BBC News with David Austin

The ruling party in Egypt has said it's ready for dialogue with the public and opposition parties during a third day of protests against the government. The Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has

meanwhile

returned to the country, saying he intends to take part in protests on Friday to support demands for a better life. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says Mr ElBaradei may cause difficulties for the authorities.

He does present a big problem to the government. He's well-respected in this country, but he's also very well-respected overseas, and so if he's the head of the protest, then it'll be a

dilemma

. They can't really go in and break up the protests as they've been doing in the last few days, or it's very difficult for them to deal with that big international

embarrassment

. So that's the problem he creates for the government here.

In Yemen, too, tens of thousands of people have demonstrated, calling for the president of the past three decades Ali Abdullah Saleh to leave office. Protesters gathered in several parts of the capital Sanaa, chanting that it was time for change and

evoking

the popular uprising in Tunisia. One opposition politician, Salah Eldeen Ahmed, had angry words about Mr Saleh's assumed intention to install his son as his political heir.

"We want to say no to the extension of power and the succession, which would continue the corruption. This demonstration is a sign of rejection of that, and the people will not