Thousands of Egyptian protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted into chants of "Down with Mubarak!" and waved their shoes above their heads in disgust after President Hosni Mubarak's speech Feb. 10, which defied nearly universal expectations that he would accede to demands the he step down. Instead, he said he would stay on until September elections, while delegating most powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman. Protesters immediately spread out from Tahrir Square, surrounding the parliament building, council of ministers headquarters and other top government offices—all guarded by thick ranks of army troops and tanks. Facing off with the troops, they chant: "Egyptian army, the choice is now, the regime or the people!"

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square and towns across Egypt Feb. 8, in the biggest show of defiance to President Hosni Mubarak since the protests began. The immense crowd hailed as a hero Google executive Wael Ghonim whose Facebook site helped launch the protest movement on Jan. 25, and who was released the previous day after having been detained and held blindfolded for 12 days. Many protesters carried the symbols of the Internet social networks Facebook and Twitter, which have been vital mobilizing tools for the opposition. While larger crowds gather daily to protest, several thousand occupy Tahrir Square around the clock, sleeping under plastic sheets or under army tanks. (AFP, BBC News, Feb. 8)

Egyptian security forces in Rafah, the Sinai peninsula town bordering the Gaza Strip, came under attack Feb. 7 by gunmen believed to be from the radical Islamist group Takfir Wal-Hijra. An officer and a civilian were injured in the two-hour clash, which began when militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at a military patrol. The Rmeilat Bedouin tribe reportedly joined with with the security forces to push back the militants.

Opponents of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with Vice President Omar Suleiman on Feb. 6, but rejected an offer to be included in political reform plans, and renewed their demands that Mubarak step down. That Suleiman agreed to sit down with the groups—which included the officially banned Muslim Brotherhood—was itself an historic concession, but the talks produced no breakthrough in the two-week-old standoff. Despite cold and wet weather, Cairo's Tahrir Square remains occupied by thousands of protesters, who spent the night sleeping on the ground in front of tanks to block the army from advancing on the square.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with his new government Feb. 5, as the executive committee of his ruling party stepped down in a purge evidently aimed at appeasing protesters who have now been taking to streets for 12 consecutive days. Tahrir Square remains occupied by demonstrators, who rejected the cabinet and party changes as inadequate and continue to demand Mubarak's resignation.

Egyptian protesters held a massive "departure day" rally Friday Feb. 4, aimed at ousting President Hosni Mubarak. Tens of thousands again filled Cairo's Tahrir Square—although this time army troops in riot gear backed up with armored vehicles formed a cordon around the square and controlled access, effectively separating the protesters from pro-Mubarak mobs, and avoiding violence. Inside the square, the atmosphere was festive—although there was no sign that Mubarak had responded to demands that he step down.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Feb. 2 praised the efforts of Egyptian protesters while repeating concerns over casualties, calling on the nation's leaders to give citizens the democratic reform they demand. There are currently unconfirmed reports of 300 casualties and 3,000 injured. Citing Article 21 of the of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Pillay stated that the will of the people should determine the government:

Tens of thousands of protesters massed on Feb. 3 at Yemen's Sana'a University for a "day of rage" against Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule—while government loyalists flooded the city's central square in support of the embattled president. With Saleh supporters, some of them armed, taking over Tahrir Square the previous night, protest organizers were forced to change the planned venue of their demonstration. From early morning they drove through the streets publicizing the new site over megaphones, saying that "the men of the ruling party and their armed elements are holding Al-Tahrir."