Dubai: Egypt's new cabinet on Monday announced a 15 per cent raise in the salaries of government employees in an attempt to defuse anger against President Hosni Mubarak.
Wael Ghonim, Google's head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, was also released on Monday. These moves follow earlier promises to investigate election fraud and official corruption.
Ghonim, a resident of Dubai, was arrested on January 28 in Tahrir Square after he joined the protests.
"They let him out. He's on his way to Tahrir Square," a security source told AFP.
In pictures: Protests in Egypt
Finance Minister Samir Radwan said that starting April some $960 million will be allocated to cover the salary and pension increases of government employees, a move that will benefit six million people.
The state-run news agency also said Mubarak ordered parliament and its highest appellate court to re-examine lower-court rulings disqualifying hundreds of ruling party lawmakers for campaign and ballot irregularities, that were ignored by electoral officials.
Judicial officials also promised to start the questioning of three former ministers and a senior ruling party official accused of corruption.
These overtures have so far done little to persuade the tens of thousands occupying Tahrir Square to end their two-week protest, leaving the two sides in an uneasy stalemate.
The Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile, said it will reconsider continuing talks with the government if opposition calls for Mubarak to go and other demands were not met.
In Washington, US President Barack Obama refused to predict whether Mubarak would step down early.
"Only he knows what he's going to do," Obama said on Sunday. "The US can't forcefully dictate, but what we can do is say the time is now for you to start making a change in your country. Mubarak has already decided he's not going to run again."
Meanwhile, the chief investigator into the gas terminal explosion in the Sinai Peninsula said it was caused by four masked gunmen. Judge Abdul Nasser Al Tayeb said that the terminal's guards testified that the men set off the explosives by remote control.
