Compiled from news reports
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak stepped down Friday after three-decades of autocratic rule and handed power to a junta of senior military commanders, triggering an explosion of joy on the streets.
Across Cairo, the chant went up: "We the people have overthrown the regime!"
A grim-faced and ashen Vice President Omar Suleiman announced the handover on state television after an extraordinary national outpouring of rage brought more than a million furious demonstrators onto the streets.
"President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the post of president of the republic and has tasked the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state's affairs," Suleiman said.
The statement appeared to bring an end to constitutional rule in Egypt and invest power in a group of generals representing a military that has long been the power behind the throne in the Arab world's most populous country.
Earlier, the 82-year-old strongman had flown out of Cairo to his holiday retreat at Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea, his ruling party said. As news spread, cries of "Allahu Akbar" -- God is greatest! -- and howls of victory rang out in the streets of the capital, firecrackers exploded, dancing broke out and women ululated their joy.
Egypt's powerful Islamist opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood hailed Mubarak's resignation and thanked the army.
"We salute the great people of Egypt in their battle," Essam el-Erian, a senior Brotherhood leader and spokesman told AFP. "We salute the army, which kept its promises.
In Tahrir Square several protesters fainted with the emotion of the moment following two weeks of protest.
"I'm happy, I'm exhausted," said Mohammed Gamal, a 21-year-old Cairo University student, one of a new generation of web-savvy young people who were behind the revolt in the Arab world's largest country.
"Now the Egyptians have their freedom. We broke down the wall of fear. We changed our people," he said.
The plaza has become a focal point of the revolt since it was occupied by protesters in late January, and earlier in the day had been thronged by hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, who prayed and chanted abuse at Mubarak.
"We can finally go home!" cried Mohammed Ibrahim, 38, a protest organiser. "We have been here for 18 days waiting for him to leave and we did it."
Outside the main presidential palace in the neighborhood of Heliopolis protesters shouted "God is greatest!" as they hugged one another, danced and ululated. Some fell to the ground, overcome with emotion.
The top figure in Egypt's new military regime, Defense Minister Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, later drove past the palace and saluted cheering crowds.
Top opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said "we have got our life back."
"My message to the Egyptian people is that you have gained your liberty," he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television. "Let's make the best use of it and God bless you."
Elsewhere in Cairo, gunshots, fireworks and the rhythmic car horns usually reserved for weddings were heard as Egyptians celebrated Mubarak's resignation.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden hailed a "historic day" for the people of Egypt and said Mubarak's departure must lead to a negotiated path towards democracy.
The question now turned to how the military, long Egypt's most powerful institution and now its official ruler, will handle the transition in power.
Earlier in the day, the Armed Forces Supreme Council, the military's top body, vowed to guide the country to greater democracy. State TV said a new statement by the military would be issued Friday evening.