• Egyptians want new parliament to 'hear our voice'

    Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

    Demonstrations continue next to the Egyptian Parliament as they hold their first session since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak on Monday in Cairo, Egypt.

    By Charlene Gubash

    CAIRO – Egyptians were greeted by a series of firsts Monday:  Egypt's first democratically elected parliament and first predominantly Islamist parliament convened for their first session.  

    New lawmakers were greeted by a now familiar sight.  Roughly 1,000 chanting demonstrators greeted them – despite being kept at a distance from the parliament building by riot police, metal barriers and sharp shooters mounted on roofs. 

    They had come to hold lawmakers accountable for a wide variety of promises they believe are essential for the new Egypt.

    From labor laws to honoring martyrs
    Shima'a Sa'ib, a 28-year-old engineeer from Cairo, stopped chanting for a minute to explain why she came to protest. “We want them to hear our voice, to give us rights and to give rights to the families of the martyrs,” she said, referring to those killed in the revolution.  

    Mahmoud Hussein held a poster filled with photos of people who were killed when police opened fire on them near a police station during the revolution. He pointed to the picture of a father of two who was killed.

    "He was my neighbor.  His family was never compensated by the government,” said Hussein. “Now their landlord lets them stay for free. They can't afford to pay rent.” He fears that the new politicians will also ignore their needs.  "They are in power now, they will forget those in need."

    Charlene Gubash / NBC News

    Mahmoud Hussein holds a poster showing people killed during the revolution.

    Ahmed Desouki, a lanky university student, explained in perfect English why he had come.  "I am here for worker's rights because workers have been suffering from this capitalist government. We need better wages, stop privatization and make the labor unions stronger."  Asked if he thought the new parliament would meet his demands, his reply was swift.  "No. I don't have hope.”

    Desouki also expressed distrust about the cozy relationship between the military government known as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, and the Islamists.

    Hazdem Mohammed, a 25-year-old computer system administrator from Cairo and a member of the April 6 Youth Movement, the main organization behind the revolution, agreed.

    “The people in parliament stole the revolution. The Muslim Brotherhood stole it in order to come to power,” said Mohammed. “The Brotherhood is like Hamas in Gaza, once they come to power, they will never leave.  If the revolution was on the right track, those in the military would be in prison for killing protesters."  He said the April 6 Youth Movement plans to continue organizing opposition to the government. 

    Pediatrician Hazem Nasser said he was there to remind lawmakers that they are accountable for upholding some of the larger goals of the revolution. "Nothing has changed in Egypt since the revolution. Maybe they will be dictators, too, if people don’t stand up and tell them right from wrong.  If we don't do that, maybe 500 Mubaraks will arise." 

    Looking for more man-friendly family law
    Still others, like Salah Hassan and Ahmed Ibrahim, were there for very personal reasons: to protest some of the more female-friendly divorce laws introduced under former President Hosni Mubarak that give mothers preference in child custody disputes.

    Charlene Gubash / NBC News

    Salah Hassan, left, and Ahmed Ibrahim, right, demonstrate for change in family law to favor men.

    Both men said their divorced wives had prevented them from seeing their children for the past 10 years, so they were hopeful that the majority Islamist parliament would uphold religious Muslim laws that are more favorable to men. 

    Under the current law, women gain child custody in divorce cases until the children are 15 years old, at which time the child can decide who he or she wants to live with. Mothers are also allowed to stay in their homes while they have custody.

    But under Islamic law, the father would get the child and the home when boys reach the age of 7 and girls reach the age of 9. 

    "I may not agree with the Muslim Brotherhood in other things but for this reason, I voted for them," said Ibrahim, a civil engineer. “I have not seen my child for 10 years."  He also wants to revoke a woman’s right to divorce with ease.  "She just called and told me, I am divorcing you and taking your child and your house.”

    Ibrahim reckoned there were as many as 300 others there who were also protesting to overturn Egypt's moderate family laws.

    With all of the diverse issues, it will be a wonder what the parliament can get done, but the protesters seem determined to at least make their demands heard.

    See Photoblog: Egypt parliament opens for the first time following the fall of Mubarak

  • James Murdoch could be called back to testify

    James Murdoch's testimony to Parliament in July appears to have been undermined. ITN's Keir Simmons reports.

    News Corp. CEO James Murdoch may be hauled back before the U.K. Parliament next week after ex-employees testified this week that he knew a lot more about the News of the World scandal than he let on the first time he appeared, euronews is reporting.

    Chairman John Whittingdale said the Culture, Media and Sport Committee — the panel where Murdoch's father, Rupert, was hit by a pie at the first hearing in July — will meet again Tuesday, when it will decide "whether we may wish to call other witnesses that may include James Murdoch."

