12.30am: That's about it for tonight. Here's a summary of the day's events. We'll have more on major developments on the guardian.co.uk homepage.

• Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have clashed with police in Cairo and other cities in the largest demonstration in Egypt in a generation. Demonstrators want an end to the authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak's near 30 years of power.

• Three people have been killed in the protests. Reports say two protesters were killed in Suez, while a police officer died after being hit by a rock in Cairo. An Egyptian official said one protester died of respiratory problems after inhaling tear gas, while another was hit by a rock.

• Waves of protesters filled Cairo's central Tahrir Square, vowing to remain in place until the government fell, however police used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area at around 1am. Protesters fled to side streets and bridges across the river Nile, some pledging to continue protesting on Wednesday.

• The Egyptian government has reportedly blocked Twitter – which protester used to coordinate movements – and shut down mobile phone and internet networks. Elsewhere unconfirmed reports suggest Mubarak's son, Gamal Mubarak – who is unpopular in Egypt – has fled to the UK with other family members.

10.58pm: Tim Marshall, who is reporting in Egypt for Sky News, tweets:

@ITwitius Cairo Protestors split up and chased towards bridges and side streets. Sirens everywhere. Occasional tear gas still being fired.

10.19pm: My colleague Jack Shenker is still on the ground in Cairo, but reports that his phone access has been blocked, as has internet access in many areas. Here's his latest file from the Egyptian capital:

As midnight approaches in Cairo thousands of protesters are still occupying the Tahrir Square, vowing to remain in place until the government falls. News has reached Egyptians here of deaths in Suez and the capital, as well as unconfirmed reports that Gamal Mubarak – the president's wildly unpopular son and presumed heir apparent – has fled to London, and they appear more determined than ever to hold their ground.

"We will stay here all night, all week if necessary," said Youssef Hisham, a 25 year old filmmaker. "There are too many people on the streets for the police to charge – if they did, it would be a massacre. I came here today not as the representative of any political party, but simply in the name of Egypt. We have liberated the heart of the country, and Mubarak now knows that his people want him gone."

As fresh waves of protesters broke through police cordons to join the throng in Tahrir, a festival atmosphere took hold – groups were cheered as they arrived carrying blankets and food, and demonstrators pooled money together to buy water and other supplies. "The atmosphere is simply amazing – everyone is so friendly, there's no anger, no harassment, just solidarity and remarkable energy," added Hisham.

Drums were banged and fires started as night moved in; having established their lines, hundreds of security forces stayed put and kept their distance, although alarmingly police snipers were seen to be taking up position on nearby buildings. "They are waiting for numbers to dwindle, and then they will switch off the street lights and charge," warned Ahmed Salah, a veteran activist.

"We must hold Tahrir through the night and tomorrow, so that every corner of Egypt can take us as an inspiration and rise up in revolt," claimed Salah. "It's a matter of life and death now – what happens over the next 24 hours will be vital to the history of this country. It's a very emotional moment for me."

Pamphlets widely distributed amongst protesters declared that 'the spark of intifada' had been launched in Egypt. "We have started an uprising with the will of the people, the people who have suffered for thirty years under oppression, injustice and poverty," read the Arabic-language texts. "Egyptians have proven today that they are capable of taking freedom by force and destroying despotism."

They went on to call for the immediate removal of President Mubarak and his government, and urged Egyptians nationwide to begin a wave of strikes, sit-ins and demonstrations across the country until these demands were met. "Long live the struggle of the Egyptian people," the pamphlets ended.

9.29pm: The We are all Khaled Said Facebook group which I linked to earlier is reporting that the two civilians killed are Suliman Saber Ali and Mustafa Reda.

This is unconfirmed as yet.

8.27pm: An Egyptian interior ministry official has confirmed reports that two protesters and one policeman have been killed in demonstrations in Cairo and Suez.

The unnamed official, speaking to AP, said the two protesters were killed in Suez. The official said one of them had respiratory problems and died as a result of tear gas inhalation, while the other was killed by a rock thrown during the protest.

The policeman died during the protest in Cairo after being hit on the head by a rock, the official said.

8.10pm: Reuters is reporting that three people have been killed during protests in Egypt – two in Suez and one in Cairo.

State television also said a security officer died in central Cairo in a square where thousands of protesters had gathered and clashed with police.

A medical source in a Suez hospital said the two bodies had arrived there. Sources blamed rubber bullets.

An Interior Ministry official in Cairo said he had no information about the deaths in Suez but was checking.

The sources said more than 60 people in Suez suffered the effects of inhaling teargas.

7.20pm: The video journalist Mohamed Abdelfattah has posted some distressing tweets – using the Twitter for Blackberry app – from the scene of the protests, where he says he has been arrested. Here's some of his posts – all filed within minutes of each other and presented here in chronological order.

