Evening Edition

Washington, which has called for restraint since demonstrations broke out nine days ago, deplored the violence against “peaceful protesters” while UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the attacks on demonstrators were “unacceptable.”

The European Union added its voice to calls from US President Barack Obama for the transition from Mubarak’s three-decade-long rule to begin immediately after the veteran president announced late on Tuesday that he would not seek re-election in September.

The veteran president’s announcement in a televised address drew angry jeers from demonstrators who again defied a curfew to spend the night in the capital’s Tahrir Square — epicentre of eight straight days of protests.

Mubarak’s insistence that he would remain at the helm to oversee the transition also fell far short of the demands of opposition groups that have set him a Friday deadline to quit to allow a clear break with his 30-year rule.

The White House, which has called for restraint since demonstrations broke out nine days ago, deplored the violence against “peaceful protesters” while UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the attacks on demonstrators were “unacceptable.”

Supporters from both sides threw stones and battled with sticks and fists in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of nine days of protests, in the clashes that broke out early afternoon and were continuing after sunset.

“The army and the people hand in hand,” the crowd shouted after dozens were injured in running battles between pro and anti-Mubarak demonstrators on Cairo’s central Tahrir Square.

The army has positioned its tanks and troops around the square but this is thought to be the first time they have opened fire since they were deployed on Friday and police vanished from the capital’s streets.

Partisans from both sides threw stones and set on each other with sticks and fists in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of anti-regime demonstrations, a day after the embattled president rejected demands to step down and vowed to stay on to the end of his term.

Fighting took place around army tanks deployed in the square, with stones bouncing off the armour, an AFP reporter said, adding that at least 10 people were injured in the first fighting.

On the eve of a “day of rage” called by civil society and opposition leaders, Saleh told parliament he had also put off controversial plans to hold elections in April without a promised dialogue on reform, and appealed for an end to street protests.

“I will not extend my mandate and I am against hereditary rule,” said Saleh, who has headed the Arab world’s poorest nation for decades and whose term is due to end in 2013.

The deal is critical to Spain’s campaign to convince the markets that it can push through difficult labour reforms so as to speed up the economy, cut spending, and finance the debt.

Lurking in the minds of investors is the fear that Spain may fall into the debt quagmire that swamped Ireland and Greece, forcing it to request a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

“Ian Thorpe is very much back,” said John Borghetti of sponsor Virgin Blue, opening a joint press conference with Thorpe on Wednesday.

“He registered this morning with the international drug testing register and he’s planning to win lots of gold at the 2012 Olympics.”

Silvano Vinceti, chairman of the Italian national committee for cultural heritage, said the Florence-born Renaissance artist’s male apprentice and possible lover Salai was the main inspiration for the picture.

However his claim was immediately disputed by experts at the Louvre in Paris, where the painting is on display.

“New times demand new journalism,” the 79-year-old News Corp. chairman and chief executive said as he took the wraps off the hotly awaited publication at a press event at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Murdoch, an enthusiastic fan of the iPad, said there will be no print version of The Daily and it will only be available on Apple’s touchscreen tablet computer for at least this year.

China celebrates the first day of the Lunar New Year on Thursday and many Chinese people are keen on using the occasion to get a glimpse of what might be in store next year.

“The ‘Year of the Rabbit’ will see a lot of unusual romantic relationships,” Hong Kong astrologer Anthony Cheng told AFP. “Including extra-marital affairs and relationships with huge age differences.”