Across Egypt, tens of thousands of demonstrators remained on the streets of all major cities last night, breaking curfew and ignoring the army’s warning that anyone who breaks the curfew will be in danger. Here’s the latest on the developing protests and changing government in the Mideast:
• Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak picked former air force commander Ahmed Shafiq as the next prime minister, and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as the vice-president. The decisions ensured that men with military affiliations are in the top three political jobs in Egypt. (Mubarak, 82, was also a former air force chief.) Suleiman “is someone that we know well and have worked closely with,” U.S. State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said. Suleiman will be the first vice-president during Mubarak’s presidency. [Reuters, CNN]
• In Cairo, police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters at the interior ministry, but the army has yet to step in. Injuries have been reported. At least 74 people have been killed in Egypt since the protests began, and at least 31 more people have been killed in protests in Alexandria this morning. Meanwhile, clashes also broke out between police and prisoners attempting to escape from a Cairo prison today. None of the prisoners managed to escape, but eight were killed and hundreds were wounded. [BBC, CNN, Reuters]
• Dozens of activists calling for the ouster of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s president, have clashed with government supporters in Sanaa, Yemen. Police have attacked the demonstrators, who marched to the Egyptian embassy today chanting “Ali, leave leave” and “Tunisia left, Egypt after it and Yemen in the coming future.” No casualties have been reported in the Yemen clashes. [Al Jazeera]
• Police in downtown Cairo opened fire on a massive crowd of protesters demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak today. At least three were killed. [NYDN]
