Mubarak denies abuse of power

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, in his first speech since his resignation two months ago, denies that he abused his authority to amass wealth and property.

In a speech broadcast on the pan-Arab news channel Al Arabiya on Sunday, Mubarak said he is willing to co-operate in any investigation to prove that he did not own any property abroad or have foreign bank accounts.

The news channel says the speech was recorded on Saturday as demonstrators gathered in Cairo for a second day to demand the country's ruling military council launch an investigation into Mubarak's wealth.

In his statement, Mubarak says he is "pained" that he and his family are facing "fraudulent campaigns and unfounded allegations."

Shortly after thespeech was aired, Egypt's prosecutor general told state TV he issued orderssummoning the ex-president and his two sons for questioning. The station quoted a prosecution spokesman as saying the scope of the investigationwould include the crackdown on protesters that killed an estimated 300 people as well as the corruption allegations.

The prosecutor generalalso detained former prime minister Ahmed Nazif for 15 days as part of the probe.

The announcement follows three days of protests which saw demonstrators denouncethe ruling military's council's failure to prosecute Mubarak for corruption and abuse of power.

Hundreds of people camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square following pre-dawn clashes with the army on Saturday, violence which left at least one person dead and dozens injured.

The square remained ringed with barbed wire and closed to traffic as more than 1,000 protesters gathered there on Sunday.

While the army hasn't moved in on them, it has threatened to use force to clear them away, saying it wants to allow a return to normal life.

Saturday's death was the first in the square since it became the scene of 18 days of protests that triggeredMubarak's resignation as president on Feb. 11.

Protesters are also calling for the removal of the head of the Surpeme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawai, likening him to Mubarak.

In a move seen as a concession to protesters, Egypt's interim military government on Saturday said it would remove some provincial governors appointed by the deposed president.