1442: Heba, from Cairo, writes: "I live in a building that overlooks the city, there is a big crowd, and perhaps more than a thousand people are marching. I haven't seen any scenes of violence. It's been quite civilised so far, although this is my first revolution! The police have used quite a bit of tear gas and I can see black smoke from behind the television building where I live. I can also hear quite a lot of action. I haven't been able to leave my home because of my elderly mother. When the police started using the tear gas, fumes wafted into our flat, making my eyes water and burning my nose, making it difficult to breath. Everyone is chanting, there's a mass chorus of people demanding change. The most interesting aspect of the demonstration is the fact that all kinds of people are taking to the streets. People from different social classes and different backgrounds - this is very rare in Egypt. In the past, only the disaffected would consider protesting; now everyone, even those with a vested interest in the regime, are out. I've never seen it."
Hosni Mubarak.
Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as the president of Egypt, handing control of the country to the armed forces. Mubarak stepped down after eighteen days of mass protests across the country.

"In these difficult circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the position of the presidency. He has commissioned the armed forces council to direct the issues of the state," said the vice president of Egypt, Omar Suleiman. Both houses of parliament and the cabinet are expected to be suspended following Mubarak's resignation the BBC reports, quoting Al-Arabiya.

In response to the resignation, Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei stated that "This is the greatest day of my life. The country has been liberated."

Mubarak had been Egypt's president for nearly 30 years.