NPR 2011-02-10

Labor 1 groups are on strike in Egypt, further complicating 2 the government's attempts to end a more than two-week-old revolt against long-time President Hosni Mubarak. He is still resisting demands to resign immediately. The US and other allies have called for an orderly transition of power. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today given a lack of steps taken by Mubarak and others, the uprising's no surprise.

"The process for his transition does not appear to be in line with the people of Egypt. We believe that more has to be done and I think, more importantly, the people of Egypt think more have [has] to be done."

The revolt inspired similar demonstrations 3 in other countries in recent weeks, including Jordan. NPR's Philip Reeves reports the king of Jordan has sworn in a new government.

King Abdullah dismissed the government last week in the hope of calming his discontented subjects, who were emboldened 4 by the mass protests in Egypt. Now, a new cabinet's been sworn in, led by the new Prime Minister Marouf Bahkit. Bahkit is from Jordan's powerful security establishment. He's a former army general, who's been prime minister before. He's been talking about political reforms and easing censorship, and he's invited the Muslim brotherhood 5 to join his government, an offer they rejected, but winning over the public won't be easy. Jordan's seen a wave of demonstrations and also the publication of an unusual protest letter from representatives of Jordan's powerful and usually loyal tribes, criticizing the new government and Jordan's Queen Rania. Philip Reeves, NPR News, Amman.

First-term Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb says he will not seek re-election next year. NPR's David Welna reports Webb's announcement today makes him the third member of the Senate's Democratic majority to opt 7 out of another run for office.

Senator Webb announced his decision to leave the Senate at the end of his term in his typically brusk style. Without elaborating, he said he had decided 8 to return to the private sector 9 where he said he'd spent most of his professional life. Before narrowly defeating Republican incumbent 10 George Allen in 2006, Webb himself had been a Republican and served as Ronald Ragan's Secretary of the Navy. He was also a decorated Marine 11 and Vietnam veteran and a successful novelist. Webb's greatest accomplishment 12 in the Senate may have been achieving the biggest expansion of the GI Bill since the World War II. With both North Dakota Democrat 6 Kent Conrad and Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman also retiring, Webb’s departure leaves an even greater challenge to Senate Democrats 13 to hold on to their 53-seat majority. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

The Midwestern and Southern US are getting another heavy dose of winter, with some areas barely recovering from the last wintery blast. The National Weather Service says some of the heaviest snowfall in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas is affecting areas that were hit by a blizzard 14 just last week.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down nearly 30 points at 12,204. This is NPR.

The Chief Defense 15 Council in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor says recent Wikileaks revelations partly account for the delayed submission 16 of his final summary, which the judges rejected. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports Taylor and his lawyer have boycotted 17 court proceedings 18 with closing arguments adjourned 19 until Friday.

Taylor's defense lawyer Courtney Griffiths says Wikileaks cables shed more light on an international conspiracy 20 against Liberia's ex-president.

"Charles Taylor said from the outside that this prosecution 21 was motivated by pressures from the United States and United Kingdom."

Taylor faces war crimes charges for masterminding the brutal 22 rebellion in neighboring Sierra Leone. His laywer says a Wikileaks cable purportedly 23 written by the American ambassador in Liberia and published in December shows that the US has an interest in keeping Taylor out of West Africa.

"And one way in which they seem to do that is by his conviction, the imposition of a lengthy 24 sentence. And if neither those occur, then they will intend to put him on trial again in the States."

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Abidjan.

In Pakistan, the prime minster has accepted the resignation of the Federal Cabinet in a bid to reduce its size and promote fiscal 25 discipline. The move is in line with calls by the opposition 26 to trim government spending amid an economic crisis.

A spokesman for Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords says the congresswoman has spoken for the first time since she was critically wounded in an attempted assassination 27 in Tucson last month. The spokesman says Giffords is working very hard and it is certainly paying off.