BBC News - Egypt unrest

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1. BREAKING NEWS: Vice-President Suleiman: Mubarak stepping down.
2. 1604: The vice-president made a very brief televised statement. He said Mr Mubarak was stepping down for the benefit of the republic.
3. 1558: Zain Zeitgeist tweets: "I wasn't very hopeful last night, but tonight I am! I can smell victory, Insha Allah. Keep up the pressure! They will crumble! #Jan25 #egypt"
4. 1551: Paul Danahar has also been testing the atmosphere at other protest sites: "Tahrir has the feel of a carnival but at the TV station the atmosphere is much more like a demonstration. It's much closer to the mood in Tahrir Square a week ago when it was mainly angry young men," he says.
5. 1549: The BBC's Paul Danahar sends this from Cairo: "Thousands of people are chanting outside the parliament: 'This corrupt government must go.' What's interesting is the lack of security on the main gate. This crowd is big enough to scale the gates and break in if they wanted, but they are being trusted."
6. 1542: The BBC's Tim Whewell in Cairo tweets: "#Egypt Traffic congested at the palace. A sea of flags and protesters."
7. 1541: The editor of the New Yorker, David Remnick, has posted his reflections on Mr Mubarak's speech yesterday. The Egyptian president "used every means of rhetorical deflection to delay his inevitable end," he writes.
8. 1540: Amid the unfolding drama in Egypt and the proliferation of tweeting, live blogging and 24-hour news coverage, the New York Times has an interesting take on the new media reality, from Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel: "Because of technology, and because of the progress made in technology, especially in the field of communication, no one has any excuse anymore to say: 'I don't know; I didn't know; I wasn't aware."'
9. 1526: BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the senior ranks of the military will have a real dilemma about how to react to the continuing protests. He also notes that there are thousands of people across Egypt whose careers and livelihoods depend on the president, and it's likely that there are people advising him that he can tough it out.
10. 1523: Another tweet from the BBC's Tim Whewell in Cairo: "Huge crowds on the flyovers. No stones or petrol bombs. What a difference to the fear of last week".
11. 1522: The BBC's Tim Whewell in Cairo tweets: "Surrounded by protestors near Tahrir, all chanting "Not enough". They still want the president to go. On my way to presidential palace"
12. 1513: More on the helicopters and the presidential palace: Wael Khairy tweets: "Two helicoters departed from the presidential palace. Crowd erupts with loud chants: "LEAVE! LEAVE LEAVE!" #Egypt"
13. 1511: Mr Badrawi was one of the senior officials who suggested on Thursday that Mr Mubarak was about to stand down, only to be proved wrong later in the day.
14. 1508: In an interview with BBC Arabic, NDP Secretary General Hossam Badrawi says: "I will announce my resignation in the coming hours."
15. 1504: Reuters are also now reporting violence in Sinai town of El Arish after about 1,000 protesters attacked a police station, burning vehicles and throwing petrol bombs.
16. 1502: Following those reports that Mr Mubarak has left Cairo, Reuters cites witnesses saying that at least two helicopters have taken off from the presidential palace.
17. 1458: AFP reports exchanges of gunfire between police and hundreds of protesters in the north Sinai town of El Arish. The report cites witnesses as saying several people were injured.
18. 1457: A protester in Tahrir Square tells the BBC's Lyse Doucet: "Neither the president or vice-president know how to send an SMS. They don't use e-mail. They speak a different language from us."
19. 1453: Lakhdar Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and senior UN envoy, tells the BBC that what's happening in Egypt and the region will change people's attitudes to the "non-existent" Middle East peace process, a problem he says has been "neglected" for too long.
20. 1452: Omar Ashour, a Middle East specialist at the University of Exeter, tells the BBC World Service: "If you compare President Mubarak to King Farouk [the penultimate King of Egypt], King Farouk looks like a Mother Theresa type. But even King Farouk didn't leave until the army chief told him to go. Mubarak is much worse, and he has the tendency to create a violent situation as we saw in the last few days. So without a push from the army I don't think he will be leaving on his own."
