Egypt braces for pro-Morsi protests |
Demonstrations expected after Friday prayers by supporters of ousted president against military coup.
Last Modified: 05 Jul 2013 09:22
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Mass protests are expected in the Egyptian capital Cairo after a coalition of Islamist groups led by the Muslim Brotherhood called for demonstrations in response to the military coup that led to theouster of Mohamed Morsi as the country's president.
The coalition on Thursday urged people to take part in a "Friday of Rejection" protest following weekly prayers. The call is being seen as a test of whether Morsi still has a support base in the country, and how the army will deal with it.
Morsi, who was Egypt's first democratically elected president, belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
While the military coup came in the wake of mass protests seeking Morsi's dismissal, the ex-president's supporters are angry and have denounced the army's intervention.
Dozens of people were wounded in clashes in Morsi's home city Zagazig on Thursday, raising fears of more violence.
France accused of spying on 'all emails, SMSs and telephone calls'
The French intelligence agency allegedly houses a gigantic spy-network underneath Paris
France has been accused of using intelligence services to implement a large-scale electronic surveillance programme to keep tabs on its citizens.
According to an investigation by leading French newspaper Le Monde, France’s foreign intelligence agency, the Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure, systematically collects and records information about every line of electronic data sent by computers and telephones in the country.
The report explains data “on all emails, SMSs, telephone calls, Facebook and Twitter posts” is stored in an underground bunker beneath Paris, adding that Bernard Barbier, technical director of the agency, described the system as "the biggest information centre in Europe after the English".
POLITICS
Latin American leaders support Morales after jet diversion
Some Latin American leaders have met in Bolivia expressing outrage over the diversion of President Evo Morales' jet. The plane was denied flight clearance amid a false rumor that whistle-blower Edward Snowden was aboard.
President Evo Morales said he expected more than an apology after he was re-routed to Vienna and had to stay the night. Bolivia alleged that France, Italy, Portugal and Spain all revoked flight clearance for the president's plane owing to the "false rumor" that former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor turned wanted whistle-blower Edward Snowden was on board.
"Apologies from a country that did not let us pass over its territory are not enough," Morales said in the central city of Cochabamba. "Some governments apologized, saying it was an error, but it was not an error."
Desmond Tutu urges Nelson Mandela's family to end feud
Two leading South Africans have called for an end to a bitter row among members of Nelson Mandela's family over the reburial of three of his children.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said he hoped the public dispute could be resolved in a "dignified manner".
Archbishop Desmond Tutu pleaded with the family not to "besmirch" Mr Mandela's name with their squabble.
Mr Mandela, 94, has spent the past four weeks in a Pretoria hospital where he is said to be in a critical condition.
After visiting the anti-apartheid icon on Thursday, President Jacob Zuma issued a statement denying that he was in a vegetative state.
For Islamists, Dire Lessons on Politics and Power
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and BEN HUBBARD
Published: July 4, 2013
Sheik Mohamed Abu Sidra had watched in exasperation for months as President Mohamed Morsi and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood bounced from one debilitating political battle to another.
“The Brotherhood went too fast, they tried to take too much,” Sheik Abu Sidra, an influential ultraconservative Islamist in Benghazi, Libya, said Thursday, a day after the Egyptian military deposed and detained Mr. Morsi and began arresting his Brotherhood allies.
But at the same time, Sheik Abu Sidra said, Mr. Morsi’s overthrow had made it far more difficult for him to persuade Benghazi’s Islamist militias to put down their weapons and trust in democracy.
Australian navy rescues troubled boat as Indonesia, Australia talk refugees
An Australian navy vessel came to the aid of a suspected asylum seeker boat in distress south of Indonesia on Friday, as leaders of the two countries met to discuss refugees, one of the key issues in Australia's upcoming general election.
The boat, around 42 nautical miles south of Java, had requested assistance and been spotted by a customs surveillance aircraft, Australian Customs and Border Protection said.
A navy patrol ship had arrived at the scene and started to assess the situation, a spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said by telephone.
"It's still upright. The people seem all OK," she said. Eighty people were on board.
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