It is the latest in a series of blows to progress that would ideally see a united opposition presence attending international peace talks.
"The prosecution of journalists for reporting information that does not coincide with the government of Egypt's narrative flouts the most basic standards of media freedom and represents a blow to democratic progress in Egypt".
"The prosecution of journalists for reporting information that does not coincide with the government of Egypt's narrative flouts the most basic standards of media freedom and represents a blow to democratic progress in Egypt," said Barack Obama's press spokesman, Josh Earnest.
The White House said that jailing journalists because their reporting did not fit the government "narrative" was "a blow to democratic progress in Egypt".
Failure to beat North Korea - the lowest ranked team in the tournament - would have been a big blow to Uzbekistan's chances of progressing from the tightly contested Group B, which also includes China and Saudi Arabia.
Rooney's absence would be a big blow to United's hopes of progressing.
Britain's representation in the second round at Wimbledon suffered a triple blow as Anne Keothavong, James Ward and Elena Baltacha failed to progress.
The breakdown in talks in August dealt a blow to Mr. Pastrana's hopes of progress toward peace before his four-year term expires in August.
But the fatal airstrike on Nov. 26 erased that preliminary progress, dealing the most serious blow to reconciliation talks involving Pakistan.
The lack of progress would appear to be a blow to chief executive Neil Doncaster who has previously said that rejecting change would be detrimental to the sport in this country.
