Omar Suleiman appointed vice president of Egypt

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has not picked a vice president since his took office in 1981, appointed his intelligence chief and confidante Omar Suleiman to the post amid escalating protests against the regime.

Mubarak, who is facing a fifth day of violent demonstrations calling for him to go, has steadfastly refused to name a vice president since he came to power in 1981.

Suleiman has been labeled the most powerful spy chief in the Middle East, and the sharply dressed and well-groomed general was for years a highly enigmatic figure for the world at large.