• Ministers appear divided over Mubarak

    By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

    Update 2:33 p.m. ET: A senior U.S. official says evidence like the comments below confirms that "there is a debate going on inside the inner circle."

    Speaking to NBC News' Courtney Kube, the official declined to speculate whether the members of that "inner circle" are influential enough — and the disagreements strong enough — to force Mubarak to step down, saying only that the current situation is "just not sustainable."

    Even without the rumblings within the government, "the economy continues to grind down," which could force a resolution sooner rather than later, the official said.

     

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    While some government ministers are reported to be joining protesters in Tahrir Square, others appear to be falling in line behind President Hosni Mubarak.

    The Middle East network Al Arabiya reports that Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq predicts that Mubarak probably wouldn't turn over power to Vice President Omar Suleiman. "We need the president for legislative reasons," Al Arabiya quotes Shafiq as saying on state television.

    (The undetailed report was picked up by Reuters; MSNBC TV is reviewing a tape of Shafiq's comments and will have more shortly.)

    Meanwhile, Hala Gorani of CNN International says in a series of tweets that she has interviewed Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, who said Mubarak would try to stay in office through the elections:

    "Abul Gheit said outside forces cannot dictate transition of power. Plan is still for Mubarak to stay on til Sept."

  • Egypt roundup: Muslim brotherhood rejects new government

    By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

    Update 11:03 a.m. ET: Leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood tell NBC News in a call to its Cairo bureau that it "rejects the new government and calls on Egyptian people to continue with demonstrations and to spread the demonstrations throughout the country until the regime has fallen. We call on people to have patience until they succeed."

    Catching you up on the protests in Egypt after a momentous weekend:

    • The seventh day of protests opened today with the wholesale replacement of President Hosni Mubarak's Cabinet as thousands of protesters poured into Tahrir Square chanting, "Get out ... we want you out," and singing the national anthem. Msnbc.com rounds up developments.

    • Israelis are closely watching the situation in one of their few allies in the region, NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports from Tel Aviv:

    NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports from Tel Aviv, where Israelis are tuned in to the political uprising in their neighboring country.

    • A flight carrying 42 dependents of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has just touched down in Larnaca, Cyprus, this morning, NBC's Tom Aspell  reports from the Cypriot capital. Another charter flight with 150 or more evacuees is expected, but there is no word yet on when it will arrive. 

    Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Janice Jacobs tells MSNBC there are seven charter flights scheduled for today heading to Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. If all the scheduled flights go out, the United States have transported more than 900 Americans out of Egypt and expects to remove 1,000 more tomorrow. 

    NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports that the U.S. military has no direct role in the airlift but is watching the situation closely and planning for contingencies.

    • State newspapers have published a sharply worded letter from Mubarak ordering the new prime minister, former Air Force Gen. Ahmed Shafiq, him to move swiftly to introduce political, legislative and constitutional reforms. 

    • Preparations are continuing for a massive demonstration of more than 1 million people tomorrow in Cairo. The New York Times has details. 

    • The Washington Post reports that uniformed police are back on the streets after not having been in evidence over the weekend. The army has not interfered with the protests and has not enforced the curfews. That could change, however, with police back in the picture," it says. 

    • Al-Jazeera, which has been the leading conduit of news from the country, reports that six of its journalists were arrested and held for about 90 minutes. "The move comes a day after Al Jazeera was told to shut down its operations in the country and saw its signal to some parts of the Middle East cut," it says. 

    • China is also censoring reports to its huge population. "A search for 'Egypt' on the Twitter-like service Sina brings up a message saying, 'According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, the search results are not shown,'" The Christian Science Monitor reports.