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>> and now "bbc world news." >> a shift of power in egypt. the army protests demands and says it won't resort to force. anti-mubarak protests call for millions to march through cairo in the next few hours. the president says he'll stop talks on reform and vows to hold new actions. unrest in egypt draws oil prices to a two-year high to over $100 a barrel. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast in the cumplet and around the world. -- in the u.k. and around the world. in what's been seen as a major blow to mubarak's hopes to remaining in office, the egyptian army says it won't use

force to protesters if taken to the streets to demand his resignation. they're offering dialogue and opponents are stepping up efforts to force him out of power by calling a general strike. they're urging up to a million people to take part in a march in cairo four hours from now. we now have a report from there. >> since the sun rose over the city this morning the feeling that change is coming has been getting stronger. too much has happened too quickly to go back to the way things were. at dawn the army was taking more control, blocking some roads, opening others. the chants as they surged back in tahrir square, says the people and army are one. at times in the last few days it seemed a bit like wishful thinking but not after the new statement from the military it will not use force against the people.

and that it recognizes the people have legitimate demands. what the army thinks is legitimate is not defined. the people know what they want. >> we don't want a mubarak anymore. it's over. it's over. >> tomorrow we be free! >> cairo citizens have been tightening the hold on the center of the city which they seized from the regime's police on friday. >> out with mubarak. >> we need to check there's no police coming in. show us your i.d. cards. they pounced on the man who didn't want to. >> keep moving, my brothers, says mohammed.

he was hurt by a policeman and wears his bandage like a campaign medal. as an egyptian, it's my duty to be here, he says. there has to be change. every egyptian should feel that here we regain our rights. you could see new civic pride, a sense of taking ownership. and their feeling safe enough up here to bring the children down. that wasn't the case even yesterday. perhaps prematurely they strolled around as if the departure of president mubarak was a done deal. egyptian tv showed him swearing in his new government. he's ordered his vice president to open a dialogue with the opposition. that won't be enough for the people on the streets. back in the square they were bringing in more supplies. the protesters are turning themselves into a movement. they call for a million people

to march through cairo. however this ends, it's going to change the middle east profoundly. people power is already making it politically embarrassing for western countries like britain and america to continue their alliances with authoritarian arab rulers. across the arab middle east, there are people watching all of this on tv and wondering if they can do the same thing. secular egyptians dominated the first few days here but now there's much more prayer and also great uncertainty about egypt's future. the muslim brotherhood is islamist, conservative, nonviolent, the best organized political movement outside the regime and would be an electoral force. as it got dark, the square was full of debate about what happens next. the protesters believe they have their man on the run. jeremy burn, bbc news, cairo.

>> a freelance journalist living and working in the capital, i asked him what was being made of the army's denouncement. >> i think while people are hopeful they will adhere to those words, but some people are skeptical as to whether the army will actually not fire on any protesters because the ultimate commanding chief, as we all know, is president mubarak and mubarak is not on the protesters' side. >> i gather there are rumors mubarak's people may in fact be infiltrating the demonstrations to provoke some sort of violence. is that true or not? >> that's the rumor going around. but what is certain is that there are pro-mubarak demonstrators around the city right now. one march went past my house two hours ago. and it went past my house again 15 minutes ago and i could hear

all the noise and i went up to the roof just to check who they were and that brought out vigilantes from the side streets watching them. it was a very bold move as well because i live on a main road about 3 1/2 miles from downtown cairo and to march past my house as it goes through four tanks a all the vigilantes in a neighborhood which has been littered with gunshots over the last three nights. >> given you've mentioned there, then pro-mubarak protesters and your protesters and this demonstration which is planned for later on on tuesday, what are your feelings about that? could that turn violent? could it get nasty? >> that's what some people are saying. and none of the egyptian friends i have, that i've spoken to plan to be there tomorrow because they're very uncertain about what might come of it. with all these rumors flying around, there's every chance it could turn violent, but many of

