Egyptian government cracks down further on journalists

Fire and looting have broken out against several buildings around Cairo in new fighting following a day of clashes in central Cairo between anti-government protesters and regime backers. Toronto Star image.

Find live updates, tweets and photos and excerpts about the Egyptian uprising on the Toronto Star online; the Star's Sandro Contenta and Jayme Poisson are live in Cairo. You may need to visit the page tomorrow to start the live updates again, as the link changes.

Two dozen journalist unaccounted for, arrested, attacked in #egypt on thursday #jan25 #tahrir

by AymanM via twitter at 1:33 PM

BBC correspondent Lyse Doucet has tweeted:

"Egypt State TV Anchor Shahira Amin said she took ''spur of moment " decision to resign. Went to Tahrir Square instead #Jan25 #Egypt"

by Toronto Star edited by Toronto Star at 1:30 PM

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch told the paper:

"Egyptian authorities should immediately and safely release our colleague and the other human rights monitors detained today. The authorities should immediately halt the arrest and harassment of independent witnesses to the orchestrated attacks on peaceful demonstrators in Egypt."

by Toronto Star at 12:53 PM

At least 10 dead in violent clashes in Tahrir Square by Maggie Michael. excerpt:

"The government increasingly spread an image that foreigners were fuelling the turmoil and supporting the tens of thousands in the street who for more than 10 days have demanded the immediate ouster of Mubarak, this country’s unquestioned ruler for nearly three decades.

“When there are demonstrations of this size, there will be foreigners who come and take advantage and they have an agenda to raise the energy of the protesters,” Vice-President Omar Suleiman said in an interview on state TV.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley condemned what he called “a concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists in Cairo.”

Pro-government mobs beat foreign journalists with sticks on the streets outside downtown Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the protests. Dozens of journalists, including ones from The Washington Post and The New York Times, were reported detained by security forces. One Greek print journalist was stabbed in the leg with a screwdriver, and a photographer was punched in the face by attackers who smashed some of his equipment. The Arabic news network Al-Arabiya pleaded on an urgent news scroll for the army to protect its offices and journalists, and Al Jazeera said two of its correspondents were attacked.

Human rights activists were also targeted. Military police stormed the offices of an Egyptian rights groups as activists were meeting and arrested at least five, including one from the London-based Amnesty International and another from New York-based Human Rights Watch, the groups said."