http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/330-131/4784-breaking-cairo-is-falling
Excerpt:

Egyptian Army units have spared the protesters, thus far. (photo: Ed Ou/NYT)

BREAKING: Cairo Is Falling

By Reader Supported News, Staff

29 January 11

Reports emerging from Cairo, Egypt, make clear a Mubarak regime in downfall. Apparently the airport in Cairo is jammed, and Mubarak family members are reported to have arrived in London.

The pattern for Egyptian Army units has been one of peacemakers and non-opposition to the protesters. The Egyptian Army appears neutral, but unwilling to crush government opposition.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is reported to have named as first-ever vice president, his intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. Suleiman appears positioned for a bid as successor to Mubarak. Whether or not such a succession would be viable in light of opposition developments is unclear. Observers speculate that Suleiman may conversely be focused on preserving the Mubarak regime's control even if Mubarak himself flees.

Multiple reports of government-loyal family members fleeing Egypt for safe havens in Europe and the Middle East paint a portrait of a regime in its last throes.

For Mubarak, whose regime has enjoyed staunch Western - particularly American government - support, recent events, apparently inspired by the uprising in Tunisia, strike an ominous tone.

In a stunning departure from previous American administrations, the Obama White House has distanced itself from the Mubarak regime, choosing rather to sound a note of caution on human rights transgressions. Stopping short of statements by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who have called in a release for a "process of transformation," the Obama administration's position is nonetheless far removed from the unequivocal support Mubarak has enjoyed in the past.

Striking a more cautious tone, a senior US administration official expressed a preference for "managed change" and "adjustments over a fairly extended period of time."

Events in Cairo are moving and developing rapidly. It is far from clear what course power will take. What is clear is that the Mubarak regime is in retreat.

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_egypt0068_01_27.asp

Opposition: 'Mubarak's family has left Egypt'

Excerpt:

Thursday, January 27, 2011     CAIRO — The family of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is said to have fled rising protests in Egypt. The Egyptian opposition has reported that the wife and children of Mubarak have left Egypt for Europe amid rising unrest. The opposition, in an assertion confirmed by a Western diplomat, said Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, son, Gamal, and granddaughter arrived in London on a private jet as Egypt's defense minister secretly flew to the United States. "Mubarak's family has left Egypt," an opposition source said. "This marks a new phase in our campaign." The departure of Mubarak's family took place amid bloody riots by thousands of protesters who appeared to adopt the model in Tunisia. The protesters, organized by the April 6th Movement, hurled firebombs and rocks toward anti-riot forces and attacked police and military vehicles in what was regarded as the bloodiest unrest in Egypt. "No agitating movement or protests will be allowed," the Egyptian Interior Ministry said on Jan. 26. Egypt's allies in the Arab world and West have expressed concern over the stability of the Mubarak regime. The 82-year-old Mubarak has not ruled out running again for president in elections scheduled for the fall of 2011. "In Egypt, I really can't say where this is going to go," former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki Al Faisal said. "Whether they can catch up as leaders to what the population is aiming [for] is still to be seen." A Western diplomatic source said Egyptian Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi has arrived in Washington for secret meetings with the administration of President Barack Obama. Egypt receives $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid. "He could be bringing a message from Mubarak or he could be cutting a deal," the diplomatic source said. Egyptian authorities have sought to quell the protests, also reported in Alexandria, Assiyut, Mahala, Port Said, Suez and Tantan. Opposition sources said authorities blocked both Twitter and Facebook starting on Jan. 25 amid protests attended by 200,000 people. They said Suez, where a government building was torched, has also come under curfew. Twitter has been carrying messages for Mubarak to resign. So far, the sources said, about 1,000 people have been arrested, many of them by plainclothes officers who infiltrated the demonstrations. Several journalists were said to have been arrested during their coverage of the unrest. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20029614-503543.html Excerpt: January 26, 2011 11:12 AM Source: Mubarak Family Hasn't Fled Egypt Posted by Joshua Norman 2 comments There's no reason to believe President Hosni Mubarak's family has fled Egypt's rising, deadly political protests, sources in Cairo tell CBS News. Rumors had been flying based on a report by the U.S.-based Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab that the Mubaraks had become scared by the Egyptian protests seeking to oust the president in much the same way Tunisian protestors succeeded in doing recently. Akhbar al-Arab and other sources had been saying that both Gamal Mubarak, the president's son and possible successor, and President Hosni Mubarak's wife had fled Cairo for London. However a source told CBS News that there is no reason to believe that this is true. Gamal was educated in London and travels a lot, but the U.S. has no reason to believe that the family has fled. Egyptian anti-government activists tried to stage a second day of protests around Cairo Wednesday in defiance of an official ban on any gatherings, but police quickly moved in and used tear gas and beatings to disperse the demonstrators. The Interior Ministry warned police would not tolerate any gatherings, and there was a heavy security presence on the streets, poised to crack down quickly on any new signs of unrest. At least three people have been killed and scores arrested in the protests in Egypt thus far.