This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。
Egypt is a nation of eighty million people -- the largest in the Arab world. Hosni Mubarak came to power in nineteen eighty-one.
埃及有8000万人口，是阿拉伯世界最大的国家。埃及总统胡斯尼·穆巴拉克（Hosni Mubarak）1981年上台。
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.
穆巴拉克周六早晨表示，他已经要求政府辞职，并将很快任命新内阁。穆巴拉克承诺进行政治和经济改革，并称持续数日的示威活动是一个妄图削弱埃及的阴谋。
The protests led by young people became more violent Friday. Military vehicles moved into Cairo and other cities.
这起由年轻人领导的示威活动周五越发趋于暴力，军队开入开罗和其他城市。
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.
美国总统奥巴马发言人敦促埃及政府和示威者保持“强烈克制”。他说，美国将“重新审查”对埃及的援助计划。
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.
示威者使用了Facebook和Twitter等社交网站组织示威活动。但周五早些时候，埃及四大互联网提供商都中断了服务。沃达丰电信公司表示，埃及政府同时要求所有移动电话运营商在部分地区暂停服务。
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the Egyptian government to end what she called "the unprecedented steps it has taken to cut off communications." She also called for economic, political and social reforms.
美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿敦促埃及政府停止被她称为的“为切断通讯而采取的前所未有的措施”。她同时呼吁埃及进行经济、政治和社会改革。
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: "We want to partner with the Egyptian people and their government to realize their aspirations to live in a democratic society that respects basic human rights. When I was recently in the region I met with a wide range of civil society groups, and I heard from them about ideas they have that would improve their countries. The people of the Middle East, like people everywhere, are seeking a chance to contribute and to have a role in the decisions that will shape their lives."
克林顿：“我们希望与埃及政府、人民合作，实现他们居住在尊重基本人权的民主社会的理想。不久前我在该地区会见了许多民权组织，听取了他们关于改善国家现状的一些想法。中东地区的人民和世界各地的人民一样，希望在影响自己生活的一些决定上发挥作用。”
On Friday, Egyptian police briefly detained former diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei. Mister ElBaradei has said he is willing to lead an opposition movement.
周五，埃及警方短暂拘留了前外交官穆罕默德·巴拉迪(Mohamed ElBaradei)。巴拉迪曾经表示他愿意领导反对派运动。
Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has said it will join the protests.
埃及最大的反对派组织“穆斯林兄弟会”已表示将参加示威活动。
But not all the people in the streets were demanding the removal of Mr. Mubarak.
但并非所有的示威者都要求穆巴拉克下台。
"The average Egyptian is suffering from low wages," says this man in Cairo. "All we want is a solution to this."
开罗的一名男子表示：“埃及的普通民众受低工资困扰，我们所需要的只是就此的解决方案。”
On Thursday, President Obama discussed the situation during an appearance on YouTube. He said President Mubarak has been an American ally on important issues. But he also said the need for political reform in Egypt has long been evident.
周四，奥巴马在YouTuble露面时提到了埃及当前局势。他表示，在一些重大问题上，穆巴拉克总统一直是美国的盟友。但他也表示，埃及进行政治改革的迫切需要也是显而易见。
BARACK OBAMA: "I've always said to him that making sure that they are moving forward on reform, political reform, economic reform, is absolutely critical to the long-term well being of Egypt. And you can see these pent-up frustrations that are being displayed on the streets."
奥巴马：“我一再对穆巴拉克总统表示，确保推动政治改革、经济改革对埃及的长期利益来说非常关键。你可以从街头抗议的人们看出他们积压已久的不满情绪。”
Stephen Cook, a Middle East expert for the Council on Foreign Relations, returned to Washington from Cairo late Thursday.
美国外国关系委员会中东问题专家斯蒂芬·库克周四晚些时候刚刚从开罗回到华盛顿。
STEPHEN COOK: "There have been demonstrations going on in Egypt regularly throughout the last five or six years."
库克：“最近五六年埃及经常发生示威活动。”
But he says demonstrations held Tuesday on the Egyptian holiday of Police Day gained strength because of the revolution in Tunisia.
但他表示，由于突尼斯革命的影响，周二埃及假日警察日这天举行的示威活动规模高涨。
Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January fourteenth.
突尼斯总统本·阿里已于1月14日逃往沙特阿拉伯。
Other Arab countries facing protests include Jordan and Yemen, where President Abdullah Saleh has held power for more than thirty years.
面临抗议的其他阿拉伯国家还有约旦和也门，也门总统阿卜杜拉·萨利赫(Ali Abdullah Saleh)也已执政超过三十年。