"Egyptian demonstrators calling for economic and political reforms broke through police barriers in Cairo on Tuesday, as Egypt's authoritarian government braced for one of the biggest opposition protests in recent years. The protest is being seen as an attempt by opposition groups in Egypt to exploit the momentum of the Tunisia protests to agitate Cairo for political and economic reforms.
Over the weekend, large antigovernment demonstrations broke out in Jordan, Yemen and Algeria, while more men — particularly in Egypt and Algeria — have joined the ranks of self-immolators inspired by Mohammed Bouazizi, whose suicide sparked the Tunisia protests.
On Facebook, more than 85,000 people have pledged to attend Egypt's nationwide antigovernment protest, according to Time magazine. If even half that many people were to show up Tuesday, it would be a historic day for Egyptian political activism under the Mubarak regime, wrote the magazine's Abigail Hauslohner in Cairo."
Mubarak, 82, fears the power of populism. He allows opponents of his regime a limited political voice in the hope it will defuse anger at his power monopoly. Ayman Nour, an opposition leader jailed by Mubarak and only released following U.S. pressure, believes Tunisia's revolt has shortened Mubarak's days in power, according to CNN.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/110125/cairo-protest-egypt-hosni-mubarak-tunisia