Mass Protests on "day of Departure"

TENS of thousands of protesters have been gathering in Cairo for another day of mass protests in what is being called the "Friday of departure".

US officials say that Barack Obama's administration is in talks with senior Egyptian officials about the possible immediate resignation of hated president Hosni Mubarak.
And in an interview last night the 82-year-old said he was fed up and wanted to stand down but could not do so because the country would sink into chaos if he left.

David Cameron today urged the regime in Egypt to act on international calls for an orderly transition to democracy.
Arriving at an EU summit in Brussels, the Prime Minister warned: "If we see on the streets of Cairo today state-sponsored violence by thugs hired to beat up protesters, the regime will lose any remaining credibility it has in the eyes of the watching world, including Britain."
He went on: "We have been clear that Egypt should be taking steps to show there is a clear, credible, transparent path towards transition.
"So far the steps taken have not met the hopes of the people.
"EU leaders today have to come together to show they support that orderly transition."
Meanwhile, Britons arriving home after fleeing escalating violence have described Cairo as being like a war zone, with marauding thugs and escaped prisoners terrorising the streets.
The 161 passengers arrived at Gatwick Airport last night on the first of two Foreign Office-chartered flights from the Egyptian capital.

Scary

Among those fleeing the violence was 16-year-old Shukria Ahmed-Nur, who told how rampaging thugs terrorised the streets near where she lived.
She said: "There were men with samurai swords, machetes and other weapons.
"They were outside our apartments, walking up and down the stairs, which was really scary.
"We were just hoping we would get out alive."
Mother-of-two Jala Ibrahim, 33, from Fulham, West London, said: "The country is in a really bad state at the moment. It's a bit like a war zone but the people are fighting for their rights."
Robert Mant, 34, who lives in Cairo with his 33-year-old Egyptian wife Kariman, said he saw escaped prisoners dressed in civilian clothes roaming the streets.
He said: "There are gun battles between prisoners in the streets. I got hit by a rock. It's disgusting, it's a disgrace what is happening."
Stephanie Harkin, 25, a teacher from Luton, Bedfordshire, said: "Our main problem was prisoners escaping from a nearby prison. We had a lot of men outside our house and so we had to create a makeshift neighbourhood watch.
"We had to sleep with knives by us as well.
"Across the road on the next compound there were reports that seven people had been killed and that neighbours had been attacked by thieves."
The Foreign Office has chartered a second plane tomorrow to bring home more stranded Brits.
British nationals without a pressing need to be in Cairo, Alexandria or Suez have been urged to leave by commercial means, where it is safe to do so.