Egypt Braced For Violence Amid Coup Protests

Muslim Brotherhood's Future

Updated: 2:29pm UK, Thursday 04 July 2013

Some 300 leaders rounded up, gone into hiding or facing travel bans; its Supreme Guide and his deputy labelled as wanted men - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is reeling and leaderless.

Why, then, would Adli Mansour, the new Egyptian president, reach out to it, saying that it is "invited to take part in political life - they should not be excluded"?

Oddly enough, there is nothing inconsistent about such inconsistencies.

The Supreme Council for the Armed Forces, headed by the man who led the coup against former president Mohamed Morsi, is made up of officers who have spent their careers being indoctrinated with the view that the Brotherhood is a dangerous threat to the Egyptian state.

So rounding up its members, just like they did under Hosni Mubarak and his predecessors as far back as 1954 when the Brotherhood was banned, comes easily.

But the caretaker president knows that the movement is the most effective and widely spread political group in Egypt.

The Brotherhood, even driven underground, will remain a potent if not the most potent force in Egyptian politics.

It has renounced violence. So, although there were bloodcurdling references as the coup unfolded to members being prepared to die to protect the presidency, they chose instead to wait and see what would happen.

So far, what they have seen has frightened them.

"We have gone back to the days of Mubarak. People have gone underground, they are afraid that they will lose their jobs or face persecution, be jailed without charge - just like in the old days," said a Brotherhood activist who said he was in hiding and asked to remain anonymous.

"We don't know what to do next. Our leaders have been silenced and our communities don't know whether they should take to the streets, try to win the next election, or start fighting," he added.

More extreme groups from the Islamic firmament - such as the Dawa movement of Salafists who are dedicated to establishing strict Sharia law - have abandoned the Brotherhood.

Dawa may see an opportunity in the Brotherhood's dark hours to pick up followers. Its members have been ordered to stay away from demonstrations and return to their homes so they can be distinguished from Mr Morsi's supporters.

Such a calculation is unlikely to prove sound - Dawa is more likely to be seen as a sell-out.

The Brotherhood leaders have been in jail before but the movement has survived.

Come the elections promised by the new incumbent in the presidential palace, the movement can expect a strong showing - that is if it's really going to be invited back to Egypt's political party.

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Rolls-Royce Accused Of Hiding Engine Defects

Two former Rolls-Royce employees have alleged the engine maker "cut corners on quality control requirements" and "lied to" customers.

Thomas McArtor and Keith Ramsey have also accused the company of hiding internal records of defects in engines it sold to commercial and military clients.

They claim that the company collated these alleged defects into a "secret set of books".

The ex-quality control officers in the United States are challenging a court order that prevents them from releasing information they say reveals potentially serious defects in its manufacturing processes, according to reports in The Financial Times and The Daily Telegraph.

Rolls-Royce has denied the claims and said the lawsuit is "without merit", adding that a US district judge had already thrown out two of the four claims before the "discovery" phase of the litigation had been entered.

"This lawsuit is entirely without merit," a Rolls-Royce spokesman said.

"Judge Lawrence did not find that Rolls-Royce engaged in any wrongdoing, failed to follow its quality system, concealed anything from the US government or even that a jury is entitled to hear the allegations.

"Rolls-Royce categorically rejects the other claims and will defend itself vigorously. Any and all facts of the case will be presented in court, where we are confident it will be found the lawsuit is without merit."

The lawsuit comes at a difficult time for the firm.

Last month an Australian safety regulator reported that Rolls-Royce had failed to identify a defect that caused one of its engines to explode on a Qantas Airways Ltd flight over Indonesia in November 2010.

In its final report on the incident, the Australian Safety Transport Bureau (ASTB) said the company missed multiple opportunities to detect a faulty component.

Rolls-Royce is also the subject of an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into claims that company representatives paid bribes to win airline engine contracts in China and Indonesia.

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Chinese Twins Reunited After 41 Years Apart

By Victoria Wei and Sabrina Zeng, in Beijing

Twin brothers, separated as babies, have been reunited after more than 40 years following a chance encounter in China's Sichuan province.

In late June, a friend of Chengdu resident Zeng Yong, 41, said he had met a man in the city of Neijiang, 200km away, whom he claimed was identical to Mr Zeng.

Mr Zeng, a hotelier, travelled to Neijiang, home to close to four million people, to see the man for himself.

Amazingly, on meeting Liu Yonggang, a junior manager at the city's bus company, he realised he was his long-lost twin brother.

Due to their parents' poverty, the pair had been put up for adoption in 1972 when only a few months old. They were taken by different families.

Since being reunited, the brothers have tracked down their estranged 74-year-old mother on July 3.

After being reunited, the twins tracked down their mother.

She was living in Chengdu, having remarried after the death of the boys' father a decade earlier.

The twins' story has proved popular on China's Sina Weibo social media website.

One user commented: "People nowadays can't understand the helplessness of parents in that era of poverty.

"Keeping children at home meant leaving them to die of starvation … I hope they are both happy."

Another said: "Brothers reunited. Words can't express it. 41 years apart, how sad. I wish them all the happiness."

Mr Liu's colleagues at the bus company have organised a party to celebrate the reunion and welcome the new family members to Neijiang.

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Egyptians Celebrate Revolutionary Encore

By Dominic Waghorn, in Cairo

Elated crowds thronged Tahrir Square and let loose fireworks into the night sky as they celebrated what they say is a second revolution.

One young protester told Sky News: "I feel proud, I feel happy I feel relieved that Egypt has changed a regime, a very fascist regime, to a multi-party regime, hopefully a democratic one."

In numbers rivalling those that saw off Hosni Mubarak two and a half years ago, protesters gathered all day as they have since last week, in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other towns.

Even among those who voted for Mr Morsi, there was an impatience to see him go.

Farmer Mansour told Sky News he bitterly regrets helping to put him in power because, he said, life has only got worse.

He said: "There's no gas to make our machines work, and all the plants die, what can people do, kids have no milk, no medicine, nothing."

Protesters concede Mr Morsi was voted president in elections, but accuse him of hijacking their revolution for his own ends.

They hope their revolutionary encore gives Egypt a second chance. But there were many expressing fear about the consequences, worried the Muslim Brotherhood will now take violent revenge.

There was a profound and surreal sense of deja vu about the events in Cairo to those of us who witnessed the first revolution.

But this is different. Instead of removing a dictator, the people and the military have deposed an elected president.

Egypt remains divided and its revolution in crisis, and violence seems likely.

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Syria's Assad Gloats Over Morsi's Fall

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has hailed the fall of "political Islam" in Egypt as he fights an armed opposition movement at home.

"What is happening in Egypt is the fall of what is known as political Islam," Assad said in an interview with Syrian state newspaper Ath Thawra, excerpts of which were posted on an official Facebook page.

"Anywhere in the world, whoever uses religion for political aims, or to benefit some and not others, will fall.

"You can't fool all the people all the time, let alone the Egyptian people who have a civilisation that is thousands of years old, and who espouse clear, Arab nationalist thought.

"After a whole year, reality has become clear to the Egyptian people. The Muslim Brotherhood's performance has helped them see the lies the (movement) used at the start of the popular revolution in Egypt."

Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi - who was forced from power by a military coup just a year after being elected - had recently called for a "holy war" in Syria during a rally he attended with Sunni leaders.

The two-year uprising against the rule of Assad's family - which is largely secular but from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam - has largely pitted rebels from the country's Sunni majority against the regime.

There is long-standing animosity between Damascus and the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Mr Morsi is a leader, and membership of the group has been punishable by death in Syria since the 1980s.

Assad's late father, Hafez al Assad, used the military to crush an armed insurgency against his rule led by the Muslim Brotherhood, killing many thousands in the conservative city of Hama.

The city became a centre of the demonstrations against the younger Assad in March 2011.

The Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood today plays a key role in the exiled opposition National Coalition, which is recognised by more than 100 states and organisations as legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

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Egypt Coup: Interim President Being Sworn In

The head of the constitutional court is being sworn in as Egypt's interim president, a day after the overthrow of the country's first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Morsi.

Adli Mansour, the head of the supreme constitutional court, took his oath of office under an army transition plan.

Millions celebrated all night while as Mr Morsi was ousted only a year after he was elected president.

Mr Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies have blasted the army's intervention as a "full coup" by the generals.

General Abdul Fatah Khalil al Sisi announces the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi

:: Egypt Crisis: Live Coverage On Sky 501

The Islamist leader's forced exit also prompted clashes across Egypt that left at least 14 people dead and hundreds wounded.

The "second revolution" - after Arab Spring uprisings that led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 - leaves Egypt's 84 million people deeply divided.

Fearing a violent reaction by Mr Morsi's Islamist supporters, troops and armoured vehicles deployed in the streets of Cairo and elsewhere, surrounding Islamist rallies.

Mr Morsi was being detained at the Defence Ministry, according to a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Both the head and deputy chief of the Muslim Brotherhood have also been arrested, with warrants issued for 300 members of the political party.

Anti-Morsi protesters react to the army statement

In a televised address, the commander of the armed forces, General Abdul Fatah Khalil al Sisi, said Mr Morsi had "failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people".

Flanked by military officials, Muslim and Christian clerics and political figures, he unveiled details of a political transition which he said had been agreed with them.

As the military coup got under way with the deployment of tanks and troops including commandos across the capital Cairo, the general declared a review and temporary suspension of the Egyptian constitution.

Mr Mansour The acting leader will be assisted by an interim council and a technocratic government until new presidential and parliamentary elections are held, he said. No specific details were given as to when the new polls would take place.

The military chief also announced a national reconciliation committee that would include youth movements, and said the armed forces and police would deal "decisively" with any violence.

Muslim Brotherhood members and pro-Morsi supporters react in Cairo

"Those in the meeting have agreed on a road map for the future that includes initial steps to achieve the building of a strong Egyptian society that is cohesive and does not exclude anyone and ends the state of tension and division," he said.

President Barack Obama voiced his concern over the military intervention and urged a speedy return to a democratically elected government.

In a statement he said: " ... we are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed Forces to remove President Morsi and suspend the Egyptian constitution.

"I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsi and his supporters."

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the bloodshed and called for a swift return to democracy.

"I urge all sides to rapidly return to the democratic process, including the holding of free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections and the approval of a constitution," she said.

Mr Morsi's overthrow followed the end of crisis talks after an army deadline for Mr Morsi to yield to mass nationwide demonstrations expired and he refused to step down.

A military helicopter above Tahrir Square

Fireworks and flares were set off over Tahrir Square and near the presidential palace where tens of thousands of jubilant protesters against Mr Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood erupted into cheers on hearing the news, which they hailed as a "victory for the people".

"The people and the army are one hand," they shouted, dancing and waving flags amid the roar of chanting and car horns, and coloured confetti in the air.

One uniformed police officer waved his hands above his head and said: "Great Egypt is victorious. Egypt is victorious over the Brotherhood."

Supporters of the deposed president, who had gathered near Cairo University, were stunned into initial silence at the news.

Elsewhere, four loyalists were killed in clashes with opponents in the northern city of Marsa Matrouh and police were forced to call for security reinforcements in Alexandria, where there was one fatality and 50 others wounded during violence.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sam Kiley, reporting from within a military cordon around Cairo University, said: "This is a miserable scene from the perspective of the Muslim Brotherhood's supporters.

"They cannot understand why it is possible to overthrow an elected president of the country simply by taking to the streets and holding loud demonstrations. They are also afraid that this could herald a crackdown against them."

The Muslim Brotherhood's TV station was taken off air and its managers arrested hours after Mr Morsi was overthrown.

A soldier cheers with anti-Morsi protesters

The Egypt25 channel had been broadcasting live coverage of rallies by tens of thousands of pro-Morsi demonstrators in Cairo and around the country, with speeches by leading Brotherhood politicians denouncing the military intervention to oust the elected president.

Around 50 people have been killed in clashes between Mr Morsi supporters and opponents since Sunday.

The offices of Al Jazeera's Egyptian television channel were also reportedly raided by security forces and prevented from broadcasting from a pro-Morsi rally. Several members of staff were also reportedly detained.

Mr Morsi was told he was no longer in charge of the country at around 7pm (6pm UK time).

In a statement on his official Facebook page, he condemned the army's announcement as a "full military coup".

He had spent the day working at a Republican Guard barracks where barbed wire and barriers were erected by soldiers.

Egyptian security forces earlier revealed orders banning Mr Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohammed Badie and his deputy Khairat al Shater from travelling abroad had been issued to airport officials.

Troops had also taken up positions in the presidential palace as well as state TV buildings in Cairo, blocking any presidential statements from going out.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK did not support military intervention and called for restraint in Egypt.

"The situation is clearly dangerous and we call on all sides to show restraint and avoid violence," he said.

"We continue to advise British citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Egypt apart from the Red Sea resorts, and to monitor travel advice from the Foreign Office.

"The United Kingdom does not support military intervention as a way to resolve disputes in a democratic system."

Mr Morsi was democratically elected to office just over a year ago after the toppling of autocrat Hosni Mubarak as Arab Spring uprisings took hold in early 2011.

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Indonesia: Earthquake Kills 22 And Hurts 200

An earthquake has killed at least 22 people and injured more than 200 in Indonesia.

Some of those who died were caught in a landslide or collapsing buildings

The 6.1 magnitude quake damaged more than 1,500 houses and buildings in Aceh province.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said 12 people were killed and 70 others were injured by a landslide or collapsing buildings in the worst-hit area of Bener Meriah.

More than 1,500 buildings have been damaged in the quake

He said 10 more people were killed and 140 injured in the neighbouring Central Aceh district, where around 1,500 houses and buildings were damaged.

Bener Meriah deputy district chief Rusli Saleh said rescuers were continuing to look for people trapped in the debris.

Rescuers have been scouring the rubble for survivors

"We are now concentrating on searching for people who may be trapped under the rubble," he said.

Bensu Elianita, a 22-year-old resident of Bukit Sama village in Central Aceh district, said: "I see many houses were damaged and their roofs fell on to some people.

People were see running from their homes in panic

"Many people were injured, but it is difficult to evacuate them due to traffic jams."

She said people in the village ran out of their homes in panic and screamed for help. At least two houses were totally flattened, she said, and the village suffered a power cut.

Traffic jams reportedly delayed the evacuation of residents

The quake also caused concern among officials attending a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Medan, the capital of neighbouring North Sumatra province. They were escorted from the second-floor meeting room by security officers.

Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean.

In 2004, a magnitude-9.1 earthquake off Aceh triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 14 countries.

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Zimmerman Injuries 'Insignificant', Court Hears

George Zimmerman need not have feared for his life before he shot and killed unnarmed teenager Trayvon Martin as his injuries were "insignificant", a medical examiner has said.

Valerie Rao said she reviewed Zimmerman's medical records and the pictures of his injuries taken at a police station after the confrontation in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.

"They were not life-threatening. They were very insignificant," she told the jury.

Zimmerman, 29, claimed he shot Trayvon in self-defence after the 17-year-old punched him in the face and repeatedly slammed his head into the pavement.

Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda questions detective Serino

Ms Rao said Zimmerman's injuries were consistent with one blow to the face and one impact with the concrete.

Earlier, judge Debra Nelson told the jury to ignore comments by detective Chris Serino after he said he found Zimmerman's account of how he got into a fight with Trayvon credible.

Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda argued the statement was improper because one witness is not allowed to give an opinion on the credibility of another.

Defence attorney Mark O'Mara had argued it was Detective Serino's job to decide whether Zimmerman was telling the truth.

But the judge agreed with Mr de la Rionda.

The prosecutor went on to question the police officer about his opinion that Zimmerman did not display any ill will or spite to Trayvon.

Prosecutors must prove there was ill will, spite or a depraved mind by the defendant to get a second-degree murder conviction.