21. 1441: Professor Maged Boutros, a senior member of the ruling NDP party, has told the BBC World Service that President Mubarak is "like a figurehead now. He has delegated all power to his vice-president."
22. 1438: The BBC's Frank Gardner on Mr Mubarak's reported departure from the capital: "Key question: On what basis? As a staging post before leaving Egypt altogether or waiting to return to Cairo in the hope protesters disperse?"
23. 1432: "Important" statement from the presidency expected shortly, state TV reports.
24. 1431: Many different sources now concur that Mr Mubarak has gone to Sharm el-Sheikh.
25. 1428: Google executive and prominent opposition figure Wael Ghonim has given Al Arabiya a response to today's army statement. "Owing to the lack of trust between the people and the current regime, we demand from [the army], as a national institution that is respected and appreciated by Egyptians, to be the guarantor of popular demands. With clarity of vision, clear details and a set timetable. First of all [you must] guarantee the seriousness of the honorary stepping down of President Mubarak for good, for good, for good."
26. 1414: The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Cairo tweets: "Tahrir flags, hats, wigs, key chains...as protest grows, so does memorabilia machine #jan25 #egypt"
27. 1355: The BBC's Magdi Abdelhadi says: "If President Mubarak has gone to Sharm el-Sheikh today it's probably an attempt to calm down, to defuse the situation in Cairo, but I don't think that will cut much ice with the protestors. The people in the streets want him out of the country or stepping down formally."
28. 1350: The BBC's Andrew Steele says: "In Tahrir Square, the water distribution and rubbish collection are working better than is normally the case in many parts of Cairo."
29. 1348: The Tunisian Hend Sabry, star of the Yacoubian Building and Cairo resident, tells the BBC World Service her husband is demonstrating in Tahrir Square today but public opinion is split. "More and more people in the streets of Cairo are now saying that 'this is enough, we achieved a lot, and we now should move on with our lives'. Time is on the side of the pro-stability camp. And I think that this is what the decision makers are playing on."
30. 1343: BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says all indications are that Mr Mubarak has gone to his seaside palace at Sharm el-Sheikh. This would be a face-saving exit - far from the Cairo crowds but still in Egypt.
31. 1331: Sources tell BBC Arabic that Hosni Mubarak is in Sharm el-Sheikh.
32. 1329: The BBC's Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi says the protesters need to tread a fine line if they are not to lose the support of many Egyptians. If the reforms already offered are seen through they can - in theory - lead to a change in the political system, he says. But the protesters do not trust the regime and are currently obsessed about bringing down Hosni Mubarak, he adds.
33. 1327: An interesting observation from Nadia El-Awady outside the presidential palace. She tweets: "Not a single chant at pres palace. Posh upper middle class tires easily. We NEED tahrir lot here!"
34. 1318: More reports coming in suggesting Mr Mubarak has left Cairo. The AFP news agency now quotes a source "close to the government" as saying he has left the city with his family.
35. 1314: Egyptian political analyst Khaled Islamboil tells the BBC that in his opinion, the concessions announced by Hosni Mubarak on Thursday render him little more than a constitutional ruler, more like the British monarch than a president with absolute power.
36. 1311: The BBC's Jon Leyne urges caution about reports that Hosni Mubarak has left Cairo, bearing in mind that many Western observers and intelligence agencies were wrong-footed by the president on Thursday.
37. 1307: Reuters are reporting a statement from the Muslim Brotherhood, who remain critical of Mr Mubarak's statement last night. "It's just more deceptive words to stop the people's demands," the Brotherhood says.
38. 1301: No more details at present of where Mr Mubarak might have gone, but he does have a residence in Sharm el-Sheikh.
39. 1258: Senior Western official tells the BBC Hosni Mubarak has left Cairo.
40. 1256: BBC security correspondent notes that the uprising on the streets of Egypt is not Islamic in nature, and reiterates that it is driven by the "Facebook and Twitter generation".
41. 1252: No pictures from outside state TV at the moment, but several eyewitness tweets suggest the crowd is now several thousand-strong.
42. 1247: Intrigue now surrounds the whereabouts of President Mubarak. Two separate reports - one from Israeli TV and one from Arab TV network al-Arabiya - say Mr Mubarak has now left Cairo. The Israeli report, from Channel 10, says he has gone to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has a villa.
43. 1244: Also in Cairo is the BBC's world affairs editor John Simpson. He says the crowd, although fired up, don't seem prepared at this stage to use violence. It's not clear how the army would react if protesters did attack the state TV building, for example.
44. 1236: Some sign of movement on the streets of Cairo. Mostafa Hussein tweets: "Thousands marching now in Ramses st. In the direction of the palace. #egypt #jan25"
45. 1235: In Alexandria, the BBC's Paul Adams says there are thousands of protesters in the street of the northern port city, although "nothing like the scale of the protests in Cairo". There are checkpoints on the way into the city and the army is monitoring what is going on. But otherwise the military presence is "light", Paul Adams says.
46. 1233: Strong words from the prime minister of Denmark, who has called explicitly for Hosni Mubarak to step down, the Associated Press reports. "Mubarak is history, Mubarak must step down," Lars Loekke Rasmussen said in Copenhagen.
47. 1227: Amr Hamzawy, one of a group of "wise men" that has been mediating between the protesters and the government, tells the BBC that it's the military that is calling the shots even though Mr Mubarak is still there. He says some of the protesters' demands, such as the delegation of powers to the vice-president, have been met. But others, such as the formation of a cabinet of technocrats, are still pending.
48. 1219: The BBC's Fergus Nicoll is outside the state TV building. He says that since the end of Friday prayers people there have been "extremely vocal and they are shouting their hostility at the Mubarak regime directly at its main mouthpiece".
49. 1216: Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has now tweeted: "Entire nation is on the streets. Only way out is for regime to go. People power can't be crushed. We shall prevail. Still hope army can join."
50. 1214: The BBC's Steve Kingstone in Washington says that if the situation deteriorates and the Egyptian army was to fire on protesters, there would be huge pressure on the Obama administration and Congress to cut off US military aid.
51. 1207: But Salah al-Shalby, also from Alexandria, has a contrasting view: "The revolution of the youth is good and it has brought good results but it is enough now. People's lives have come to a standstill, they are unable to work."
52. 1205: A reaction from Alexandria resident Ahmed Abdel Mohsen to the promises from the government and the army: "We refuse this. Nobody will agree to this and this protest goes on - this revolution goes on. It's not a protest, it is a revolution, until the regime falls."
53. 1158: Protesters outside the presidential palace have been chanting: "Down, down with Hosni Mubarak", and "No to Mubarak and Suleiman - they are American agents."
54. 1157: Background to that tweet from Arwa Mahmoud. Protesters have been checking people entering Tahrir Sqaure to guard against infiltration from pro-Mubarak groups. He's now concerned that is not happening outside the palace.
55. 1156: The atmosphere is not so good elsewhere, apparently. Arwa Mahmoud tweets from outside the presidential palace: "Protesters in presidential palace are very vulnerable to thug attacks. Hardly any filtering. This is dangerous. #jan25 #egypt"
56. 1151: Music, drumming and whistling clearly audible from the crowd in Tahrir Square. There seems to be a good atmosphere among the protesters.
57. 1149: Sarah in Sharm el-Sheikh is clearly not a supporter of Hosni Mubarak: "The police presence around Sharm airport is increasing, also around the entrance to the road which leads to Mubarak's villa. I so hope he is not coming here. Has he not done enough damage already. When will he get the message. He needs to go - NOW!" Have Your Say
58. 1144: To start us off, Samar Samy in Mansoura says: "I am a medical student in Mansoura and my college is a organising a massive march from the university to the centre of town where the protests are. They are all going to wear white coats to show that even doctors - considered the elite of the community - are anti-Mubarak. Me and my whole family are going to the protests now. We are angry at Mubarak's speech. He once again gave us a list of empty promises." Have Your Say
59. 1143: With much of the focus on Cairo, it's easy to forget that there have been protests in towns and cities across Egypt. We're receiving some emails from outside Cairo and will publish what we can as they come in.
60. 1134: We're at what could be a crucial phase of the day. Tahrir Square is packed to rafters. But what happens next?
61. 1129: Whatever Mr Mubarak says or does, protesters believe there will only be a real transition once Egypt's constitution is changed. The BBC website has just published an at-a-glance guide to the key articles of the constitution under discussion.
62. 1123: In Cairo, Professor Abdallah Al-Ashal has told the BBC that the Egyptian army is "in a big mess". It doesn't want to be embarrassed, and some senior officers are very dismayed, he says. He adds that President Mubarak doesn't seem to be accepting comment or hints from anyone close to him.
63. 1112: James Zogby, President of the Washington-based Arab American Institute says the protests are notable for their "humour" and "lightness". He tells the BBC World Service that "there is a seriousness of intention, but there is also an ability to rise above the tension."
64. 1111: TV pictures from Alexandria now show Friday prayers under way there, with massed ranks of people filling a main boulevard in the city.
65. 1109: The BBC's Christian Fraser says the protesters in Tahrir Square have turned up the volume following the end of Friday prayers. The imam leading the prayers called for the protesters to stand united and for the army to stand by the people. Flag-waving protesters are now chanting that Mubarak must go, he says.
66. 1107: Flags are being waved, and the square appears to be almost entirely filled with people. An al-Jazeera reporter in Cairo says she can see no empty spaces from her vantage point.
67. 1106: Prayers now appear to have ended in Tahrir Square and the assembled crowd is now chanting loud anti-Mubarak slogans.
68. 1104: A German government spokesman says what President Mubarak promised was "not enough", Reuters reports. "These developments remain hopeful, but also of course give us considerable worry whether the protests remain peaceful," spokesman Steffen Seibert says.
69. 1103: Blogger Arwa Mahmoud tweets: "Chants at presidential palace: Mubarak you want to stay? You'll stay over 80 million bodies. #jan25 #egypt."
70. 1102: More from Magdi Abdelhadi: Many of those in power have promised free elections in the past, promises that have never been fulfilled. The protesters feel that staying on the street is the only way to ensure a genuine transition.
71. 1100: BBC Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi reports from Cairo that there's little confidence that the army or the government will deliver on the president's promises. Most of the cabinet appointed by Mubarak was made up of old loyalists and the army leadership itself is handpicked by the president, he says.
72. 1056: There are of course protests going on outside Cairo. In the second city, Alexandria,Nada Ramadan tweets: "Alexandria gaining momentum every second in Qua'ed Ibrahim (mosque)."
73. 1051: Prayers reaching a climax now in Tahrir Square, with cries of "Allahu akbar" - God is great - clearly audible.
74. 1047: Impressive scenes in Tahrir Square - Friday prayers have begun and thousands of people bow down, answering a muezzin's call with a responsive echo.
75. 1046: Mr Hague echoed the observations of many at the events of last night, remarking that the long build-up to Mr Mubarak's speech had indeed raised hopes of a more dramatic announcement.
76. 1043: UK Foreign Secretary William Hague tells the BBC it is not yet clear what powers Hosni Mubarak has transferred to his vice-president, and says the Egyptian authorities are now in a "very difficult position".
77. 1038: It will be interesting today to see how many people peel off from Tahrir Square to head for the state TV building or presidential palace. Will a multi-pronged protest prove more powerful, or could the force of the demonstrations be diluted?
78. 1037: CNN's Ben Wedeman tweets: "One of Cairo's sharpest says keep close eye on Army officers joining protesters: "tired, tense and worried about shedding blood" #Egypt"
79. 1035: Maha Azzam, Associate Fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the London think-tank Chatham House says the latest statement by the army "is not going to placate" the protesters. "It's too vague, it's not precise, it's not saying the emergency law is lifted now". Ms Azzam says the upper echelons of the army "have separated themselves from Mr Mubarak in terms of him as a personality. But they are part and parcel of the regime. We are talking about a military that has gained from the regime, that was the backbone of the regime and now wants to sideline Mubarak. But that doesn't mean that it wants to hand over everything to a civilian government and take a backstage role."
80. 1031: 1 Nadia El-Awady tweets: "numbers not very large at pres palace. I hope more come after prayer #egypt #jan25"
81. 1030: Protester Gigi Ibrahim in Tahrir Square tells the BBC World Service that protesters are "more determined than ever" following Mr Mubarak's speech last night. She says demonstrators are not worried about losing their salaries as a consequence of the protests, because "people have been suffering economically for years. Now it's about dignity and wanting to be treated as a human being."
82. 1026: Journalist Shahira Amin, deputy editor of state-run Nile TV until she resigned last week, is outside her old office in Cairo and tells the BBC World Service that about 1,000 protesters have gathered there. "People aren't allowed into the building or out," she says. There are no signs that the demonstrators intend to storm the building. "They are very, very angry, but so far there has been self-restraint and control."
83. 1025: For those wanting to catch up on the subtle trends in the US position on Egypt the BBC's North Americas editor Mark Mardell has a new blog entry: "President Obama is running out of patience with the Egyptian government," he writes.
84. 1023: Free and fair elections, promised by the army statement, would be something of a new development for Egypt. Hosni Mubarak won three elections unopposed after 1981, and just one in which he faced rival candidates. Recent parliamentary elections were heavily criticised.
85. 1018: Cairo correspondent for The Wall Street Journal Matt Bradley tweets: "It seems if there was a rupture between the military and the president last night, it is now closed. #jan25"
86. 1010: This promise to repeal the state of emergency is a major concession - though it is not immediate. First, the army is calling for a return to normal life.
87. 1004: Emergency powers have been in place in Egypt since 1981 - the year Hosni Mubarak came to power. Critics have long lobbied for its repeal, saying it is one of the main causes of human rights violations. Mr Mubarak repeatedly promised to replace it, but never did so.
88. 0955: Blogger and activist Sandmonkey tweets: "The army just neutralised itself. They won't remove the president, but will ensure that the people's demands will be met #jan25."
89. 0955: The military statement says the armed forces will protect the implementation of promised reforms including free and fair presidential elections. It calls the demands of the protesters "legitimate" and says it will not pursue those who have rejected corruption and called for reform.
90. 0950: Military statement from Egypt's armed forces: Egyptian army announces that it will lift the state of emergency when the current situation ends.
91. 0948: And in the left-leaning daily Haaretz, Avi Issacharoff suggests that Mr Mubarak had "in effect vacated his position" already: "It is doubtful if at this point it is possible to predict even a fraction of the implications of this incredible event in Middle East history," he writes. "One thing that is abundantly clear: Egypt will never be the same without him."
92. 0942: In Israel's biggest-selling daily, Yediot Aharonot, Eitan Haber described Mr Mubarak as "an angel of peace" for Israel. Last night "the curtain started to fall on the man who was considered a stern dictator in the eyes of his people, who led millions of people to nowhere."
93. 0940: In Israel, newspaper commentators watched events in Egypt on Thursday with one eye on their own security. Some interpreted Mr Mubarak's speech last night as an effective abdication of power, and write about Egypt this morning as if Mr Mubarak had already stepped down. Others are thankful that Vice-President Omar Suleiman, long seen as a friend of Israel, remains very much centre-stage.
94. 0929: Despite the vocal anger against Hosni Mubarak, he undoubtedly retains the respect of many Egyptians. One of those, Ahmed K Ashour in Cairo, says: "The protesters are now abusing their rights. President Mubarak has given to all their demands and despite all his mistakes, he still has achievements and deserves an honourable exit from power. We are the winners or losers depending on the outcome of current events." Have Your Say
95. 0925: Sally Sami tweets: "In #Tahrir with the people of #Egypt. If they were to kill us today I would die next to my brothers and sisters. I have no regrets. #jan25"
96. 0925: A string of reports from Tahrir Square are remarking on the sheer size of the crowd gathering there this morning.
97. 0920: The Guardian's Cairo reporter Jack Senker tweets: "People of #Egypt are approaching #Tahrir from every direction: Cairo's roar will shake the world today".
98. 0914: Finance Minister Samir Radwan says the core demand of the protesters is for jobs. But while unemployment and other economic grievances have helped fuel these protests, the BBC's Jon Leyne notes that the protests in Tahrir Square are overtly political - they want the president to go and real democracy to be established.
99. 0911: Under one hour to prayers now. For the last two Fridays people have poured out of the mosques to protest - while those in Tahrir Square have prayed in the open. The BBC's Jon Leyne says that there are already many more people out on the streets than we've seen previously at the same time of day.
100. 0907: Blogger and activist Sandmonkey, writing in the Rantings of a Sandmonkey blog, outlines what last night's events mean for Egypt: "Mubarak is not going to leave office without bloodshed. Any attempt for a peaceful exit has been discarded by his regime, and they are intending to fight the will of the people until the end."
101. 0905: More from NDP party member Abdel Monem Said Aly: "Mr Mubarak has no power at the moment and a process of reform is under implementation. Almost every demand of the revolution has been met."
102. 0902: Abdel Monem Said Aly, a member of Egypt's ruling NDP party, tells the BBC World Service: "One demand of the revolution was for the president to delegate his powers to his vice-president. Unfortunately he did it one week later, when the demands have risen to new heights." 0902Finance Minister Samir Radwan says he's worried about Egypt's economy. "The longer this stalemate continues, the more damaging it is," he says. He adds that he has a package to help protesters: "As of next week I am launching a national employment scheme, which doesn't take people for fools."
103. 0903: Abdel Monem Said Aly, a member of Egypt's ruling NDP party, tells the BBC World Service: "One demand of the revolution was for the president to delegate his powers to his vice-president. Unfortunately he did it one week later, when the demands have risen to new heights."
104. 0900: More from Egypt's newly appointed Finance Minister Samir Radwan. He tells the BBC World Service that Mr Mubarak "perceives that he has gone as far as he could, he's given more or less all his powers to the vice-president and the prime minister".
105. 0848: The BBC's head of global news, Peter Horrocks, has made a statement on the jamming of BBC Persian TV: "This jamming should stop immediately. The events in Egypt are being viewed by the entire world and it is wrong that our significant Iranian audience is being denied impartial news and information from BBC Persian TV... The BBC will not stop covering Egypt and it will continue to broadcast to the Iranian people."
106. 0847: The unrest in Egypt is having an effect elsewhere. The BBC has confirmed this morning that its Persian TV service is being jammed from within Iran following its extensive coverage of the political unrest in Egypt.
107. 0845: Egyptian army officer tells Reuters that 15 other mid-ranking officers have "joined the people's revolution".
108. 0840: Egyptian blogger Arwa Mahmoud has tweeted his take on the upcoming military announcement: "Second military statement expected in a while. Expectations are that it will oust Mubarak. #Egypt #jan25 #tahrir"
109. 0838: Al-Jazeera TV reporter Rawya Rageh tweets: "Presenter on #Egypt state TV just apologised to viewers for lack of guests saying 'no one able to enter or leave the building #Jan25 #Tahrir"
110. 0835: Photographer and journalist Matthew Cassel tweets: "Tahrir 10AM, people still sleeping after demonstrating all night, lots more on their way"
111. 0833: In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has his own take on current events. The AFP news agency reports him as saying the Middle East will soon be free of the United States and Israel.
112. 0829: Egyptian Finance Minister Samir Radwan tells the BBC's Today programme: "The military has so far responded in an excellent way. The nightmare of a coup is very bad for everybody". He says he hoped Mr Mubarak's speech would "calm things down… obviously it hasn't".
113. 0827: In Jerusalem, the BBC's Kevin Connolly says there's a palpable sense of relief that Mr Mubarak is staying. The feeling there is that if Mr Mubarak were to go Egypt would become an engine of uncertainty for Israel and the Middle East.
114. 0818: Reuters news agency is reporting that a small group of protesters are at the presidential palace chanting "Down, down Hosni Mubarak". The army is not trying to remove them, the report says.