@mfatta7 Tear gas

@mfatta7 I'm suffocating

@mfatta7 We r trapped inside a building

@mfatta7 Armored vehicles outside

@mfatta7 Help we r suffocating

@mfatta7 I will be arrested

@mfatta7 Help !!!

@mfatta7 Arrested

@mfatta7 Ikve been beaten alot

7.01pm: There are reports that Twitter has been blocked in Egypt in a bid to quell the demonstrations. The protests have been organised in part throught Twitter and Facebook, but TechCrunch says the Twitter website and mobile site have been blocked in the country.

Demonstrators are still able to use third party applications – like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite – however, the US technology website reports. Facebook is still working in Egypt, however, with the group We Are all Khaled Said posting updates every fifteen minutes or so.

Khaled Said was an Egyptian activist who died in 2010, allegedly at the hands of police. One of the recent updates on the group reported that restaurants in Tahrir square – where thousands of protesters are gathered as night falls – are giving away free food to protesters.

6.45pm: Ben Wedeman, CNN's man in Cairo is tweeting away from Egpyt. Here's his latest:

@bencnn 6 troop carriers deployed next to #Egypt TV building in Maspiro, more police on the way. #jan25

6.23pm: Hi all, Adam Gabbatt here taking over from Paul. Here's a summary of the events so far today.

• Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have clashed with police in Cairo in the largest demonstration in Egypt in a generation. Demonstrators want an end to the authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak's near 30 years of power.

• Police have responded with batons, water cannons and tear gas in a bid to quell the crowd. The demonstration, said to be inspired by the uprising in Tunisia, began peacefully before clashes occurred.

• As night falls in Egypt protests have also broken out in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Roads are also being blocked by demonstrators in the Sinai Peninsula, and large rallies are being reported across the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal region.

• US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Mubarak's government is stable despite the demonstrations. Mubarak is an important US partner in the Middle East.

5.57pm: My colleague Jack Shenker in Cairo sends this:



Central Cairo was the scene of violent clashes tonight, as the biggest anti-government demonstrations in a generation swept across Egypt, bringing tens of thousands onto the streets.



Shouting "down with the regime" and "Mubarak, your plane is waiting," protesters demanded the end of President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year dictatorship and said they were fighting back against decades of poverty, oppression and police torture. The protests had been declared illegal by the authorities and were met with a fierce police response, as tear gas and water cannon were fired into the crowd and rocks were hurled into the air by both demonstrators and security forces.



"We have never seen anything like this before – it is the first day of the Egyptian revolution," said Karim Rizk, one of those who joined multiple rallies in the capital. Apparently taken by surprise at the size of protests, police initially stood back and allowed demonstrators to occupy public squares and march through the streets, an unprecedented move in a country where political gatherings are strictly outlawed and demonstrations are normally quickly shut down by security forces. "We have taken back our streets today from the regime and they won't recover from the blow," claimed Rizk.



Today's protests were called by a coalition of online activists, who had declared 25 January a "day of revolt" against the ruling elite and encouraged Egyptians to follow in the footsteps of Tunisia, where mass demonstrations forced President Ben Ali to flee earlier this month. As evening fell thousands of protesters from separate demonstrations converged on Tahrir Square, Cairo's central plaza, and begun an occupation that continued into the night. Demonstrators waved Egyptian and Tunisian flags, hauled down a billboard for the ruling NDP party and chanted "depart Mubarak" at the 82-year-old leader, who will face presidential elections later this year.



5.42pm: Reuters has rounded up a number of comments from those protesting in Egypt:

Ahmed Wagdy, 20, medical student in Cairo:

Enough is enough! We want change. Enough of this man ruling all these years. We don't want inherited rule. This is a state not a kingdom.

Ayman Nour, defeated 2005 presidential candidate, at a protest:

The Egyptian people are great! I see resolve in the march. The Tunisian model is inspiring to all Arab states.

Unnamed protesters:

Tunisia, Tunisia. Down, down, Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak, you have destroyed our country. Get out and leave it. What does Mubarak want? He wants us to kiss his feet? No Mubarak, we will not - tomorrow we'll hit you with our shoes.

George Ishak, founder of the opposition Kefaya movement:

Today is different from any other day. Everyone will be here.

Abdo, 50, engineer:

We have a right to express our opinions. The point is to do it without damage. You think that the police officers don't want to be down here? Just watch, soon they will [join us].

Tobar, owner of a sportswear shop that had to close down:

We are protesting against all the laws that have led to the worst living conditions, covering health to education. All we want is to work, that's all.

