SUEZ, Egypt // Tanks arrived on the streets of the city of Suez last night in front of the charred remains of a police station set alight the night before, witnesses said.
Dozens of protesters climbed on the tanks, said a witness who saw at least five tanks. They tried to talk to soldiers who tried to wave them off. One tank had about 25 protesters on it, he said.
Earlier, Egyptians carried the body of a protester through Suez after clashes with police who withdrew from central areas of the eastern city leaving some main streets to demonstrators, a witness said.
"They have killed my brother," shouted one of the demonstrators.
Protesters named him as Hamada Labib, 30, a driver. They blamed his death on a gunshot.
Egyptian police abandoned central areas of the industrial port city after demonstrations in which thousands of protesters overwhelmed security lines and torched a police station.
While Suez has flourished in the last decade because of Egypt's growing economy, people say improvements have benefited only a small and well-connected elite, leaving the majority struggling to find money for food and housing. Anger over that imbalance has erupted on the streets more violently in Suez than virtually anywhere else in Egypt, leaving at least four people dead and dozens injured.
About 1,000 people gathered in front of the morgue on Wednesday chanting anti-government slogans and calling "God is Great" as they waited for the release of Gharib Abdelaziz, 45, a baker who became the third person to be killed by police here when he was shot in the stomach during a protest.
His sister, Wafaa Abdelaziz, paced through the crowd, her arms held by female family members, moaning "You traitors! You killed my brother!"
Elsewhere in the crowd, Mostafa Khaled, 21, said he was not looking forward to graduating from school this year, even in a city where 100 factories produce everything from steel to fabrics, generating US$5 billion (Dh18bn) a year in tax revenue for the national government.
"Suez brings in the highest profit of all the cities in Egypt to the country and yet look at us - we are close to begging. We have no jobs, we scrounge to feed our families," Mr Khaled said.
"We don't want Mubarak, we don't want this government, we want our basic human rights." In the one shabby bedroom of her two-room home in front of the Suez morgue, Karima Thabet said she did not want to be the next mother lining up at the morgue.
"My kids are good children, they just want to find work so they can support their families," she said. She said none of her five sons was able to find employment and she had to bake bread in an outdoor oven and sell it to her relatives to supplement the rationed loaves she bought as well as selling it to her family members.
For three Egyptian pounds (Dh1.8) a month, she can buy a membership card that allows her to buy 20 rationed loaves of government-supplied bread. The subsidisation of bread in Egypt has been for decades one of the many unwritten "understandings" between the government and the country's poor majority, even though food subsidies cost the country $3 billion per year."We eat whatever we can for that day - some cheese, lentils. We only see red meat once a year," Ms Thabet said.
* Reuters with additional reporting by Associated Press
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Credit Score explained
What is a credit score?
In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.
Why is it important?
Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.
How is it calculated?
The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.
How can I improve my score?
By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.
How do I know if my score is low or high?
By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.
How much does it cost?
A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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