Egypt's new military rulers said they had dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution and would govern only for six months or until elections took place, following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
Troops, some wielding sticks, earlier took control of Tahrir Square, the focus of the 18 days of protests that swept Mubarak from power, to let traffic through central Cairo as the army struggled to return life to normal.
The Higher Military Council, which took over after a revolt that changed modern Egyptian history and ended Mubarak's 30-year rule, promised a referendum on constitutional amendments.
The initial response from opposition figures and protest leaders was overwhelmingly positive. ‘Victory, victory,’ chanted pro-democracy activists in Tahrir Square. ‘More is needed, more is needed,’ others yelled.
‘It is a victory for the revolution,’ said Ayman Nour, who challenged Mubarak for the presidency in 2005 and was later jailed. ‘I think this will satisfy the protesters.’
Protest organisers were forming a Council of Trustees to defend the revolution and urge swift reform from a military intent on restoring law and order during the transition.
Police officers, emboldened by Mubarak's downfall, gathered outside the Interior Ministry to demand higher pay. Warning shots were fired in the air. No one was hurt.
The cabinet met and, for the first time, the portrait of Mubarak did not gaze over its proceedings as Egyptians quietly removed once ubiquitous images of the 82-year-old former leader.
Protesters have demanded the release of political prisoners, the lifting of a state of emergency, the abolition of military courts, fair elections and a swift handover to civilian rule.
The army has said it would lift emergency law, used to stifle dissent under Mubarak, when "current circumstances end". But it has not specified a timetable.
As the momentous events in Egypt continued to ripple across the Middle East, demonstrators in Yemen, inspired by protests in Tunisia and Egypt, clashed with police blocking them from marching on Ali Abdullah Saleh's presidential palace.
Eight major pieces stolen from Egyptian Museum
Eight major pieces have been stolen from the Egyptian Museum, including a statue of King Tutankhamun, Egypt's minister of state for antiquities Zahi Hawass said.
The objects missing from the famed museum included ‘a gilded wood statue of the 18th Dynasty king Tutankhamun being carried by a goddess’ and parts of ‘a gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun harpooning,’ Mr Hawass said in a statement.
Looters broke into the museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square on 28 January when massive protests against Mubarak drove his despised police from the streets in a series of running battles.