them are hopeful they will still be there, i'm sure, but they just hope nothing will come of the potential violence. >> and then what about the new government that mr. mubarak has now got in place? it wants to talk with the opposition, doesn't it? is there any appetite for that at all? >> if it's true, then, they may just alleviate some of the problems but i'm sure many people want him gone rather than any of the other talk. if mubarak is still there, that would not satisfy the protesters, so any kind of negotiations could just be cosmetic on the outside but it won't actually change anything. >> earlier i also spoke to our correspondent who has been camped out in cairo the last two days and asked him to describe for us what the atmosphere is like? >> the atmosphere is great. i think the best way to

describe it is it's overwhelming. everyone's out here where we're camped out on the actual square and we're not the only people. there are a whole bunch of people with their tents out and there's a lot of people who are sleeping out on the actual square without any tent and some without even blankets, they are sleeping on the floor and just waiting. >> i gather from other correspondents that it's quite a festivallike atmosphere, very peaceful. is that what you're hoping for this march in about five hours from now? >> yeah. actually -- yes. but we're between camping out here and sleeping on the actual square and the march. because we've been here for two days and it's not like we're here for the march but we're here because we want to make a statement that we're not going anywhere until mubarak is out of here. and there are thousands of people who are doing the exact same thing.

we all want to make it clear that we are not accepting any sort of compromise. we will not go anywhere until mubarak steps down. having said that, yeah, it's got a festive feel to it, kind of like a music festival kind of thing where people are all sitting out together, people are eating, sitting in circles, chatting. and then sometimes you get some street performances. it's pretty cool. they set up a stage and hooked it up with speakers and a mike and stuff and there are people who you can go up and talk and sometimes people go and recite poetry and others who start sing and have everyone sing along or chanting or making some political statements or what have you. so it's actually really cool because it turned into a bit of a cultural scene kind of thing and it's actually kind of cool. >> i gather that the protest

has become more organized, but is there actually a leadership of such yet forming? >> that's the beautiful thing about it is that it's not under any sort of direction or political party or entity. it's basically just a movement for the people by the people, you if you know what i mean. everyone is so frustrated on so many different levels and regardless whether or not you talk about the socialists, or just generally people are sick and tired about even having any idea what the right thing is, we all have one thing in common, we are all sick and tired of this corrupt regime and we want to get rid of it, and it doesn't matter who is organizing it. that's why you'll see they've actually started a newsletter for this revolutionary movement that people -- and no one signs

their names with what they write, everyone is producing content, is passing out information and no one wants credit for it because we're all doing this for us and by us. no one cares about the credit. and i think as soon as you put a name on there, then you're immediately putting some connotation people might not agree with you on and therefore you might get some divisions and might not be as successful. >> it's interesting for us here in the west to hear in terms of the type of people, you know. what you're saying, really, is that they're all egyptians there, all religions, all background, all from different political persuasions, for instance. all those people together gathering in opposition. that's what you're making up? >> that's the beauty of it, muslims, christians, atheists like myself, what have you, men, women, they're young, old, everything. obviously we're mostly the

younger crowd and predominantly maybe more men than women. but if you compare that to any -- like the average -- other protests we have, then it's definitely a lot more diverse. and that's the beauty of it. and i think that's really cool. and actually, just -- it's cool because last night i was sitting with a man who was a member of the muslim brother movement and we were chatting and openly told him, oh, yeah, i'm an atheist and obviously secular and i believe this and that and he was talking about his point of view and it was cool, we didn't have any problem with different points of view. we all agree we have our differences but we'll sort our differences later because what we want is a democratic country where everyone can make his or her choice. so the idea is to get rid of this regime completely and not settle for anything less than hosni mubarak getting out and the government be completely overhauled and setting up a

proper democratic country and having -- with everyone having the right to form his or her own party and political parties and whatnot and people can make their choices. that's what we want. we won't settle for anything less than that. >> if you want more information on egypt, go to our bbc news website. we have there all the very latest news and analysis there for you. there's a map showing the key flash points around the country and reports from our correspondents on the ground. it's all at our bbc news website. >> well, over the past few days the attention has been on cairo 's tahrir square. what's life been like for the millions of egyptians across the country. we now get a report from caroline. >> away from the square, daily life continues as much as it can amid the turmoil. today they stock up on supplies. there have been some reports of shortages. there are no signs of them at this supermarket at least.

