9.57am: Good morning, this is David Batty with the latest from Egypt where President Hosni Mubarak last night made his first appearance after four days of unrest, announcing that he was sacking his cabinet. But his address on state television in which he accused protesters of abusing the freedoms he had given them seems unlikely to appease protesters who are preparing to mount more mass demonstrations against his regime today.

Peter Beaumont and Jack Shenker, who are covering the protests for the Guardian, will be filing updates from Cairo throughout the day. We'll also be bringing you the latest from the UK and international media, including a review of today's papers.

But first, here's a roundup of the main events overnight and this morning - the fifth day of protests:

• Hundreds of anti-government protesters have again taken to the streets of central Cairo today, chanting slogans against Mubarak and clashing with police. Protesters have clashed with riot police trying to enter the central Tahrir Square but soldiers parked in tanks have not yet intervened.

• In a late-night TV address, Mubarak dismissed his government and said a new cabinet would be announced today. He refused to step down but promised to promote democracy. He also defended the role of the security forces in tackling the unrest.

• Tens of thousands of people took part in protests in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities yesterday. Demonstrators set fire to the headquarters of the governing Nnational Democratic party (NDP) and besieged state TV and the foreign ministry. By this morning, the army had replaced police in guarding government buildings and other key areas around the capital.

• Hospital sources said at least 13 people were killed in Suez yesterday and five in Cairo, with more than 1,000 wounded. That brings the death toll since the protests began to 26 people.

• Speaking after Mubarak's TV address, the US president, Barack Obama, said he had spoken at length with the Egyptian leader and urged him to turn "a moment of volatility" into "a moment of promise".

10.25am: Peter Beaumont has just rung in from Cairo with the latest from Tahrir Square. He said that although a number of army tanks are parked around the square the military has so far not intervened in the clashes between protesters and the police.



The army seems unfazed. Some people were even helping the army clear up after yesterday's demonstrations.

Protesters threw stones at riot police trying to enter the square, according to Associated Press. Officers responded with a barrage of teargas and rubber bullets.

The army has sealed off the road leading to the parliament and cabinet buildings, the agency reports.

Smoke is still billowing from the governing NDP headquarters, which protesters set alight during yesterday's unrest.

10.35am: Here's a round-up of today's protests from Reuters:

• Several thousand protesters are in Tahrir square, chanting they will not leave until Mubarak quits.

• Several hundred demonstrators have gathered in the centre of Alexandria chanting: "Down, Down, Hosni Mubarak". Some also shouted slogans in support of the army and shook hands with soldiers.

• Thousands of protesters have gathered in Ishmalia, east of Cairo. Police have fired teargas and rubber bullets at the crowds.

• Dozens have gathered in the central areas of Suez chanting: "Down, Down, Hosni Mubarak". About 100 people gathered outside the morgue in the city, saying it was holding the bodies of 12 protesters. However, the demonstrations appear to be smaller than recent days.

• Thousands have taken to the streets in the Nile Delta city of Damanhour, chanting anti-government slogans and calling on Mubarak to quit.

10.37am: The Egyptian army has warned people not to gather in groups and to observe the curfew that was imposed last night in a bid to end the protests against Mubarak's rule, Reuters reports.

"The armed forces are appealing to citizens not to stand in groups and to abide by the curfew," state TV reported. Anyone breaching the curfew would be subjected to "legal procedures", it added.

10.39am: Here's more from Reuters on the protest outside a morgue in Suez where around 100 people have gathered because they say the bodies of 12 protesters killed yesterday are being held there:



A group of women sitting on a low wall near the morgue wailed and wept when a hospital truck brought another body.

Medical sources said late on Friday 13 protesters had been killed, but the actual number may well be higher.

About 100 protesters marched along the main road of Suez on Saturday chanting anti-government slogans but so far the demonstrations were nowhere near the scale of recent days.

"We don't want the cabinet to resign, we want Mubarak to resign," said Mohammed, an 18-year-old student, referring to the president sacking his cabinet.

10.42am: Thirty bodies were taken to El Damardash hospital in central Cairo between 1pm and 11pm yesterday, a hospital source told Reuters today. She said two of the dead were children, aged seven and four.

Meanwhile, a government official has told AP that the death toll from this week's unrest has risen to 35, including 10 police officers.

10.43am: Egypt's cabinet has met to formally submit its resignation after Mubarak dismissed the government just after midnight. The official state news agency says the meeting was headed by the prime minister, Ahmed Nazif.

11.14am: Here's a roundup of the protests coverage in today's Guardian:

The main story says Egypt is on the brink, with protesters defying the curfew imposed by Mubarak. Inside the paper, there's a report from the streets of Cairo where, on a day of "fury and freedom", protesters were undeterred in the face of a huge police presence.

