New clashes between police and protesters in Egypt

Fresh clashes erupted between protesters and police in the Egyptian capital on Friday as anger mounted over football-related clashes that have left 74 people dead,media reported.

Riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators, who hurled rocks back, near the headquarters of the interior ministry, after a night of confrontations that left hundreds injured.

The interior ministry said the injury toll since Thursday had reached 1,482 while one pro-democracy group, the Coalition of Maspero Youth, said one of its members had lost an eye during the clashes.

Masked protesters cut through barbed wire and lit fires on Mansur Street which leads to the interior ministry, as rocks flew overhead in all directions.

In nearby Tahrir Square, hundreds gathered for noon prayers, waving flags and chanting slogans against the ruling military council that took power when veteran president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February last year.

After the prayers, marchers set off from mosques around the capital headed to parliament, a few blocks away from the square.