Tunesia, Egyt and now Yemen: a domino effect in the Middle East?

Army statement now.

Supreme Council will hand down resolutions and statements to be followed realizing that there is no alternative to legitimacy of the demands of the people.

... Salute all the martyrs who have fallen.

Does anyone know if women are allowed to serve in the Egyptian military? Googling presents conflicting reports -- no, or yes, but only in very minor support positions.

from my friend who has just returned to Canada

http://www.youtube.com/user/AlJazeeraEnglish

Thanks for this link, Cycloptichorn

Al Jazeera have had 21 million downloads off this already – it's the best out there.

I think the Egyptians have it right - party tonight - then spend a year
getting ready for proper elections.

Congratulations to them for this spectacular beginning.
Both the Army and Citizens have won a great victory
by peaceful means – it doesn't get any better than that.

Of course it's only the beginning. But at least it's their beginning.
Cheers

Here's the direct live stream from Al Jazeera

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

thanks JPB - and for all your updates

6:57pm GMT:Wael Ghonim seems to be reassured by the military statement reported below.

The military statement is great. I trust our Egyptian Army #Jan25less than a minute ago via Twitter

The statement said: "We know the extent of the gravity and seriousness of this issue and the demands of the people to initiate radical changes. The higher military council is studying this issue to achieve the hopes of our great people."

You're very welcome. As this day passes and the celebrations turn to next steps I imagine this thread will return to Walter's OP.

A humorous response to that is posted on the NYT blog:

2:00pm EST: Sultan Al Qassemi, a columnist for The National, an Abu Dhabi newspaper, passes on a joke circulating by SMS: "Joke I got on my mobile phone: 'After "Victory Friday" in Tunisia and "Liberation Friday" in Egypt, Gaddafi has decided to abolish all Fridays."

From the NYT

2:18pm EDT: Even after what some took as an intentional provocation, Hosni Mubarak's defiant speech on Thursday night, protesters on the streets of Cairo on Friday underscored their commitment to civil disobedience by chanting: "Peaceful! Peaceful!"

Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian journalist in New York whose Twitter feed has been an invaluable source of information on the protest movement, told CNN a short time ago that the success of an Arab revolution driven by purely peaceful means was a powerful example of what can be achieved without the use of force.

Robin Wright, a former correspondent for The Washington Post who writes about the Middle East, made the same point in this set of observations she sent to The Lede on Friday:

First, the ultimate irony is that today is also the anniversary of the Iranian revolution. How different Egypt's transition is--and is likely to be. Whatever Iran claims, the theocrats have to be nervous about the strength of street power and the potential implications for their own opposition.

Second, in a region made famous for suicide bombings, the use of civil disobedience to peacefully force Hosni Mubarak from the presidency after three decades changes the political dynamics, not only in Egypt. The tools of opposition have changed profoundly too.

Finally, the Arab world's old authoritarian order is being shattered, whatever happens next. With Egypt accounting for roughly one-quarter of the Arab world's 300 million people, the transition of political power in Cairo will have widespread effect across the twenty-two nation bloc. From Casablanca to Kuwait, Tripoli to Damascus, Egypt's transition will affect every other Arab country in some way-small or large, direct or indirect.

Cycloptichorn

From the Guardian

7.04pm GMT: Egyptian state TV has bowed to the inevitable and is just showing al-Jazeera's feed. A week ago the government banned the channel from operating. Now this.

This world is changing quickly.

I raise my glass in toast to the Egyptian people.

Can I go to that website or will I be charged under the US Espionage Act and be sent to Guantanamo?


Yes, thanks for all the work, JPB!

Hear, hear! How to run a revolution, indeed!

News feeds are running rampant. Here's something from the Guardain:
7:24pm GMT: The Swiss government has frozen any assets belonging to Hosni Mubarak or family in Switzerland. The Foreign Ministry gave no details on what assets the Mubaraks hold in Switzerland, saying it "wants to avoid any risk of misappropriation of state-owned Egyptian assets".

Here you go, JTT, a direct feed straight from the White House. It's just like being there

http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

7:37pm GMT: Hosni Mubarak spent his last hours in office bitterly denouncing the US, according to a phone call he held with an Israeli politician.

Reuters reports that former Labour cabinet minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer had a 20-minute conversation yesterday with Mubarak: "He had very tough things to say about the United States," Ben-Eliezer told Israeli TV.

According to Reuters:

"He gave me a lesson in democracy and said: 'We see the democracy the United States spearheaded in Iran and with Hamas, in Gaza, and that's the fate of the Middle East,'" Ben-Eliezer said.

"'They may be talking about democracy but they don't know what they're talking about and the result will be extremism and radical Islam,'" he quoted Mubarak as saying.

come to Canada, it's on basic satellite these days

7:54pm GMT: Al Arabiya television is reporting that the Egyptian military will announce the dismissal of the cabinet, the suspension of the upper and lower houses of parliament, and that the head of the constitutional court will form an interim administration with the military council.

Al Arabiya is also reporting that Amr Moussa will step down as secretary general of the Arab League within the next few weeks – and he is talked of as a leading contender in the up-coming presidential elections.