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[ announcer ] healthy green tea, tasty black tea, zero calories. i love this stuff! snapple. the best diet stuff on earth. good morning from randi kaye at cnn world headquarters. >> randi amazing images coming out of egypt. we heard about a new vice president. now the latest reports just moments ago, a new prime minister. darkness is falling. demonstrators are still in the streets demanding historic change. they seem to be coming in waves, ignoring the government-ordered curfew. the military and police, we should make clear, are also out in full force. we've been hearing gunfire near a key government building. >> earlier in the day, state-run tv reported egypt's government officially resigned. president mubarak said he's putting together a new cabinet. but protesters want him to go. at least 38 people are reported dead now including ten security forces. >> we're also seeing demonstrations in support of egypt's protesters in cities around the globe. people are seeing this and being moved by what they see from beirut to london, montreal and washington. >> events are changing fast and cnn has it all covered for. you we have correspondents on the ground in cairo and alexandria, egypt. we're also monitoring places like jerusalem and washington. we have the whole region covered with our correspondents and our cameras. stay with us all day as we watch and analyze all of this as it happens. >> now, let's get to the capital cairo and cnn's frederik pleitgen. >> we're being told that a new vice president has been appointed and also a new prime minister. what can you tell us about omar suleiman, this new vice president that we're expecting will be sworn in here shortly. >> well, we know very little about this man. we do know that he's a very trusted person by hosni mubarak. so certainly this is something that's not going to make very many people here on the ground very happy. certainly not someone that lookses like fundamental change. this is someone who served the president very well. he's from the intelligence community here in egypt. so certainly someone who is very much trusted and very much part of the old guard here in egypt. let me tell you what's going on on the streets as we still have a lot of protesters here. as you said, they've been ignoring the curfew, so they're still out here in force. right now in front of our building it's not as many as it was during the daylight hours. night is sort of falling here. we are, however, hearing of widespread looting, especially on the outskirts of egypt. we're getting a lot of calls here to our bureau by people who are very, very worried telling us that there are gangs out on the streets that are looting property. people banding together to try to stop those gangs. but all in all, people here are very afraid for the property and very afraid for their safety because one of the things that we've been talking about that's basically happened is that the police have vanished off the streets of cairo, by and large. right now there doesn't seem to be much in the way of public order except, of course, for places at our office building where you have the military out in force. but of course they can't be everywhere. therefore right now it is still a very volatile and very much a situation that's in flux, if you will. >> and fred, i'm not sure how far you are from the interior ministry, but we were speaking with ian lee there earlier. he was reporting gunfire to us, several people shot. and quite a scene there as protesters, he said, were storming the interior ministry and getting into quite a scuffle with police as police were opening fire on them. do you have any updates on that situation? >> that's also one of those situations. very, very difficult to get any verifiable information on that situation. what we're hearing from people there who are close to that area is that there is a large protest at the interior ministry. that there's apparently violence at the interior ministry. it appears as though there's police personnel inside that building and shielding the building trying to get people to try to stop people from getting in that building. hearing from people that there are snipers on the roof of that building who are shooting at people, this is stuff that we haven't been able to if va independently. it certainly is from people who we trust very much who are giving us this information. so certainly the interior ministry seems to be one of those flashpoints. we can tell you that the interior minister of this country was one of the most despised people here in the country simply because the police force here in egypt is so very hated by so many people because so many people had witnessed and have been subject to police brutality that this ministry is certainly one of the flashpoints here in the city and indeed here in this country. >> fredric, obviously, this is far from over, but already there has been an enormous human cost. we've seen reports of hundreds of people in hospital, dozens dead. what can you tell us about those who have been hurt, those who have been killed and those taken under arrest? >> we do know that there's some sort of makeshift center being set up in some places to treat people who have been injured and people are trying to get treatment. other people are telling us that after they were arrested by police, that they were beaten by police officers, somethi people held for two days or so. there has been a high toll not just of course in deaths but also in people who are injured and wounded in the fighting in recent days. there were a lot of people who seem to be wounded. some of them lightly, some more heavily in part by tear gas and in part because they were hit by tear gas canisters, in part because they got hit in the head. so certainly this is something where a lot of people have gotten hurt so far. so you're absolutely right. this has already taken a very, very large hole not just here in cairo but also in other places across the country. >> frederik pleitgen reporting to us live. amid shafiq has been serving as civil aviation minister. after the prime minister appointed a new vice president choosing what sounds like a technocrat to form the next administration. civil aviation is not a post where you made a lot of enemies. >> he's now appointed a prime minister and a vice president. should we read into this? >> it sounds like he's not going away any time soon. hard to tell. all of this is mystifying people around the world. i'm no visionary, but the extraordinary thing is is hosni mubarak had a chance to leave easily and quickly. he's clearly not doing that. he seems to be doing what he told his people he would, assembling a government and in that speech he said that he was responsible for the stability of his country. what we now know is that the vice president, the first vice president in 30 years of the mubarak regime is a figure who has been responsible for suppress i suppressing dissent. >> and part of the mubarak inner circle. >> absolutely. somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital's working together, there's a family who can breathe easy, right now. