All updates are set to Japanese standard time: Which is 15 hours ahead of Americas east coast and 18 hours ahead of the west coast. 06:32
President Morsi overthrown in Egypt
Army suspends constitution, appoints head of constitutional court as interim leader and calls for early elections.
The Egyptian army has overthrown President Mohamed Morsi, announcing a roadmap for the country’s political future that will be implemented by a national reconciliation committee.
The head of Egypt's armed forces issued a declaration on Wednesday evening suspending the constitution and appointing the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adli al-Mansour, as interim head of state.
Mansour would be sworn in on Thursday.
Morsi's presidential Facebook page quoted the deposed president as saying he rejected the army statement as a military coup.
The ousted leader was believed to be holed up at a Republican Guard barracks in Cairo, surrounded by barbed wire, barriers and troops, but it was not clear whether he was under arrest.
In a televised broadcast, flanked by military leaders, religious authorities and political figures, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi effectively declared the removal of Morsi.
02:18
Al Jazeera's reporters don't seem to know the difference between a tank and an aromred personnel carrier (APC). The pictures that Al Jazeera is showing are not of tanks but APC's 02:14
Military vehicles are blocking most roads outside the Islamist rally, where I have just left. There are still roads out, however.
02:02
Alastair BeachThe Independent
tweets:More troops on Charles de Gaulle street just past Gamaa Bridge near Cairo Uni. Feels like the coup has arrived.pic.twitter.com/CSMPdVneu3
Quentin SommervilleBBC News, Cairo
tweets: Military convoy here in Cairo has heavy weaponry unloaded.
02:01
Al Jazeera is reporting that there are 12 tanks surrounding a pro Morsi demonstration at Cairo university in Giza 01:57
1755:
Presidential aide Yasser Haddara says Mr Morsi spent Wednesday working normally at a regular presidential office in a compound of the Republican Guard in suburban Cairo. He adds that it is unclear whether the president will be allowed to leave later and return to the palace - Reuters
Claire ReadBBC Arabic
tweets: Ambulances are trying to make their way through the crowds in Tahrir at the moment but there's just too many people! #Egypt
Shashank JoshiRoyal United Services Institute
tweets: Anyone who thinks that a coup was a necessary evil to end Morsi's overreach clearly has a very short memory of the Egyptian military's conduct.
01:48
Former Guardian Cairo correspondent Jack Shenker reports on army movements around Tahrir:
Army tanks reaching #Tahrir square, troops controlling at least two major bridges across Nile #Egypt
01:43 Forces allied with the president of Egypt said Wednesday that a military coup was under way and that tanks were on the move outside Cairo. Representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood, backers of President Mohammed Morsi, said that some of its leaders have been rounded up and arrested. A Morsi adviser told NBC News that communication with the president had been cut off. 01:40
1737:
Mona al-Qazzaz, a spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK, tells the BBC: "My main fear is to go back to a military state. The military should not be part of the political scene."
Jeremy BowenBBC Middle East editor
tweets: Two sides now stoning each other, armour has left leaving light force of soldiers. #Cairo
1734:
The Pentagon says US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has spoken to the head of the Egyptian army, Gen Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, on Tuesday. No further details of the conversation have been released - AP
tweets: BBC Arabic reports armed military vehicles are now on the streets of Cairo.
01:15
With the publication of Essam al-Haddad's statement, Morsi's team has made a carefully crafted case that notwithstanding the crowds of millions in the streets, its deposition amounts to a coup, and the destruction of a democratic experiment.
A lot has changed from two days ago, when the Muslim Brotherhood English Twitter account argued that the military ultimatum did not represent a coup:
.@murphy_paulp opposition wd like to interpret military statement as a coup against president, it's not. Military is patriotic institution
01:11 Muslim Brotherhood
spokesman Gehad al-Haddad says in a tweet a "full military coup" is under way in Egypt. "Tanks have started moving through the streets," he writes. 00:56
The New York Times quotes security officials as saying that a travel banhas been placed on the president and top Muslim Brotherhood figures.
egyptian security officials: a travel ban on President Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide, and his deputy Khairat el-Shater,
— David D. Kirkpatrick (@kirkpatricknyt) July 3, 2013
A top Morsi adviser, Essam al-Haddad, has posted a new Facebook message that begins, "I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page":
For Immediate Release, July 3, 2013
As I write these lines I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page.
For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let’s call what is happening by its real name: Military coup.
It has been two and a half years after a popular revolution against a dictatorship that had strangled and drained Egypt for 30 years.
That revolution restored a sense of hope and fired up Egyptians’ dreams of a future in which they could claim for themselves the same dignity that is every human being’s birthright.
Haddad goes on to warn that "And the message will resonate throughout the Muslim World loud and clear: democracy is not for Muslims." Read the full statement here. (h/t @evanchill)
Supporters of the opposition and others reject the characterization of what is happening as a military coup, pointing to the unprecedented popular demonstrations, the largest in Egyptian history.
President Morsi wants to form a coalition government ahead of new parliamentary elections, and a new independent committee for constitutional amendments, according to a statement on his Facebook page. He also said he holds "political parties that boycotted previous calls for dialogue largely responsible" for the unrest.
00:08
President Morsi has just repeated his offer of forming a national coalition government but note the two end paragraphs, writes David Hearst.
He quotes Morsi saying:
A scenario that some people are trying to impose on the Egyptian people, has no consensus amongst the Egyptian people and there are large masses who do not accept it. It will cause chaos in the process of building institutions that has already started. those who believe that Egypt can go back and destroy the legitimacy are mistaken.
