Cairo's streets explode in jubilation

Cairo's streets exploded in joy on Friday when President Hosni Mubarak stepped down after three-decades of autocratic rule and handed power to a junta of senior military commanders.

A grim-faced and ashen Vice President Omar Suleiman announced the handover on state television after an extraordinary national outpouring of rage brought more than a million furious demonstrators onto the streets.

"Taking into consideration the difficult circumstances the country is going through, President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the post of president of the republic and has tasked the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state's affairs," Suleiman said.

Earlier, the 82-year-old strongman had flown out of Cairo to his holiday retreat at Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea, his ruling party said.

As news spread cries of Allahu Akbar - God is greatest! - and howls of victory rang out in the streets of the capital and firecrackers exploded.

In Tahrir Square, several protesters fainted with the emotion of the moment following two weeks of protest.

The plaza has become a focal point of the revolt since it was occupied by protesters in late January, and earlier in the day had been thronged by hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, who prayed and chanted abuse at Mubarak.

"People here don't care if he's in the pala ce or not. We want him to quit the presidency," said 40-year-old Mohammed Hamdan, who works for an oil firm, as he joined the protest outside Mubarak's palace in the Cairo suburbs.

"He has to leave the country, our demands are clear, we want the entire NDP to be dissolved and to get out because they have destroyed the country," said Magdi Sabri, a smartly dressed middle-aged man outside state television.

In a show of solidarity in at least lower levels of the army, three Egyptian officers shed their weapons and uniforms and joined the protesters.

An impassioned preacher addressed the military in his sermon, exhorting them to "act in a way that will be acceptable to God on judgement day," shortly before fainting and being carried away through the crowd.

On Thursday night, hundreds of thousands had crowded into Tahrir Square to hear a speech that was widely expected to be Mubarak's last as president.

Instead, he delegated some of his powers to his ally and Egypt's former intelligence supremo, Omar Suleiman, while vowing he would stay in office until September and one day die in Egypt, ruling out a flight into exile.

Mubarak had also been on a collision course with the international community, and in particular Egypt's key ally and donor, Washington.

In his speech on Thursday, he took a swipe at the United States and other countries that want a faster transition to democracy in the Arab world's most populous nation, vowing: "I have never bent to foreign diktats."

US President Barack Obama reacted with a flash of anger of his own, saying Mubarak had failed to map out "meaningful or sufficient" change, or to speak clearly enough to Egypt and the world.

Selected live reports (Malaysian time)

1.11am (More from Tahrir Square): "I'm happy, I'm exhausted," says Mohammed Gamal, a 21-year-old Cairo University student, one of a new generation of web-savvy young people who were behind the revolt in the Arab world's largest country.

"Now the Egyptians have their freedom. We broke down the wall of fear. We changed our people," he said.

"I'm relieved, because we all thought it wasn't going to happen," said Alia, a government employee who declined to give her surname.

"The people made a very big sacrifice, their lives," she added. "Now we can join the free nations of the world. If we are strong enough to do this we can do anything."

1.04am: World oil prices slide and European stock markets bounce following news of Mubarak's resignation.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March sank to $100.43 per barrel, before pulling back to $100.75, down 12 cents from yesterday closing level.

1.03am: Iran says Egyptians have achieved a "great victory" with the resignation of Mubarak.

12.54am: Outside Mubarak's fortified presidential compound, Lubna Darwish weeps. "I'm crying because I'm happy," the 24-year-old tells AFP.

"I'm happy, but we have much more to do. The people need to control this. We love the army, but the people made this revolution and they should control it."

Mohammed Gouda, an 18-year-old student, echos her concern.

"We don't want another 1952. That was a coup, not a revolution. Has Mubarak resigned or has the army taken over? The youth should remain alert," he said, referring to Egypt's last military takeover.

12.46am: Wall Street investment bank Brown Brothers Harriman says: "We think having the military take over was the best solution in ending the deadlock between the protesters and Mubarak."

However, the bank warns in a comment: "there are still more questions than answers with regards to Egypt’s ultimate fate and so investors must be prepared for ongoing volatility."

12.42am: Jubilation erupts in Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave hemmed in between Israel and Egypt.

12.40am: Israel hopes the transition of power in Egypt after the departure of Mubarak will be conducted "smoothly," a government official tells AFP.

12.38am: Tunisians dance in the street and blare their horns in celebration at the toppling of Mubarak today, only four weeks after their own long-time ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted.

12.35am: European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton welcomes Mubarak's decision to stand down, saying he has "listened to the voices of the Egyptian people" and opened the way to reform.

By departing Mubarak has "opened the way to faster and deeper reforms".

"It is important now that the dialogue is accelerated leading to a broad-based government which will respect the aspirations of, and deliver stability for, the Egyptian people," Ashton said in a statement.

12.32am: Palestinian faction Hamas hails "start of the victory of the Egyptian revolution."

12.30am: Suleiman's statement: "Taking into consideration the difficult circumstances the country is going through, President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the post of president of the republic and has tasked the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state's affairs."

12.27am: Cairo erupts with joyful dancing, singing and cries of "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) as Mubarak's 30-year rule comes to an end following more than two weeks of mass protests.

12.24am: Mubarak survived 10 attempts on his life, and at 82 his health was a subject of speculation. But in the end, it was his people who brought down Egypt's modern-day pharaoh.

12.22am: Obama to make on-camera statement on Mubarak resignation

12.20am: Mubarak 'listened to the voices' of Egypt's people: EU

12.14am: US stocks surge on news of Mubarak's resignation, with the Dow moving from an early slight loss to add 0.30 percent, while the Nasdaq also rose 0.30 percent.

12.07am: Mubarak hands power to Egyptian army: VP Suleiman

12.03am: Mubarak steps down: VP Suleiman

- AFP