One million Egyptian protesters throng Tahrir square

Egypt's protesters scored a success in reaching their goal of another million-man-march while they kicked their third week on Tuesday as embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak formed a panel to oversee constitutional amendments, Vice President Omar Suleiman said.

"President Mubarak today signed a decree for the formation of the constitutional commission which will oversee constitutional amendments, and required legislative amendments," Suleiman said in a statement read out on television.

"Egypt has a plan and timetable for the peaceful transfer of power," the vice president said, adding that the government will not pursue protesters who have been demanding President Mubarak step down now.

"The president welcomed the national consensus, confirming that we are putting our feet on the right path to getting out of the current crisis," Suleiman said.

"A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realize the peaceful and organized transfer of power," he said.

Negotiators also agreed to open an office for complaints about the treatment of political prisoners, loosen media curbs, lift an emergency law "depending on the security situation," and reject foreign interference.

But Suleiman refused another key demand of the opposition, saying he would not assume Mubarak's powers and rule in his place during the transition.

"Mubarak has also ordered the formation of a third committee to investigate the clashes that took place on Wednesday," Suleiman said.

Ex officials join protests

Mubarak's former political advisor and Egypt's ex transportation minister surprised protesters as they joined the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Tahrir square.

Protesters who circled People's Assembly and called for its dissolution for its lack of legitimacy vowed more demonstrations as they called for a push to eject President Mubarak from power after the government conceded little ground in talks with the opposition and sought to squeeze demonstrators out of central Cairo.

Judges, al-Azhar scholars and around 1000 university professors also joined the protesters.

The German government denied a report by a German magazine Der Spiegel late Monday that preparations were under way for Mubarak to possibly visit Germany for an "extended medical check-up."

"Preliminary talks with appropriate hospitals are ongoing," it said, but the German government soon denied the reports, arguing that it had never received any demand from Egypt on this regard.

When asked about a possible visit by Mubarak, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said: "There has been no official nor unofficial request concerning such a stay."

Meanwhile, Luxembourg's foreign minister said Tuesday that Germany should allow Mubarak to receive medical treatment in the country if he requests it, If Mubarak were to seek such treatment, "Germany should not refuse," Jean Asselborn told the Tagesspiegel daily in an interview to appear on Wednesday.

The protesters barricaded in a tent camp in Tahrir Square have vowed to stay until Mubarak quits and hope to take their two-week campaign to the streets with more mass demonstrations on Tuesday and Friday.

Tuesday's demonstrations will test the protesters' ability to maintain pressure on the government after Mubarak, 82, refused calls to end his 30-year rule now. He has said he will stay until an election in September but will not run in it.

Minister denies wrongdoing

Egypt's former minister of trade and industry has denied any wrongdoing during his tenure and is ready to face any charges.

Speaking to Al-Arabiya news channel Tuesday, Rachid Mohammed Rachid, said he was offered a position in the new government but declined.

He said accusations that he had illegally accumulated wealth while minister were "nonsense" and part of an effort to "tarnish my reputation."

The former minister is currently in Dubai and has had his assets frozen in Egypt. There is a travel ban against him.

Rachid left the private sector to join the government in 2004 and is credited with helping revitalize the country's creaking industry sector and foreign trade.

Little progress in talks with govt

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in previous demonstrations and the United Nations said 300 people may have died so far since the kick off of protests on Jan. 25, but governmental officials put the figure at 150 deaths only.

Keen to get traffic moving around Tahrir Square, the army has tried to squeeze the area the protesters have occupied.

Some protesters slept in the tracks of the army's armored vehicles to prevent them being used to force the protest into a smaller space.

The powerful army's role in the next weeks is considered critical to the country's future.

Egyptian opposition figures have reported little progress in talks with the government.

The Muslim Brotherhood, by far the best organized opposition group, said on Monday it could quit the process if protesters' demands were not met, including the immediate exit of Mubarak.

U.S. President Barack Obama however said the talks were making progress. "Obviously, Egypt has to negotiate a path and they're making progress," he told reporters in Washington.

The United States, adopting a cautious approach to the crisis, has urged all sides to allow time for an "orderly transition" to a new political order in Egypt, for decades a strategic ally.

But protesters worry that when Mubarak does leave, he will be replaced not with the democracy they seek but with another authoritarian ruler.

Many young men in Tahrir Square on Monday dismissed the political dialogue taking place.

The opposition has been calling for the constitution to be rewritten to allow free and fair presidential elections, a limit on presidential terms, the dissolution of parliament, the release of political detainees and lifting of emergency law.

Buying time in face of protests

The state news agency MENA reported on Monday that Mubarak had set up two committees to be involved in drawing up changes to the constitution, one of the demands of the protesters.

Mubarak on Monday chaired the first meeting of his new cabinet, which promised to keep subsidies in full and draw in foreign investment.

Mubarak tried to buy time in the face of defiant street protests, pledging to raise public sector wages by 15 percent and ordering a probe into recent deadly violence.

According to the official MENA news agency, the cabinet approved a plan to increase state sector salaries by 15 percent from April and to spend another 6.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($940 million) boosting pensions.

Mubarak also pledged to launch an "independent" investigation into deadly violence between his supporters and demonstrators Wednesday at Tahrir Square that left 11 dead and nearly 1,000 injured, according to official estimates.

The president "has given instructions for the creation of a... transparent, independent and impartial investigatory commission," MENA reported.

The commission will investigate "the terrible and unacceptable violations that made some protesters innocent victims", it said.

In other government moves to revive economic life, the nightly curfew in three cities including Cairo was pushed back to 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) until 6:00 am, and the stock exchange said it would reopen on Sunday.

The Cairo bourse closed down 10 points on Jan. 27, after 70 billion Egyptian pounds (12 billion dollars) was wiped off shares over two days.

A strict emergency law would be lifted "depending on the security situation", the government said.

The potential rise to power of the banned Muslim Brotherhood troubles Egypt's Western allies and neighbor Israel, which has a peace treaty with it.

Obama said on Sunday the Brotherhood lacks majority support. The White House expressed concern on Monday about the group's "anti-American rhetoric", but stopped short of saying it would be against the group taking a role in a future government.

"We have significant disagreements (with the Brotherhood)," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.