115. 0817: Writer and journalist Ian Lee tweets from Cairo: "The mood in Tahrir this morning is tense. Protesters are angry and frustrated. #egypt #jan25"
116. 0814: More from the army: "The Supreme Council for the Armed Forces, presided over by Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi, has held an important meeting this morning." Other reports say the army is continuing to meet in "permanent session", as it was on Thursday.
117. 0806: TV pictures from Cairo show crowds already building in Tahrir Square. It's hard to judge numbers, but the square is already busy - and filling up by the minute.
118. 0759: Shadi Hamid, Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center, tweets: "Right by presidential palace now. Hearing that soldiers warned protesters they were from presidential guard&had orders to shoot #jan25"
119. 0757: An editorial in the Times of London pulls no punches this morning: "President Mubarak has pulled every trick in the dictatorship playbook. Insisting that he would not be pushed out by voices from abroad, as he did last night, was a last resort and a tried and tested stunt."
120. 0755: Mr ElBaradei, a former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, has emerged as perhaps the most prominent opponent to Mr Mubarak. But the broad-based protest movement has not been led by any established political party or leader. Another figure to opposition figure whose star has been rising is the Google executive Wael Ghonim, who ran a popular protest page on Facebook and was detained, then released, by Egyptian authorities.
121. 0748: Elsewhere on the web many are already tweeting in anticipation of a crucial day in this ongoing crisis. Mosa'ab Elshamy tweets: "Today is the third Friday of our revolution. The first was bloody, second was festive and third should be decisive. #Jan25"
122. 0745: Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei - who has become an opposition figurehead in recent weeks - has written an opinion piece in Friday's New York Times. "Egypt will not wait forever on this caricature of a leader we witnessed on television yesterday evening, deaf to the voice of the people, hanging on obsessively to power that is no longer his to keep," he writes.
123. 0736: First news of the day from Egypt - the military is to make an "important statement to the people", according to Egyptian state news agency Mena.
124. 0733: Justin Webb says yesterday's events in Egypt were hugely embarrassing for President Barack Obama. Before Mr Mubarak spoke, Mr Obama had made his own remarks about Egypt. He seemed euphoric and and spoke about "history unfolding".
125. 0731: The White House says the Egyptian government has yet to propose a "credible, concrete and unequivocal" path to democracy. Yet Mr Mubarak's name was a glaring omission in a lengthy US statement, the BBC's Justin Webb reports from Washington. The White House is coming down clearly on the side of the protesters, he says, but still can't bring itself to tell Mr Mubarak to go.
126. 0721: The BBC's Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi is also in Cairo. His take on events: in the televised speech he made last night Mr Mubarak was trying to split Egyptians, by drawing a line between those in Tahrir Square and other Egyptians who he hopes will be prepared to put up with him for another six months in order to avoid further unrest.
127. 0717: More from Jon Leyne: It appears that Mr Mubarak changed his mind at some stage yesterday, after various senior Egyptian figures had suggested he would be stepping down. Those reports had raised the hopes of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square to fever pitch. The army had been meeting in open council and then nothing more was heard. The military's reaction today will be critical once again, with questions about whether junior officers will obey orders if they're told to use force.
128. 0714: A smallish crowd was reported to have made their way to the presidential palace overnight. The palace is some 15km away from central Cairo, where the protests have been focussed - something our correspondent Jon Leyne says could work in the president's favour, since it gives the military time to prepare any defences. But he adds that the sheer number of protesters gathering could swing the momentum in their favour once more.
129. 0713: It's expected that the headquarters of state TV and the presidential palace could become targets of today's demonstrations. The BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Cairo that this would put the demonstrators in direct confrontation with the army. He says this is the most dangerous moment so far in this crisis.
130. 0705: Welcome to the BBC's live coverage of events in Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak last night defied expectations by insisting he will not step down until September, despite more than two weeks of mass protests calling for his immediate resignation. Friday seems certain to see more large-scale rallies as angry demonstrators vent their frustration with the president. Stay with us for the latest updates - reports from our correspondents on the ground, expert analysis, and your reaction from around the world. You can contact us via email, text or twitter. We'll publish what we can.

via bbc.co.uk