Gunmen shoot birdshot at Egypt protesters; 15 hurt

CAIRO: A dozen masked attackers fired birdshot late Saturday at protesters who have camped outside Egypt's presidential palace in Cairo for the past month, wounding several along with security forces standing watch nearby, witnesses said. It was the latest in a series of shootings of protesters in Egypt.
Paramedic Mohammed Sultan put the total number of wounded in the attack at 15, including nine members of the security forces and six protesters.
The witnesses said attackers also threw Molotov cocktails at protesters' tents, setting some on fire. Footage on Egyptian TV stations showed more people coming to join the protests.
The sit-in was started Dec. 4 by opponents of President Muhammad Mursi. They are demanding the annulment of Egypt's new constitution. The document deeply polarized Egyptians but passed by a 64 percent "yes" vote in a referendum in which around 33 percent of voters participated. Critics called the process flawed.
The political conflict has been accompanied by street violence. At least 10 people died in clashes outside the palace on Dec. 5 that broke out when supporters of Mursi attacked the sit-in. Some were reportedly killed by gunfire.
On Dec. 31, gunmen shot and critically wounded a well-known activist at the site of another sit-in in downtown Cairo's Tahrir square. Police said they arrested a cafe owner who told them that he fired on the square after people manning makeshift checkpoints there searched his car and shot at him.
The current attack comes two weeks before the anniversary of the Jan. 25 start of the 2011 uprising that overthrew Mubarak. Activists opposed to Mursi are expected to organize large protests that day.
The court ruled that the program "In The Scale" be suspended for 30 days following a lawsuit by Elham Chahine. A widely circulated video clip shows the program's host, Abdullah Badr, accusing Chahine of practicing "prostitution" and "teaching Egyptians how to strip naked, make love and commit adultery."
"Go ask God for forgiveness for your scandals," he says in the August interview. Chahine's lawyer said in court that the actress had been exposed to "insults, cursing and humiliation."
FROM: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS