Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt and handed power to the military, bowing to the demands of protesters who have occupied central Cairo for the past three weeks demanding an end to his 30-year rule.
\n\u201cMubarak has decided to relinquish the office of the presidency,\u201d said Vice President Omar Suleiman in a statement on state television today. \u201cHe has instructed the Supreme Council of the armed forces to take over the affairs of the country.\u201d
\nThe resignation came after Egyptians streamed out of Friday prayers vowing to topple Mubarak, 82, after he yesterday defied calls for him to leave for the second time this month. Military helicopters buzzed the presidential palace at dusk and Arabiya television earlier reported that Mubarak had left Cairo for the Sinai resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
\nAl-Jazeera correspondent Sherine Tadros, reporting from Tahrir Square, say a number of demonstrators have fainted amid the jubilation and been helped out of the area.
\nPresident Obama was notified of Mubarak’s resignation during an Oval Office meeting. He then watched the TV coverage for several minutes in an outer office. Obama will make a statement at 1:30 p.m. ET.
\nEgyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, reacting to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, says: “This is the greatest day of my life. The country has been liberated.”
\nThe announcement opens a new phase in a crisis that was sparked by the ouster of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on Jan. 14 and is rippling through the Arab world, which holds more than 50 percent of the world\u2019s oil reserves.
\nThe army council, at its highest state of alert since the 1973 war with Israel, will likely face calls for immediate elections from the thousands of young protesters who have crammed Cairo\u2019s Tahrir Square and used Facebook and Twitter to organize themselves.
\nGoogle Inc. executive Wael Ghonim, a figurehead of the protests, earlier today read out a list of demands that included abolishing all restrictions on forming political parties and giving voting rights to Egyptians living abroad.
\nThose elections may bolster the Muslim Brotherhood, banned by Mubarak, and other opposition groups shut out of power in the most populous Arab country.
\nLONGEST RULER
\nEgypt\u2019s default risk today jumped the most in six days and the country\u2019s bonds and London-listed shares sank as concern deepened about the outcome of the standoff. The yield on the government\u2019s 5.75 percent dollar bond due 2020 climbed 22 basis points to 6.72 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of 2:18 p.m. in London.
\nMubarak, a former air-force general who as president was commander of the largest military force in the Arab world, was the nation\u2019s longest-serving ruler in more than 150 years. He controlled a government that was the linchpin of U.S. policy in the Middle East for three decades.
\nMubarak kept peace with Israel, with which Egypt had had formal peace for only two years when he took office, supported U.S. counterterrorism efforts, backed Iranian sanctions over its nuclear program and helped broker Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
\nAt the same time, Mubarak controlled a regime condemned by the U.S. government for its lack of basic freedoms at home, for its widespread suppression of political opposition and for the torture of Egyptian citizens, which was often carried out with impunity, according to the State Department.
\nSource: Bloomberg.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt and handed power to the military, bowing to the demands of protesters who have occupied central Cairo for the past three weeks demanding an end to his 30-year rule. \u201cMubarak has decided to relinquish the office of the presidency,\u201d said Vice President Omar Suleiman in a statement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n