Protesters in Mahalla el Kubra, site of 2008 riots:

Tell the police, tell the army, we cannot find a loaf of bread. Oh Gamal [Mubarak] and your dad, Mahalla hates you.

Protesters' chant in Alexandria:

Revolution, revolution, like a volcano, against Mubarak the coward.

Demonstrators in Ismailia, on the Suez Canal:

Where are you freedom?

Saeed Refaat, 25, at Cairo protest:

This is the march to freedom I have been waiting for all my life.

Police officer speaking on phone in Cairo near demonstrators:

We have orders not to clash with them.

Mohamed M on a Facebook group that led calls for protests:

I will go to the streets on the 25th of January because this country is my country and I vow an oath that I am ready and willing to die for its sake.

Issandr el Amrani, blogging on Arabist.net

In my book, if you get a tenth of the 80,000 people or so who support the initiative online, it will be a success.

A commuter in Cairo:

It's useless. No matter what they do nothing will change and if they arrest them [protesters] it's the end of them.

5.40pm: Here are the full quotes from Hillary Clinton regarding Egypt:

We support the fundamental right of expression and assembly for all people and we urge that all parties exercise restraint and refrain from violence. Our assessment is that the Egyptian government is stable and is looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.

5.25pm: Meanwhile, in Tunisia, my colleague Peter Beaumont reports the first real divisions over the direction of the jasmine revolution, with the first significant demonstration in favour of the interim government (see picture below). From Tunis, Peter reports:

Confusingly they are also chanting the same word – "degage" (get out) – the anti-government demonstrators are using, but they mean the unions. These demonstrators in Habib Bourguiba seem to be reflecting the line of the army's chief of staff yesterday – which is that they support the revolution and the ouster of President Ben Ali but don't want a vacuum and chaos. There were some fist fights when both sides met today and you can see that this is the emerging faultline. Meanwhile in the Casbah at the prime minister's office, the anti-government protesters are settling in for the long haul with tents and mattresses.

5.16pm: Hillary Clinton (left), the US secretary of state, has urged all sides in Egypt to exercise restraint in the wake of today's protests. She said she believed the Egyptian government was stable and looking for ways to respond to its people's aspirations.

5.02pm: In the comments, orlandobeetle draws attention to this video which shows dramatic footage, apparently from Cairo today, of a man standing in front of a police truck and being hit with a water cannon.

And here is a gallery of images from Cairo today. The 11th photograph, showing tear gas being fired, is particularly striking.

4.56pm: The situation in Egypt seems to be escalating quite dramatically, but unrest has continued in Lebanon, too.

Protesters burned tyres and blocked roads after Najib Mikati, who is backed by Hezbollah, was named as prime minister. Hezbollah, then in opposition, ousted prime minister Saad Hariri earlier this month because he would not renounce support for a tribunal investigating who killed his father, the former PM Rafiq Hariri; Hezbollah members are likely to be implicated.

Mikati is to start talks on forming a new government on Thursday, and today appealed to the country's political factions to overcome their divisions. Twenty people were injured in protests in Tripoli, called by Sunni Muslims loyal to Hariri. His premiership will be seen as shifting the balance of power in the country towards Syria and Iran.

Reuters reports:

Hezbollah's enhanced political strength will set off alarm bells in Washington and across the region, especially in Israel which in 2006 fought a five-week war in a failed attempt to destroy the Iran-backed movement's formidable military capacity. Israeli officials have since threatened regularly to respond to Hezbollah's arsenal of rockets in Lebanon, upgraded with help from Syria and Iran.

Speaking at the presidential palace after receiving his nomination as prime minister from the presidnet, Michel Suleiman, Mikati said:

All Lebanese leaders should cooperate together to face the current challenges. I reiterate my position ... that my hand is extended to all factions to take part and end division … through dialogue.

Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, urged Mikati to form a "national partnership government". He said:

We have supported the nomination of ... Mikati and we call on him to form a national partnership government. The Lebanese have a chance to close ranks.

Nasrallah claimed Mikati, a Sunni who was last prime minister in 2005, was not the Shia group's candidate, but said it had backed him as a compromise figure.

The biggest Lebanese protests took place in Tripoli, in the north of the country, where 20 people were treated for injuries and protesters set fire to a satellite truck used by Al-Jazeera. Protesters chanted "Sunni blood is boiling" and urged Mikati to withdraw his nomination. In Beirut, protesters blocked a road with burning tyres and overturned rubbish containers. A security source said shots were fired in the air and the army intervened, but no one was hurt.

Hariri appealed for calm and said he rejected demonstrations of violence:

You are angry but you are responsible people. I understand your feelings. This anger should not lead us to what disagrees with our values ... our belief that democracy is our refuge.

