Obama seeks quick Egypt handover

However the US president stopped short of telling Mr Mubarak to step down immediately.

He spoke as huge crowds demonstrated across Egypt for an 11th day, demanding that Mr Mubarak resign.

But PM Ahmed Shafiq said it would not be practical for the president to go.

He told the BBC Mr Mubarak's declaration on Tuesday that he would not seek re-election in September was tantamount to him standing down.

"In effect, the president has stepped down already," Mr Shafiq said. "We need him during these nine months."

He separately told al-Arabiya TV that it was unlikely Mr Mubarak would hand over power to his new Vice-President, Omar Suleiman, because the president was needed "for legislative reasons".

Meanwhile, there were suggestions that the protesters would reduce their presence in central Cairo, holding big demonstrations only on Fridays, with smaller numbers there at other times; Kazinform cites BBC News.

See www.bbc.co.uk for full story