The capital had been flooded with so many police that it seemed impossible the columns of protesters could break through to reach the centre. Yet they did. Doused in teargas, peppered with rubber bullets, hosed down by water canon, and beaten, they held their ground through the long day as what had been called as a peaceful demonstration turned violent, with volleys of baton rounds met with petrol bombs and bricks.

There's also a roundup of protests in other cities across the country.

In an analysis piece, the Middle East editor, Ian Black, says Mubarak's sacking of the government is unlikely to defuse the protests. His attempt to shift the blame for the people's unhappiness with his regime on to the outgoing ministers does not look convincing, Black contends.

Mubarak (...) failed to give any sign that he was was considering calling new parliamentary elections or opening up the presidential race later this year to a wider range of candidates – let alone declaring that he would not stand again. Nor did he signal an end to emergency laws – another core opposition demand. (...) As soon as he finished speaking, people surged into the streets in Cairo in defiance of a night-time curfew and again demanded he step down.

Simon Tisdall looks at the US position on the protests, observing how the Obama administration has been caught off guard by the escalating unrest. While the US may espouse a neutral position, he contends this claim is undermined by Washington's close and long-standing political and military ties to Mubarak's regime, plus annual financial support worth about $1.5bn (£946m).

The Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif gives an eyewitness account of yesterday's protests:

If I were not writing this, I would still be out on the street. Every single person I know is out there; people who have never been to protests are wrapping scarves around their faces and learning that sniffing vinegar helps you get through teargas. Once, a long time ago, my then young son, watching a young man run to help an old man who had dropped a bag in the middle of the street, said: 'The thing about Egypt is that everyone is very individual, but also part of a great co-operative project'. Today, we are doing what we do best, and what this regime has tried to destroy: we have come together, as individuals, in a great co-operative effort to reclaim our country.

11.16am: Egyptian state television has announced the resignation of Nazif's cabinet, AP reports.

The head of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty, has told the news agency that Mubarak's dismissal of the government "is a bit of a joke" and will not quell the protests.

People are very clearly saying they want very fundamental change, constitutional change.

Shetty said the closing down of peaceful avenues of protest and expression would backfire on the government and was one of the reasons why demonstrations had turned violent.

11.20am: Police have fired live rounds and teargas at thousands of protesters in Alexandria, Reuters reports. A witness told the news agency that the death toll in the city since yesterday had reached 20.

11.21am: At least 74 people have been killed in the protests to date and 2,000 have been wounded, Reuters has calculated from medical sources, hospitals and witnesses. The agency cautions that this is not an official figure but notes that 68 deaths were reported in Cairo, Suez and Alexandria during yesterday's unrest, with at least six deaths prior to that.

11.23am: The opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has called on Mubarak to stand down and set a framework for a transition of power.

He told Al Jazeera television that only the president could end the unrest across the country.

ElBaradei said Mubarak's speech in which he dismissed the cabinet was dissapointing as it did not go far enough towards addressing the people's desire for change.

11.48am: The BBC has a video interview with its Arabic reporter Assad Sawey whose head is bandaged and shirt covered in blood after he was beaten while being arrested during the protests yesterday.

11.51am: The curfews imposed in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez have been extended to run from 4pm (2pm GMT) to 8am (6am GMT), state television has announced.

12.01pm: I've just spoken with Jack Shenker, who's covering the protests in Cairo. He said there was a "surreal air of normalcy" on the streets of the capital first thing this morning. But within hours this gave way to the charged atmosphere seen over the past few days as thousands once again gathered to protest:

By mid-morning the atmosphere had changed, with tens of thousands returning to the streets and clambering on top of the tanks which are now stationed all over downtown Cairo. As during last night's protests, people were chanting: "The army and the people are as one". But there is growing confusion over what exactly the millitary's stance is. On the Abd El Moniem overpass one tank commander bellowed through a megaphone to a hundred-strong crowd, angrily castigating people for looting, which he said had taken place last night in the nearby neighbourhood of Mohandiseen. He told the crowd they had to be calm and claimed there had been reports of robberies and carjackings throughout the night.

There's speculation that the army is going to use the fear of public disorder as an excuse to clear the streets and re-impose control. Yet despite the uncertainty, all the protesters the Guardian has spoken to appear enthused with optimism.

12.18pm: The Egyptian military has closed tourist access to the pyramids, with tanks and armoured personnel carriers sealing off the normally packed site on the Giza plateau, AP reports.