His Future Movement says it will not serve in any government dominated by Hezbollah.

Lebanon's power-sharing political system calls for the post of prime minister to be held by a Sunni – and Mikati is Sunni – but Hariri supporters said any figure who accepted the nomination from the Shia Hezbollah to form a new government would be considered a traitor.

4.32pm: The Associated Press news agency has filed a report on thousands of protesters, some throwing rocks and climbing on top of an armoured police truck, clashing with riot police in the centre of Cairo. Police responded with water cannon, batons and tear gas, as we have reported. Demonstrators were shouting "Down with Mubarak," a reference to Hosni Mubarak, the president, and "demanding an end to Egypt's grinding poverty, corruption, unemployment and police abuses".

The news agency reports:

Protesters emerged stumbling from white clouds of tear gas, coughing and covering their faces with scarves. Some had blood streaming down their faces. One man fainted. Police dragged some away and beat a journalist, smashing her glasses and seizing her camera. At one point, the protesters seemed to gain the upper hand, forcing a line of riot police to flee under a barrage of rocks. One demonstrator climbed into a fire engine and drove it away.



AP has interviewed some Egyptian protesters. Eid Attallah, a driver aged 50 said:

I want my 3-year-old child to grow up with dignity and to find a job just like the president.

He said he had heard about the planned protests from friends but didn't expect them to be so big.

Sayid Abdelfatah, a 38-year-old civil servant who marched with an Egyptian flag, said:

We are fed up; this is just enough. Tunisia's revolution inspired me but I really never thought we would find such people ready to do the same here.

Lamia Rayan, 24, said: "We want to see change just like in Tunisia."

Radwa Qabbani, 26, said:

I am not protesting the police. They are citizens like me. I am protesting corruption, unemployment and high prices. We are just asking for the smallest dreams.

According to AP, nearly half of Egypt's 80 million people live under or just above the poverty line set by the United Nations at $2 (£1.27) a day. "Poor quality education, healthcare and high unemployment have left large numbers of Egyptians deprived of basic needs," the agency writes.

There were also thousands of protesters in Alexandria, in the north of the country, the agency reports.

Like the Tunisian protests, the calls for the rallies in Egypt went out on Facebook and Twitter, with 90,000 saying they would attend. Organisers used the site to give minute-by-minute instructions on where demonstrators should go in an attempt to outmanoeuvre the police. By late afternoon, access to Twitter appeared to have been blocked. In another parallel with Tunisia, the protests drew energy in large part from the death of one person: a young Egyptian man named Khaled Said whose family and witnesses say was beaten to death by a pair of policemen in Alexandria last year. His case has become a rallying point for Egypt's opposition. Two policemen are on trial in connection with his death.

Tunisia's protests – which led to the ousting of the president – were also sparked by the death of one man, a poor Tunisian vegetable seller who set himself in fire to protest against corruption.

4.19pm: Sally Sami (aka Salamander) tweets the following from Cairo:

Just left tahrir square. Tear gas being bombed and all mobile lines not working mostly #jan25 Sally Sami

Salamander

4.07pm: Jack Shenker has just sent me this dramatic update from Egypt. He calls central Cairo a "war zone".

Downtown Cairo is a war zone tonight – as reports come in of massive occupations by protesters in towns across Egypt, the centre of the capital is awash with running street battles. Along with hundreds of others I've just been teargassed outside the parliament building, where some youths were smashing up the pavement to obtain rocks to throw at police. We've withdrawn back to the main square now were thousands more demonstrators are waiting and a huge billboard advertising the ruling NDP party has just been torn down. Security forces are continuing to use sound bombs and teargas to disperse the crowd, but so far to no avail.

4.03pm: On Al-Jazeera, correspondent Rawya Rageh in Cairo is saying there is "clear anger and frustration being let out" on the streets of Egypt. This has been building up in Egypt for years, she says. Previous calls for protests have yielded "meagre results" – today's demonstrations are "unprecedented" for this "highly apathetic populace". Rageh adds: "Economic hardships have reached a choking limit for Egyptians."

3.57pm: Some interesting tweets from Saud AlSubaie (saudkw):

Armed forces in #Egypt have abandoned shock-sticks for more potent weapons, crowds are massing. Pictures of leader burned. #jan25 Pictures of Husni Mubarak have been torn down in public. 100+ arrested. 3 Major news channels prevented from covering #Egypt #jan25 @KanchanGupta things getting serious over there. Twitter blocked, data services on phones getting cut off sporadically. Tear gas, arrests.

Al-Jazeera is calling the Egyptian protests "a day of wrath against poverty".

