He's talking noo, if you'd gave up waiting

God, he's a cock.

The 25 January movement has succeeded in making a change in the party of democracy, history has begun. Constitutional decisions have been taken, commissions were formed to implement what the president decided in terms of directives in his 1 February speech. What the president announced today stresses once again his national feeling and his siding with the legitimate demands of the people and his commitment to the many pledges he made in the past. It also proves his awareness of the seriousness of the situation that Egypt is going through. The president had put the supreme interests of the people above everything else."

If you're wanting an update on this, get thee on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23jan25 .

Question: Out of a population of 80m, a tiny percentile of people are protesting. Should he go? Do we believe that the countryside protests, a (possibly) higher percentage of the UK population, should have overthrown the Labour government?

Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down as president of Egypt.

Vice-President Omar Suleiman made the announcement in a brief statement on state TV.

It came as thousands massed in Cairo and other Egyptian cities for an 18th day of protest to demand Mr Mubarak's resignation.

Protesters responded by cheering, waving flags, embracing and sounding car horns. "The people have brought down the regime," they chanted.

Damnitt!

What's going on? I can't access that here, I'm in work. I'm blind! Help! People! Paste updates! My vision is impaired, I cannot see!

(And other tennuously connected Dimlies)

Something tells me he got a call from the Whitehouse...

I'd say that pressure from the army became intolerable.

Nevermind, Rixondale. We can pretend with Mendricks in a week's time on the Pipes & Ales pub crawl, he can do some Egyptian chanting and we'll turn over some cars or something.

Something tells me he got a call from the Whitehouse...

Good news though, undoubtedly.

FIREWORKS, CELEBRATIONS, FUN! JUBILATION! I AM NOT MAKING SENSE. I AM HEADING TO TAHRIR! #JAN25

The reported unrest comes a day before planned anti-government demonstrations on Thursday, which are being organised via the internet.

Col Gaddafi, who has been in power since 1969, has suggested he might join the protests himself, the BBC's Jon Leyne reports.

In the wake of Egypt, where many people harbor resentment against the Administration for its lack of early support for the democracy movement what can Obama do now? Can he in good conscience acquiesce to the brutal suppression of pro-democracy protesters so soon after his eloquent words and late coming to supporting the Egyptian revolution?

The larger question is: What is more essential to American security today, convenient bases for its ships, planes and troops across the Middle East, or a full transition to democracy throughout the region?

The answer is clearly the latter, as evidenced by the fact that America's two primary antagonists in the Middle East, al-Qaeda and the Iranian government, have seen their standing sink in proportion to the rise of the pro-democracy movements.

In any war, cold or hot, propaganda is crucial, and here it is impossible to lose sight of the fact that al-Qaeda has had little if anything to say about the Egyptian revolution precisely because it was a massive non-violent jihad that succeeded miraculously where a decade of al-Qaeda blood and vitriol have miserably failed.

As for Iran, the government's rhetorical support for the Egyptian revolution while it continues to suppress its own democracy movement is clearly emptying the Iranian regime of any remaining credibility as an alternative to the US-dominated order.