About 700 people have been arrested throughout Egypt in a crackdown against anti-government protests, security officials say.

埃及安全官员称，全国大约有700人在镇压反政府示威的行动中被逮捕。

The arrests came as police clashed with protesters in two cities following Tuesday's unprecedented¹（空前的） protests.

One protester and one policeman were killed as police broke up rallies in Cairo, and in Suez a government building was reportedly set on fire.

Public gatherings² would no longer be tolerated, the interior ministry³ said.

Anyone taking to the streets against the government would be prosecuted⁴, it added.

The BBC's John Leyne in Cairo says the authorities are responding in familiar fashion, treating a political crisis as a security threat.

Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was quoted as saying the government was committed to "freedom of expression by legitimate⁵ means", state news agency Mena reported. Police had acted with restraint（抑制，约束） , he said.

However, Washington has called on the Egyptian government to lift its ban on demonstrations⁶.

Protesters have been inspired by the recent uprising in Tunisia, vowing⁷ to stay on the streets until the government falls.

They have been using social networking sites to call for fresh demonstrations, but both Facebook and microblogging site Twitter appear to have been periodically blocked inside Egypt.

The government denied it was blocking the sites.

Cabinet spokesman Magdy Rady said it respected freedom of expression and "would not resort to such methods", Reuters news agency reported.

In other developments:
Egyptian Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid cancels his visit to the World Economic Forum⁸ in Davos, Switzerland
Activists⁹ have called on protesters to observe "Anger Friday", by going to rallies after praying in mosques¹⁰ and churches
In the northern city of Machala, police have cordoned¹² off（隔离） the headquarters of the Democratic Front opposition¹³ party, which is threatening a hunger strike
Hundreds have been arrested in Alexandria, activists say, as police prevent organised rallies

Stone-throwing

Following a "day of revolt（反抗，叛乱） " across Egypt on Tuesday, in which four people died, protesters attempted to stage new demonstrations in Cairo on Wednesday.

There were scuffles（混战，扭打） outside the journalists' union building in central Cairo as hundreds of people gathered to protest.

Police beat some with batons¹⁴ and fired tear gas when they tried to break through a cordon¹¹.

Protesters burned tyres and threw stones at police.

Reuters news agency reported more clashes outside a central court complex in the city.

Witnesses said riot police had been charging demonstrators throughout the day wherever in Cairo they happened to gather.

Doctors said a policeman and a protester were killed in the clashes, apparently¹⁵ during stone-throwing in a poor neighbourhood of the city.

However, security officials said the deaths were unrelated to the protests.

Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Suez, protesters threw petrol bombs at a government building, setting parts of it on fire, witnesses said.

The headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party in the city was also attacked.

Earlier, protests were held outside the morgue where the body of a victim of Tuesday's protests was being kept. At least 55 people were injured in the city.

One of Tuesday's demonstrators, Mostapha al-Shafey, told the BBC he planned to join protests again on Wednesday.

"I want to see an end to this dictatorship（专政，独裁） . Thirty years of Mubarak is enough. We've had enough of the state of emergency. Prices are going up and up," he said.

Demonstrations are illegal in Egypt, which has been ruled by President Mubarak since 1981. The government tolerates little dissent¹⁶（异议） and opposition demonstrations are routinely outlawed¹⁷.