Celebration rally in Britain after fall of Mubarak

LONDON: At least 1,000 people held a noisy rally in London on Saturday to celebrate the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and show their support for anti-government protests across the Middle East.

The event was organised by Amnesty International as part of a global wave of protests to urge Mubarak to quit, but turned into victory celebrations after the strongman fled Cairo and handed power to the military on Friday.

"What we want to see now is a transition to a civilian government," activist Vivian Ibrahim, who led protests outside Egyptian embassy throughout the crisis, told the BBC.

"And most importantly we want to hear the voices of the youths who stood in Tahrir Square," she added, referring to the location in central Cairo where the biggest protests against Mubarak's rule took place.

One banner at the rally in London had a picture of Mubarak wearing the hat of a pharaoh, the rulers of ancient Egypt, and the slogan: "You're historic."

Others read: "Solidarity with the Egyptian people", "Egypt lives", "Free Palestine" and "End the siege of Gaza".

Police said around 1,000 people attended. Organisers put the figure at 4,000.

Amnesty International said there would be similar events in around 30 countries as part of a "Global Day of Action".

Hundreds of people also took to the streets of Sydney, Washington, Madrid and other countries to rejoice as downtown Cairo remained in the hands of demonstrators whose 18-day revolt ended Mubarak's 30 years of autocratic rule.