UN: 300 Killed Since Protests Began
Al Jazeera reports:
Pro-democracy protesters are continuing their sit-in in Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) Square, showing no signs of being appeased by talks held a day earlier between the government and opposition groups.
Demonstrators seeking the immediate ousting of Hosni Mubarak, the president, were still camped out in the square on Monday, while life was slowly getting back to normal in other parts of the Egyptian capital following a fortnight of turmoil.
The protesters were to be visited by Wael Ghonim, a Google executive who had played a key role in helping the demonstrations get organised, and who was released on Monday by Egyptian authorities after having disappeared on January 27, according to government reports.
A symbolic funeral procession was also held in the square for a journalist killed by a sniper during the unrest. The procession was led by the journalist's wife and daughter.
The UN says at least 300 people have been killed in the violence since the demonstrations began.
An Al Jazeera correspondent said traffic in the streets was increasing while businesses were beginning to reopen.
"There's a lot of popular public sentiments in Cairo and wider Egypt regarding what those protesters are trying to achieve but at the same time, people are trying to get back to live as normal lives as possible," he said.
"But some of the shopping malls for example are still closed because they're afraid of looting, and the banks yesterday were only open for a few hours."
Another correspondent, also in Cairo, said: "There are divisions. On one side, people do agree with the messages coming out of Tahrir Square, but on the other, Egypt is a country where about 40 per cent of the population lives on daily wages."
Tanks continue to guard government buildings, embassies and other important institutions in the capital.
The curfew in major Egyptian cities, which has largely been ignored by protesters, has now been shortened to run from 8pm to 6am local time, and the Egyptian stock market is set to reopen for trading on Sunday.
The bourse has been closed since January 27, when it plummeted 17 per cent over two days.The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority, the national financial regulator, will announce new measures affecting trading, according to a statement.
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