Malaysia: Water canon fired at Mubarak protesters

Malaysian police have fired water cannons at protesters in Kuala Lumpur who were calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

More than 1,000 people gathered outside the US Embassy in the Muslim-majority country’s biggest city today.

They called on America to put pressure on Mr Mubarak to resign immediately and prevent further violence during protests which have rocked Egypt.

Most demonstrators left within an hour, but police fired several rounds of water cannon to force the rest to disperse. Several people also were arrested.

Malaysian police regularly break up protests deemed illegal.

Protesters, including many from Malaysia’s Islamic opposition party, carried posters reading “30 years oppression” and “Freedom for Egypt” and shouted “Down, down, Mubarak.”