Egypt's PM: Mubarak unlikely to give power to deputy

Egypt's prime minister said on Friday that it was unlikely the president would hand presidential powers to his newly appointed deputy, Al Arabiya television reported.

The United States has called for an orderly transition of pwoer in Egypt now after hundreds of thousands of protesters have convulsed the country demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down. "We need the president for legislative reasons," Al Arabiya quoted Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq as saying in a headline. (Reuters)