Egypt braces for further day of protests

Authorities in Egypt are bracing for the possibility of further protests, following two days of unrest that have left at least four people dead.

Egypt braces for further day of protests

On Wednesday night, activists remained on the streets of the capital Cairo and of Suez, defying official warnings.
The government has said all the protests are illegal and has launched a crackdown, arresting some 700 people.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Egypt to "respond to the legitimate needs" of the people.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that while the protesters are still only a minority of Egyptians, they show no sign of fading away and there is a chance that many more people will join once the working week finishes on Thursday.
The government appears to have no answer to the anger and disappointment being expressed on the streets, our correspondent adds - its only response so far has been to crack down on demonstrators and increase security.

'We won't stop'
The unrest began on Tuesday in what anti-government activists called a "day of revolt", inspired by the uprising in Tunisia which ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
On Wednesday, they staged fresh demonstrations in central Cairo, despite official warnings that anyone taking to the streets would be prosecuted.

"We've started and we won't stop," one demonstrator told the AFP news agency.
Protesters burned tyres and threw stones at police and there were scuffles outside the journalists' union building, where hundreds had gathered.
Police beat some protesters with batons and fired tear gas when they tried to break through a cordon.
In addition to the four dead, a policeman and a protester were reported killed in Cairo late on Wednesday, although the authorities said this was not related to the demonstrations.
In the eastern city of Suez, at least 55 people were injured.


The protests in Cairo continued late into the early hours of Thursday morning - small groups were reported to be breaking off from the main demonstrations, throwing stones at police who responded with tear gas.
About 700 people have been arrested across the country as the authorities have sought to rein in the unrest.
The Associated Press news agency says at least eight journalists are among those detained, including an AP cameraman and his assistant.
The agency says one of its photographers had his cheekbone fractured by a policeman while taking photos of a protest in Cairo on Wednesday.