Protesting against new protest laws in Cairo

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STORY: Hundreds of protesters opposed to a recent government law to curb demonstrations in Egypt took to the streets of downtown Cairo on Wednesday.

The new law restricting protests has angered some Egyptians and drawn fire from human rights groups who described it as a blow to freedom in the most populous Arab country.

Scuffles broke out on Wednesday between protesters and security forces in the northern port city of Alexandria during a demonstration against the new law and against the arrest of 24 activists on Tuesday, the state news agency MENA said.

Rocks were thrown back and forth and security forces used teargas to try and disperse the crowd, it said.

Meanwhile, the government has shown no signs of caving in to the growing pressure to scrap the anti-protest law.