Meanwhile Reuters says Egypt's stockmarket will be closed tomorrow. The move by the country's financial regulator comes after the market fell sharply over the last few days.

12.29pm: Both the AFP and AP news agencies are reporting that 38 people have died and 2,000 have been wounded in demonstrations since yesterday. They estimate the total death toll to be at least 45.

12.29pm: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has, unsurprisingly, backed Mubarak, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

"No Arab or Muslim can tolerate any meddling in the security and stability of Arab and Muslim Egypt by those who infiltrated the people in the name of freedom of expression, exploiting it to inject their destructive hatred," Abdullah said.

"As they condemn this, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people and government declares it stands with all its resources with the government of Egypt and its people."

The agency said Mubarak assured the king that everything was under control in Egypt, Reuters reports.

12.35pm: Al Jazeera reports that China has blocked the term 'Egypt' from its equivalent of Twitter, the Sina microblogging site, saying the Communist party "is sensitive to any potential source of social unrest".

12.36pm: The US senator John Kerry, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, said Mubarak's dismissal of his government failed to address the Egyptian people's concerns and called on the president to go further to deal with their frustrations.

"I think that we have to see how things move today and, obviously, the key here is for President Mubarak to respond to the needs of his people in a way that is more directly connected to their frustrations, much more so than apparently yesterday's speech succeeded in doing," the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee told AP.

"I think he's got to speak more to the real issues that people feel. Dismissing the government doesn't speak to some of those challenges."

12.45pm: Here's more from today's UK papers on events in Egypt.

The Telegraph leads on a leaked US embassy cable that reveals the US secretly backed leading figures behind the Egyptian uprising who have been planning "regime change" for the past three years.

Meanwhile, the Independent has an analysis of what the unrest, and the recent "jasmine revolution" in Tunisia, means for US policy in the Middle East. Rupert Cornwell writes that the US may be regretting its "freedom agenda" if it looks like its partners in the Arab world are removed from power.

12.47pm: The Washington Post has called on Obama to break ties with Mubarak. The editorial calls on the White House to use its considerable influence over the Egyptian president to bring about a peaceful transition of power.

Rather than calling on an intransigent ruler to implement 'reforms', the administration should be attempting to prepare for the peaceful implementation of the opposition platform. It should be reaching out to Mr ElBaradei - who Friday night was reported to be under house arrest - and other mainstream opposition leaders. And it should be telling the Egyptian army, with no qualification, that the violent suppression of the uprising will rupture its relationship with the United States.

It should be noted that reports that ElBaradei has been placed under house arrest are thought to be inaccurate, according to our correspondents in Cairo. ElBaradei told Al Jazeera today that no such restriction had been imposed on him, although he had not yet tried to leave the house.

1.13pm: The Foreign Office says that around 30,000 British tourists are in Egypt. While it wasn't advising Britons to leave Egypt, it said they should not take part in the protests and should abide by the curfews.

The department is advising against all but essential travel to Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Suez. However, the new travel advice doesn't affect transits through Cairo airport, or Egypt's Red Sea resorts.

1.17pm: Here is some raw AP footage of anti-government protesters back on the streets of Cairo today, chanting slogans against Mubarak.

1.29pm: The San Francisco Chronicle has an interesting piece on the impact of the Egyptian government's shutdown of internet and mobile phone access there yesterday.

It quotes IT expert Jim Cowie as saying the closure of 93% of Egypt's internet traffic could have a major economic impact on the country.

'It is astonishing because Egypt has so much potentially to lose in terms of credibility with the internet community and the economic world,' Cowie said. 'It will set Egypt back for years in terms of its hopes of becoming a regional internet power.'

He said the long-term economic effects are unclear because 'we've never seen a country rebooted on this scale before'.

1.35pm: Reuters says the Egyptian army has released a statement saying that anyone violating the curfew will be in danger. It is also reporting that an Islamic cleric has gone on state television to warn Muslims that shedding blood is prohibited by religious law.

2.01pm: More details on the protest in Tahrir Square from AP. The news agency reports that the demonstration began peacefully with few police seen in the crowds.

"But then police opened fire on some people in the crowd near the Interior Ministry and a number of them were wounded by gunshots. It was not clear whether they used rubber bullets or live ammunition. One army captain joined the demonstrators, who hoisted him on their shoulders while chanting slogans against Mubarak. The officer ripped a picture of the president. "We don't want him! We will go after him!" demonstrators shouted. They decried looting and sabotage, saying: "Those who love Egypt should not sabotage Egypt!"

The demonstrators did not appear satisfied with Mubarak's dismissal of the cabinet last night, the news agency added.