with banks closed, finances have become a worry for many. some cash machines have run out of cash. >> i'm broke. i'm a civil servant. i can't buy food for my family because i have no cash. >> egyptians are also counting the cost of the last few days of chaos. private property as well has been looted and damaged and many egyptians blame the man they want to see overthrown, hosni mubarak. >> he's behind it, of course. he and his men. unfortunately, this guy is robbing everything. >> among egyptians, there are still some ready to stand up for the man whose rule is almost all the population has ever known. mubarak is being wronged, this man says. may god be with him and punish everybody who is damaging egypt right now. you won't find someone like him, she says. >> mubarak!

>> but this now is more the mood of the country. after 30 years of president mubarak's autocratic rule, egyptians are desperate for change. >> that's the end of the mubarak era, the era for the egyptian youth. [chanting] >> caroline holly reporting for us there. ♪ >> you're with the "bbc world news" and these are the headlines for you. the egyptian army said it won't use force against protesters demanding the remutual of president hosni mubarak. after nearly a week of civil unrest, proponents are setting up efforts by calling a strike and urging a million people on the streets in cairo today.

>> we'll stay with the protests in egypt and i've been speaking to a politics professor at kent state university, specializing in egyptian politics. he told me his thoughts on mr. mubarak engaging in dialogue with the opposition. >> well, you know, it's a welcome development. this is what western capitals in the united states have been asking for, dialogue. but, you know, this term "dialogue" is pretty much an empty meaning when it comes to the opposition because president mubarak over the course of the 1990's and 2000 had many sort of what he called national dialogues where they would invite the opposition over and nothing would come of it. this is another one of these sort of policy statements that are perhaps being lost in translation and doing very little to alleviate the protesters' concerns or demands. >> what scenarios do you see politically? >> unfortunately, my prognosis is quite dim. the military has always been

the seat of power since 1952 and i see that same -- staying the same. so while, you know, even president mubarak may have played his hand into a corner, i see that the transition, the orderly transition that they're calling is actually going to be a transition of power to omar suleiman, and we're going to get a lot of continuity, mask and disguise under -- or branded as change. >> so, if that should happen, let's teemu barak would step down, what the people want, of course, is elections, isn't it? is that going to happen? >> i can guarantee you if omar suleiman is the candidate on the ballot, this will not be a very free or very fair election. >> correct. so again, we're at a stalemate, aren't we? clearly the people want the whole lot out, they don't just want mr. mubarak to stand down? >> absolutely. you know, and if the protesters are being heard and i don't think they're being heard

correctly, what they're demanding is an end to hosni mubarak's rein as well as his -- mubarak's rain as well as his colleagues. the more the protest goes on the more omar suleiman loses. if he had been appointed president 10 years ago or 5 years ago we'd be looking at a different outcome. given the manner this was all done, i'd say the protesters and the military government will remain sort of on a collision course for the time period to come. >> the big question, though, is there could be a power vacuum left, couldn't there? because if they do all agree to stand down, where do you go from there? who is going to take control? >> well, i think eventually the military will hide off enough seggles of the regime, they've got rid of the crony capitalist class connected to mubarak and i think they'll start halving off sections until basically they wear down the opposition. i think at least that's their

strategy. >> well, the unrest in egypt is pushing up the price of oil. brent crude which is the bench park for oil prices in europe and asia passed the $100 a barrel mark for the first time since 2008. in the u.s., the price of oil has climbed 8% during the course of two trading sessions. michelle flurry of the new york mercantile exchange and i asked what was unsettling the investors? >> any time you see turmoil in the most important oil producing region of the world, you'll have people very concerned about price. >> but of course, it's worth remembering egypt itself isn't that big of a producer. >> this is really a question of about is this contagion going to spread to bigger oil producers, libya right next door, member of opec, all of the oil flowing through the suez canal. the region is important to the oil-producing community. it's not so much about egypt but much bigger than egypt. >> i guess many people will be