These people who believe that imposing their legitimacy by force on the great Egyptian people, the Egyptian people who were so eager for freedom and sacrificed blood for it, those people can not accept that imposition.
23:50
1537:
Egyptian state TV says to expect an army statement as soon as its meeting with religious, political and youth figures (but not the ruling Freedom and Justice Party) ends.
23:48 Egypt's army chief turns on the president who promoted him
When President Mohamed Mursi swept aside the ageing commanders of Egypt's military a year ago and named a soft-spoken, deeply religious younger general to head the armed forces, it was a demonstration that the military was now subordinate to Egypt's first freely elected leader.
Fast forward one year, and now it is the general, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who appears poised to sweep aside the president.
At the time of his appointment last August, the choice of Sisi, 58, seemed to suit both Mursi and the younger generation of army commanders seeking promotion after years under older generals, like 78-year-old Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defence minister for two decades. 23:38
If you are a doctor or medic & are in Tahrir square, please try to assist people fainting or head to the closest FH to assist there. 4:10PM
23:25
Brotherhood rejects ElBaradei
Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad suggests the military is trying to impose Mohammed ElBaradei as a unity figure. He confirmed that the Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, rejected a meeting with ElBaradei and the head of the army General Sisi.
Army statement expected
Egypt's military leadership has confirmed it has held talks with opposition figures and senior clerics, and that it will make a statement after the meeting, Reuters reports.
The general command of the Egyptian armed forces is meeting with religious, national, political and youth figures, the army said on its official Facebook page on Wednesday, as a deadline loomed for President Mohamed Mursi to yield to mass protests and share power or give way.
"The General Command of the Armed Forces is currently meeting with a number of religious, national, political and youth icons ... There will be a statement issued from the General Command as soon as they are done," the army said.
At Egyptian TV building. Staff confirm military has taken over. Only retained essential staff, others gone pic.twitter.com/WnKTTpPJ1s
Washington Post’s Abby Hauslohner says an official at the state television headquarters denies any reports of military takeover:
An official at the towering downtown headquarters of Egypt’s state television and media denied rumors on Wednesday that the military had taken over state media operations. “The army is protecting the building, but the situation is normal inside the building,” said Gamal Abdel Fatah, the head of Egypt’s international media center. For more than a year, soldiers have been positioned outside of the state television building, not far from Tahrir Square, where political activists of different stripes have periodically staged protests.
Al Jazeera reports the takeover as well, with the following nugget from Reuters:
Egyptian troops with armoured vehicles have secured the central Cairo studios of state television on Wednesday, security sources said.
As a deadline approaches when the army high command is expected to step in and reorder Egypt’s political institutions, the sources said staff not involved in working on live broadcasts had left the building.
22:40 STATE TV
There continue to be conflicting reports about who controls state TV.
The source of the confusion appears to be whether the troops guarding the building are loyal to the president or the army.
Al-Jazeera's Rawya Rageh says the the president's troops guard the building, citing a state radio presenter.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool has backed away from an earlier report that the army was in control. Lori Ann, Toronto, Canada
emails: I lived in Cairo during the Arab Spring. The fate of Egypt lies again with the military. Here's hoping for a peaceful end with no blood shed. There has been too much hardship, injustice and poverty for the people of Egypt. They need hope, and they need stability.
Bel Trew, Cairo
Tweets: Spotted: some Al-Azhar sheikhs at the pro- #morsi sit-in. I appear to be the only woman, maybe there's a women's section.
Mohamed Boraie, Cairo, Egypt
emails: I want the army to step in now to stop the violence. Once Morsi has gone, we can start a proper democratic process. Democracy is new to Egypt so we must take small steps.
22:24
Egyptian Blogger Sandmonkey has live updates 22:19
tweets: Staff at Egypt state TV building say an army officer went round this morning telling non-essential staff to leave.
Mohamed Mansour, Cairo, Egypt
emails: Despite the emotional and threatening speech conducted last night by Mr. Morsi the problems for us Egyptians remain unchanged!! Mr. Morsi miserably failed and has let down the Egyptian people on numerous occasions and in almost every challenge he faced he failed.
1407:
That army comment in full: "The General Command of the Armed Forces reaffirms that it did not announce any particular time to issue statements or speeches. This will be announced in due time."
1405:
Don't expect an army statement right away when the ultimatum expires - that is the message coming out of the military now.
Kate, US student in Cairo
emails: Today we were sent home early from Arabic class to give people enough time to get home before the ultimatum is up, but I am hopeful for a peaceful resolution.
State media clarification
Patrick Kingsley, who is in Maspero, says it is Republican Guards rather than the army who are in control of the State media.
Muslim Brotherhood remains defiant
The Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing the Muslim Brotherhood, has refused an invitation to meet the head of the army, according to Reuters.
"We do not go to invitations (meetings) with anyone. We have a president and that is it," said Waleed al-Haddad, a senior leader of the FJP told Reuters.
A spokesman for Morsi said the president believed it would be better to die "standing like a tree", defending the electoral legitimacy of his office, than to go down in history as having destroyed Egyptians' hopes for democracy.
Saying that Morsi was not seeking to cling to office for its own sake, spokesman Ayman Ali told Reuters that, in his overnight speech to the nation, the president had defied calls to resign in order to "defend the democratic system".
"It is better for a president, who would otherwise be returning Egypt to the days of dictatorship, from which God and the will of the people has saved us, to die standing like a tree," Ali said.
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