Egypt Special: EA's Scott Lucas on Inside Story on Al Jazeera English

UPDATE 1730 GMT: Inside Story has been postponed. I think that's a fair decision in the circumstances.

I will be appearing at 1730 GMT on Inside Story on Al Jazeera English, discussing the latest situation in Egypt. More details when I get back from the recording, but the programme will be available via the live feed on the EA site.

Egypt Analysis: Hosni's Defiance

He came. He saw. He stayed.

The newsflashes had started about 5 p.m., Cairo time (1500 GMT), with the head of Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party saying the President was probably making a speech to announce he was stepping down. Other leading Egyptian figures, including the Minister of Finance echoed the claim. The High Council of the Army met and issued Communique No. 1, seen as a signal that it was taking control. Even more stunning was the promise, given by a "high commander" to protesters in the heart of Tahrir Square, that "all their demands would be met". In Washington, the Obama Administration telegraphed its approval of developments, both in leaks to the US media and in the open declaration of the Director of the CIA that Mubarak was out.

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Egypt Video: An Introduction to the Protests from Nina (Age 5)

Nina, age 5, learned about the situation in Egypt after she saw a picture in a Japanese newspaper and asked her mother about the protests. Now, having seen a photo in an English newspaper, she tells her father what is happening.

Iran Video Highlight: Mr Ali Larijani, Champion of Democracy

Iran's Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani summarises the situation in the Middle East for Al Jazeera in 70 seconds. Some of this is Political Rhetoric 101: "Egypt is a military dictatorship", supported by the US and Israel, who prevent the Egyptian Revolution from becoming a success.

But you gotta hand it to the guy: he has a nice line about suppression of dissent by "camels and horses" --- rather than, say, by Basij militia --- and he can keep a straight face as he declares:

In Iran, democracy is a serious matter....People vote, and politicians change according to their will."

Fun Fact: Ali Larijani reportedly called opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi on 12 June 2009, to congratulate Mousavi on his victory over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Presidential election.

Egypt Special: A Lesson Learned About Twitter From Al Jazeera

Twitter is just another communication tool, there to be leveraged by anyone with the will and the ambition. Yet just as Al Jazeera’s coverage of Egypt would sound ridiculous if described as "Television Revolution", so do straw=man notions of a "Twitter Revolution" in Iran, or indeed anywhere else. The Twitter of 2011 looks like it will become a mature, integrated part of the media landscape: if protesters in Tahrir Square did not have access, it still had a role to play in bringing the story to the outside world.

The jury’s still out on what Al Jazeera’s rise in prominence meant for the people of Egypt. As with Iran in 2009, we may never know just how many people inside the country were getting their information from these sources. But the jury is definitely in on how the channel has benefited greatly from positioning itself as the source of information from Egypt among mainstream news outlets, and it can thank social media for a pivotal influence in this rise.

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Egypt in Pictures: Icons of the Uprising

Wael Ghonim and the mother of Khaled Said --- Ghonim's Facebook campaign "We are Khaled Said", who was killed by Egyptian police, was one of the catalysts for protests

Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Considering the Future

Wael Ghonim0030 GMT: Vice President Suleiman seems to have become fed up with the protests, Al Jazeera reports: 

Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian vice-president, warned on Tuesday that his government "can't put up with continued protests" for a long time, as tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square for thesixteenth day in a row.

In a sharply worded statement reflecting the regime's impatience and frustration with the mass demonstrations, the newly appointed Suleiman said the crisis must be ended as soon as possible.

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A Warning from Egypt: "Surprisingly, Protesters Have Lost" (Gallo)

Tahrir Square now appears as a popular fair: songs, dances, slogans, and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love". People rise to prominence for their fiery wit, but their beautiful and interesting words, avoid any practical solution.

Please, give us the old-fashioned "What Is To Be Done".

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Turkey's Foreign Minister on Egypt: "We Took the Most Active and Clearest Position"

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attended an international conference on security on Saturday. In his meeting with U.S. Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton, Davutoglu said: "Chances for democracy in the Middle East have been missed twice in the past 20 years. We cannot let this happen once again."

For Davutoglu, Turkey took "the most active and clearest position in Egypt".

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Latest Egypt Video: Al Jazeera English's Ayman Mohyeldin on His Detention

On Sunday, Ayman Moyheldin of Al Jazeera English was held for several hours by the military. Later, he told a colleague about the incident: