Clinton to meet Egypt leaders

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is flying to Egypt to press transitional leaders to follow through on pledges for democratic reform after the ousting of the country’s long-time autocratic president in a popular revolt.

Mrs Clinton will be the first cabinet-level Obama administration official to visit Egypt since the uprising which toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Her visit comes amid rising concerns in the US that anti-government rebellions sweeping the Middle East may not usher in the kind of political changes and freedom that people are protesting for.

Mrs Clinton is travelling to Cairo from Paris, where she met a senior Libyan opposition figure.

From Egypt she will go to Tunisia, the first Arab country in which protesters drove out their leadership in the current wave of unrest.