CAIRO //Thousands of protesters flooded into the Egyptian capital's main square yesterday, braving water cannons and tear gas to demand a change in government.
The demonstration, described by observers as the largest the capital has seen in years, was inspired by the ousting of Tunisia's president and partly organised through a Facebook page commemorating a young Egyptian who was allegedly beaten to death by police last June in Alexandria. Twitter was blocked and mobile phone service in the city centre restricted, hampering organisers' ability to co-ordinate the protest.
After a day of smaller, more peaceful marches across the city, the situation turned violent in the late afternoon as protesters converged on Tahrir Square. Police fired about a dozen tear-gas canisters and sprayed fire hoses deep into the crowd, while demonstrators tore up rocks from adjacent flower beds and hurled them into the police lines. Policemen threw the stones right back at them.
Protesters were quick to claim the event as a watershed moment in Egypt's history that had the potential to topple the government. After this month's events in Tunis, demonstrators saw a real possibility of forcing the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, from power, said Mohammed Said, 30, who has been active in the protest movement for 10 years.
"If we keep up like this for two or three days everything will be OK and Mubarak will go to Saudi [Arabia] as well," he said. Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, the former Tunisian president, fled to Saudi Arabia after resigning his post.
"When I was a student 10 years ago, there were maybe 1,000 people at demonstrations. Now look at this," Mr Said said.
Many older demonstrators and analysts were much more cautious, arguing it would take more than a large protest to dislodge Mr Mubarak, who has held tight control of the Arab world's most populous country for 29 years.
Neither the event organisers nor police offered a count of demonstrators by press time, but the group of protesters filled about half of Cairo's mammoth Tahrir square, which is only a block from the country's two houses of parliament. Protesters were ringed by hundreds of police with batons and riot shields. They were backed up by armoured cars outfitted with water cannons and tear-gas canister launchers.
At one point, a young man climbed up onto a large billboard erected by the ruling National Democratic Party in the middle of the square, and spray-painted "Down with Hosni Mubarak" on the back.
The protesters, the majority of whom appeared under 30 years old, had lost their fear of the police, said Mina Daniel, 24, whose eyes and face were reddened from the clouds of tear gas.
"This is evidence that people want to revolt, because they didn't just surrender and go back into their homes," he said. "Egyptians by nature are very patient and endure a lot of burdens, but they're here because of the accumulation of humiliation, torture and stupidity.
"Any revolution starts with such small things."
One woman cradled two infants in her arms as she chanted along with the protesters, while a dozen older men knelt and prayed in the grass in the middle of the square amid the mayhem. Demonstrators chanted "Illegitimate, Illegitimate" and "Hosni Mubarak you are a coward. You are an agent of the Americans".
The demonstration took place on Police Day, a national holiday commemorating an event on January 25, 1952 when police in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia took up arms against the British occupation force. By late afternoon, protests also spread to other parts of Egypt including several cities in the Nile Delta and Alexandria, where police reportedly fired rubber bullets at demonstrators. Organisers also called for protests at Egyptian embassies in Paris, Toronto, Bologna, Sydney, London and Tunis.
In Kuwait, police arrested three Egyptians for attempting to organise their own protest against the Egyptian government, according to Al Anba, the Kuwaiti newspaper. The three were arrested for attempting to "incite the organisation of protests" and distributing leaflets without government authorisation, Al Anba reported.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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Australia men's Test cricket fixtures 2021/22
One-off Test v Afghanistan:
Nov 27-Dec 1: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
The Ashes v England:
Dec 8-12: 1st Test, Gabba, Brisbane
Dec 16-20: 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (day/night)
Dec 26-30: 3rd Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Jan 5-9, 2022: 4th Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Jan 14-18: 5th Test, Optus Stadium, Perth
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The bio:
Favourite film:
Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Favourite holiday destination:
Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.
Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.
Favourite pastime:
Declan: I love brunching and socializing. Just basically having the craic.
Heidi: Paddleboarding and swimming.
Personal motto:
Declan: Take chances.
Heidi: Live, love, laugh and have no regrets.
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km