CAIRO (Reuters) – A military coup? A triumph for people power? Egyptians watching as President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule disintegrated on Thursday could not be sure.

When a grim-faced military spokesman appeared on television to read “Communique No. 1″ announcing that the army’s higher council was in continuous session — in Mubarak’s conspicuous absence — it looked like a classic military takeover.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt may have cracked the mould of Arab submission to often corrupt, unaccountable despots, but most still cling to power.

Former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled after his army refused to crush protesters, but the country remains far from stable and a democratic outcome is not assured.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt may have cracked the mold of Arab submission to often corrupt, unaccountable despots, but most still cling to power.

Former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled after his army refused to crush protesters, but the country remains far from stable and a democratic outcome is not assured.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Egypt has long served as the Arab world’s centre of gravity — or of inertia under President Hosni Mubarak. An explosion of street protests has changed all that, with untold consequences for the region and for Western policy.

Many Arabs were already entranced by Tunisia’s popular rising, which with the army’s help forced President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee on Jan. 14 after 23 years in power.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Egypt has long served as the Arab world’s center of gravity — or of inertia under President Hosni Mubarak. An explosion of street protests has changed all that, with untold consequences for the region and for Western policy.

Many Arabs were already entranced by Tunisia’s popular rising, which with the army’s help forced President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee on January 14 after 23 years in power.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Egypt’s military wants to survive, not to be swept away in what looks like the imminent collapse of President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling apparatus.

So will the generals hasten his exit as their Tunisian counter-parts did in persuading former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country on January 14 after weeks of protests?

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Egypt’s military wants to survive, not to be swept away in what looks like the imminent collapse of President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling apparatus.

So will the generals hasten his exit as their Tunisian counter-parts did in persuading former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country on January 14 after weeks of protests?

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Egypt’s military has kept out of this week’s clashes between police and protesters demanding the ousting of 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak, but it could eventually decide his fate, echoing events in Tunisia.

A Tunisian army general’s refusal to back Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s crackdown on protesters is widely regarded as a turning point that forced the former president to quit Tunisia on January 14 after weeks of popular protests.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Yemeni protesters inspired by unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere are demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s long rule, but peaceful change looks unlikely in a tribal land mired in conflict and poverty.

At least 16,000 demonstrators took to the streets in Sanaa on Thursday in the biggest of a wave of anti-government protests this month, echoing the Arab ferment touched off by the popular overthrow of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Only bold reforms can calm Yemen’s “perfect storm” of economic and political woes, the deputy finance minister said in Sanaa, where angry street protests have erupted against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

“People do have fair grievances everywhere in Yemen, but unfortunately they are being used by politicians from both sides,” Jalal Yaqoub told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday.