Those interested in following and better understanding the developments in Egypt may find the following sources helpful.
1. CNN, at: http://www.cnn.com/
2. Besides providing relatively full and up-to-date on-going coverage of Egypt, the New York Times, provides important background information on, respectively, Egypt and Mubarak, at:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/egypt/index.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/hosni_mubarak/index.html
3. The United States government offers background material, at:
The CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html
United States Department of State: http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/eg/
4. There is always Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt
5. Important background information can be found on the Carnegie Guide to Egypt’s Elections, at: http://egyptelections.carnegieendowment.org/
It is true that events have outrun some of the Guide’s coverage, but the “Featured Analysis” article, “Understanding Egypt’s Unrest,” which you can reach from the site is helpful.
I was expecting to go to Algeria and Tunisia for Spring break with others through Merrimack, but naturally the current situation has put the trip on hold. Last I heard, protests have spread as far as Yemen. It’s been quite a snowball effect across the area, and will be incredibly interesting to see the outcomes once everything has settled.
Just to add to the resources above, BBC has an excellent Q&A of events and aljazeera.net has some incredible video from among the protests.
You’re absolutely right about BBC and aljazeera.net.
You noted Yemen; there’s been some activity in the Sudan, also.