Egypt protests enter sixth day as Mubarak clings on
Muburak clings to power appointing Omar Suleiman as deputy
Up to 100 people have been killed in the unrest
Vigilante groups formed to protect neighbourhoods
10.38am: The US is offering its citizens evacuation flights out of Egypt.
"The US Embassy in Cairo informs U.S. citizens in Egypt who wish to depart that the Department of State is making arrangements to provide transportation to safehaven locations in Europe," a statement said, according to Reuters.
The evacuation flights will start tomorrow.
10.14am: The Foreign Office is advising Britons to leave Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, Britain's foreign secretary William Hague told Sky News.
He also talked of the danger of "extremism" taking hold in Egypt. "There is a great danger of violence running out of control," he said.
Hague also urged the Egyptian government to show restraint and to allow freedom of expression. He condemned the closure of al-Jazeera's bureau in Cairo.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice on Egypt. It says:
We advise against all but essential travel to Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Suez. We recommend that British nationals without a pressing need to be in Cairo, Alexandria or Suez leave by commercial means where it is safe to do so. British nationals in other areas of Egypt where there are demonstrations should follow the advice below and stay indoors wherever possible.
10.08am: Al-Jazeera has this video report on the efforts of Cairo residents to maintain order in the city.
9.58am: One of the Guardian's Middle East experts Brian Whitaker reflec! ts on th e latest rumours in Cairo. Writing on his own blog, he says there are reports that Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, have fled, but also that there will be could be an army crackdown today.
He writes:
Rumours have been circulating that the army will take a much tougher line with protesters today what some are calling the Tiananmen Square option. However, I am sceptical about that. For one, thing, the US has warned strongly against it, and though Mubarak may not listen to Washington I think his commanders are more likely to.
9.51am: There are more signs of Israeli nervousness, following those comments by Netanyahu. Our Jerusalem correspondent, Harriet Sherwood reports:
Israel Army Radio said this morning that the Israeli military is preparing for the possibility that militants in Gaza may take advantage of the chaos in Egypt to bring in weapons from the Sinai.
Meanwhile, it's being reported in Gaza that three Palestinian prisoners being held in Al-Arish jail in Egypt have escaped and made their way back to Gaza through the tunnels.
The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has been closed until further notice, a Hamas official said.
9.46am: Al Jazeera has denounced the closure of its Cairo bureau. In a statement it said:
Al-Jazeera sees this as an act designed to stifle and repress the freedom of reporting by the network and its journalists. In this time of deep turmoil and unrest in Egyptian society it is imperative that voices from all sides be heard; the closing of our bureau by the Egyptian government is aimed at censoring and silencing the voices of the Egyptian people...
Al Jazeera Network is appalled at this latest attack by the Egyptian regime to strike at its freedom to report independently on the unprecedented events in Egypt."
9.38am: The government plans to shut down al-Jazeera's o! peration s in Egypt, according to Reuters, citing the state news agency Mana.
"The information minister ordered ... suspension of operations of al-Jazeera, cancelling of its licences and withdrawing accreditation to all its staff as of today," a statement said.
The New York Times reports on the influential role of al-Jazeera in the protests.
The station was the first to report that the governing party's headquarters were set on fire. Breathless phone reports came in from Jazeera correspondents in towns across Egypt. Live footage from Cairo alternated with action shots that played again and again. Orchestral music played, conveying the sense of a long-awaited drama.
Al Jazeera kept up its coverage despite serious obstacles. The broadcaster's separate live channel was removed from its satellite platform by the Egyptian government on Friday morning, its Cairo bureau had its telephones cut and its main news channel also faced signal interference, according to a statement released by the station. The director of the live channel issued an appeal to the Egyptian government to allow it to broadcast freely.
9.27am: The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has expressed concern about "stability and security" in the region, in his first comments on the Egyptian unrest.
"We are following with vigilance the events in Egypt and in our region ... at this time we must show responsibility and restraint and maximum consideration. Our efforts have been intended to continue to preserve stability and security in our region.
"I remind you that the peace between Israel and Egypt has lasted for over three decades."
9.17am: "Local communities have taken security into their own hands," reports Jack Shenker from Cairo, after another "intense nig! ht".
He claims it is the people who are mobilising to maintain order, while plain clothes policeman try to create the impression of anarchy.
The military has blocked Tahrir Square, Jack reports. "The army and the people are on one hand," protesters are chanting in an attempt to stand with the military.
"I am with you," an officer told the crowd last night, Jack said.
9.00am: Protesters are shaking hands with soldiers in Tahrir Square, according to this audio clips which purports to have been recorded today. The speaker predicts more people will take to the streets today.
8.59am: On the sixth day of protests, more than 1,000 people gathered in central, Cairo this morning, demanding the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak and his newly appointed deputy.
In a bid to cling to power Mubarak appointed his intelligence chief and confidant, Omar Suleiman, as his vice president and possible successor yesterday.
The appointment is seen as an attempt to continue Egypt's military leadership. "This is a way of paving the way for a military-led regime in a so-called constitutional context. It is clearly the result of negotiations with the army," Ragui Assaad, a professor at the University of Minnesota told the New York Times.
Suleiman has become a new target for protesters. "Hosni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, both of you are agents of the Americans," they shouted this morning. "Mubarak, Mubarak, the plane awaits," the demonstrators also chanted. Activist Hossam Hareedy, told the Guardian: "We want to get rid of a tyrant. Firing the cabinet was not what we had in mind. What we want is for Mubarak to be cut down."
Overnight "vigilante groups" took to the streets to the guard neighbourhoods against looting after police disappeared from the streets, according to Reuters.
There is a propaganda war over the nature of the unrest. The regime is trying to portray the protesters as thugs - arrested looters were paraded on state TV last night. Protesters point out that residents are intervening to stop the looting.
Opposition supporters urged the media against portraying the situation as anarchy, as they claim this plays into the regime's hand.
The Egyptian blogger Mona Eltahawy, is quoted on the New York Times' Lede blog, saying said: "I urge you to use the words 'revolt' and 'uprising' and 'revolution' and not 'chaos' and not 'unrest, we are talking about a historic moment."
The differing media treatment of the protests is reflected in today's front pages. The Sunday's Telegraph's splashes with "Bloodshed on the streets". It lead story starts: "The full horror of Egypt's political convulsions has emerged, as relatives gathered at morgues filled with bodies and doctors described their heroic efforts to save the wounded."
By contrast the Independent on Sunday's front page (left) carriers an army officer clutching a flower and being held aloft by protesters. "The streets of Cairo proved what the United States and EU leaders have simply failed to grasp. It is over," writes Robert Fisk.
You can follow all of yesterday's events as the unfolded on Saturday's l! ive blog .
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