A New Day in Egypt; A New Al Jazeera Live Blog

Barely an hour before the beginning of Day 18 of pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt, dictator Mubarak turned celebrations into fury by announcing he would not step down.

Follow events here.

12:21am Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak responding to a question about Mubarak refusing to step down:

We should not pretend that we are more important than for the Egyptian people than their own interests. I don't think I have to respond to this. It's up to the Egyptian people to find a way and do it according to their own constitution, norms and practices.

12:03am In reaction to Mubarak's speech French president Sarkozy says:

I hope Egypt gets a democracy, not an Iran-style religious dictatorship.

Aljazeera English correspondent in Cairo thanks U.S. viewers:



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Earlier today, a rainbow in the Cairo sky this afternoon seemed like it might be a good omen.