Signals that President Hosny Mubark may be about to resign or transfer his powers to his vice-president, Omar Suleiman, have been coming in quick succession over the past few hours.
The announcement came shortly following a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces without the commander-in-chief Mubarak.
Hossam Badrawy, the secretary general of the ruling National Democratic Party, told the BBC that Mubark could "respond to the people's demands by Friday."
The top demand of the popular revolution sweeping the country for the past two weeks has been for Mubarak to step down.
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