"What we want is for Mubarak to leave, not just his government," Mohammed Mahmoud, a demonstrator, said. "We will not stop protesting until he goes."

2.11pm: Jack Shenker has rung in from Mohamed Mahmoud street near the interior ministry, where running battles have broken out between the central security forces and protesters.

He says protesters are running and throwing stones. There's huge confusion over whether the army are the heroes and liberators they have been hailed as over the past few days, or whether they are the enemy. Some protesters where he is are bombarding soldiers with stones.

2.15pm: Egyptian state television reports that looters broke into the Egyptian Museum during protests last night and destroyed two ancient mummies, Reuters reports.

Archaeologist Zahi Hawass, chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said: "I felt deeply sorry today when I came this morning to the Egyptian Museum and found that some had tried to raid the museum by force last night. Egyptian citizens tried to prevent them and were joined by the tourism police, but some [looters] managed to enter from above and they destroyed two of the mummies."

The museum in central Cairo, which has the world's biggest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, is adjacent to the headquarters of Mubarak's NDP party, which protesters set ablaze yesterday.

The museum houses tens of thousands of objects in its galleries and storerooms, including most of the King Tutankhamen collection.

It should be noted that Guardian reporter Jack Shenker earlier commented that the government might try to use public disorder as an excuse to step up their crackdown on the protests.

2.19pm: A Facebook group has been set up listing protests at Egyptian embassies around the world. (Thanks to orlandobeetle in the comments section for providing the link.)

2.23pm: Thousands of people are continuing to protest after the start of the extended curfew at 4pm (2pm GMT), Reuters reports.

Defying an army warning that anyone violating the order would be in danger, the crowds thronged in central Cairo and in Alexandria.

"It does not feel like there is a curfew, I can see thousands marching next to me," a witness from Alexandria told the news agency.

3.22pm: Police in Cairo are firing live rounds at protesters, according to Jack Shenker.

Running battles have broken out around the interior ministry and protesters are using car doors and corrugated iron as makeshift shields.

Shenker has confirmed with four separate sources that live ammunition is being fired. One of his close contacts was also hit on the head – fortunately by a rubber bullet.

He says there's still confusion over the military's postion. Outside the ministry he saw a tank roll in to cheers from protesters. But it then appeared to move into a holding position, prompting some protesters to throw rocks at it. Other demonstrators tried to stop them.

Reuters reports that the army used tanks and fired shots in the air to force back hundreds of protesters who were attacking the entrance to a building belonging to the Central Bank in a suburb of Cairo.

A witness told the news agency that protesters, who were using wooden planks to try to break into the building, which prints paper money, fled after seeing the tanks approach and hearing the shots.

Reuters has a roundup of the following reactions from world leaders and diplomats:

British foreign secretary, William Hague

He [Mubarak] must seize this moment to make these reforms real and visible and to base them on the universal values that are the right of people in all countries. We are working with our EU partners and other allies on the latest developments to deliver a clear co-ordinated message about our expectations of President Mubarak and in particular the need for him to take responsibility to deliver change. Peaceful reform not repression must be the way forward.



Jonas Gahr Stoere, the Norwegian foreign minister

Egypt has to embark on a process of reconciliation and these vast groups of people need to be given a clear vision of the future that is there for them – jobs, opportunity, education. But we also see that fundamental rights is mobilising people to go to the streets, for the right of expression and the right of elections.

Dominic Asquith, British ambassador to Egypt



I'm struck by the variety of age, of class, of gender, [of the protesters] it's across the board, you can see it, you can see the variety of people there. It's not, from my perception, religiously driven. This is not the Muslim Brotherhood.

Catherine Ashton, EU foreign affairs chief



I reiterate my call on all parties to exercise restraint and calm and I urge the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all peaceful demonstrators from detention. I also reiterate my call upon the Egyptian authorities to urgently establish a constructive and peaceful way to respond to the legitimate aspirations of Egyptian citizens for democratic and socioeconomic reforms.

The German foreign ministry



It is crucial that action quickly follows words. Commitment to political and economic reforms goes in the right direction, but must be implemented quickly and consistently. The security forces should not use violence against peaceful protesters.

Carl Bildt, Sweden's foreign minister



You can describe it as a demographic tsunami to the south of the Mediterranean that can only be met by sustained economic reforms. It is now even more obvious that what Egypt needs is a political initiative that leads to an open and democratic presidential election later this year.

Salam Fayyad, Palestinian prime minister

There is no question, a lot of changes need to take place. If this process of change is managed well – and that begins by those in government not being dismissive of the desire for change given the high degree of dissatisfaction with the status quo.

The EU president, Herman van Rompuy, said the European Union was "deeply troubled" by the spiral of violence in Egypt. He said he hoped Mubarak's promises of reform "will translate into concrete action".

3.30pm: AP reports that at least three demonstrators have been killed around the area of Tahrir Square after thousands tried to storm the interior ministry. Their bodies were carried through the crowd of protesters.

The news agency now puts the death toll at 48, based on information from medical and security officials and witnesses. Of those, 41 have been killed since yesterday.

3.34pm: Mubarak has appointed his intelligence chief and confidante, Omar Suleiman, as vice-president, the official Egyptian news agency reports.

There has not been a vice-president since Mubarak took office in 1981. Mubarak held the post before he was appointed president.

3.43pm: Reuters has the following roundup of analysts' views on the continuing unrest:



Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern politics and international relations at the London School of Economics

This is the Arab world's Berlin moment. The authoritarian wall has fallen – and that's regardless of whether Mubarak survives or not. It goes beyond Mubarak. The barrier of fear has been removed. It is really the beginning of the end of the status quo in the region. The introduction of the military speaks volumes about the failure of the police to suppress the protesters. The military has stepped in and will likely seal any vacuum of authority in the next few weeks. Mubarak is deeply wounded. He is bleeding terribly. We are witnessing the beginning of a new era.





Rosemary Hollis, professor of Middle Eastern policy studies at City University, London

I think it will take a couple of days to organise his [Mubarak's] departure if it happens. It's going to be a messy process and there will probably be some bloodshed. I don't think you're going to get into a situation where you have almost a war with the army on one side and the people on the other. The army has to decide whether it stands with Mubarak or the people. It's one of those moments where, as with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, they can come down to individual lieutenants and soldiers to decide whether they fire on the crowd or not. Different soldiers and groups of soldiers may well make different decisions. In some ways what we're looking at is what happened in Iran in 1979, but without [Ayatollah] Khomenei. These protests are much more leaderless. As with Tunisia – and with Iran in 1979 – what will probably happen is you get an interim government. The question is what replaces it.

Robin Niblet, director at Chatham House



If Egypt stepped in that direction [of political Islam] implications for Israel and Israel's security could be very serious indeed. He [Obama] has to be incredibly careful about the message he sends right now publicly, whatever he says in private. I think the US government in part has to be in very close contact with the Egyptian military, now that they've been brought in to this contact by the president. They are potentially the group that could tell Mubarak to go. It could potentially turn against him ... quietly and privately. A new government will have to undertake all of the social, structural changes ... so that economic opportunity is not trapped in the hands of so few.

Mark Malloch Brown, former UN deputy secretary general and former junior British foreign minister

[Egypt] has in recent years tried to combine a very limited political space with a much bigger social space, underpinned by a very widespread access to electronic media. That appears to have become the Achilles heel of the regime.

3.50pm: At least five protesters were wounded by police when they tried to storm the interior ministry, security sources have told Reuters. This contradicts an earlier report by Al Jazeera that three people had been killed. However, there is still no official confirmation of deaths or injuries.

The US state department is pressing Mubarak to do more than rejig his government. Spokesman PJ Crowley said on Twitter:

The Egyptian government can't reshuffle the deck and then stand pat. President Mubarak's words pledging reform must be followed by action. The people of Egypt no longer accept the status quo. They are looking to their government for a meaningful process to foster real reform. With protesters still on the streets of Egypt, we remain concerned about the potential for violence and again urge restraint on all sides.

4.23pm: Ahmed Shafiq, the former air force commander and civil aviation minister in the outgoing cabinet, has been appointed as prime minister, state television has reported.

4.25pm: Army vehicles have been deployed to protect residents in wealthy compounds in Cairo suburbs, Reuters reports. Witnesses say the action was taken after they heard gunshots and accounts of looting.

Army vehicles have also been deployed to protect five-star hotels, according to the news agency.

Meanwhile, the families of Israeli diplomats have just arrived in Tel Aviv after being evacuated from Egypt by plane.

4.40pm: The Observer's foreign affairs editor, Peter Beaumont, reports on how police fired on crowds outside the interior ministry in Cairo. (Note: the report begins after he describes Jack Shenker and himself arriving at the scene near Tahrir Square.)

4.53pm: Mubarak's appointment of his first ever vice-president is the Egyptian president's first indication that he is preparing for an eventual handover of power, Reuters reports:

Hosni Mubarak's decision to pick Omar Suleiman, his intelligence chief and confidant, as his No. 2 is the first time the 82-year-old leader has hinted at a succession plan and may suggest he will not run in an election scheduled for September. Whether he can hold on to power until then, however, remained in question. Many believe the army holds the key. Until five days of unprecedented scenes of popular defiance and chaos across the country, officials had suggested Mubarak would run again. If not him, many Egyptians believed, his son, Gamal, 47, could be lined up to run. This now seems impossible.