wondering what's going to happen to the price of oil. >> that is the question and uncertainty usually means up unless it's a question of demand and we're not talking about demand now, we're talking about a supply disruption in the offering. >> the protests opposing a policy is a question for obama's administration, both there antonio and hillary clinton are being criticized for being slow to grasp the upheaval in egypt. muammar back has long been an ally. -- mubarak has long been an ally. andrew lot of has more. >> for 30 years the u.s. presidents have come and gone but it's always been the same egyptian president coming to visit. is barak obama the last u.s. leader to host hosni mubarak. maybe that's what the white house thinks but is not saying so yet, but instead is talking about an orderly transition.

>> the way egypt looks and operates must change. that's why we believe we should increase the amount of freedom that is had by the egyptian people. but that's not for us to determine what the parameters and what the limits of those are. >> the white house can point to past history. president obama called for orderly change when he visited egypt two years ago. but now there's a lot more at stake. egypt has huge strategic importance to the u.s. it controls the suez canal, vital for u.s. navy ships heading to the persian gulf and for world trade. it's the largest arab country and for the americans, it's been a place of stability for 30 years. it was the first to sign a peace treaty with israel which now fears what will come next. so, too, to other key u.s. allies like jordan and saudi arabia. everything depends now on what the egyptian military does next. it relies on american funding.

these are u.s.-designed tanks on the streets of cairo. american and egyptian troops regularly train together and the pentagon and other u.s. government agencies are now using this leverage behind the scenes. experts advising the white house say they hope the newly appointed vice president will now organize a peaceful handover of power. >> the best-case scenario, i think, is that omar suleiman steps in, tells mubarak for the good of the country, it's time for him to go. >> we've now learned the white house has sent an envoy to cairo to try to help things along. it will take comfort from the fact the egyptian army is saying it won't fire on the demonstrators. but this is far from over. this is still president obama's greatest foreign policy challenge yet. andrew loft, bbc news, washington. >> shaping egypt's future has

become paramount and the army is the country's most powerful institution and for three decades has been loyal to president mubarak. the army's latest intervention has been pledging not to attack demonstrators and expressing sympathy is been seen as a clear signal the mubarak regime is coming to an end. john simpson has more. >> the soldiers were originally sent in to intimidate the demonstrators, now they're frat earnizing with them, a major victory for the demonstrators of course but also is a clear sign the army holds egypt's future in its hands. and it has for almost 60 years now, earn since ganaser had his coup in 1972. in the war against israel, the egyptian army crossed the suez canal and captured territory held by israel, an achievement

egypt is still immensely proud of. today egypt's army is the 10th biggest in the world, half a million strong and each president here has entrenched its power and wealth even more. this is a hotel complex in cairo, owned and run by the military. you need special permission to film this building and permission is never given. the army is one of egypt's chief real estate owners. president mubarak has made his military commanders rich and powerful, including the new vice president omar suleiman, but now they seem anxious to shift away from him. >> any particular exit from mubarak damages the army and at this particular sense what the military is trying to do is position its own people, in particular omar suleiman and the new prime minister, both as part of the military establishment. >> for now, the army may well believe that normal life has broken down here with the

vigilantes controlling every street corner. but egypt's military leaders are bright men. they understand they can't just move in in force and shoot the demonstrators down the tiananmen square option simply doesn't exist for them. and tonight they've accepted that publicly. they may well also understand that their old patron, president mubarak, will have to go. so it will be the army, as well as the demonstrators themselves who decide the outcome of tomorrow's trial of strength here in the square, just as it will be the army which cities the ultimate fate of -- which disthe ultimate fate of president mubarak himself. john simpson, bbc news cairo. >> find more news about cairo and other news at our bbc news

website. that's all for now. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth reporting of bbc world news online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york. stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation and union bank. ♪ >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies from small businesses to major

corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.