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Summary US President Barack Obama urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Friday to heed the call of the Egyptian people for an orderly transition of power,
US President Barack Obama urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Friday to heed the call of the Egyptian people for an orderly transition of power, saying the country could not go back to the old ways.Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Obama said that the transition of power in Egypt must begin now but the details of the process have to be worked out by Egyptians. Obama stopped short of calling for Mubarak to immediately resign,- the demand of the thousands of protesters on the streets of Cairo. But Obama pointedly noted that the Egyptian president has already made a decision not to run re-election. Egypt has been a US ally throughout Mubaraks reign and it is strategically vital to American interests because of its peace treaty with Israel, its control of the Suez Canal and its opposition to militant Islam. After two days of clashes between Mubarak loyalists and anti-Mubarak protesters and efforts to cut off news coverage of the demonstrations, Obama said the rights of protesters, human rights activists and journalists must be respected. Obama and Harper also announced plans to pursue a new perimeter approach to US and Canadian security to ease cross-border trade.