Meanwhile, the speaker of the Egyptian parliament has told al Arabiya television that there are no plans for early elections. The presidential election is due in September.

4.58pm: Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director of Human Rights Watch, has sent in this account of the casualties of the protests in Alexandria:

"I went to the morgue at the Alexandria General Hospital, where I saw 13 bodies of dead people - all men, young and old, but mostly young. Also visited the hospital's emergency room and saw many people who had been shot and were waiting for treatment. Live bullets seem to have been used by police yesterday evening when protesters went to attack police stations, but also by security services against people even in their own homes. One man who told me that thugs (whom he referred to as "mukhabarat", the security services) showed up at his home, accused him of throwing things at police from his windows, and shot him.

"Spoke to an Egyptian lawyer who saw 20 bodies at another Alexandria morgue; there's a third I haven't managed to visit yet. That makes a total of at least 33 confirmed dead here. The Egyptian government has got to rein in its security forces on the streets today.

"Things are very tense in Alexandria. Large protests are ongoing. The police stations appear to have all been burned. Yesterday, demonstrators tried to burn down the building of the intelligence services, but seem not to have succeeded. The army is not intervening - so far."

Amr Hamzawy, research director at Carnegie's Middle East Center, has written an analysis of the protests, outlining why they are substantively different from past demonstrations in the country.

5.36pm: Reuters is reporting that clashes broke out between police and inmates who were trying to escape from a prison in Cairo. It said eight prisoners died in the violence at Abu Zaabal jail northeast of the city.

6.06pm: Good evening, this is Alex Olorenshaw taking over from David. Al Jazeera are reporting that more than 100 people have died in the protests in the past 24 hours – including 25 in Cairo, 38 in Suez and 36 in Alexandria.

6.09pm: Associated Press is reporting that residents in Cairo have boarded up homes and set up neighborhood watches armed with guns, clubs and knives "as looting engulfed the capital".

Residents reported gangs of youths, some on motorbikes, roaming the streets, looting supermarkets, shopping malls and shops. Some of the gangs made it to affluent residential areas in the suburbs, breaking into luxury homes and apartments. The crack of gunfire could be heard in the city centre as well as outlying districts. The situation had spiraled far enough out of control by dusk that the army was deploying reinforcements across the city to restore order and prevent looting, state TV said.

6.16pm: Associated Press reporting 62 deaths in protests over last two days, in contrast to the Al Jazeera figures.

6.27pm: The Atlantic translated some of an "Egyptian Activist's Action Plan" brochure that was printed and distributed before Friday's protests. Makes for interesting reading.

6.36pm: The leader of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood has warned that unrest in Egypt will spread across the Middle East and that Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States, AP reports.

Hammam Saeed's comments were made at a protest outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman, inspired by massive rallies in neighbouring Egypt. About 100 members of the fundamentalist group and activists from other leftist organizations and trade unions chanted "Mubarak, step down" and "the decision is made, the people's revolt will remain."

6.42pm: Al Jazeera reports that in one of the larger districts of Alexandria water has been cut off. There are also reports of clashes between citizens and "thugs" but that the situation is too dangerous for journalists to investigate. There is an absolute absence of police and military, and citizens are at the forefront of efforts to avoid a complete breakdown of order, their reporter says.

6.53pm: Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, has filed this profile of new vice-president Omar Suleiman:

Omar Suleiman, Hosni Mubarak's intelligence chief, is the keeper of Egypt's and the president's secrets, a behind-the-scenes operator who has been intimately involved in the most sensitive issues of national security and foreign policy for nearly 20 years. Suleiman's appointment as vice-president carries two highly significant messages: for the first time since coming to power in 1981 Mubarak has a designated successor – finally quashing speculation that it will be his son Gamal; and that successor has the full confidence of the military. Its role will now be crucial as the Egyptian drama unfolds. Suleiman, 74, is bald and moustachioed and despite his military bearing has a penchant for discreet dark suits and striped ties. Acquaintances often remark on his exquisite manners. In 1995, two years after taking over Egypt's General Intelligence Service (known, as in all Arab countries, as the mukhabarat) he saved the president's life during an assassination attempt in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. He also played a key role in defeating the insurrection mounted by Egyptian armed groups such as Islamic Jihad. For 30 years before that he served in the army, fighting in Yemen as well as in the 1967 and 1973 wars against Israel, rising to be director of military intelligence. Like many Egyptian officers of his generation he was trained in the then Soviet Union. In recent years one of Suleiman's biggest preoccupations has been dealing with the volatile Palestinian file, mediating between the western-backed Fatah movement and the Islamists of Hamas – a group with special resonance in Egypt because of its control of the Gaza Strip and their links to the Muslim Brotherhood. He has also been involved in mediation attempts between rebels and the government in Yemen. Suleiman figures often in US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks. In a meeting with a US military delegation in April 2009 he explained that "his overarching regional goal was combating radicalism, especially in Gaza, Iran, and Sudan." The US and other western governments will see him as a safe pair of hands. But for how long is impossible to say.

