Hosni MubarakSwiss banks freeze assestsCAIRO (Reuters) – A furious wave of protest swept Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak from power yesterday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond.Mubarak, the second Arab leader to be overthrown by a popular uprising in a month, handed power to the army after 18 days of relentless rallies against poverty, corruption and repression caused support from the armed forces to evaporate.Mubarak, 82, had flown with his family from Cairo to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, a ruling party official said.Vice President Omar Suleiman said a military council would run the most populous Arab country for now. The council gave few details of what it said would be a “transitional phase” and gave no timetable for presidential or parliamentary elections. It said it wanted to “achieve the hopes of our great people.”Some question the army’s appetite for democracy. Western powers are worried about the electoral strength of Islamist groups.Ecstatic Egyptians celebrated a largely peaceful “White Revolution” in carnival mood. People embraced in Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, the main focus for protest, claiming a victory over their “Pharaoh” they hardly dared to believe.“Nightmare over!” said tailor Saad el Din Ahmed,China Jerseys, 65, in Cairo. “Now we have our freedom and can breathe and demand our rights. In Mubarak’s era, we never saw a good day. Hopefully now we will see better times,” said Mostafa Kamal, 33, a salesman.In the United States, Mubarak’s long-time sponsor, President Barack Obama said: “The people of Egypt have spoken.” He stressed to the U.S.-aided Egyptian army that “nothing less than genuine democracy” would satisfy people’s hunger for change.Washington has pursued a sometimes meandering line since the protests began on January 25,Cheap Jerseys, apparently reluctant to lose a bulwark against militant Islam in the Middle East but also anxious to endorse calls for political freedom.Behind the celebrations, there was a note of caution over how far the armed forces under Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak’s veteran Defence Minister, were ready to permit democracy, especially since the hitherto banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood is one of the best organised movements.“This is just the end of the beginning,” said Jon Alterman of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.“Egypt isn’t moving toward democracy,China NFL Jerseys, it’s moved into martial law and where it goes is now subject to debate.”U.S. officials familiar with the Egyptian military say Tantawi, 75, has long seemed resistant to change.Suleiman, a 74-year-old former spy chief, annoyed some this week by questioning whether Egyptians were ready for democracy.Al Arabiya television said the army would soon dismiss the cabinet and suspend parliament. The head of the Constitutional Court would join the leadership with the military council.The best deterrent to any attempt to maintain military rule could be the street power of protesters who showed Mubarak they could render Egypt ungovernable without their consent.As continued turmoil in Tunisia shows a month after the overthrow of the strongman there inspired young Egyptians to act, any government will face huge social and economic problems.Leaders freely chosen by the people could also look to harness the vast creative energy and patriotic pride evident on the streets crowded with demonstrators for the past 18 days.The crisis that brought down Mubarak was the worst since British-backed King Farouk was toppled in a military coup in 1952. Generals have ruled ever since, although Mubarak, and his predecessor Anwar Sadat in the 1970s, rarely appeared in uniform and kept active-service officers in the background.The protests united many Egyptians who have long harboured deep grievances against Mubarak, from youths unable to find jobs to activists who faced oppression and others who suffered brutality at the hands of the police.A senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood said Egyptians had achieved the main goal of an uprising in which the Brotherhood initially took a cautious back seat: “This is the day of victory for the Egyptian people,” Mohamed el-Katatni told Reuters.Protesters celebrate the ouster of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak. (John Moore/Getty Images) Ayman Nour, who was jailed after challenging Mubarak in the 2005 presidential vote, said: “This nation has been born again, these people have been born again and this is a new Egypt.”Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa would leave the pan-Arab body “within weeks,” Egypt’s state news agency said. The former foreign minister is seen as a possible president.Protesters waved flags, set off fireworks and beat drums to celebrate a new chapter in Egypt