© 2024 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

Mubarak Trial Begins; Tropical Storm Emily Threatens East Coast

Egyptians walk past a poster of Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak shown  behind a noose outside the court set up in the Cairo Police Academy, on August 3.
Marwan Naamani
/
AFP/Getty Images
Egyptians walk past a poster of Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak shown behind a noose outside the court set up in the Cairo Police Academy, on August 3.

Good morning!

The story dominating the morning is that six months after his ouster, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is standing trial on charges of corruption and complicity in the deaths of protesters. The ailing 83-year-old was in a hospital bed inside a metal cage. The AP reports:

The spectacle, aired live on state television, was a stunning moment for Egyptians, many of whom savored the humiliation of the man who ruled with unquestionable power for 29 years. After widespread skepticism that Egypt's military rulers would allow it, the scene went a long way to satisfy one of the key demands that has united protesters since Feb. 11, when Mubarak fell following an 18-day uprising.

"This is the dream of Egyptians, to see him like this, humiliated like he humiliated them for the last 30 years," said Ghada Ali, the mother of a 17-year-old girl in the city of Alexandria who was shot to death during the crackdown.

As the trial proceeds, we'll keep you up to date, but here are other stories making headlines:

-- Tropical Storm Emily Threatens Florida: After battering the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Tropical Storm Emily is headed toward the Eastern seaboard of the United States. USA Today reports:

Emily, the fifth tropical storm of this year's hurricane season, may reach the Florida coast this weekend. Although the storm looks unlikely to become the season's first Atlantic hurricane, it has prompted forecasters to warn coastal residents about this year's season all the same.

The National Hurricane Center has not issued any advisories for the U.S. yet, but, here, the five-day forecastputs the center of the storm just off the Florida coast by early morning Saturday.

-- Stock Markets Slipping: "Stock markets fell across Europe and the Asia- Pacific region and yields on the bonds of the most indebted countries remained volatile Wednesday amid deepening fears about budgetary problems Europe and evidence weak growth in the United States." (The New York Times)

-- Huge Cyber Attack Uncovered: The security firm McAfee said that in an scheme dubbed "Operation Shady RAT" hackers had breached the networks of 72 organizations worldwide during a five-year period. The victims, reports Reuters, include the "governments of Canada, India, South Korea, Taiwan, United States and Vietnam," and it sought information "that would give it military, diplomatic and economic advantage."

-- Feds Investigate Eagle Deaths At Wind Farm: "Federal authorities are investigating the deaths of at least six golden eagles at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's Pine Tree Wind Project in the Tehachapi Mountains, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday." (The Los Angeles Times)

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.