7.04pm: Various news sources reporting that the curfew has been broken in Alexandria and Cairo, and that sporadic looting and the cutting off of water is now a major concern.

7.12pm: Al Jazeera has broadcast a statement by the defence ministry calling on Egyptians to stick to the curfew, and to protect their property from looting "thugs". "The ministry is always committed to protecting the people," a spokesman said.

The military is now the only security in the absence of police, Al Jazeera adds.

7.38pm: Vodafone says mobile phone services started to resume across Cairo today, after being shut down yesterday.

"We would like to make it clear that the authorities in Egypt have the technical capability to close our network, and if they had done so it would have taken much longer to restore services to our customers," a Vodafone spokesman said.

"It has been clear to us that there were no legal or practical options open to Vodafone or any of the mobile operators in Egypt but to comply with the demands of the authorities," he added.

7.50pm: David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy have made phone calls to Mubarak.

Meanwhile the BBC's Arabic service reports that Egyptian state TV is giving major coverage to reports of looting and attacks.

There are conflicting reports on who the "thugs" are, with blame being placed upon the secret police, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the protesters in general.

Al Jazeera quotes eyewitnesses who say that people have gathered in Tahrir square in order to find respite from violence elsewhere in Cairo.

7.55pm: PA has details of Cameron's conversation with Hosni Mubarak, in which he expressed his "grave concern" about violence against protesters.

The prime minister urged the embattled leader to "take bold steps to accelerate political reform and build democratic legitimacy" rather than attempt to repress dissent, according to Downing Street. In a joint statement with Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, Cameron added: "The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future. "We urge President Mubarak to embark on a process of transformation which should be reflected in a broad-based government and in free and fair elections."

8.10pm: AFP reports twelve dead in fighting between demonstrators and police in Beni Suef, 100km south of Cairo, citing security officials.

8.24pm: Peter Bouckaert from Human Rights Watch is blogging from Alexandria, and has some updates on looting and the formation of neighbourhood committees:

Every street has men armed with sticks and knives to protect their shops and homes. They told us to stay out of poorer neighborhoods because security is very bad, lots of looting. Egyptians keep telling us they want to determine their own future, not one imposed by other countries, very much like Tunisia. Reports that large numbers of criminals escaped or were released in Alexandria during unrest, adding to looting and criminality. Just got a call from a Popular Committee member in Sidi Basr neighborhood of Alexandria to say looting is going down because of Popular Committee members defending neighborhoods.

8.25pm: Reuters reports that protesters have set fire to the Tax Authority office tower near Cairo's interior ministry, and that Barack Obama held a meeting this afternoon about the developments in Egypt with top advisers including Joe Biden and his national security adviser, Tom Donilon:

"He (Obama) reiterated our focus on opposing violence and calling for restraint; supporting universal rights, and supporting concrete steps that advance political reform within Egypt," the White House said in a statement released after the meeting.

8.35pm: Hyperallergic.com has stills from Al Jazeera's video of the damage at the Egyptian museum in Cairo.

9.29pm: Al Jazeera reports that gangs have been arrested in Alexandria, and that flares have once again been fired at the ruling party's headquarters in Cairo

9.32pm: The New York Times describes an interview on CNN with Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian blogger and journalist.

Eltahawy ... appealed to the media to not fall for what she described as a Mubarak regime plot to make the protests in Egypt seem like dangerous anarchy. "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," she said. Moments later, as Ms. Eltahawy suggested that looting and damage to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo shown on Egyptian television was the work of "the police and the thugs of Hosni Mubarak," the lower third of the screen displayed the banner headline: "EGYPT IN CHAOS." She added, "Egyptians want to fix Egypt, they don't want to destroy Egypt." The network then displayed video from Egyptian state television of damage to the museum, which has been shown around the world on Saturday.

9.46pm: Reuters reports that police shot dead 17 people trying to attack two police stations in Beni Suef governorate, according to witnesses and medical sources. Twelve of those shot were attempting to attack a police station in Biba while five others were trying to attack another in Nasser city. Dozens of others were injured in the exchanges.

