FRIDAY is set as D-Day - departure day - for Egypt's embattled President, Hosni Mubarak, Mohamed ElBaradei, who is emerging as a leader of anti-regime protests, declared last night. Dr ElBaradei asked for a "safe exit" for Mr Mubarak.
"What I have heard (from protesters) is that they want this to end, if not today, then by Friday maximum," he said, adding that Egyptians have marked Friday as "Departure Day".
"I hope President Mubarak goes before this and leaves the country after 30 years of rule . . . I don't think he wants to see more blood."
At least 300 people have died in eight days of protests, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said last night.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo last night for the "million-strong march" against Mr Mubarak, and another march was planned in the port city of Alexandria although national train services were cancelled and major roads closed in a bid to hinder protests.
In an unexpected move, Turkey, which also has a history of military influence in national affairs, called on Mr Mubarak to meet his people's "desire for change".
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described his appeal to the Egyptian leader as "very sincere advice, a very sincere warning". "Hear the cry of the people and their extremely humane demands . . . Meet the people's desire for change without hesitation," Mr Erdogan said.
In Jordan, King Abdullah last night attempted to pre-empt a democracy push among his subjects by naming Maruf Bakhit as prime minister, with orders to carry out "true political reforms".
Fifty Egyptian human rights groups yesterday called on Mr Mubarak to step down to "avoid bloodshed". "President Mubarak must respect the wishes of the Egyptian people and step down to avoid shedding the blood of Egyptians," a joint statement from the groups said.
Burma's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi last night told protesters in Egypt through a BBC interview that "we're all with you".
The Nobel peace laureate, who has resisted the military regime in Burma for decades, urged protesters to stay strong.
"It's necessary to keep cool heads and strong hearts and not ever to lose hope and to keep on going," she said, in response to a caller from Cairo who asked her advice as he faced a "very scary moment of transition" in Egypt.
She added: "We're all with you -- that people all over the world who want freedom, somehow or the other feel connected to other people who are struggling for freedom."
Mr Mubarak on Monday night swore in a new cabinet that excluded the much-hated former interior minister Habib el-Adly, whose notorious security forces have been accused of human rights violations. The newly appointed Vice-President, Omar Suleiman, Mr Mubarak's first deputy, said he was prepared to talk to opposition groups.
There was no evidence that the moves had mollified the public.
The US yesterday gave the first hint it would accept the presence of groups such as the banned Muslim Brotherhood in a new government. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said a new government "has to include a whole host of important non-secular actors".
The New York Times reported that a veteran US diplomat had been sent to Cairo. It was not known if Frank Wisner, a former ambassador to Egypt who knows Mr Mubarak, would urge the President to leave office.
With agencies
