Egypt’s Health Ministry says 365 killed in unrest

CAIRO – At least 365 people died in the 18 days of anti-government protests that pushed out longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, the Health Ministry said Wednesday in the first official accounting of the death toll.

Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid said it was only a preliminary count of civilians killed, and did not include police or prisoners. And while Mubarak is gone, frustration with the quality of life from working conditions to environmental concerns kept demonstrators in the streets as the economy falters.

Airport employees protested for better pay Wednesday, textile workers went on strike to demand a corruption investigation and residents of a Suez Canal city pressed for closing a chemical factory they say is dumping toxic waste into a lake.

The ruling military council issued its second statement in three days calling for an immediate halt to all labor actions. The new warning raised expectations of an outright ban on protests and strikes that could easily raise the tension level between authorities and the protest movement.