Obama consults Saudi King Abdullah on Egypt

US President Barack Obama led increasingly hoarse Western calls for "concrete" change in Egypt after President Hosni Mubarak wrong-footed the world by deciding to cling to power.Obama issued a strongly-worded statement after a day of drama in Cairo in which hopes that Mubarak would step down were replaced by fury as he only went as far as ceding some authority to Vice President Omar Suleiman."The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient," Obama said.

The United States has called for an "orderly transition" to a new government in Egypt but stopped short of demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down as protests engulf his regime.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hammered home the US position with appearances Sunday on five cable news shows and President Barack Obama had used the same language in telephone calls to regional leaders, the White House said.

The United States has called for an "orderly transition" to a new government in Egypt but stopped short of demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down as protests engulf his regime.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hammered home the US position with appearances Sunday on five cable news shows and President Barack Obama had used the same language in telephone calls to regional leaders, the White House said.

The CIA drone strike that killed U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki originated from a secret base in Saudi Arabia, Greg Miller and Karen DeYoung of The Washington Post report.

The CIA drone strike that killed U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki originated from a secret base in Saudi Arabia, Greg Miller and Karen DeYoung of The Washington Post report.

President Barack Obama has named former Pakistan troubleshooter Anne Patterson as the next US ambassador to Egypt, a key ally which Washington hopes will become a model for Arab democracy, according to the White House.Pending Senate confirmation, Patterson will replace Margaret Scobey, who has served in the post for just over three years and was present when a pro-democracy revolution toppled US ally Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February.

The ailments of Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince have put the spotlight on a generation of elderly princes whose rule is nearing an end with the future unclear for the world's top oil supplier.King Abdullah left the country on Monday to be treated in the United States for a herniated disc complicated by a haematoma. Officials said the condition was not life-threatening, but at 86, it cuts into Abdullah's energy to rule.The reins of government were taken up by his half-brother, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, officially 79 but believed to be aged closer to 85.