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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Egypt protests - Curfe...ets ( BBC )...</span>
Cairo, Alexandria and Suez have been placed under curfew as the Egyptian government battles to restore control after the biggest protests so far.Across the country tens of thousands of protesters turned out after Friday prayers and clashed with police.President Hosni Mubarak, facing the biggest challenge to his authority of his 31 years in power, has ordered the army onto the streets of Cairo.Mr Mubarak is expected to make a statement shortly.The curfew is now in effect, but live television pictures from Cairo continue to show large crowds on the streets.Flames have been seen from the area around the headquarters of the governing National Democratic Party (NDP) in Cairo. Water Cannon Army vehicles have also been seen on the streets of Cairo.In one location, an army vehicle appeared to go into reverse when it was surrounded by protesters who raised their fists in celebration.The curfew applies to Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, effective from 1800 to 0700 local time (1600 to 0500 GMT). State television said President Hosni Mubarak had decreed the curfew to stop riots, lawlessness and attacks on property.Internet and phone services - both mobile and landline - have been severely disrupted, although protesters are using proxies to work around the restrictions.Reports say Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has been placed under house arrest. Earlier, he was soaked by water cannon and surrounded by police as he joined protesters on the streets of Cairo.At least eight people have been killed and dozens injured since the protests against unemployment, corruption and rising prices began on Tuesday. Up to 1,000 people have been arrested.The US, which counts Egypt as an important ally in the Middle East, says the situation is of "deep concern"."The Egyptian government should view its people as a partner and not as a threat,"tweeted state department spokesman PJ Crowley. And UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said authorities in Egypt should not seek to "suppress people's right to freedom of expression".The unrest follows an uprising in Tunisia two weeks ago, in which President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was toppled after 23 years in power.After Friday prayers, tens of thousands of people joined protests in Cairo and other cities to demand the end of Mr Mubarak's 30-year rule.They shouted "down, down with Mubarak" and "the people want the regime to fall".At several locations, riot police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas, and by using water cannon. BBC Arabic reporter Assad Sawey, in Cairo, said he was arrested and beaten by plainclothes policemen."They took my camera away and when they arrested me, they started beating me with steel bars, the ones used here for slaughtering animals," he said. There were also reports of clashes between protesters and police in Alexandria, Mansoura and Aswan, as well as Minya and Assiut south of Cairo, and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula.A lawyer for the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Islamist opposition movement, told the BBC that dozens of its members had been arrested.Connections downThe protests took place despite widespread disruptions to internet and mobile-phone connections from early on Friday.Mobile operator Vodafone Egypt said in a statement: "All mobile operators in Egypt have been instructed to suspend services in selected areas. Under Egyptian legislation the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply with it."http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...74021342641095
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Egypt protests - Curfe...ets ( BBC )...</span>
Cairo, Alexandria and Suez have been placed under curfew as the Egyptian government battles to restore control after the biggest protests so far.Across the country tens of thousands of protesters turned out after Friday prayers and clashed with police.President Hosni Mubarak, facing the biggest challenge to his authority of his 31 years in power, has ordered the army onto the streets of Cairo.Mr Mubarak is expected to make a statement shortly.The curfew is now in effect, but live television pictures from Cairo continue to show large crowds on the streets.Flames have been seen from the area around the headquarters of the governing National Democratic Party (NDP) in Cairo. Water Cannon Army vehicles have also been seen on the streets of Cairo.In one location, an army vehicle appeared to go into reverse when it was surrounded by protesters who raised their fists in celebration.The curfew applies to Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, effective from 1800 to 0700 local time (1600 to 0500 GMT). State television said President Hosni Mubarak had decreed the curfew to stop riots, lawlessness and attacks on property.Internet and phone services - both mobile and landline - have been severely disrupted, although protesters are using proxies to work around the restrictions.Reports say Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has been placed under house arrest. Earlier, he was soaked by water cannon and surrounded by police as he joined protesters on the streets of Cairo.At least eight people have been killed and dozens injured since the protests against unemployment, corruption and rising prices began on Tuesday. Up to 1,000 people have been arrested.The US, which counts Egypt as an important ally in the Middle East, says the situation is of "deep concern"."The Egyptian government should view its people as a partner and not as a threat,"tweeted state department spokesman PJ Crowley. And UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said authorities in Egypt should not seek to "suppress people's right to freedom of expression".The unrest follows an uprising in Tunisia two weeks ago, in which President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was toppled after 23 years in power.After Friday prayers, tens of thousands of people joined protests in Cairo and other cities to demand the end of Mr Mubarak's 30-year rule.They shouted "down, down with Mubarak" and "the people want the regime to fall".At several locations, riot police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas, and by using water cannon. BBC Arabic reporter Assad Sawey, in Cairo, said he was arrested and beaten by plainclothes policemen."They took my camera away and when they arrested me, they started beating me with steel bars, the ones used here for slaughtering animals," he said. There were also reports of clashes between protesters and police in Alexandria, Mansoura and Aswan, as well as Minya and Assiut south of Cairo, and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula.A lawyer for the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Islamist opposition movement, told the BBC that dozens of its members had been arrested.Connections downThe protests took place despite widespread disruptions to internet and mobile-phone connections from early on Friday.Mobile operator Vodafone Egypt said in a statement: "All mobile operators in Egypt have been instructed to suspend services in selected areas. Under Egyptian legislation the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply with it."http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...74021342641095