Presenter, Female #1
Hundreds of public sector workers responded to the Union Coordination Committee's call to participate in a demonstration that headed to the Government Palace.

Reporter, Female #2
The public sector took to the street. Its employees protested against a government whose officials are seemingly deaf. The workers' demands are not new; these same demands united them. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder with unions in a centralized demonstration launched from Barbir Square to the Government Palace. Here, in Riad el-Solh Square, security forces received military reinforcement in an attempt to prevent the voices of the workers to reach the residents of the Government Palace.

Reporter, Female #2
The main reason for this mobilization is to demand a new salary and wage scale. However, the mobilization mainly uncovered the government's policy of stalling and asking for concessions on any demand.

Guest, Male #2 (Hanna Gharib, Secondary School Teachers' Association Head)
The Union Coordination Committee will not back down on its boycott of correcting official exams, and we will not back down on taking further and stepped-up action until the pay scale has been approved by parliament as soon as possible.

Guest, Male #3 (Nehme Mahfoud, Private Schools Teachers' Association Head)
It seems they can't hear there's a thing called the Arab Spring. It seems they can't hear that after 50 years, the Arab people are rising up for their freedom. And now, some ministers want to silence us! No one can take away our sacred right to strike!

Guest, Male #3
We tell the prime minister, you told us, Mr. Prime Minister, that this will be done in June, and it wasn't. After the sub-committee's meeting, you promised us, but you did not keep your word. You promised us a third time and said, "Chairman, we will hold successive sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and this will be our priority." We cannot bear it anymore, Mr. Prime Minister. Within 10 days! Within 10 days! Either the government approves it, or let this government that rules in all of your names leave, while you tell it to leave.

Reporter, Female #2
The protest was over, and its participants left, but it does not mean the mobilization is over. Tomorrow, another day of strike was announced to advance the demands that echoed across all regions.

Pressure is mounting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as demands for his departure intensify. Self-immolation has become the latest trend in expressing frustration and anger at Netanyahu's social and economic policies. Some protestors are now questioning Zionism as a whole.

Presenter, Male #1
The Emirati security agencies launched an arrest campaign this morning targeting a number of rights activists. These arrests are part of the security agencies' persecution of members of the Reform and Social Guidance Association, which has links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and a number of reform and human rights activists.

Presenter, Male #1
For its part, the Kuwaiti online al-Shaheed newspaper said the Emirates accused 40 Kuwaitis, including 2 parliament members, politicians and academics, of involvement in what was said to be a cell that threatens the security of the country. In turn, Reporters Without Borders demanded the Emirati authorities release all activists held on charges of "opposing the constitution." The organization called for an end to recurring arrests, considering them to be a blatant violation of basic freedoms.

Reporter, Male #1
Peaceful marches were held across Bahrain to reaffirm popular demands for change, and the establishment of democratic rule in the country. In response, Saudi-backed government forces cracked down on the marches with tear gas and pellet bullets. Amnesty International called on al-Manama's authorities to release all prisoners of conscience ahead of the appeals of human rights activist Nabeel al-Rajab and nine medical workers.

Reporter, Male #2
The people of Bahrain have been holding onto their slogans since protests started on February 14, 2011. The voice of the Bahraini revolution still resounds as strongly, and the people's demands for change and democratic rule remain the same.

Reporter, Male #2
They insist on attaining their demands despite the Manama regime's use of different methods of repression and arrests. In addition, its forces have surrounded towns and villages to quell the peaceful popular marches.

Reporter, Male #2
These marches swept different parts of Bahrain, including Sitra Island, and the villages of Shahrakhan and al-Sanabis, then al-Dayr and the capital Manama. Demonstrators confirmed their loyalty to the movement's leaders that are detained in the regime's prisons.

Reporter, Male #2
In exchange, the sound of bullet shots echoed as usual. Saudi occupation-backed Bahraini forces attacked the marches with weapons and tear gas.

