Egypt protests are reignited

Thousands of protesters returned to Cairo's Tahrir Square yesterday for what they termed a "second revolution", calling for Egypt's military rulers to speed up the pace of democratic reforms.

Protesters carried banners reading "the Egyptian revolution is not over" and chanted the same slogan.

The ruling military warned "dubious" elements may try to cause chaos during the protests, and said it would stay clear of the area to avoid any friction.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian Nobel Peace Prize winner and a reform leader, said he was "seriously concerned about the absence of security forces".

"I came here because I didn't feel that Egypt changed," technician Raafat Hendi said, under huge posters calling for a new constitution.