Egypt Boiling can be change in Islamic Revolution

Thank You Aljazeera English for Time to Time Reporting (All times are local in Egypt, GMT+2)

3:51pm Al Jazeera issues a statement condeming the “gangs of thugs” that stormed their office in Cairo. The office has been burned along with the equipment inside it.

It appears to be the latest attempt by the Egyptian regime or its supporters to hinder Al Jazeera’s coverage of events in the country…

It appears to be the latest attempt by the Egyptian regime or its supporters to hinder Al Jazeera’s coverage of events in the country.

In the last week its bureau was forcibly closed, all its journalists had press credentials revoked, and nine journalists were detained at various stages. Al Jazeera has also faced unprecedented levels of interference in its broadcast signal as well as persistent and repeated attempts to bring down its websites.

We are grateful for the support we have received from across the world for our coverage in Egypt and can assure everyone that we will continue our work undeterred.

3:45pm International attention remains hooked on the uprisings in Tunisia and now Egypt, but Nic Dawes, Editor of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian says there “has been little focus on the African dimension of these uprisings”.

There are certainly countries – not least among those close to Egypt – that could do with broad-based civil movements against authoritarianism. Chad is perhaps the most benighted, but the depth of its isolation and tyranny are such that it is difficult to imagine a people-power movement succeeding.

What about Ethiopiaand its increasingly authoritarian president, Meles Zenawi? Or Uganda, where Yoweri Museveni is consolidating his grip on power? Or Angola, where oil revenues fatten the ruling elite and human development stalls? Or Zimbabwe? Or any of the pseudo-democracies that dot the continent”

Elsewhere in the Mail & Guardian, online Editor Chris Roper asks if Twitter will save Africa, while blogger Khadija Patel warns that South Africans are failing “to give voice to that facet of the South African experience that strongly resonates with the Egyptians and Tunisians”.

A demonstration was held today at the Egyption embassy in Pretoria. (Source)

International Media is Covering Tahrir Square Final Round of Revolution

3:43pm Al Jazeera reporters say that numbers of Mubarak-loyalists on the 6th of October bridge has increased to over 300 now. An army tank has moved position to confront them.

3:25pm Mondoweiss, a news website focused on American foreign policy in the Middle East, shows this interesting graph comparing Al Jazeera traffic to The New York Times.

Al Jazeera Engilish Ranking in Alexa - During Coverage of Egypt

3:12pm At least 200 pro-Mubarak loyalists are on the 6th of October bridge just outside Tahrir Square in Cairo.

3:10pm Al Jazeera’s reporter in Alexandria sent through this picture from the protests there. Thousands of men and women are still streaming in to join the already large crowds.

Anti Hosni Government Crowd in Tahreer Square - Cairo Egypt

2:35pm Reports coming in that Al Jazeera’s Arabic office in Cairo has been stormed and thrashed by unknown men. More information to follow.

1.45pm: Amr Moussa, the Arab league chief, is attending the rally in Tahrir Square.

1:30pm: About 3,000 people demonstrate in support of President Mubarak in the Mohandiseen district in Giza, adjacent to Cairo.

1:14pm: Our correspondent in Cairo says pro-Mubarak gangs are not visible at all in the streets and that the army has taken extensive measures to secure the demonstration. She says imams, speaking in mosques today, have called for calm and praised the role of the army as it is working to prevent violence.

We are showing live pictures from both Alexandria and Cairo – click here

12:53pm: Prayers are over and the masses, hundred thousands of people, are chanting “We won’t go until he leaves”.

Yesterday, NevineZaki posted this picture on Twitter, saying it shows Christians protecting those praying in Tahrir Square amid violence between protesters and Mubarak supporters. She wrote “Bear in mind that this pic was taken a month after z Alexandria bombing where many Christians died in vain. Yet we all stood by each other”

Tahrir Square Cairo Egypt - Thursday in the Eveining

12:35pm: Our correspondent in Alexandria says tens of thousands of people have gathered in the centre of Alexandria. He says Christians and others not performing Friday prayers have formed a “human chain” around those praying to protect them from any potential disruptions.

12:26pm: Friday prayers at Tahrir Square now. The sermon preceding it called for release of political prisoners and constitutional amendments.

12:22pm: Our correspondent in Cairo says people away from the main protest area are stying inside, fearing violence. She quotes one person as saying “I can’t even trust my neighbour anymore, nowadays you never know who is supporting who.”

12:08pm: Reports say supporters of President Mubarak are still gathering around Tahrir Square.

Egyptian Army Protecting American Embassy - Quite Safe Yet

11:36am: An AFP photographer says Defence Minister Tantawi has addressed the crowd in Tahrir Square, surrounded by soldiers, who called on the protesters to sit down.

“The man [Mubarak] told you he won’t stand again,” Tantawi said, referring to the president’s announcement that he will not seek re-election in polls to be held this autumn. Tantawi also repeated a call from the Egyptian government for the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s biggest opposition group, to join a dialogue with the government.

Thousands of Anti Government Protesters in Tahrir Square Cairo Egypt

11:28am: Protester Aida El-Kashes, on the phone from Tahrir Square, describes the situation there as calm and safe. She says all entrances to the square except the one near the Egyptian museum are open and people are getting in. The thousands of protesters who have been through the past days violence together now have bounds to each other “as a big family”, she says..

11:08am: Our reporter in Tahrir Square says protesters are checking the ID’s of people entering the area to make sure no members of the police or other security services are getting in (Egyptian IDs mention the person’s profession). She says the protesters are very welcoming to journalists.

11:02am: Our correspondent says tens of thousands of people have gathered in Tahrir Square, and many more are expected after Friday prayers.

10:50am: Egypt’s defence minister is visiting Tahrir Square today, a ministry source tells Reuters. “Field Marshal [Mohamed Hussein] Tantawi and leaders of the armed forces are currently in Tahrir Square,” the source is quoted as saying.

10:35am: A number of European leaders are meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, discussing the situation in Egypt. Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee, covering the summit, says what happens in the EU with regards to Egypt mirrors what happened in the United States: “They were quite lukewarm to begin with … but now just like the Obama administration, they are saying that there needs to be immediate transition to democracy in Egypt in a smooth manner.”

10:09am: Our correspondent at Tahrir Square says soldiers are preventing people from getting into Tahrir Square from at least one of the entry points.

10:01am: More from our web producer in Cairo: “About 65 soldiers stationed around 6th of October bridge and the museum, wearing riot gear. Limiting access to Corniche, etc.”

9:55am: The website World Wide Tahrir calls for sit-ins to be held at Egyptian embassies “from Friday 4th Feb at 20:00 local time in your city(!!!), till Mubarak leaves”

9:50am: Our web producer in Cairo writes on Twitter: “Egyptian state TV reporting that one of its crews was attacked in Tahrir Square. Amusing thought, but is it true? Could be propaganda.”

9:45am: The editor-in-chief of Ikhwan online, the official website for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, says police and “thugs” have attacked Cairo International Media Center.

9:03am: One of our correspondent just wrote on Twitter: “Festive and Celebratory atmosphere that marked the days of the protest b4 Pro-mubarak peeps attacked is back in #tahrir”

And, about 20 minutes ago, another of our reporters wrote: “Dozens of police trucks in side streets around Pres Palace.Yes thats right police!Haven’t seen them in a while.”

8:59am: Mohammed al-Beltagi, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, tells Al Jazeera that his movement has no ambitions to run for the Egyptian presidency.

8:29am: Our correspondent writes on Twitter: “by 7am friday: chants of ‘get out’ ‘invalid’ ‘leave’ resonating louder than ever this time of day”

8:21am: Salma El Tarzi, a protester in Tahrir Square, tells Al Jazeera over the phone that the moral in the square is high and the atmosphere cheerful, “like a festival”, with thousands of people arriving.

8:01am: The curfew has now been lifted and protests are due to start at noon, after Friday prayers.

7:53am: Mona Seif, an Egyptian activist, just posted this picture from Tharir Square this morning.

Injureds are still at Tahrir Square After Straight Firing From Hosni Elements

7:45am: The Guardian has great pictures of protesters putting on makeshift helmets during yesterday’s clashes. Cardboard, buckets and plastic soda bottles were used to deflect the stones.