3.40pm: Jack Shenker has checked in from Cairo. He says the internet, Twitter and phone calls were all blocked there, but they are returning intermittently now. Here is his latest update on the protests there:

As darkness begins to fall, the thousands who have occupied Cairo's central square are pouring forward towards the parliament building, prompting running battles with armed police. The air is filled with teargas and some youths are hurling rocks at the police lines; many of the rocks are being thrown back by security officers. A few moments ago a huge charge from demonstrators sent the riot police running, but they have now regrouped and are launching fresh assaults on the front wave of protesters, who are currently picking up the metal barricades installed by police and using them to set up barricades themselves. Large explosions are shaking the square, though it's not clear where they're coming from.

3.37pm: Martin Chulov, the Guardian's Iraq correspondent, reports that there were high hopes last week in cyberspace that Egypt's demonstrations would be replicated in Syria today. But according to our people in Damascus, he says, there is "not a peep of protest" there.

3.31pm: My colleagues on the Guardian's video desk have sent this video of Egyptian protesters demonstrating against Hosni Mubarak, the president.

3.28pm: Hi, Paul Owen here, taking over from Haroon Siddique. Here's a summary of key events so far:

• Governments in Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon are all facing protests on a significant day in the Middle East.

• In Egypt, thousands of anti-government protesters are demanding the end of Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30 years as president. Police have responded with tear gas, batons and water cannon. The "day of revolution" is the largest demonstration Egypt has seen for years.

• In Lebanon, Saad Hariri, the current caretaker prime minister whose supporters are rioting partly in his name, urged people to demonstrate without violence. He was unable to muster the numbers to stay in power and it seems almost certain Najib Miqati, the choice of Hezbollah, will take his place. Hezbollah, then in opposition, ousted Hariri because he would not renounce support for a tribunal investigating who killed his father, the former PM Rafiq Hariri; Hezbollah members are likely to be implicated.

• In Tunisia, the interim government – formed after the president, Zine Al-Abidene Ben Ali, was ousted earlier this month – is looking shaky. At issue is the presence in the new government of allies of the old president – including the interim prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi. Protesters taking to the streets today want them out. Army chief Rachid Ammar said his forces would "protect the revolution" but warned that "a power vacuum could lead to dictatorship".

3.26pm: Some confirmation from @geof24 below the line that Twitter has been blocked in Egypt.

I confirm that Twitter is down in Egypt.

I can't get it on Etisalat, my internet provider.

Not surprising, as a number of posters have put up photos and video feeds that won't have met with the government's approval and will have encouraged others into the street.

I'm going to hand the blog over now to my colleague Paul Owen.

3.21pm: Writing on the Foreign Policy website, Steven Heydemann of the independent - though government funded - United States Institute of Peace, warns that repressive Arab regimes have repeatedly shown their ability to survive unrest - and warns they may yet prove resilient

If the United States and its allies wish to exploit the Tunisian example to widen processes of democratic change in the Arab world, they will need to adapt as well. Tunisia holds lessons both for Arab autocrats and for Western promoters of democracy. Which lessons turn out to be decisive will depend, if only in part, on whether democracy promoters demonstrate the same flexibility and responsiveness shown by Arab regimes.

3.20pm: Hundreds of protesters continue to demand the removal of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's former colleagues from Tunisia's government. They are gathered outside the prime minister's office. But on the Foreign Policy blog, Christopher Alexander argues that completely dissolving Ben Ali's RCD party is "unrealistic and potentially dangerous":

Not everyone in the RCD is a corrupt thug, and the opposition parties are too small and too inexperienced to manage the challenges that face Tunisia -- including the challenges involved in organizing credible elections. Moreover, dissolving the RCD will not necessarily make it go away. Its cadres could organise yet another incarnation of the party that has ruled the country since independence. Instead, the opposition needs to concentrate on preventing an overhauled RCD from dominating the first elections so thoroughly that the party returns to unchecked power. Institutional reform prior to the elections can help. If the interim government can solidify its credibility, it can pursue constitutional changes that establish meaningful checks on executive power before anyone gets elected who might try to thwart them. The interim government can also reform electoral laws that limited the number of opposition seats and forced the parties to fight over them.

3.10pm: Lebanon's "day of rage" is captured in pictures by a Guardian gallery, which includes a photograph of the Al Jazeera vehicle set on fire by supporters of former prime minister Hariri.

2.58pm: Ahram Online, which is providing live updates from Egypt, reports that Twitter is down in Egypt.

On Twitter itself, people are accusingTelecom Egypt of blocking the microblogging site.

2.58pm: Thanks @irel for pointing out the link to a picture of an Egyptian protester giving a policeman flowers. It is a poignant image but unfortunately it seems things have taken a turn for the worse in some parts of the country now.

