoub
said he's been worrying about his family in Alexandria, in particular
his sister, who has been taking part in the protests.
Even his 83-year-old father — who is in a wheelchair — attended the protests one day.
News 
CAIRO — Ali Abdel Fattah, spokesman for the
long-banned Muslim Brotherhood, sat at a laminate table in his office in
South Cairo, answering phone calls, chattering in Arabic at aides in
dark suits and discussing plans for Egypt under democratic rule.
CAIRO: Christians and Muslims recited in unison the “Our Father”
prayer in Tahrir on Sunday, a day intended to commemorate those killed
in pro-democracy protests since Jan. 25.
As Egyptian citizens and human rights defenders, we have been on the streets here, including in Tahrir Square, since Jan. 25 to demand dignity and freedom for all Egyptians.
There is nothing we want more than an immediate end to the Mubarak era,
which has been marred by repression, abuse and injustice. We are
heartened by the international community's shift from demanding
"restraint" and "responsiveness" to echoing our call for Hosni Mubarak to step down and for an immediate transition toward democracy.
