Before the demonstrations began, there was an uprising in Tunisia. In the weeks after that, demonstrations and riots began in Egypt. The people who started these protests hoped that people would be encouraged to mobilize (or start working together to protest) because of the Tunisian uprising. Protests happened in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Ismailiya.
On the first day of the protests, the Egyptian government censored most of the media (like newspapers and news stations) inside Egypt. The government also tried to block most social media websites, which the protesters had used to spread news about the events. On January 28, an Internet and cell phone "blackout" began across Egypt. However, before dawn the next morning, the blackout for cell phones was ended.
By January 29, about 1,000 people had been arrested. Also, at least 1,030 protestors had been hurt, and at least 53 deaths had been reported.
People demonstrated and protested about many different things. Some of these things were police brutality, state of emergency laws, not having free elections, corruption, limits on freedom of speech, high unemployment, low minimum wages, not having enough housing, food price inflation, and poor living conditions.
Mohamed ElBaradei said that one of the revolution's goals could be to force Hosni Mubarak to quit. ElBaradei was seen as someone who would probably be a leader in a new government.
Before 2011, protests were common, but they were always local; they did not spread to different parts of the country. However, on January 25, 2011, major protests and riots broke out all over the country. January 25 became the "Day of Anger". Egyptian opposition groups (groups working for change) and other activists had picked this date for a major demonstration. The 2011 protests have been called "unprecedented" for Egypt. This means that nothing like the protests had ever happened before. The protests have also been called "the largest display of popular dissatisfaction in recent memory". These were the largest demonstrations seen in Egypt since the 1977 Egyptian Bread Riots. For the first time, Egyptians from different social backgrounds, economic backgrounds, and faiths joined together to protest.
During the protests, the capitol city of Cairo was described as "a war zone". In the port city of Suez, there were many violent clashes. The Egyptian government used different methods to try to break up and limit protests. Anti-riot police groups used shields, rubber bullets, batons, water cannons, and tear gas. At times, they also used live ammunition. Most of the police response to the protests was non-lethal. However, some people were killed. The government turned off internet access and set a curfew. The government argued that they needed to make sure there was as little disruption from the protests as possible. They said this was needed to keep order and to keep Islamic fundamentalist groups from rising up.
Many people across the world became interested in the protests in Egypt. This was partly because of things like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Activists, and people interested in the protests, were able to use these social media platforms, and others. They used these platforms to talk to each other, work together, and keep records of what was happening. As the protests got more publicity, the Egyptian government tried harder to limit people's access to the Internet, especially social media.
On February 11, 2011, Mubarak resigned from the presidency. On 24 May, he was ordered to stand trial on charges of premeditated murder of peaceful protesters. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Scottish Highlands
The Scottish Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. It is the area to the north of the Highland Boundary Fault. The fault separates the hard igneous and metamorphic rocks to the north from the softer sedimentary rocks of the Scottish Lowlands in the south.
The Highlands are divided in two parts. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.
The area is generally sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis.
Before the 19th century the Highlands was home to a much larger population but, for several reasons, the area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. The average population density in the Highlands and Islands is lower than that of Sweden, Norway, Papua New Guinea and Argentina.
The reasons for the low population include the harsh nature of the land. Also, the outlawing of the traditional Highland way of life after the Jacobite Rising of 1745, the infamous Highland Clearances, and mass migration to urban areas during the Industrial Revolution all had their effects.
People from this region are traditionally called highlanders.
Like the Scottish islands, the Highlands are a stronghold of Protestant churches. There is the Kirk (the national Presbyterian Church of Scotland), but the Wee Frees (Free Church of Scotland, several versions) are the typical religion of the Highlands and Islands. Old-style observance of the Sabbath is typical of these areas.
Dick Scobee
Francis Richard "Dick" Scobee (May 19, 1939 - January 28, 1986) was an American astronaut. He was flying as the commander of Space Shuttle "Challenger" when the shuttle exploded. In the explosion, Scobee and six other astronauts were killed.
Scobee was selected for NASA's astronaut program in January 1978 and he completed his training in August 1979. In April 1984, Scobee piloted the "Challenger" mission STS-41-C, which successfully deployed one satellite and repaired another.
He was elevated to the role of spacecraft commander for the STS-51-L mission ("Challenger" mission). The mission was designed to deploy a satellite to study the approaching Halley's Comet and to inaugurate the Teacher in Space Project. It was delayed several times due to bad weather and technical glitches. When they did the mission, an O-ring seal failure destroyed the shuttle 73 seconds into the flight, killing Scobee and the other six members of the crew; the tragedy was viewed live on national television and prompted several days of national mourning.
Scobee is survived by his wife Virginia June Kent, and two children, Kathie R. (Scobee) Fulgham and Lieutenant General Richard W. Scobee, USAF.
Bay laurel
The bay laurel ("Laurus nobilis", of the Lauraceae family) is also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel lree, or simply laurel.
It is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. Bay leaves used in cooking come from the bay laurel.
Scottish Lowlands
The Scottish Lowlands is the part of Scotland not referred to as the Highlands.
That is everywhere south and east of the Highland Boundary Fault, between Stonehaven and Helensburgh (on the Firth of Clyde).
Geographically, Scotland Lowlands are divided into two distinct areas: the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands.
The southernmost counties of Scotland, nearest the border with England, are also known as the Borders.
The Central Lowlands or Midland Valley is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and the Southern Uplands Fault to the south. The Central Lowlands are one of the three main geographical sub-divisions of Scotland, the other two being the Highlands and Islands which lie to the north and west and the Southern Uplands, which lie south of the second fault line.
The Midland Valley has fertile low-lying agricultural land and significant deposits of valuable coal and iron have led to the Central Lowlands being much more densely populated than the rest of Scotland.
The major cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Dundee all lie in the Central Lowlands, and over half of Scotland's population lives in this region.