Reporter, Male #2
And amid the Bahraini authorities' continued human rights violations, Amnesty International called on al-Manama's authorities to release all prisoners of conscience ahead of the appeals of human rights activist Nabeel Rajab and nine medical workers. The organization said in a statement that it will consider the nine detained medical workers to be prisoners of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Program Director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui stressed that all prisoners of conscience must be set free immediately and unconditionally before the appeals take place.

Presenter, Male #1
Clashes are continuing in Aleppo and the countryside of Damascus between the regime's army and the Free Army, as Russia describes the United States' position as justifying terrorism, while Turkey partially seals its border with Syria.

Reporter, Male #2
Wide-scale violent clashes took place in the neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo between the armed opposition and regime forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the city's neighborhood of Bustan al-Qasr, and the neighborhood of Saif al-Dawla, witnessed the most violent clashes at dawn near the college of sciences, and near the immigration and passports branch, and in the neighborhood of al-Jumayliyah, near an office branch of the ruling Baath Party. And in the countryside of Aleppo, the city of al-Bab, where groups of the Free Syrian Army are stationed, was shelled by regime forces.

Reporter, Male #2
According to the Coordination Committees, the frequency of the battles remains the same in the neighborhoods of the countryside of Damascus, Idlib, and its countryside. But according to Syrian state-run TV, the regime's army was tasked with cleaning neighborhoods in the countryside of Damascus, in Basateen Daraya, and Bayader al-Nader from terrorist groups, after seizing heavy, medium, and light weapons from them.

Reporter, Male #2
On the political front, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated the importance of implementing the UN Envoy to Syria Kofi Anan's plan to settle the crisis. He described the European Union's measures, that include imposing an air and sea blockade on Syria, as counterproductive. He also announced that his country does not recognize unilateral sanctions, criticizing US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, saying that her statement implies that the United States will continue to support similar terrorist acts as long as the UN Security Council does not do what the US wants.

Guest, Male #3 (Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister)
The Western resolution at the UN Security Council included terms that are not part of the Geneva agreement. We are surprised that the West did not condemn the terrorist act at the National Security building in Damascus. The US position on Syria justifies terrorism, because those who control the Syrian border crossings are groups from al-Qaeda.

Reporter, Male #2
On the other hand, Turkey banned its citizens from entering Syria for security reasons at three crossings controlled by the Syrian opposition last week, according to official sources. The three crossings are located near the Syrian crossings of Jarablus, Bab al-Hawa, and al-Salama. Turkish official sources announced that the armed opposition damaged 30 Turkish trucks, and burned nine of them at the Bab al-Hawa crossing.

Presenter, Female #1
The newly-appointed Egyptian prime minister, Hisham Kandil, said that his new government will be a technocratic government, and that he expects to complete forming it within several days. Mohamed Morsi's decision to appoint Kandil, who was the minister of irrigation under Prime Minister Ganzouri's government, came as a surprise to observers, and set off mixed reactions on the Egyptian political street.

Reporter, Male #1
Morsi finally chose his prime minister. Hisham Kandil, who was not expected to preside over the government, graduated from the college of engineering like Morsi, and spent some time in the United States like him as well. He returned to Egypt to work at a research center, and then started working at the Ministry of Irrigation in the late 1990s. He was appointed irrigation minister last year.

Guest, Male #2 (Hisham Kandil, Egyptian Prime Minister)
First, it will be a technocratic government, and competence is the fundamental criterion. Certainly, there are many factors that we must consider, but I confirm that competence is the fundamental criterion in choosing the ministers.

Reporter, Male #1
The choice came as a surprise to most observers.

Guest, Male #3 (Gamal Abdel Gawad, Chief of the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies)
We were expecting a prime minister with an economics background, because Egypt's economic problem is greater; it is the most important problem at this time. But a prime minister that has no links to the economy was chosen. The chosen minister does not have any previous links to politics; it is not known whether he was in politics.

