February 14, 2011 8:52 PM

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Egypt army delivers ultimatum to Tahrir protesters

In Egypt, thousands of state employees, from ambulance drivers to policemen and transport workers, protested today in Cairo to demand better pay and conditions.Meanwhile, a number of remaining pro-democracy demonstrators at Tahrir square have been reported to have left after military delivered an ultimatum to leave the square or face arrest.Protest leaders say Egyptians will demonstrate again if their demands for radical change are not met. The organisers of protests have called for a march of victory across Egypt on Friday.Yesterday, higher military council dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution. In a statement on state TV, the spokesperson of the council announced that it has set an approximate six-month timetable for democratic elections that would bring a new civilian government to power.It also announced that a new constitution would be drawn up subjected to a referendum. Earlier, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq said that the present cabinet will stay and caretaker government's priority now is restoring security.The life in the country is fast returning to normal. A bank holiday has been declared today after workers disrupted operations at the country's main state banks. Schools, colleges will open on 20th February.Meanwhile official al Ahram media quoting informed sources reported that former president Hosni Mubarak is suffering with critical health problems after stepping down. It adds that Mubarak is still in Sharm El-Sheikh under medical care. It has not been decided yet whether he will be hospitalised. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass has announced that three valuable items have been recovered after searching the Egyptian museum and its grounds.He announced today that an inventory carried out by the site inspectors revealed that there were eight amulets that have been missing since the recent break-in. He informed that Initial investigations suggested that 70 objects were unaccounted for since the break-in at the museum on 28th January. But a comprehensive inventory of the museum’s collection revealed that only eight items were missing and three of them have now been found.

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