BBC News with Julie Candler
Two days after taking power, Egypt's military authorities have announced they are
suspend
ing the constitution and dissolving parliament. A statement said the Higher Military Council would be in power for about six months or until elections could take place. A new committee is being formed to draft a new constitution. From Cairo, Jon Leyne reports.
This
sweeping
announcement was made on state television less than 48 hours after the departure of President Mubarak. The constitution is being suspended, a committee is being set up to re-draft it and parliament has been
dissolve
d. In some ways, this was expected. The military are already
disregard
ing the constitution; there is no president at the moment for example. The opposition will almost certainly welcome the dissolution of parliament. It was elected in a vote last autumn that was widely condemned as rigged. But the opposition will want to know who will be on the commission to amend the constitution.
Reports from Tunisia say the new government has rushed security forces to coastal areas to stop a Europe-bound
exodus
of people fleeing poverty and political turmoil in Tunisia.
The Italian government has declared that it wants to move Italian forces onto Tunisian territory to stop the tide of immigrants. Duncan Kennedy reports from Rome.
On Sunday alone, around 1,000 migrants from Tunisia crossed the Mediterranean. Italy has declared a state of humanitarian emergency to deal with the large numbers arriving. Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini is due to meet his Tunisian counterpart in the next week to find ways of curbing the inflow as this unexpected