CAIRO // Five months of relative calm in Egypt has been shattered with protesters and authorities once again clashing in Tahrir Square.
Protests and marches erupted throughout Tuesday night and yesterday amid clouds of tear gas and stone throwing, as groups demanded a quicker trial for the former president, Hosni Mubarak, and justice for families of those who died during the revolution.
The streets were a scene of devastation, littered with rocks, glass and smashed up cars. More than 1,000 people - protesters and police officers - were injured, according to the state news agency Mena. Security forces arrested at least nine people.
The sudden outburst of violence was a sign of the long-simmering tensions with the interim government, led by the military, and analysts said it could push back Egypt's transition to stability and put pressure on officials to make greater reforms.
"These events show that the transition and the unrest is far from over," said Elijah Zardwan, an Egypt analyst with the International Crisis Group. "There's still a lot of anger and dissatisfaction and it has been very close to the surface."
The initial cause of the latest violence was unclear, but protesters said a group of families of victims, known as the "martyrs", of the revolution began protesting outside the Ministry of Interior after they were denied entry to an event commemorating the victims.
The government countered those claims, saying the events were precipitated by provocateurs who were not invited to the event and intended to disrupt the goodwill between the people and the military.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took over the government after Mr Mubarak stepped down as president in February, said on its Facebook page that the events "had no justification other than to shake Egypt's safety and security in an organised plan that exploits the blood of the revolution's martyrs and to sow division between the people and security apparatus".
Early yesterday morning, the protesters marched to Tahrir Square, the centre of protests during the revolution, but were met by police who fired tear gas.
By 10am, a front line had moved to Mostafa Mahmoud Street in front of the American University of Cairo building near Tahrir Square. Hundreds of protesters, many wearing goggles and scarves to protect themselves from the tear gas, pushed against a line of black-clad riot police.
Ahmed Ali, a 26-year-old Vodafone employee, said he was on his way to work in downtown Cairo when he came across the protests and joined their ranks.
"This is the worst it has been since the revolution," he said, as people chanted about the military's slowness to bring Mr Mubarak to trial and attempts hijack the country. "People want justice," he said.
There was an ebb and flow of the clashes with the police, as people fled canisters lobbed into crowds. But, with stronger numbers, the protesters pushed themselves all the way back to the ministry of interior, about a 10-minute walk. At one point, military police officers with red berets attempted to calm protesters but they were overrun and retreated behind the riot police.
There was widespread discussion of military and police conspiracies with the former regime.
Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi "and Mubarak are very close", said Mohammed Arafat, a 27-year-old tour guide.
"Egyptian people will not let them take away the revolution."
Some young men prepared Molotov cocktails made with fuel taken from cars along the way and threw them at police.
One person accidentally set himself on fire and was rescued by people nearby who smothered the flames.
A steady flow of motorcycles brought the injured from the front-line back to Tahrir and nearby hospitals to receive medical treatment.
Crowds began to disperse late yesterday afternoon, but there were calls for more gatherings at Tahrir Square and around the city.
Sitting on a curb, 17-year-old Mohammed Mahmoud Ahmed, said he had come across the protest earlier in the day.
"At first, I wanted to see," he said. "I am reading from the Quran and hoping it stops."
Just then, there was the familiar hollow "thunk" sound of canisters being fired by the police. Mr Ahmed began running and disappeared into the clouds of gas.
bhope@thenational.ae
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
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
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The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):
British group
Coldplay
Foals
Bring me the Horizon
D-Block Europe
Bastille
British Female
Mabel
Freya Ridings
FKA Twigs
Charli xcx
Mahalia
British male
Harry Styles
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Michael Kiwanuka
Stormzy
Best new artist
Aitch
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Mabel
Sam Fender
Best song
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care
Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up
Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant
Dave - Location
Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove
Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved
Tom Walker - Just You and I
Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger
Stormzy - Vossi Bop
International female
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Camila Cabello
Lana Del Rey
Lizzo
International male
Bruce Springsteen
Burna Boy
Tyler, The Creator
Dermot Kennedy
Post Malone
Best album
Stormzy - Heavy is the Head
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Dave - Psychodrama
Harry Styles - Fine Line
Rising star
Celeste
Joy Crookes
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Read more from Johann Chacko
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
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Power: 181hp
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Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
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Based: Tunisia
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