Reporter, Male #2
On social networking sites, comments were ignited between opponents and supporters of the decision. The opponents believe the country is currently in need of a political prime minister who is able to lead a truly national unity government. They doubted Kandil is qualified to assume this position. As for the supporters, they praised his record at the Irrigation Ministry, believing that what Egypt needs now is an efficient prime minister with no political affiliations.

Reporter, Male #2
The streets of Cairo and Giza are completely paralyzed, which is the norm at this time of day, every day. Mohamed Morsi promised to solve the problem of traffic within the first 100 days of his rule. Away from the political debate that accompanied the appointment of Hisham Kandil as prime minister, the ability of Kandil and Morsi to solve an issue like this one will be how people will judge their failure or success. Khaled Ezz al-Arab, BBC, Cairo.

In Israel, social welfare groups, opposition groups, and even coalition parties slammed the plan of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Steinitz to increase value-added tax by one percent and introduce a massive package of budget cuts that will slash the government budget by nearly one billion shekels. There will also be tax hikes on alcohol and other luxury items, as well as gasoline. Many social welfare groups claim that the tax hikes will further burden the Israeli public. Coalition members were upset that they were not consulted in advance about the plan.

The Knesset broke for its summer recess after its failure in agreeing on an alternative to the Tal Law and Kadima leaving the coalition government. The opposition is calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu to dissolve the Knesset and go to elections this November. The Knesset resumes at the end of the high holy days in October.

Presenter, Female #1
The National Medicines and Poisons Board in Sudan agreed to increase the price of locally-produced medicine by 40 percent, and between 80 to 90 percent of those imported. The drug manufacturers' association in Sudan signaled halting production in factories, which meet half of the country's demands, is a reaction to the austerity policies adopted by the government to face the effects of the recent economic crisis.

Reporter, Male #1
According to the chamber for the import of medicines, pharmaceutical companies in Sudan, lacking funds and feeling the pressure of the recent economic measures imposed by the government due to the challenging economic situation, are facing real obstacles, and are under the threat of bankruptcy. More than 200 pharmaceutical companies, and 20 factories that produce about 400 kinds of medicine and cover 50 percent of the citizens' needs, are facing the danger of bankruptcy and a complete production halt.

Guest, Male #2 (Bahaa el din Abdel Rahman, Secretary-General of the Drug Manufacturers' Association)
Foreign currency problems will affect the factories, because they will not be able to import the resources they need. If they stop production, it means that 50 percent of the medicines used by Sudanese citizens will no longer be available, and we will be forced to import them, and pay more for medicines that had been produced inside Sudan.

Reporter, Male #1
For its part, the Consumer Protection Association has alerted that the citizens' health could be jeopardized by the law of supply and demand. At the same time, it called on the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Sudan to bear what it called a "moral responsibility" in the crisis. This means it has to provide funds for pharmaceutical companies and medical importers before the matter is exacerbated, and reaches a point of no return.

Guest, Male #3
Medicine is not less important than wheat; medicine must be funded by two pounds and 70 pence, like wheat, because wheat is an optional commodity, but medicine is a mandatory commodity; it is not chosen by the consumer, it is mandated by a third party: the doctor. National industry must be subsidized; national industry is not protected or funded. The quality of the national industry is hundreds of times better than factories abroad.

Reporter, Male #1
But the central bank assures that changes in the currency rate, amid the liberalization of the economy, is considered part of commercial risks that a central bank cannot bear. Moreover, an official assured that 15 million euros will be allocated to import medicine. Experts in the country's pharmaceutical sector confirm that if the pharmaceutical factories stop producing medicine, the price of imported medicine will increase nearly threefold. This is in addition to the disappearance of 400 kinds of medicine from the market. Health-conscious citizens fear that the market's madness will impact both their health and treatments. Osama Sid Ahmed, Al Jazeera, Khartoum.

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