MICHELE NORRIS, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And I'm Melissa Block.
In Egypt, two people were reportedly killed today during demonstrations: a protester and a police officer. It was the second day of protests against President Hosni Mubarak in defiance of a government ban. Neither side appears to be heeding U.S. appeals for calm - and we'll hear more about that American response in a few minutes.
NORRIS: Police charged crowds with batons and fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse them. Protesters responded by hurling stones and burning tires.
NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson witnessed one of the impromptu demonstrations in Cairo.
Unidentified Group: (Speaking foreign language)
SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON: Protesters chant from the rooftop of Cairo's Bar Association, shaking their fists at heavily armed police officers circling below. The protesters also call out to passersby across the street. They urge them to join in the quest for political freedom and an end to Mubarak's 30-year rule.
(Soundbite of whistling)
NELSON: Protesters cheer when dozens of people cross the street to join them. The newcomers surge past the security cordon and flood the sidewalk in front of the building.
Unidentified Group: (Speaking foreign language)
NELSON: That's when the police make their move. First, a plainclothes agent tries forcing the NPR team to leave.
Unidentified Man #1: (Foreign language spoken).
NELSON: What are you hiding?
Unidentified Man #1: (foreign language spoken)
NELSON: He says it's (foreign language spoken) or forbidden to be here.
Why is it (foreign language spoken)? I have (unintelligible).
Unidentified Man #1: (Foreign language spoken)
NELSON: Saying a journalist should report on what is happening has no effect, says translator Nagua Hasan(ph).
Ms. NAGUA HASAN (Translator): He's saying, please leave or else I have to take another precaution. I can take away her recorder.
(Soundbite of siren)
NELSON: Soon, it's clear what the police don't want anyone to see: officers in an armored truck drive at the protesters on the sidewalk.
(Soundbite of gunfire)
Unidentified Man #2: (Foreign language spoken)
NELSON: From the other direction, officers fire teargas into the crowd. The attack sends everyone on the street fleeing. Hot on their heels are dozens of riot policemen who wildly swing their batons.
Unidentified Man #3: (Foreign language spoken)
NELSON: The fate of the people on top of the roof is unclear, so is the fate of hundreds of other protesters detained since Tuesday.
(Soundbite of crowd)
NELSON: At a nearby office, dozens of volunteer lawyers work around the clock to find out where the detainees are being held.
(Soundbite of crowd)
NELSON: Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Cairo.