Egypt's new military rulers on Sunday suspended the constitution and dissolved a parliament dominated by the ruling party of former president Hosni Mubarak, after he was overthrown in a popular revolt.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' "communiqué number five", which was read out on state television, said a transitional period of military rule would last six months while reforms were put in place to allow free elections.

Nearly 1,000 Tunisian migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa overnight, where the government has already declared a humanitarian emergency, coast guards said Sunday.

"Since midnight, 977 people arrived on Lampedusa," the harbor master on Lampedusa, Antonio Morana, said as two more boats approached the tiny island off Sicily.

Several major pieces have been stolen from the Egyptian museum, including a statue of King Tutankhamun, Egypt's minister of state for antiquities Zahi Hawass said on Sunday.

The objects missing from the famed museum included "a gilded wood statue of the 18th Dynasty king Tutankhamun being carried by a goddess" and parts of "a gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun harpooning," Hawass said in a statement.

Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved the appointment of Major General Benny Gantz as next chief of staff of the armed forces, ending months of infighting for the post among top generals.

A cabinet statement said Gantz had been unanimously approved for the position, which falls vacant on Monday when the term of incumbent military chief Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi ends.

Traffic again flowed through much of Cairo's emblematic Tahrir Square on Sunday as most protesters headed home following the nationwide revolt that brought down President Hosni Mubarak.

Military police directed cars through what had been the epicenter of the uprising, past tanks that were pulled to the side of most roads and giant pictures of "martyrs" killed during clashes with pro-Mubarak thugs.

Egypt's new military leadership vowed Saturday to pave the way for democracy and abide by its peace treaty with Israel, as Egyptians basked in their victory a day after Hosni Mubarak's overthrow.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said the current government would remain in place for a peaceful transition to "an elected civil authority to build a free democratic state," although it set no timetable.

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a bus filled with Shiite pilgrims returning from mourning rituals in the Iraqi city of Samarra on Saturday, killing at least 30 people, hospital sources said.

"The suicide bomber quickly ran into the bus when it stopped at a checkpoint several kilometers (miles) outside Samarra, and detonated his vest inside the vehicle," a police official said.

A top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority will hold presidential and legislative elections by September.

The move appeared to be a response to the popular protests that drove Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down late Friday.

Several thousand young Yemenis gathered in central Sanaa on Saturday, calling for President Ali Abdallah Saleh to step down and follow the example of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

"After Mubarak, it's Ali's turn," chanted some of the estimated 4,000 protesters, mostly young students.

Egypt's military relaxed a nighttime curfew Saturday and banned current and ex-government officials from traveling abroad without permission in its first moves since taking power after President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

The moves came as Egyptian protesters were jubilant over their success in ousting the longtime authoritarian leader, but many vowed to stay camped in Cairo's central Tahrir, or Liberation, square until they hear "clear assurances" that the military will meet their demands for democracy.