Egyptian security forces have arrested eight local journalists who participated in an anti-government protest across from the Egyptian Press Association building in Cairo. The Al Jazeera network reported that the security forces have reinforced their deployment throughout the city. 
 
 The Egyptian Interior Ministry earlier announced that it would not allow protests to be held Tuesday. And yet, the network has reported that the protests continue in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. (Roee Nahmias) ||||| By Tom Pfeiffer and Shaimaa Fayed 
 
 CAIRO (Reuters) - Until this month, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could take for granted that 30 years' hold on power would be extended without fuss when he or a chosen successor, perhaps his son, was easily re-elected in September. 
 
 But Tunisia's popular uprising and now two days of Egyptian copycat protests have torn up the well-worn script. 
 
 The sudden outbreak of demonstrations across Egypt by mostly young people trying to repeat Tunisia's overthrow of its president have tested the powerful security forces in a country that is a political bellwether for the Arab world. 
 
 Suddenly a decades-old emergency law is no longer snuffing out street protests. 
 
 And Internet activism is no longer the hobby of a chattering class that timidly criticises the state in private, but a vehicle that has mobilised thousands to coordinated protests in cities across Egypt. 
 
 Any sign that labour union demands for cheaper food and higher wages are combining with middle-class calls for greater democracy may indeed test the credentials of the 82-year-old Mubarak as the man to hold Egypt together for six more years, or to usher in a successor in the shape of his son Gamal. 
 
 "Mubarak never experienced this level of public anger and such a rejection of his legitimacy in 30 years of power," said political analyst Issandr El Amrani. "This looks quite bad for him." 
 
 Father and son both deny that Gamal is being groomed for the job, but the Egyptian street does not believe them. Continued... ||||| Facebook is aware of reports of disruption to its service in Egypt but said it had not seen any major changes in traffic from the Middle Eastern country. 
 
 Egyptians had complained Facebook and Twitter and other sites were being blocked and mobile networks disrupted. Egypt's government denied social media websites were disrupted, saying it respected freedom of expression. 
 
 "Having looked into it, we are aware of reports of disruption to service but have not seen any major changes in traffic from Egypt," a London spokeswoman for Facebook said in a statement. 
 
 Facebook has been a key means of communication for protesters. 
 
 Twitter also confirmed on Tuesday the Internet messaging and communications site had been blocked in Egypt, where thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. 
 
 "We believe that the open exchange of info & views benefits societies & helps govts better connect w/ their people," the company wrote in a message, or tweet, as it confirmed the blocking of its service.
– Egypt banned all protest gatherings today, warning that any protesters in the street would face “immediate” arrests. But thousands took to the streets anyway, according to Reuters. By early this morning, police had used tear gas and rubber bullets to drive protesters out of a major Cairo square where they congregated yesterday, but there have been reports of smaller protests throughout the city, according to the New York Times. As many as 3,000 people gathered outside Cairo’s court complex, only to be driven out by police riot trucks. Hundreds more gathered outside a morgue in Suez, demanding the release of the three people killed yesterday. At the Egyptian Press Association, police beat back hundreds of protesters with batons, arresting eight local journalists, according to YNet News. Social media sites continue to buzz with calls for protest, but Twitter has confirmed that it’s blocked in the country, and Facebook appears to be partially blocked as well, according to the AP.