"I have never bent to foreign diktats"!

After two-and-a-half weeks of calls for him to go, President Hosni Mubarak vowed he won’t resign and Friday prayers are expected to be accompanied by another outcry. Furious Egyptian demonstrators vowed to launch their most spectacular protest yet in Cairo on Friday.
  
On the 17th day of the popular uprising against his 30-year rule, Mubarak announced Thursday he was delegating presidential power to Vice President Omar Suleiman, but said he would remain nominally in charge until September.
  
He said in a televised speech: "I have never bent to foreign diktats." In his speech, Mubarak said only that he had "decided to delegate power to the vice president based on the constitution"."I am conscious of the dangers of this crossroad... and this forces us to prioritize the higher interests of the nation," he said.
  
In a short speech following Mubarak's address, Suleiman told the protesters to go home.

But as many demonstrators filed out of Tahrir Square, the chants grew more ominous. "To the palace we are heading, martyrs by the millions!" they shouted.

In Tahrir Square in the heart of the Egyptian capital, tens of thousands of anti-government protestors voiced their anger, hundreds of them brandishing their shoes as a sign of contempt. Earlier, the atmosphere was celebratory, as the crowds gathered for what they hoped would be Mubarak's final speech of his autocratic reign. Many protesters called for an immediate general strike and angrily called on the military -- which has deployed large numbers of troops and tanks around the square -- to intervene on their behalf.
 
INTERNATIONAL FURY 
Leading a chorus of international indignation at Mubarak, US President Barack Obama said Mubarak had failed to map out "meaningful or sufficient" change or to speak clearly enough to Egypt and the world. Obama issued a strongly worded statement after Mubarak's speech, demanding an "unequivocal path toward genuine democracy" in Egypt.
  
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Mubarak's speech "was not the hoped for step forward" and stressed: "The worries of the international community are rather bigger after this speech than before."
  
A statement from UN chief Ban Ki-moon's office called for "a transparent, orderly and peaceful transition" and "free, fair and credible elections.

The European Union has lambasted Mubarak for his decision, saying the strongman failed to open the way for quick reforms.

Also speaking after Mubarak's speech, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said the announcement was "unavoidable", and that he hoped Egypt would establish a healthy democracy rather than a "religious dictatorship" when Mubarak eventually leaves office.

William Hague, the British foreign minister said his country was calling for "an urgent but orderly transition to a broadly-based government in Egypt". Hague said it is not clear what powers Mubarak is handing over to his deputy Suleiman.

The military had announced hours earlier that it would intervene to ensure the country's security and see that the people's "legitimate" demands were met.