Egypt's opposition calls for 1 million on streets

CAIRO (AP) -- A coalition of opposition groups called for a million people to take to Cairo's streets Tuesday to demand the removal of President Hosni Mubarak, the clearest sign yet that a unified leadership was trying to emerge for Egypt's powerful but disparate protest movement.

In an apparent attempt to defuse the weeklong political upheaval, Mubarak named a new government Monday - dropping the widely hated interior minister in charge of security forces. But the lineup was greeted with scorn in Tahrir Square, the central Cairo plaza that has become the protests' epicenter, with crowds of more than 10,000 chanting for Mubarak's ouster.

"We don't want life to go back to normal until Mubarak leaves," said Israa Abdel-Fattah, a founder of the April 6 Group, a movement of young people pushing for democratic reform.

In what appeared to be a reaction to the opposition call, state TV aired a warning from the military against "the carrying out of any act that destabilizes security of the country." But it also said the military underlined that it "has not and will not use force against the public."

If Egypt's opposition groups are able to truly coalesce, it could sustain and amplify the momentum of the week-old protests. A unified front could also provide a focal point for American and other world leaders who are issuing demands for an orderly transition to a democratic system, saying Mubarak's limited concessions are insufficient.

But unity is far from certain among the array of movements involved in the protests, with sometimes conflicting agendas - including students, online activists, grassroots organizers, old-school opposition politicians and the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, along with everyday citizens drawn by the exhilaration of marching against the government.

So it was not clear how much the groups that met Monday represent everyone. The gathering of around 30 representatives, meeting in the Cairo district of Dokki, agreed to work as a united coalition and supported a call for a million people to turn out for a march Tuesday, said Abu'l-Ela Madi , the spokesman of one of the participating groups, al-Wasat, a moderate breakaway faction from the Muslim Brotherhood.

AMB Property and ProLogis agree to combine

The combination of real estate investment trusts AMB Property Corp. and ProLogis will create a global powerhouse in warehouses and other industrial real estate.

The companies said Monday they reached a deal to combine in an all-stock deal, after news leaked last week that they were in talks. Wall Street sees opportunities for significant savings from the merging operations of the two companies.

AMB and ProLogis own huge warehouse and distribution centers that dot the sides of interstate highways, enabling companies to ship products quickly. The combined company's largest customer will be the shipper DHL, with about 2.6 percent of the total rent.

Some analysts estimated the two control about 75 percent of the market in North America, and more in certain parts of the country, which will give the combined company stronger control over its prices.

The combined company will have operations in 22 countries. Both companies operate in Western Europe and Japan. ProLogis is established in the United Kingdom and Central and Eastern Europe, while AMB has a significant presence in China and Brazil.

AMB CEO Hamid R. Moghadam said during a conference call that the combined company will save about $80 million a year from merging administrative operations.

Lower expenses could push funds from operations, the most commonly used measure of earnings for real estate investment trusts, up by as much as 8.8 percent, said Jefferies & Co. analyst Steven Benyik in a note last week.

Moghadam will share leadership responsibilities with ProLogis CEO Walter C. Rakowich through the end of 2012. During the call, Rakowich said he would handle the integration of the companies. Moghadam, who will handle strategy and the private capital business during the integration period, will become sole CEO and chairman of the combined company after Rakowich retires.

The companies also have significant financing arms. "We're going to be in a great position to offer our private capital partners a wide range of industrial funds," Rakowich said.

Under the agreement, each ProLogis share will be converted into a 0.4464 AMB shares. That values ProLogis at $8.36 billion based on AMB Property's closing price on Friday. That means ProLogis investors are not getting a premium on the stock, which closed at $15.21 on Friday. Shares fell 29 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $14.91 in midday trading.

Officials: US seeks credible Egypt elections

WASHINGTON Obama administration officials say the United States is pressing embattled ally Hosni Mubarak to institute a set of key reforms in Egypt. The most significant is credible presidential elections in September, preferably without the 82-year-old leader as a candidate.

Two American officials say the other gestures the U.S. is seeking are for Mubarak to lift emergency laws in place since 1981, allow non-governmental organizations to operate and free political prisoners.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of diplomacy and the difficult situation the Obama administration finds itself in. It is trying to usher in an orderly transition to democracy without alienating pro-democracy protesters or its ally over three decades.

Police: Mosque bomb plot suspect had on ski mask

DETROIT (AP) -- Police in Michigan say a California man accused of planning to attack the Islamic Center of America was driving near the mosque wearing a ski mask when police stopped and arrested him.

Dearborn Police said in a statement Monday that 63-year-old Roger Stockham had open intoxicants, spray paint and fireworks in his car. Police did not specify which intoxicants.

Police Chief Ronald Haddad (huh-DAD') told The Associated Press that Stockham had more than two dozen class-C fireworks, including M-80s, which are illegal in Michigan.

Police say a local business owner tipped them off about Stockham. They say the suspect was heard making comments about an explosion at a mosque and seen taking pictures of the building.

Stockham was arrested a week ago in the mosque's parking lot.

Immigration law not enforced consistently

ATLANTA (AP) -- Some local law enforcement agencies, particularly in the Southeast, are turning over illegal immigrants who commit even minor offenses to federal authorities for deportation, while others are focused on deporting more violent criminals, according to a report released Monday.

The report by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based nonpartisan think tank, said conflicting messages from the U.S. government and local political pressure may account for the discrepancy.

The study, which examined a program that allows participating local agencies to enforce federal immigration law, found that several agencies in the Southeast were turning over every illegal immigrant taken into custody. An influx of immigrants in the generally conservative region has heightened political tension, the report said. North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina were in the top six in terms of growth rates of foreign-born populations from 1990 to 2009.

"This regional pattern reflects common political pressures that stem from rapid demographic change," the report said.