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. than any of its german competitors. but it isn't real performance unless it's wielded with precision. the new 2011 lexus is 350. see your lexus dealer. the ne[instrumental music] welcome back. more rage in the streets of egypt. anti-government protesters are there. you're looking at some video of some of the protesters who are still out in the streets in full force today. anti-government demonstrations are in their fifth day. this hour, protesters are defying a curfew. state-run nile tv reports at least 38 deaths in those protests. a doctor in cairo is reporting that at least five people have died from gunshot wounds near the egyptian interior ministry. we've spoken with several eyewitnesses in that area, one who had seen two people actually shot by police there. one grazed in the head and very graphic description of a man spitting out blood. earlier state tv reported president hosni mubarak's cabinet resigned. that hours after the egyptian leader promised reforms in an address to the nation. reports from saudi arabia say that king abdullah called mr. mubarak to say he stands with the embattled egyptian president. we should also mention that hosni mubarak has also appointed a vice president, omar suleiman, who has been described to us as a bit of a thug but well respected in that region. a fixer, if you will. one of the world's most powerful spy chiefs. and he's also appointed a new prime minister. two new cabinet members. the prime minister who once served as civil aviation minister according to egyptian state tv and nile tv. >> intriguing appointments. he's appointed his spy chief to help him and he's taken someone from the ranks of the air force because ahmed shafiq spent decades as air force man. he's not reaching out to new people, as best we can tell. jonathan alt is a man who has followed all this. >> he's oz ne mubarak's comfort zone. the way he got close to him was in the assassination attempt in addis ababa, he protected the president. he's been close to the president since 1995. he's the guy who makes everything that the president needs to have work work. so he's very important with security relationship with the united states he's very important in egypt's relations with hamas and israel. he runs a lot of the domestic and intelligence and security services. he's the person hosni mubarak is most comfortable with. he has no question -- hosni mubarak has no question omar suleiman is not going to try to push him out. he's going to defend hosni mubarak. >> he already has. because we can describe him as a trusted confident, as a problem solver, a fixer. this is not a man with a gentle past. this is a man who put down the islamists who are threatening this regime. and that was a fairly bloody bit of work. >> not only that but he's also a person, he doesn't like the spotlight. he doesn't want to be in the press. it's hard to find a picture of omar suleiman. i met him once in a sort of strange situation. but he is not somebody who wants to be the president of egypt. he's somebody who wants to protect the president of egypt. he wants to protect the military government in egypt. and that's the kind of person hosni mubarak wants at his side in this time of tremendous uncertainty. >> as we watch the uncertainty continue and the protests continue on the streets, jonathan, what will these new appointments mean to ordinary egyptians who are there fighting for their rights, fighting for jobs, fighting for economic security? >> yeah, i think what this suggests is the president is trying to signal resolve. that he's not going to make what he sees as the mistake that ben ali made in tunisia and a day after he tried to give conciliatory peach is on a plane out of the country. i do think that this has to be understood as the beginning of the final act of hosni mubarak's presidency. there are presidential elections slated for next fall. i cannot imagine that hosni mubarak will run in those elections. what we're looking at is some transition. and the issue here is really is egypt's political future going to be a continuation of the military establishment essentially running the country in a civilian guise or is that all in doubt and then nobody has any idea what would be there? and as i read the quotations in all the newspaper articles that i read in the last several days, i don't really sense that egyptians are clamoring for democracy in elections. i sense what they're clamoring for is better results. the bet that hosni mubarak is making that omar suleiman are going to be making is that if the military closes ranks and supports the president and talks about working that transition, that they can have a guided transition away from hosni mubarak instead of a chaotic one. >> a lot of people still wondering how all of this is going to affect the global markets. what's your take on that? >> well, it's very early to tell partly because i think the most important decisions are going to be the decisions made over the next 9 to 12 months over what is the future government of egypt going to look like, who is going to be in and who is going to be out and how will others relate to the region? will it be as strong an ally as it has been to the unite for some years. i sense jitteriness now and if hosni mubarak goes down in flames -- and i gather that's not especially likely, but it's possible, that would create a huge sense of uncertainty throughout the middle east. it would create uncertainty in israel. then israel would be much more likely to take unpredictable unilateral aks which would create greater instability in the middle