2.48pm: I've seen discussion below the line on whether Lebanon should be included in this blog, along with Egypt and Tunisia. You might be interested in reading this analysis piece by Martin Chulov, which addresses the common theme running through the protests:

All of today's protests – both on the streets and in cyberspace – share a broad common theme: that people in this part of the world have been denied a democratic voice for too long. They also share a realisation that nepotism in government, scelrosis of institutions and lack of accountability need not be a given.

2.43pm: Here's the latest Associated Press take on the Egypt protests:

Thousands of anti-government protesters, some hurling rocks and climbing atop an armored police truck, clashed with riot police today in the center of Cairo in a Tunisia-inspired demonstration to demand the end of Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30 years in power. Police responded with blasts from a water cannon and set upon crowds with batons and acrid clouds of tear gas to clear demonstrators crying out "Down with Mubarak" and demanding an end to the country's grinding poverty. Tuesday's demonstration, the largest Egypt has seen for years, began peacefully, with police showing unusual restraint in what appeared to be a concerted government effort not to provoke a Tunisia-like mass revolt. As the crowds in downtown Cairo's main Tahrir square continued to build, however, security personnel changed tactics and the protest turned violent. Demonstrators attacked the police water canon truck, opening the driver's door and ordering the man out of the vehicle. Some hurled rocks and dragged metal barricades. Officers beat back protesters with batons as they tried to break cordons to join the main group of demonstrators downtown. To the north, in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, thousands of protesters also marched in what was dubbed a "Day of Rage" against Mubarak and lack of political freedoms under his rule. In another parallel with the Tunisia protests, the calls for rallies went out on Facebook and Twitter, with 90,000 saying they would attend. The protests coincided with a national holiday honoring Egypt's much-feared police.

Demonstrators in Cairo sang the national anthem and carried banners denouncing Mubarak and the widespread fraud that plagues the country's elections. The organisers said the protests were a "day of revolution against torture, poverty, corruption and unemployment." Mothers carrying babies marched and chanted, "Revolution until Victory!" while young men parked their cars on the main street and waved signs reading "OUT!" inspired by the Tunisian protestations of "DEGAGE!" this week. Men were seen spraying graffiti reading "Down with Hosni Mubarak." "We want to see change just like in Tunisia," said Lamia Rayan, 24, one of the protesters.

The noisy crowd was joined by cars driving alongside and honking their horns. People cried "Long Live a Free Tunisia," and waving Tunisian and Egyptian flags while police initially stood on the crowd's periphery.

2.31pm: I've just recorded some dramatic audio of Jack Shenker in Tahrir Square in Cairo where he is in the midst of clashes involving hundreds of young men and riot police. Young men wearing scarves over their mouths are throwing stones and bricks while the police are firing tear gas at the demonstrators and using water cannon. Shenker had to run from a police charge during the recording. He says people are wondering around with blood on their faces.

2.03pm: The Guardian's Martin Chulov says Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah has been speaking live, urging calm while the Lebanese Army battles a Sunni group near Tripoli, after a candidate, who he approved, was sworn in today as Lebanon's PM, replacing the ousted Saad Hariri. He said:



We understand the anger because of all the psychological and social tensions.

1.53pm: @lewandn is tweeting reports of clashes in Qasr Al Ainy:

Riot police are advancing down Qasr Al Ainy skirmishing sporadically with protwsyors [protesters] and firing a water cannon #egypt #jan25

A few minutes earlier he tweeted:

Protestor down on the pavement in Qasr Al Ainy carried from the crowd unclear if he is conscious #egypt #jan25

1.40pm: The Guardian has video of Hariri's appeal for calm in Lebanon and of the protests by Sunni Muslims.

One man says:

We want to send urgent ... advice to Najib Makati and ask him to withdraw his candidacy [for prime minister].

1.33pm: Another update from Cairo from Jack Shenker:

Reports spreading of protesters attacking the council of ministers building downtown, while several thousands are marching towards Mubarak's presidential palace in Heliopolis. In Dar El Salaam, a densely-populated neighbourhood in southern Cairo, demonstrators claim they have taken over the police station. There's a feeling of intense excitement on the streets here in Shubra, northern Cairo, as the police continue to stand back and allow protesters to pass - but some of the security forces are wearing bullet proof vests, and some fear this is the calm before the storm.

One former television news presenter told me she hadn't seen anything like this since 1977, when an uprising over bread prices almost brought down the government of President Sadat. But demonstrations remain cut off from each other and it's still too early to say how this will play out.

Another good site for following the Egypt protests is the Facebook page, We are all Khaled Said, the name a tribute to a man allegedly killed by two Egyptian plainclothes police officers after he posted a video online showing them dividing up the spoils of a drug haul. The officers are due to stand trial over his death.

