Protests in Egypt - live updates | World news | guardian.co.uk

Egyptian demonstrators amassed in central Cairo last night, with reports suggesting many are preparing to return to the streets today. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

11.57am: Some fascinating comments on Egypt from Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to Britain and the United States. Remember Saudi took in Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali when he fled and many Egyptians hope that Mubarak will follow him there (see 11.36am). Faisal, from a country that is not exactly a shining example of democracy itself, does not appear to show much support for Mubarak, suggesting it is for the Egyptian leader to submit to the will of the people. He told Reuters Insider television:

In Egypt, I really can't say where this is going to go. Whether they can catch up as leaders to what the population is aiming (for) is still to be seen.

He added:

I think developments in Tunis took everybody by surprise. Each country has its own criteria and its own dynamics. I think we will have to wait a day or two until things clear up to wait and see how these demonstrations (in Egypt) are going to go.

11.45am: Reuters reports the start of small-scale protests today:

Dozens of Egyptian protesters gathered in central Cairo on Wednesday, a day after unprecedented demonstrations that called for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30 years in office, a security source said.
The source said protesters gathered outside a court complex in the centre of the capital, a place where some of Tuesday's protests also began. Security remains tight across the city and the Interior Ministry said it would not let protests resume.

11.36am: A good cartoon of Mubarak has been created by Carlos Latuff.

Get out Mubarak! Saudi Arabia is waiting for you. Cartoonist: carlos.latuff@gmail.com

11.13am: Professor Juan Cole, an expert on US and Middle East politics from the University of Michigan has blogged on the significance of yesterday's protests and says the reaction of the military in Egypt is crucial, and could be very different than in Tunisia:

One question is whether these demonstrations are food riots as in 1977 or whether now they want more, i.e. political reform. (Political reformers certainly backed the protests, but these groups, such as al-Ghad (Tomorrow) and supporters of former IAEA head Muhammad Elbaradei, are small and previous calls by them for masses to come out have gone largely unheeded. The Muslim Brotherhood did not actively back the demonstrations, though it allowed individual members to participate. These crowds were mainly newbies without strong political affiliation).
A second is whether the army and security forces will stand unified behind the Mubarak regime, as they have in the past. In Tunisia, the army refused to fire on demonstrators on behalf of Ben Ali. But Mubarak is a former air force general, who came out of the military to rule the country, as part of a military regime established in 1952. A caution: Egypt is not Tunisia.

11.05am: Details from Twitter of more people planning to defy the orders by the Egyptian interior ministry not to protest.

@draddee

It's 12.31 Cairo time, rn. University protests are planned for 2 pm. Not till then will we be able to see how this day will develop. #jan25

@Farrah3m

Everyone: there will be a protest in 6th of October city at 2 pm in Medan Alhasry intersection #jan25 #egypt

10.51am: This video shows amazing footage from yesterday of a Tiananmen Square-style protest, a solitary man in Egypt blocking the path of a police lorry spraying water cannon. It's one of the most powerful images I've seen so far of yesterday's protests.

10.41am: An update from Jack Shenker, the Guardian's man in Cairo who was in the middle of yesterday's demonstrations:

Protesters are calling for a return to Tahrir this afternoon, where very strong security is in place ready to shut down any sign of protest. There's a massive police presence on the streets throughout the city, and reports of small groups of young men being rounded up by state security officers at random locations across downtown. Twitter remains blocked for most people - the restriction has been confirmed by Twitter itself - and phone and internet services are still intermittent, although my home net seems to be working fine at the moment. The Egyptian authorities have put out statements blaming the Muslim Brotherhood for last night's unrest, and claim they allowed Egyptians "to voice their demands and exercise their freedom of expression". All protests today are officially banned. The stock market has taken a huge tumble - 21 billion Egyptian pounds (£0.2bn) within the first 15 minutes of trading.

10.21am: The Arabist reports that the Egyptian opposition has made its first move amid the wave of opposition to Mubarak:

Above is a picture of al-Sayed Badawi, the president of the Wafd party (the most established of Egypt's legal opposition parties) appearing on al-Jazeera and making the following demands:
1. A new national unity government
2. The dissolution of parliament
3. New elections under a proportional representation system
My gut reaction: this is either a significant break with the Wafd's behavior for over 30 years, or he is making this announcement on behalf of the regime. Why the conspiracy theory? Because he doesn't mention the question of the presidency, a chief demand of the protestors. Perhaps he should be given the benefit of the doubt.
Meanwhile, the National Association for Change has made its own demands, including asking Mubarak to step down and Gamal to be disqualified from the presidency, as well as the dissolution of the parliament. Other groups have other demands, including a new minimum wage and the firing of the interior minister.
These people should be coordinating — and remember they are not the ones who protested tonight.

10.17am: Reuters says a fourth person has died as result of yesterday's protests. There were reports elsewhere earlier that four people had died but other news organisations referred to three deaths. Reuters writes:

A fourth Egyptian died in hospital on Wednesday as a result of protests the previous day that were staged to call for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, a medical source said.
Gharib Abdelaziz Abdellatif, 45, died in Suez, east of Cairo, the source said. Two other protesters died in Suez on Tuesday due to rubber bullets. A police officer was killed on Tuesday in Cairo as a result of a stone hitting his head

10.09am: The Daily News Egypt has dramatic video showing the police crackdown on protesters last night. Tear gas cannisters can be seen and heard being fired. Police officers can be seen hitting demonstrators with batons and in footage. starting at 2m 6s, they can be seen dragging a man along the ground and then kicking him.