east. >> jonathan alterman for us. thank you so much for your insight. >> thank you, randi. >> roz ne mubarak say he's staying, now he has help. two new figures emerge. whatcha doing? snapple stuff. hey! what's that stuff? give me that stuff. have you seen this stuff? - diet stuff? that stuff's the best. - didn't we find better stuff? - same stuff. just diet. - huh. there's stuff going on. why don't they tell me this stuff? jim, what's the deal with this stuff? all right, look, everyone. diet snapple is made with the same stuff-- healthy green tea, tasty black tea. - this is just zero calorie stuff! - bingo. [ announcer ] healthy green tea, tasty black tea, zero calories. i love this stuff! snapple. the best diet stuff on earth. well, tens of thousands of egyptians want hosni mubarak to leave the presidency, but at least two men have signed on to help him stay. >> they want to be a part of it. >> we have word that ahmed shafiq has been appointed the new prime minister of egypt and omar suleiman appointed vice president for the first time in three decades of mubarak's rule. >> two men with in history there as well. >> interesti history and contacts around the world. which brings us to elisa babor tp. >> that's right, john. really well known to the u.s. really one of the main interlocutors to the u.s. state department and the white house. we just spot to state department spokesman crowley that's someone we know well and have worked closely with. our focus is putting concrete reactions between mubarak. egypt needs a meaningful process that leads to genuine reform. i spoke to another official just a short time ago that said, we like him very much, but it's not about personalities. it's about policies. the u.s. really wants to see over the next couple of days, they're not expecting intan tan yus results, but they want to see mubarak reach out and make a meaningful set of reforms. he can say to his people that he hears them on the streets. >> can i ask you a basic undiplomatic question? does the obama administration want to see hosni mubarak hang on? do they want to see him remain as president of egypt? >> i keep hearing this phrase, managed change. i think jon alterman had it about right. they want to see a political process where people are brought in, a national dialogue, if you will, going beyond the elites, talking about job creation, talking about how to alleviate some of the social and economic frustrations in the country. i think they'd like to see him go, but at some point, because obviously they've been working closely with him, but he's frustrated them on a lot of issues including human rights, but they don't know who is going to come next. but they want to see a process where people lift a state of emergency, there are elections in september. if you can see a process where a genuine opposition with a face, with a name specific candidates maybe could run in the september election, i think they'd like to see mubarak gradually phase out. but right now they don't know who comes next, that's a scary proposition for the united states. so i keep hearing that phrase, managed change. not right now, i don't think they want to see him go, but ultimately they would like to see a more democratic face in egypt. >> elise labatt in washington. thank you very much. our next guest is the author of "the last pharaoh" mubarak and the uncertain future of egypt in the obama age. he also ran against president mubarak in the 2005 ehekz. >> he joins us live from chicago. you not only predicted a revolt against mubarak but you said you believe his regime will fall. is this what's going to do it? are we watching this happen now? >> well, i was not surprised to see that all happen and unfold. i was not surprised to see omar suleiman to be appointed as the vice president because i talked about that in my book and i predicted that, i predicted several scenarios that could unfold. this is all too similar. and the thing that is not about omar suleiman as a fixer, as a consigliere, but about what the egyptian people want. the people on the street, they simply want mr. mubarak out, his regime, his party, people, his family, all of these symbols. >> is that what they're going to get? all hope aside, let's look at what's going to unfold in the next several days and tell us what you expect. >> i do not think that these demonstrations will go away very soon. because they have very specific demands. and these are very young people, about 60% of the egyptian population are educated, a lot unemployed. they cannot get married, there's a housing crisis. so there's a sense of frustration and hopelessness. they have specific demands. they said it loud and clear they want president mubarak out. i would not be surprised either to see that all of that will not happen and will not succeed to appease the egyptian people and mr. mubarak would be stepping down because already some members of his family headed for london since the last few days. even some of the heads of the regime. they' they know that their days are numbered. we're seeing the same thing that happened in tunisia. we're failing again, once again, to read the writing on the wall. we failed to learn the lessons of iran 30 years ago or of marcos in the philippines and indonesia. military dictators will inevitably fall. we have to talk to the people. we haven't been talking to the egyptian people. they need to see strong messages from us. >> we're doing our best to talk to them now. and they're certainly being heard. aladdin elaasar. thank you very much. he talked about a report that we've been seeing that some of the figures close to mubarak closely, some members of his family, all kinds of rumors have started turning up in other places. >> other countries. >> we do not know that that's the case. you may be seeing these rumors on the internet. people being spotted in airports and other countries. we're trying very hard because those would be signals if they were accurate. >> we don't know where hosni mubarak is, not only his family but where he is. we have cameras all over the region. ♪ [ male announcer ] from jet engines that have fewer emissions, to new ways to charge electric cars, to renewable sources of clean energy, ecomagination from ge is advanced technology that's good for both the economy and the environment. ♪ it's technology that makes the world work. 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