    Murdoch testified in July that was never told about a key memo revealing that hacking of celebrities' and crime victims' phones went well beyond the activities of "one rogue reporter." But Tuesday, Tom Crone, the top lawyer for News International — the U.K. newspaper subsidiary at the heart of the scandal — and Colin Myler — the last editor of the News of the World, which the Murdochs shut down — told MPs that Murdoch was "mistaken." 

    Developments have picked up steam since in the wake of that contention. 

    A 16th person was arrested Wednesday in the scandal, which led to the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron's chief spokesman, Andy Coulson, who was editor of the paper during some of the worst excesses. 

    The Daily Mail reports that an unidentified 35-year-old man was taken away from his home at 5.55 a.m. and was "cuffed on suspicion of conspiracy to intercept voicemail messages."

    Meanwhle, The Guardian — the paper that broke the story and has led the journalistic investigation — had one of its own reporters questioned by police who want to know how information from the investigation leaked to the public. 

    The Guardian said reporter Amelia Hill was questioned "several days ago" by police; in a statement, it complained that such interviews raised concerns about police seeking to "criminalise conversations between off-record sources and reporters."

  • What's the confusion over Afghanistan's parliament?

    By NBC News’ Atia Abawi 

    KABUL – Chaos is a word quite frequently used to describe various situations in Afghanistan. This time it’s about the parliament. 
    Last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai created confusion by announcing that he was going to delay the opening of parliament for one month because of disputes over September's parliamentary elections and protests around the country by losing candidates.

    Musadeq Sadeq / AP

    Supporters of former legislator Najibullah Mujahed shout slogans against last September's parliamentary poll during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday.

    But on Tuesday, the presidential palace sent out a press release saying that the inauguration of the new parliament will go ahead Wednesday – ending a tense stand-off with lawmakers.

    So, what was all the confusion about? 

    Disputed elections
    On Sept. 18, 2010, millions of Afghans ignored insurgent threats and headed to the polls to vote for candidates they hoped to send as representatives to Kabul. It was Afghanistan’s second parliamentary vote ever.

    But even though millions did show up, millions more felt threatened and did not. It had the lowest turnout yet of any election Afghanistan has had.

    Like past Afghan elections, it was tarred by allegations of fraud and corruption. Complaints of ballot stuffing, fake voter registration cards, and indelible ink that magically disappeared with a quick wash were among just a few of the complaints submitted to the authorities. 

    But the biggest problem of all was the insurgency that continues to plague much of the country.

    Ethnic divide?
    Because of voter insecurity in many of the ethnic Pashtun regions – areas where the Taliban have a strong hold – many people in those areas did not vote. Therefore, many of the votes – and in turn, the new parliamentarians – come from the Tajik and Hazara ethnicities.

    That has led to fears that Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group in the country, may feel so alienated that they turn away from the government and into the hands of the Taliban.

    For example, Ghazni Province, in eastern Afghanistan, is about 70 percent Pashtun, with some districts made up of Hazara and Tajik ethnicities. In the last parliament Ghazni was represented by six Pashtuns, three Hazaras and two Tajiks.

    But because of voter insecurity during the recent election, most of the Pashtuns didn’t make it to the polls – so all the winners this time were of the Hazara minority.  

    AHMAD MASOOD / Reuters

    A member of Afghanistan's parliament leaves a meeting hall at the Inter-continental hotel in Kabul on Saturday. Defiant Afghan lawmakers met with Karzai on Saturday for last minute talks to stave off a showdown over when to open parliament that has brought political turmoil and fears of street violence to Kabul.

    As a result, Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun, has once again found himself in a precarious situation.

    If untouched, the majority of the new parliament’s lower house, made up of 249 seats, will be Tajik and Hazara.

    Latest problems
    Karzai has created a special tribunal to investigate the hundreds of voter complaints.

    But because their job is not complete, the tribunal and the attorney general asked Karzai to delay the inauguration of parliament by 30 days to address the problems. Karzai initially agreed. 

    But Karzai’s decision angered the parliamentarians who expected to be inaugurated on Jan. 23.  That’s when the pandemonium really began.

    A substantial number of the new parliamentarians decided they would disobey the president and inaugurate themselves, which according to the Afghan constitution is illegal.

    Compromise?  
    To avoid “chaos” again, Karzai ended up offering the parliamentarians a deal. 

    He said he would inaugurate the new parliament on Wednesday, three days after their initial date, on the condition that they  obey the findings of his tribunal. If any parliamentarian is found guilty of voter fraud, they will be kicked out of the new parliament.

    So for now, at least, it  seems we will see the inauguration on Wednesday.

    But the story will not be over any time soon. 

    Ever since the election results were announced, candidates who did not win a seat and felt cheated have led weekly protest marches through the streets of Kabul and around the country.

    And they have vowed to continue to disrupt the process they say they were cheated out of. So chaos averted, for now.