9.58am: Egypt's interior ministry has warned of zero tolerance for protests today. From the Associated Press:

Riot police deployed across the Egyptian capital on Wednesday in anticipation of fresh anti-government protests a day after thousands demonstrated nationwide to demand an end to President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian rule of nearly 30 years.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that police would not tolerate any gatherings, marches or protests Wednesday, suggesting that security forces would immediately resort to force to at the first sign of protesters gathering.
Thousands of policemen in riot gear and backed by armored vehicles could be seen on bridges across the Nile, at major intersections and squares as well as outside key installations like the state TV building and the headquarters of Mubarak's ruling National democratic Party in central Cairo.

9.48am: As the Egyptian stock market plummets (see 9.42am), so does the country's currency. From Reuters:

Egypt's pound fell on Wednesday to its lowest level against the US dollar since January 2005 after the biggest anti-government protests of President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.
The pound fell as low as 5.830 against the US currency after closing at 5.816 on Monday before the protests in Cairo and several other cities across the country.
"At the opening there was exaggerated buying of the dollar based on yesterday's protest," said a Cairo-based trader who asked not to be named. "But that's only in the beginning. I think people now are calmer."
Cairo's streets returned to normal on Wednesday after unprecedented demonstrations demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, as protest leaders asked followers to regroup for a second day of action.
The benchmark Egyptian stock index (.EGX30) saw its biggest drop since last May.
"The Egyptian pound is at the mercy of the news for now and it's only chance to strengthen is if the euro continues to stay at a high level," said another Cairo trader.

9.42am: Egypt's stock market is tumbling in the midst of the protests. From the Associated Press:

Egypt's stock market has tumbled over 4% a day after massive anti-government protests engulfed the capital and other cities, leaving three people dead.
The benchmark EGX30 index was down 4.63 percent, to 6,411.94 points by 10.45 am local time Tuesday. Its year-to-date losses stand so far at over 10%.

9.33am: There was anger yesterday at US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's pronouncement that "the Egyptian Government is stable and is looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people".
That anger could be amplified by the fact that US president Barack Obama did not refer to the protests in Egypt, a US ally, in his state of the union address last night, while expressing solidarity with the Tunisian people, although he did express general support for democracy. He said:

Tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people.

9.25am: There are unconfirmed reports that President Hosni Mubarak's son, Gamal, fled to London yesterday with his wife and daughter. Gamal was considered to be the president's choice as his successor. The Times of India carries the story, based on a report on the US-based Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab.

9.16am:
From what's coming out of Twitter from people who were out on the streets yesterday, it seems likely protests will restart in the afternoon. It's currently 11.16am in Egypt.

@ManarMohsen

There will be a march from Medan El Sa3a, Nasr City, to Medan El Tahrir starting at 12:00PM. #Jan25 #Egypt http://on.fb.me/ieynqh

@sandmonkey

Expect protests not to occure b4 afternoon, and definite ones om friday after prayers. #jan25

Also from @sandmonkey

Downtown is empty of protesters, but I counted 20 CS trucks next to omar makram. #jan25

9.03am: Gordon Reynolds has written an incredibly powerful first-person account of yesterday's protests. In this segment he describes the scene in Tahrir Square:

On the south end of the square, a military tank rolled into the crowd. At the top of the tank an officer manned a fire hose that hammered down onto the protesters. But no one moved.
The fire tank had not advanced more than 30 yards before a young Egyptian sprinted up the front of the vehicle and scaled up the side. He proceeded to climb up to the top of the tank, inciting ovations from the crowd. When he reached the top of the tank, the officer manning the hose dropped the nozzle and jumped on the back of the protester. The two men toppled off the vehicle and onto the ground, where the man was taken away by other officers.
The moment they fell to the ground, the front 200 protesters dropped to their knees in unison and began to pray while the rest of the crowd looked into the faces of Egyptians staring at the scene from high above in their apartment windows. "Who will be the next hero?" they chanted as they looked up. Then they burst into a new chant: "Come join us, come join us!"

8.38am: This video gives a sense of the incredible scenes in Tahrir Square last night before police violently dispersed the crowds.

8.23am: Egyptian protesters who took to the streets in their tens of thousands to demand an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule are regrouping and preparing for fresh demonstrations.
Violent clashes in the early hours of the morning in Cairo's central plaza, Tahrir Square, and reports suggest four people died in yesterday's protests, but opponents to the Mubarak regime appear undeterred.
It remains unclear as to how the scale of the protests will compare to yesterday (which was a national holiday) but the mood last night was defiant. Protesters had vowed to occupy Tahrir Square until the regime fell but were dispersed by security forces using tear gas, water cannon and firing on demonstrators, according to eyewitness accounts. Security forces have said they will not permit protesters to reassemble today.

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