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POPSEgypt detains 95 over general strike It was quieter than usual on Sunday and the weather matched the mood of the city. There was a dust storm, a khamsin. The tallest buildings in downtown Cairo were invisible, riot police were in force at Midan Tahrir. Classes were canceled at schools and universities. People are fed-up with class disparity and corruption. It is unclear who initiated the call which snowballed after some 25,000 employees at the textile plant in Mahalla announced plans to strike from Sunday over low salaries and price hikes. On Saturday the interior ministry threatened "immediate and firm measures against any attempt to demonstrate, disrupt road traffic or the running of public establishments and against all attempts to incite such acts."
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POPSArab Ministers finally agree - on limiting press freedom I love the Egyptian people. It is unfortunate they are burdened with a horrible government. only tiny Qatar showed some reservation about the new rules. The charter comes complete with sanctions in case any of the rules are violated. These start with a simple warning to the station in question, before graduating to the confiscation of material and equipment, financial and ultimately the permanent cancellation of the station's permit. As an afterthought, the document also mentions "the citizen's right to knowledge." The controversial document consists of 18 articles, and is the result of six months work by a committee of academics, some of whom have previously defended laws restricting journalistic freedoms in Egypt and demanded censorship on e-media.