Egyptian officials said Friday that 11 people have been killed and about 5,000 injured during this week's anti-government protests.
Health Minister Ahmed Samih Farid told state television the deaths and more than 900 of the injuries had occurred within the last 48 hours, when supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak clashed in central Cairo using rocks, sticks, firebombs and guns.
Farid had previously reported eight people were killed in those clashes.
Egypt's official news agency is reporting that more than 160,000 foreigners have left the country since the start of mass protests demanding President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
Airport officials told the Middle East News Agency on Friday that departure figure reflected departures only through Cairo airport. It did not include the number of tourists who left from smaller airports at the popular Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, or the port city of Alexandria.
On Thursday, Egypt's new vice president had said that 1 million tourists left the country since demonstrations began Jan. 25.
Foreigners have fled Egypt on commercial flights, but foreign governments have also sent dozens of charter flights to evacuate their citizens from the country as protests turned violent.
-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Photo: Praveena Sorsavee, 19, left, embraces her mother as she arrives at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok on Friday. Sorsavee was among 355 Thais who returned on an evacuation flight from Egypt following massive demonstrations. Credit: Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters
Egypt has told the United Nations it is unhappy with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's public criticism of the Egyptian government and his calls for change, according to a spokeswoman for Egypt's U.N. mission.
Ban this week urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his government to take “bold measures” to address protesters' concerns and urged Mubarak's government to view the demonstrations “as an opportunity to engage in addressing the legitimate concerns of the people.”
Egypt's mission to the United Nations in New York expressed its annoyance with Ban's remarks, Reuters reported Friday.
Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq says opposition forces are helping Egypt "correct" its "path," CNN is reporting.
However, while some government ministers joined protesters in Tahrir Square Friday, Shafiq and others continued to express support for Mubarak.
Egypt’s Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik said he doesn’t expect President Hosni Mubarak to accept a proposal to hand over authority to Vice President Omar Suleiman.
Shafik’s remarks were broadcast Friday by Al Arabiya television.
-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Photo: Anti-government demonstrators Friday in Cairo’s Tahrir Square beat a man, bottom left, suspected of being a supporter of President Hosni Mubarak; others try to protect him. Credit: Peter Macdiarmid /Getty
The editor of the website of the Muslim Brotherhood, the lead opposition group in Egypt, told the Associated Press that policemen stormed the group's Cairo office Friday.
Abdel-Galil el-Sharnoubi told the AP that Egyptian police arrested 10 to 15 of the group's journalists.
Eyewitnesses later saw those arrested taken to the Interior Ministry, according to CNN reports.
-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Photo: Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday. Tens of thousands packed central Cairo on Friday, waving flags and singing the national anthem. Credit: Emilio Morenatti/AP
A European Union official told the Associated Press it plans to freeze the assets of 46 allies and relatives of ousted Tunisian President Zine el Abidine ben Ali and his wife.
The official said Friday the decision was reached after consultations with authorities of the new Tunisian government. She spoke on condition of anonymity with the Associated Press because of the sensitivity of the information.
European Union leaders urged dialogue and an end to violence in Egypt in a joint statement at the conclusion of a one-day summit in Brussels on Friday, ignoring calls by Britain's prime minister to take a stronger stance against a teetering regime, the Associated Press reported.
The EU has been criticized for lagging behind President Barack Obama in distancing itself from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
EU leaders called on all parties to show “restraint” and said Egypt should start its transition process “now.” The cautious statement reflected long-standing divisions in Europe over how to deal with the Middle East and autocrats in allied nations.
Across the Muslim world, worshipers and leading clerics on Friday expressed support for the uprising in Egypt.
In Malaysia's biggest city, Kuala Lumpur, hundreds marched outside the U.S. Embassy, calling on the U.S. to pressure Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately, the Associated Press reported. Protesters, including many from Malaysia's Islamic opposition party, shouted "Down, down, Mubarak."
Police used water cannons to break up the crowd and arrested several demonstrators.
Inspired by Egypt's uprising, hundreds of Jordanians on Friday staged a protest against their prime minister, installed just days earlier in response to anti-government marches, the Associated Press reported.
Friday's turnout was much smaller than previous protests against rising prices.
Jordan's King Abdullah II tried to preempt further unrest by removing his Cabinet earlier this week and installing a new prime minister, Marouf Bakhit, amid promises of political reform.
Reuters reports lots of chanting in Cairo's Tahrir Square after Friday prayers, much of it directed at embattled President Hosni Mubarak, including:
"The people want the fall of the regime"
"Leave, leave, leave"
"Join us, join us"
"We want the murderer to be tried"
"The army and people are united"
The voices of protesters and others on the ground in Egypt can be heard online, through Google's "speak to tweet" service.
Another Twitter site, Jan25 Voices, is culling reports from those on the scene and funneling them into tweets.
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-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Photo: An Egyptian boy looks around as others bow during Friday noon prayers in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Credit: EPA / Jim Hollander
The United Nations' top human rights official Friday called on Egyptian authorities to rein in security and intelligence forces she said were causing chaos, and to stop harassing journalists and activists.
Navi Pillay, speaking to Reuters at a news conference in Geneva, also said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should heed the voice of his people, many of whom have demanded that he step down immediately.
Despite violent clashes between pro-Mubarak supporters and protesters earlier this week, Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, noted that police have been noticeably absent from Cairo's Tahrir Square and that the army has failed to separate rival groups, with tragic consequences.
"One of the prime drivers of this chaos seems to have been the actions of Egypt's security and intelligence services," Pillay said. "Change is coming to Egypt, as it came to Tunisia, but the violence and bloodshed must stop now."
The U.N. estimates that 300 people have died in the unrest.
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-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske
