Egypt protests

(All times are local in Egypt.)

• 11:06pm Cairo neighborhoods are being policed by local residents wielding kitchen knives and hunting rifles, after the military called for civilians to protect their own property.
• 10:42pm Gunfire has been heard coming from the direction of the interior ministry in Cairo during a confrontation between guards and protesters, and the National Press Building next to the NDP headquarters is on fire.
• 9:46pm Ayman Mohyeldin reports desolate Cairo streets and roaming bands of thuggish-looking men who cannot be identified as plainclothes police or civilians. He also says many fewer people are in the streets than earlier in the evening.
• 9:35pm Seven Egyptians died while trying to break into a police station in Beni Suef, 120km south of Cairo.
• 9:28pm According to Vodafone, cellular phone networks have started to resume functioning across Egypt's capital.
• 8:49pm Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Center tells Al Jazeera English that the protest movement is still leader-less but says that Mohamed ElBaradei is likely prepared to assume leadership of populist demonstrations.
• 8:16pm Ayman Mohyeldin reports how the new Mubarak appointees Shafiq and Suleiman have strong military credentials - suggesting slight departure from the previous economic-oriented cabinet  to one that is more security-oriented.
• 7:42pm Key opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei says in speech: "We are seeking a change of regime. President Mubarak should step down. We should head towards a democratic state through a new government and free democratic elections...The whole world should realize that the Egyptians are not going home until their demands are realized...We are talking about taking down the Pharaonic dictatorship."
• 7:38pm Ayman Mohyeldin reports that eyewitnesses have said "party thugs" associated with the Egyptian regime's Central Security Services - in plainclothes but bearing government-issued weapons - have been looting in Cairo. Ayman says the reports started off as isolated accounts but are now growing in number.
• 7:31pm The Egyptian military is now reportedly driving through suburbs trying to protect affluent homes from looters.
• 7:18pm Nick Spicer reports from Washington DC that protesters in front of the Egyptian embassy are calling for Mubarak to resign and an end to US support for the Mubark government.
• 7:14pm The Egyptian army urges protesters to abide by nighttime curfew and a spokesman says, "The Egyptian military is always obliged to protect Egypt and its people".
• 6:59pm Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Suez, says that the army has made a push to enforce the curfew there by clearing the center of the city. Protesters got angry with the soldiers, who scuffled with demonstrators while trying to keep the area secure without frustrating the people. Sherine observes people amicably drinking coffee with soldiers.
• 6:50pm As protesters continue to defy curfew, a bystander in Cairo tells Al Jazeera that there are no police left in the capital. Formerly omnipresent traffic police are nowhere to be found. Reports suggest that private property is being seized in locations throughout Egypt.
• 6:43pm Some of the rarest antiquities in the world are found damaged by looters at famed Cairo musuem.
• 6:33pm As Mubarak appoints a new prime minister and vice president, Egyptians wonder if there is a plan to replace the president himself. Former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and the Muslim Brotherhood seem to have maintained a low public profile on Saturday.
• 6:18pm Al Jazeera Arabic reports that planes carrying families of Israeli diplomats have flown back to Israel.
• 6:14pm Reports emerge of gun fire in the affluent Cairo neighborhood of Mahdi. Local men are going into the street with clubs and chains to prevent looting. Residents are trying to protect the entrance to the neighborhood with blockades.
• 6:04pm President Mubarak's two sons, Gamal and Aala, have reportedly arrived in London.
• 6:00pm Former aviation minister Ahmad Shafiq is appointed the new prime minister of Egypt and will be responsible for forming new government.
• 5:36pm Ayman Mohyeldin is reporting that protesters continue trying to break into the Egytian ministry of the interior, as evening prayers conclude in Cairo.
• 5:25pm Head of Egyptian intelligence, Omar Suleiman, is sworn in as vice president. With his military credentials, the powerbroker is known to have significant connections and credibility inside and outside the country.
• 5:09pm President Mubarak reportedly holding meetings to discuss current unrest and rising tensions.
• 5:05pm Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports that protesters of all walks of life continue to call for Mubarak to resign. He said, "They want Egypt to be under the control of a transitional government...and then to ensure free and fair elections."
• 4:27pm Malley adds that a government led by the Muslim Brotherhood would clearly would be a "major challenge" but would also somewhat vindicate the stance of Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been saying that a security regime in a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians would need to be onerous.
• 4:06pm The Egyptian situation is a "Catch-22" and an "unprecedented headache for policy-makers in the West", Robert Malley, program director for Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group,  tells Al Jazeera English. Malley adds that it is "not clear that a last-minute conversion [by the Obama administration] would convince those that are protesting" about the US change in tone.
• 4:00pm Curfew has commenced in major cities across Egypt - Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria - but thousands of protesters remain in the streets.
• 3:55pm Senior leader Ahmed Ezz announces his resignation from the ruling party.
• 3:47pm Al Arabiya is reporting that the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas phoned Hosni Mubarak to offer his support.
• 3:38pm The sheikh of Al Azhar University, a prominent cleric, tells protesters that shedding blood is prohibited under Islamic law and says that the Egyptian people have credible demands.
• 3:33pm No confrontations are reported to be taking place between soldiers and protesters in the capital. Army personnel are still being greeted in a friendly manner, with some even handing roses to the soldiers. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin also reports that demonstrators are not seen waving any political flags.
• 3:17pm The Saudi stock market, the Arab world's largest, dropped 6.43 per cent on Saturday amid rising Egypt tensions. Traders fear that other Gulf markets, due to open on Sunday, could experience similar drops.
• 3:06pm At least 8 people killed by live fire at prison near Cairo, and Egyptian authorities call for all banks to close.
• 3:03pm Al Jazeera correspondent reports that 36 deaths are confirmed in Alexandria, a coastal city where several police stations have been torched. Protesters continue to gather along the Corniche there - but not as many as yesterday.
• 2:56pm Notable statements-- Amr Moussa, Arab League secretary-general, says he understands the Egyptian people's anger. Mohamed ElBaradei states that he's proud of the Egyptian protest movement. And the Muslim Brotherhood calls for the peaceful transfer of power in Egypt.
• 2:47pm Up to 50,000 people gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square, saying that resignation of the cabinet is not enough. Egyptian state TV says that the curfew will begin at 4pm local time.
• 2:10pm Egyptian military closes tourist access to the pyramids.
• 1:58pm A group of Bedouin has attacked state security headquarters in the town of Rafah near Egypt's border with Israel, killing three policemen, witnesses and a security source said.
• 1:55pm The headquarters of the ruling party in Luxor, Upper Egypt, have been torched. Military tanks are entering the city.
• 1:50pm A huge number of protestors is heading toward Tahrir square in downtown Cairo.

sumber: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/01/29/live-blog-291-egypt-protests