1.19pm: Video has emerged of protesters chanting: "Down, down Hosni Mubarak."

My Arabic-speaking colleague Mona Mahmmod, tells me the demonstrators shown were also singing the Egyptian national anthem, Bilady, Bilady, Bilady by Sayed Darwish, which she says was used as a liberation song to oppose British occupation before being adopted as the national anthem on independence.

The lyrics include:

My country, my country, my country.

You have my love and my heart.

1.04pm: Some more from Jack Shenker in Cairo where the crowds seem to be growing, leaving police confused as to how to respond:

Remarkable scenes in Cairo as thousands and thousands are marching with apparent freedom on the streets after years of seeing every anti-government protest immediately shut down by police. Riot troops are following close behind but seem uncertain as to what to do - three major demonstrations are now ongoing in different parts of the Egyptian capital, all of whom have broken through police cordons, but there seems to be little coordination between protest leaders about what to do next. I'm downtown outside the offices of the government newspapers where hundreds are chanting "Mubarak, your plane is waiting" and appealing for passers-by to join them, many of whom are taking up the offer. Ahmed Ashraf, a 26 year old bank analyst, told me this was his first protest, and that he had been inspired by events in Tunisia. "We are the ones controlling the streets today, not the regime," he said. "I feel so free - things can't stay the same after this."

12.57pm: There is intense activity on Twitter, particularly with respect to Egypt, using the #jan25 hashtag. Lots of photos are emerging, including this image from Shubra, a district of Cairo, courtesy of @Gsquare86.Here are some pictures taken by @salamander and some more from @laurenbohn, including a particularly striking one of a man defiantly holding a banner saying "enough" in front of a police line.

A selection of some of the tweets from Egypt:

@ashrafkhalil

#Jan25 crowds overwhelming police cordons outside courthouse downtown!

@sandmonkey

Security tried to storm protestors. Failed. Regrouping. #jan25

@Alshaheeed

If you are in Cairo and you were waiting for something to happen to go to the protest. It's real. Time now to go. #Jan25 #Egypt

@salmander

If you are in a cab or speaking with people in the st tell them to break the barriers of fear #jan25

and from Jack Shenker (@hackneylad), reporting for the Guardian

Protesters marching past min of foreign affairs chanting 'Tunis' and revelling in their control of the street #jan25

12.30pm: The Guardian's Martin Chulov has provided more on Hariri's appeal for calm in Lebanon:

Saad Hariri, whose supporters are rioting partly in his name today has urged people to demonstrate without violence. "We will defend Lebanon's sovereignty together," he said in a live TV address. "You are responsible for Lebanon's safety despite your anger. I understand your feelings of anger, but we should keep to democracy to express our opinions." Beirut seems to be largely in lockdown today. But that seems mostly precautionary. So far there has been a lot of civil disobedience, burning tyres and throwing rocks, but not the outright violence of May 2008. Things can very quickly change here though. Even on a good day, Beirut is only 48 hours away from anarchy. Najib Miqati, the man almost certain to be Lebanon's PM, after Hariri was unable to muster the numbers in consultations yesterday, has claimed victory on al-Arabiya, saying he will dedicate his new cabinet to the memory of Saad's slain father, Rafiq Hariri. Hariri senior's legacy is what this flashpoint is all about. The Hezbollah opposition ousted Hariri jnr because he would not renounce support for a tribunal investigating who killed his dad almost six years ago. Hezbollah members are likely to be implicated and they want a candidate as PM who will marginalise the tribunal.

12.28pm: After Hariri's call for calm (12.04pm), Reuters is now reporting that Lebanon president Michel Suleiman has just appointed Hezbollah's choice, Najib Mikati, to succeed Hariri as prime minister. Mikati reportedly said he will begin discussions on Thursday to form a new government and urged all Lebanese factions to overcome their differences. How that news will affect the mood of protesters remains to be seen.

12.09pm: A picture of the protests in Cairo has been posted by Lauren Bohn, who says that clashes have begun and she has just been knocked over.

12.04pm: In Lebanon, former - and interim - prime minister Hariri has called for calm and told his supporters to go back home and raise the Lebanon flag.

My call for you is a national call. You are angry but you are responsible people. I understand your feelings. This anger should not lead us to what disagrees with our values ... our belief that democracy is our refuge.

11.55am: Protesters in Cairo have broken through police ranks and are heading towards the Nile, Jack Shenker, who is covering the Egypt protests for the Guardian, reports. Some have been beaten by police but the demonstrators remain defiant chanting at the police, most of whom are from very poor neighbourhoods, to join them. Many have sat down in the face of the amassed police ranks. Shenker told me that what started as a protest with three specific aims is now seen by many as an opportunity to bring down the Mubarak regime.

