Mubarak's move to Sharm 'positive' - US official

WASHINGTON

Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's move to the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is a 'positive first step,' a US official said Friday, on a day of high tension in the Cairo crisis.

"It's a positive first step," the official said on condition of anonymity when asked to evaluate Mubarak's decision to leave Cairo, the site of days of raging protests demanding an end to his 30-year rule.

Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) earlier confirmed the strongman leader had flown to Sharm el-Sheikh, on Egypt's Red Sea Coast, where he has a holiday home.

Egyptian state television meanwhile said the office of the presidency was shortly expected to make an "important and urgent" statement.