10.16pm: Reuters has a Q&A on what might happen next:

Will the appointment of a vice-president end the unrest?

Mubarak's decision to pick Suleiman gave a clear indication that the Egyptian leader understands the magnitude of the social and political upheaval that has gripped his country.

Five days of unrest have forced Mubarak to make the long-delayed move of picking a deputy, signalling that his days in power may be numbered and that he may not run in a presidential election scheduled for September.

With protests keeping the momentum and his army and police failing to quell running battles in the streets, the pressure seems to have grown on the 82-old president from allies and aides to prepare for a transition.

Mubarak's legitimacy has all but evaporated under the overwhelming unrest in which 74 people have been killed and more than 2,000 injured.

It has also diminished the probability that he or his son Gamal, who has been lined up as a possible contender, would run in this year's presidential election.

"Mubarak has been damaged. I can't see how this is not the beginning of the end of Mubarak's presidency," said Jon Alterman, Director of the Middle East Programme for the Center of International Studies.

"It seems that his task now is to try and manage the transition past his leadership. I have a hard time believing that he will be the president in a year."

So far protesters responded to the announcement by stepping up anti-government demonstrators.

Witnesses reported seeing looters ransacking and setting public buildings on fire. Nothing less than Mubarak stepping down can quell the unrest, some said.

"The story of Gamal and Mubarak is over. Now, the regime is looking for who will rescue it. Mubarak, Omar Suleiman and Ahmed Shafiq know each other on a personal level," said Safwat Zayat, a military analyst.

"Their task in the coming months would be to ensure Mubarak's safety until the end of his reign. They will reorganise the regime's internal affairs." What might happen on the streets?

The army has deployed tanks and troops alongside police forces but has so far refrained from using force.

Security forces however have warned that they could resort to tougher measures to impose order.

They said that those arrested carrying out acts of vandalism would be tried in military court. Is this the beginning of the end for Mubarak?

The revolt is the most serious challenge to the Egyptian government since the 1952 coup that ended monarchy and inaugurated a procession of military strongmen.

It has shaken the government to its core, sent shock waves across the Middle East and alarmed Western and regional allies.

Mubarak's nomination of an influential military figure with strong diplomatic credentials as his possible successor speaks volumes about the authorities' resolve to ensure that power stays in the hands of military and security institutions.

Mubarak also secured the much-needed support from the army.

"Mubarak is gone, because of his illness, because of his age and because of what happened now in Egypt," said Bassma Kodmani, the head of Arab Reform initiative.

"This man will be gone by September 2011. He is not an option and everyone knows that and his inner circle knows that.

"Mubarak is buying time. He needs to buy time to provide the needed minimum stability and control of the country to allow for an orderly transition." What did he learn from Tunisia?

Neither Mubarak nor his close aides, including Suleiman, want to see a Tunisia-style exit.

When Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali appeared on television after weeks of rioting, those watching the address said fear appeared to be his dominant emotion.

When Mubarak appeared on TV on Friday, the contrast could not be greater. His was a poised and confident performance. Yet, it did little to calm tens of thousands of protesters.

Seeking to avoid appearing weak, Mubarak delivered a tough message and showed his resolve to stay in power.

The message involved giving the military full control and acknowledging people's economic frustrations, as well as promises to help the poor and introduce political reform.

"Ben Ali made concessions and a day later he was out of the country. He didn't want to make the same mistakes. The regime has broader support than Ben Ali had in the last days," said Alterman.

"The military in Tunisia not only didn't defend the president but they helped push him out of the country. In Egypt, the military rather than push Mubarak is his next line of defence," he said.

"The appointment of Omar Suleiman is intended to send a message that if Hosni Mubarak leaves, the regime remains in place. It is not intended to mollify (the protesters). It is intended to show resolve."

10.34pm: Here's an updated version of our gallery of images from today's protests.

10.43pm: Writing below the line, @Kritik has alerted us to this moving video of Waseem Wagdi, an Egyptian living in London, talking about the recent events during a protest outside the Egyptian embassy.

10.58pm: AP and Al Jazeera report that 19 private jets carrying families of wealthy businessmen have left Cairo for Dubai.

11.24pm: AFP says the death toll from five days of protests has reached 102.

12.32am: That's it for the blog for today – thanks for staying with us.

Here are some stories from today's Observer:

• The paper leads with Hosni Mubarak's frantic bid to cling on to power

• A more detailed article on how Mubarak failed to placate the protesters

• Six Egyptians discuss what the protests mean to them

• Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian-born columnist, on the change sweeping the region