MusicThis is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.Egypt is a nation of eighty million people -- the largest in the Arab world.Hosni Mubarak came to power in nineteen eighty- one.The president said early Saturday that he had asked his government to resign and would quickly appoint a new cabinet.Mr. Mubarak promised political and economic reforms and said days of protests were a plot to weaken Egypt.The protests led by young people became more violent Friday. Military vehicles moved into Cairo and other cities.A spokesman for President Obama urged the Egyptian government and protesters to show "strong restraint."He said the United States would be "reviewing" its assistance program to Egypt.Protesters have used social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to organize.But Egypt's four main Internet providers all stopped service early Friday.Telecom company Vodafone said the government also ordered all mobile phone operators to suspend service in parts of the country.
