Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

1.29pm: Time for a summary:

Live blog: recap

• An estimated one million people have gathered in Tahrir Square (10.43am), fulfilling the hopes of opponents of Hosni Mubarak's regime who wanted to make this the biggest protest since demonstrations began a week ago. Protesters believe this could be the last few hours of Mubarak's rule, but it remains unclear whether they will march on the presidential palace as planned.

• Mohamed ElBaredei has said Mubarak "must leave to avoid bloodshed" and said preparations have already begun for the "post-Mubarak era" (12.03pm). He also attacked Britain's response to the protests (7.48am).

• Egypt's key ally Turkey has urged Mubarak to meet the popular demands for change. Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Egyptian leader should "lend an ear to the people's cries and extremely human demands". He also postponed a visit to Cairo.

• Jordan's King Abdullah has responded to the gathering pace of pro-democracy protests in the Middle East by dismissing his government and appointing a new prime minister (12.45pm).

• Internet restrictions have tightened, with the last of the country's main internet service providers cut off.

• Egypt's credit rating has been downgraded by Standard & Poor's to BB, it's second-highest "junk" rating. The stock market remains closed and will also be shut tomorrow (10.21am).

1.23pm: It's not just Cairo, there are reports of huge demonstrations in several other Egyptian cities including: Suez, Alexandria, Ismailiya, Mansoura, Damietta, and Mahalls.

The Enduring America live blog cites Al-Jazeera reports of 250,000 demonstrating in Suez and more than 100,000 in Alexandria. [ http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2011/2/1/egypt-and-beyond-liveblog-will-a-million-march.html ]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/feb/01/egypt-protests-live-updates#block-48