You can listen to Jack Shenker's report from Cairo below.

11.23am: The Guardian's Ghaith Abdul-Ahad is in Beirut in the neighbourhood of Cola, which straddles a Sunni neighbourhood loyal to the former - and currently interim - prime minister Hariri and a Shia neighbourhood. He says demonstrations have been low key and the army has not intervened heavy-handedly but a significant incident could cause the situation to explode.

It is mainly street gangs. Hundreds of Sunni kids are burning tyres, trash containers, throwing rocks. There are lots of army officers, 10 Humvees, separating Sunnis from Shia neighbourhoods. The main line of the protesters is that this is an Iranian Hezbollah conspiracy. Some are carrying guns but most are throwing rocks, carrying sticks, moving about on small mopeds. The streets are calm but it's Beirut and it only takes one Sunni to be beaten up or one Shia to be killed for that to change.

10.59am: The Guardian's Peter Beaumont writes that tension is rising in Tunisia where it appears the interim government is "untenable":

A sense of crisis is building again in Tunisia where the interim government, as it's now constituted, looks increasingly untenable. The issue is the presence of key allies of the autocratic former President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali who hold key posts in the cabinet including the defence and interior ministries. These are the people – along with interim Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi – who the protesters still taking to the streets want out. Overnight the already strong sense of a government that is untenable has become ever more evident. There's been reports of negotiations going on late into the night last night that would see either an imminent major cabinet reshuffle or the appointment of a "council of wise man' - including unions, the bar council and representatives from the long banned Ennahda Islamist movement - to over see the government until elections. Perhaps both. The sense of the alarm growing in Tunisia's old guard was supplied yesterday by army chief Rachid Ammar who addressed the demonstrators who have been camped out on the prime minister's doorstep at The Casbah in Tunis. While he said the army "would protect the revolution" he also warned that a "power vacuum could lead to dictatorship". And you can read that two ways. Either he's saying that the army won't let the old regime loyalists undermine the Jasmine revolution, or that the army won't allow a situation where Tunisia is without a government. In any case it is confirmation of how important a role the army has played behind the scenes in Tunisia's recent upheaval. And is playing

still.

10.50am: There have been shots fired (in the air) and tyre-burning in Lebanon the Associated Press reports:

Thousands of Sunnis waved flags and burned tires Tuesday in a "day of rage" to protest gains by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which is on the brink of controlling Lebanon's next government. In the northern city of Tripoli, protesters torched a truck belonging to Al-Jazeera, but the station said none of its crew was injured. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah considered a terrorist organisation by Washington secured support in parliament Monday to name its own candidate, former premier Najib Mikati, for the next prime minister. The militant group's Western-backed opponents maintain that having an Iranian proxy in control of Lebanon's government would be disastrous and lead to international isolation. Hezbollah's Sunni rivals held protests in different parts of Lebanon, including Tripoli, the capital Beirut and the main highway linking the capital with the southern port city of Sidon.

A senior military official said several armed men fired in the air in west Beirut, but the army intervened and dispersed them. For the most part the gatherings were localized and not hugely disruptive. The largest gathering was in Tripoli, where thousands of people converged at a major square calling on Mikati not to accept the post and shouting slogans backing caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Mikati urged calm Tuesday and said he wanted to represent all of Lebanon. "This is a democratic process," he told reporters. "I want to rescue my country."

10.43am: It is a big day in the Middle East, where at least three governments are facing sizeable street protests.

• In Egypt, thousands of demonstrators are taking to the streets for a "day of revolution", demanding political reform, including a new term limit on the presidency that would bring to an end the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Today is traditionally a national holiday to celebrate the achievements of the police force but an unlikely alliance of youth activists, political Islamists, industrial workers and hardcore football fans are coming together to demand change.

• In Tunisia, there is unfinished business with respect to the Jasmine revolution which forced President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee into exile. Protesters are still fighting for the removal of his key allies who hold key posts in the cabinet including the defence and interior ministries. Many demonstrators have been camped in The Casbah in Tunis on the doorstep of interim Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi who they want out. The army chief has promised he "would protect the revolution" but also warned that a "power vacuum could lead to dictatorship".

• In Lebanon, thousands of Sunnis are taking part in a "day of rage" to show their opposition to the prospect of a new government under the control of Hezbollah. The Shia group, which caused the government led by Saad Hariri to fall just under two weeks ago by withdrawing its support, has now won backing in parliament for its own candidate, Syrian-backed businessman Najib Miqati, to succeed Hariri as prime minister. Under Lebanon's power-sharing system, the role is supposed to be reserved Sunnis. (5pm update: Miqati is a Sunni, but Sunni protesters object to his being backed by the Shia Hezbollah.)