Mubarak urges quake victims not to protest

Cairo (Reuter) - President Hosni Mubarak warned earthquake victims yesterday against street protests, saying 'loud voices' would not influence government relief operations. Speaking after protests by homeless people boiled over into a riot in Cairo on Saturday night, Mr Mubarak said everyone would receive shelter but the process could take four to six weeks. 'We should be patient,' he told reporters. 'Marches and loud voices will not prevent us from proceeding along the road drawn by the state to solve the problem.'

But people queuing outside government offices in search of assistance after last Monday's earthquake, which killed 541 people and left thousands homeless, said the government was ignoring them. Others accused officials of neglecting them because they were poor. 'We would like the President to come down on the streets,' said Ahmed Salim, a father of six.

Riot police kept watch at Cairo flashpoints after the street protests on Saturday, in which police said about 50 people had been arrested.