7:03am: Our producer says there appears to be a security build-up at Tahrir Square, with troops in riot gear standing next to tanks at the outskirts of the square.

6:55am: Watch our video wrapping up yesterday’s events

6:15am: Our reporter in Tahrir Square says there is an “easy calm” in Tahrir Square, as protesters prepare for renewed protests on what they call “the day of departure” for President Mubarak.

6.02am: The New York Times reports that the US administration is in talks with Egyptian officials over a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately, turning over power to a transitional government headed by Vice- President Omar Suleiman. The White House has not confirmed the report.

3:23am Anti-Mubarak protester Nadine Shams tells Al Jazeera that protesters are trying to gear up for Friday’s protests while securing Tahrir Square and keeping themselves safe. She tells us that protesters fear being attacked by armed men again.

2:49am Here’s another video from Egypt’s “Day of Rage” on January 28 shows a vehicle ploughing over protesters. The person who posted the cilp claims it is a diplomatic vehicle that “ran over more than 20 people” but we can’t verify these details at this time.

2:14am One of our Web producers notes that loudspeakers inside Tahrir Square are playing loud, old-school patriotic Egyptian songs. People are clapping along.

2:08am Anti-Mubarak activist Mona Souief tells Al Jazeera that people feel that they are “past the worst.” and that if protesters could make it past the violence of the past 24 hours, than they could persevere.

2:01am Egyptian state television claims that some anti-Mubarak protesters are asking to be able to pass the barricades and leave Tahrir Square, and that that the Egyptian army has indicated that it’s ready to help protesters leave the square.

But Al Jazeera Arabic contacted some protesters, who have have denied the reports carried on Egyptian television.

1:26am Aida Seif El Dowla, founder of the El Nadim Center tells Al Jazeera how a sister organisation, the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, a prominent legal aid group providing help to anti-government protesters , was raided on Thursday, with its staff of five, along with 25 volunteers, being detained.

Since early in the morning, the area … was full of thugs, who randomly rounded up people from the streets and them people in microbuses and just took them away, God knows where. And then we heard that the army had surrounded the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre, and then we heard that thugs were surrounding the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre, and they’re not allowing people to enter or to leave the building. And then we heard that the army – the military police – they went up into the centre, broke into it, took the equpment, took the computers, took some of the files, removed some of the sim cards from the mobile phones …

When asked if she knew where her colleagues were being kept, al Dowla said,

We don’t know. We don’t know. The fact that they have been taken by the military police means that probably being kept in some military place, not the normal police stations, depending on where they have been detained from, and so we have no access to those people, we have no knowledge of whether or not they are safe. … we have absolutely no idea where they are.

She said among those detained are representatives of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, along with several bloggers.

1:02am AJE correspondent reports that live shots will resume as soon as it is safe to do so, as journalists with cameras are being targeted.

12:20am Charter evacuation flights are landing all around the world as foreigners, fearing for their safety, leave Egypt.

12:16am Our live blog on the Battle for Egypt begins now and will continue for the rest of the day.

Revolution Enters In Final Round – This is Cairo Egypt

Chants urging President Hosni Mubarak to leave are reverberating across Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the focal point of protests in Egypt, where hundreds of thousands have gathered for what they have termed the "Day of Departure".

As the country entered its eleventh day of unrest, mass demonstrations commenced after Friday prayers.

Thousands also gathered in the city of Alexandria, holding up placards and chanting "He must go!" an Al Jazeera correspondent there reported. Protesters there have said they will march to the city’s main train station and stage a sit-in until Mubarak leaves office. Three thousand people also joined demonstrations in Giza.

In Cairo, about 200 Mubarak loyalists had gathered on the 6th of October Bridge, near Tahrir Square, with another 200 below the bridge. They were chanting pro-regime slogans, and holding up posters of Mubarak.

Our correspondents at the square reported that there were up to five layers of checkpoints at some entrances, with makeshift barricades being put up by pro-democracy protesters at some points, possibly in anticipation of violence if Mubarak loyalists were to approach the square.

"The feel here is that today is the final day for Mubarak, it’s time for him to go," Gigi Ibrahim, a political activist told Al Jazeera from Tahrir [Liberation] Square in Cairo.

"This whole process has been about who is more determined and who is not willing to give up. And everyday [the protesters] get more and more determined," Ibrahim said.

Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s defence minister, also visited the square earlier on Friday. He talked with the protesters and other military commanders.

Amr Moussa, Egypt’s former foreign minister and current secretary-general of the Arab League, also visited the square.

Earlier, Ahmed Shafiq, Egypt’s new prime minister, said the interior minister should not obstruct Friday’s peaceful marches. And Mubarak, on his part said he wanted to leave office, but feared there will be chaos if he did.

Speaking to America’s ABC television he said, "I am fed up. After 62 years in public service, I have had enough. I want to go."

But he added: "If I resign today, there will be chaos."

Mubarak’s government has struggled to regain control of a nation angry about poverty, recession and political repression, inviting the Muslim Brotherhood – Egypt’s most organised opposition movement – to talks and apologising for Wednesday’s bloodshed in Cairo.

Transition government

In a bid to calm the situation, Omar Suleiman, the vice-president, said on Thursday that the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition political movement, and others had been invited to meet the new government as part of a national dialogue.

An offer to talk to the banned but tolerated group would have been unthinkable before protests erupted on January 25, indicating the gains made by the pro-democracy movement since then.

But sensing victory, they have refused talks until Mubarak goes.

Opposition actors including Mohamed ElBaradei, the former UN nuclear watchdog head, and the Muslim Brotherhood said again that Mubarak, who wants to stay on until elections scheduled for September, must go before they would negotiate with the government.

"We demand that this regime is overthrown, and we demand the formation of a national unity government for all the factions," the Muslim Brotherhood said in a statement broadcast by Al Jazeera.

The government’s overture came after Shafiq, the prime minister, apologised for Wednesday’s violence and the breakdown in law and order.

Shafiq also said he did not know who was responsible for the bloodshed, blamed by protesters on undercover police.

In an important move, Mohammed Al-Beltagi, a leading member of Muslim Brotherhood, told Al Jazeera on Friday that his organisation has no ambitions to run for the presidency.

The developments come as the New York Times reports, quoting US officials and Arab diplomats, that the US administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for Mubarak to resign immediately and hand over power to a transitional government headed by Omar Suleiman, the newly appointed vice-president.

This report, though unconfirmed by the White House, comes after Mubarak’s statements on Tuesday this week, where he agreed to give up power in September at the end of his current term.

Mohamed Talaat El-Sadat, brother of the late Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadaat has backed Suleiman for the top post. He told Al Jazeera on Friday that he supported the youth revolution but did not want Egypt to go to civil war.

"We don’t want chaos and call for meeting [the] demands of demonstrators who should stay at Tahrir Square," he said, adding "I expect Mubarak will voluntarily and openhandedly step down and transfer power to Omar Suleiman."

Bloody clashes

At least 13 people have died and scores were injured, most over the last two days when Mubarak loyalists launched a counter-revolution on pro-democracy protesters.

The army took little action while the fighting raged in Tahrir Square over the past two days. However, there was a more visible military presence on Thursday; but this did not prevent new clashes.

The interior ministry has denied it ordered its agents or officers to attack prior pro-democracy demonstrations.

Vice president Suleiman told ABC Television that the government would not forcefully remove protesters. "We will ask them to go home, but we will not push them to go home," he said.

Ahead of Friday’s mass protests, eyewitnesses told Al Jazeera that thugs, with the assistance of security vehicles, were readying to attack Tahrir Square. They said protesters were preparing to confront them.

Protesters also reported finding petrol bombs on security personnel dressed in civilian clothes.

An Al Jazeera correspondent, who spent Thursday night in Tahrir Square, said "the numbers did not die down one bit" through the night. He added that there was an atmosphere of defiance among all the protesters he had spoken to.

The army’s role in shaping events is crucial. Only on Thursday did soldiers set up a clear buffer zone around the square to separate factions after having stood by. That did not prevent new clashes as opposing groups pelted each other with rocks.

Though less numerous than earlier in the week, there were demonstrations on Thursday in Suez and Ismailia, industrial cities where inflation and unemployment have kindled the sort of dissent that hit Tunisia and which some believe could ripple in a domino effect across other Arab police states.

Thank You Http://english.aljazeera.net