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In an announcement on state TV, Vice-President Omar Suleiman said Mr Hosi Mubarak had handed power to the military. It came as thousands massed in Cairo and other Egyptian cities for an 18th day of protest to demand Mr Mubarak's resignation. Protesters responded by cheering, waving flags, embracing and sounding car horns. "The people have brought down the regime," they chanted. Mr Suleiman said Mr Mubarak had handed power to the high command of the armed forces. "In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country," he said. "May God help everybody." Mr Mubarak has already left Cairo and is in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he has a residence, officials say. In Cairo, thou

Local administration has declared all the 117 schools of Hatibandha upazila under Lalmonirhat District of Bangladesh closed for six days from Saturday to control the spread of unknown disease, sources said. Meanwhile 24 people died where most of them are children beginning from 31st January 2011 in the two districts of the country-Lalmonirhat and Rangpur.   Locals said the sign of the disease is very high fever which is going out of control and the patients embrace death. 

Is it Nipah encephalitis? It is not sure till now as the death toll is out of control from the disease which has been continuing for the last six days beginning on 31 January 2011 in Bangladesh, local sources said. The first case of death was happened at Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat district on Monday last (31st  January 2011 ). The deceased were identified as Sabina, 3, daughter of Mokbul Hossain of Saniazan Char village, Sajjad Hossain, 3, son of Belal Hossain of Tongvanga village, Rajjak Miah, 32, son of Abbas Ali of Genduguri village under Hatibandha upazila, and Aronno Ghos, 8, son of Ashok Ghos of 'bus stand' area of Hatibandha town. As the symbol of the disease locals said, with high fever, they were taken to Hatibandha upazila health complex where Sabina died on Monday night. The patient gets high fever ranging from 103 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit and it has no treatment except symptom management, IEDCR sources said. More eight people died on 2nd February 2011. O

Employment probably shifted into a higher rate in January to post a fourth straight month of gains , offering more evidence of a broadening economic recovery in United States of America (USA), though the jobless rate likely rose. The government is expected to report on Friday that nonfarm payrolls grew 145,000 , according to a Reuters survey, after adding 103,000 in December. But severe snow storms that slammed large parts of the nation could result in a much lower figure. All of the anticipated job gains are expected to have been generated by the private sector and would add to other data suggesting that the manufacturing-driven recovery is now spreading to other sectors of the economy. The Labor Department will release its closely watched employment report at 8:30 a.m. ET. " All the signals are pointing to a much improved labor market compared with last year and a strong payrolls report would be a nice confirmation that things are certainly headed in the right directi

The whistle blowing and anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks has been nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian politician behind the proposal said on Wednesday, a day after the deadline for nominations expired. The Norwegian Nobel Committee accepts nominations for what many consider as the world's top accolade until February 1, although the five panel members have until the end of the month to make their own proposals. Norwegian parliamentarian Snorre Valen said WikiLeaks was "one of the most important contributors to freedom of speech and transparency" in the 21st century. "By disclosing information about corruption, human rights abuses and war crimes, WikiLeaks is a natural contender for the Nobel Peace Prize," Valen said. Members of all national parliaments, professors of law or political science and previous winners are among those allowed to make nominations. The committee declined to comment on the WikiLeaks proposal or any other nominations.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said he will not seek to extend his presidency when his current term expires in 2013. Mr Saleh, who has been in power for three decades, also pledged that he would not pass on power to his son. He spoke to parliament ahead of a rally in the capital on Thursday which, echoing protests in Tunisia and Egypt, has been dubbed a "day of rage". Mr Saleh came to power as president of North Yemen in 1978. When the country was united with South Yemen in 1990 he became president of the new republic. Speaking during an emergency session of the country's parliament and the consultative council on Wednesday, Mr Saleh laid out his plans to move aside. "No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock," he said. "I present these concessions in the interests of the country. The interests of the country come before our personal interests." He also called on the opposition to "freeze all planned protests, rallies

Clashes have erupted in the Egyptian capital between supporters of President Hosni Mubarak and demonstrators calling on him to step down immediately. Rival groups of protesters are fighting pitched battles in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square. Many people have been wounded and shots have been heard. Earlier, the army urged people to return home after nine days of anti-government demonstrations. Mr Mubarak has pledged he will not stand for re-election in September. On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands had protested across the country against Mr Mubarak, the culmination of more than a week of demonstrations that have left about 300 people dead according to UN estimates.