Mr de la Rionda then played back Zimmerman's call to police to report the teen walking through his gated community in which the neighbourhood watch volunteer uses an expletive and refers to "punks".

George Zimmerman stands with his defence team

The detective conceded that Zimmerman's choice of words could be interpreted as being spiteful.

The prosecutor also challenged Mr Serino's contention that Zimmerman's story did not have any major inconsistencies.

Zimmerman claimed he spread out the teen's arms after he shot him. But a photo taken immediately after the shooting shows Trayvon's arms under his body.

"Is that inconsistent with the defendant's statement he spread the arms out?" Mr de la Rionda asked.

"That position, yes it is," Mr Serino said, though he later noted that Zimmerman's description was consistent with the medical examiner's report.

Also on Tuesday, the prosecution called Mark Osterman, a federal air marshal who described Zimmerman as "the best friend I've ever had".

He testified that he spoke with Zimmerman both the night of and the day after the shooting.

Mr Osterman later wrote a book about his recollections of what Zimmerman told him.

Under questioning by Mr de la Rionda, Mr Osterman said that Zimmerman told him Trayvon had grabbed his gun during their struggle, but that Zimmerman was able to pull it away.

That account is different from what Zimmerman told investigators in multiple interviews when he only said it appeared Trayvon was reaching for his gun prior to the shooting. He never told police the teen grabbed it.

"I thought he had said he grabbed the gun," Mr Osterman said. "I believe he said he grabbed the gun."

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Egyptian President 'Will Resign Or Be Ousted'

Egypt Since Morsi Came To Power

Updated: 10:24am UK, Tuesday 02 July 2013

Key developments over the year since Mohamed Morsi became Egypt's first democratically elected president.

:: 2012

June 30: Mr Morsi, elected with 51.7% of the vote, is sworn and becomes Egypt's first civilian and Islamist president.

August 12: The new president scraps a constitutional document that gave sweeping powers to the military and sacks Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi who ruled after Hosni Mubarak's ousting in February, 2011.

November 22: Mr Morsi decrees sweeping new powers for himself.

November 30: Islamist-dominated constituent assembly adopts a draft constitution despite boycott by liberals, Christians.

December 8: The president annuls the decree giving himself increased powers.

December 15 and 22: 64% of voters in a two-round referendum back the new constitution. Egypt plunges into political crisis, with demonstrations by Morsi supporters and opponents sometimes turning deadly.

:: 2013

January 24: There is violence between demonstrators and police on the eve of the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak. Nearly 60 people die in a week.

April 5: Four Christians and a Muslims are killed in sectarian violence.

May 7: President Morsi's cabinet reshuffle falls short of opposition demands.

May 16: Gunmen kidnap three policemen and four soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. They are freed on May 22.

June 2: Egypt's highest court invalidates the Islamist-dominated Senate, which assumed a legislative role when parliament was dissolved, and a panel that drafted the constitution.

June 15: Morsi announces "definitive" severing of ties with Syria.

June 21: Tens of thousands of Islamists gather ahead of planned opposition protests.

June 23: Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warns the army will intervene if violence erupts.

June 28: The US says non-essential embassy staff can leave after an American is killed during protests.

June 29: The Tamarod ('rebellion') campaign which called rallies for June 30 says more than 22 million have signed a petition demanding Mr Morsi's resignation and a snap election.

June 30: Tens of thousands of Egyptians take to the streets nationwide determined to oust the president on the anniversary of his turbulent first year in power. At least 16 people die in protests across the country.

July 1: The opposition gives President Morsi a day to quit or face civil disobedience. The Tamarod calls on "the army, the police and the judiciary to clearly side with the popular will as represented by the crowds".

Egypt's armed forces warn that it will intervene if the people's demands are not met within 48 hours.

July 2: The presidency rejects the army's ultimatum, saying it will pursue his own plans for national reconciliation.

Foreign minister Kamel Amr becomes the sixth member of Mr Morsi's cabinet to resign.

US President Barack Obama calls on Mr Morsi to respond to the protests and resolve the crisis through "political process".

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Egypt: President Morsi Rejects Army Ultimatum

Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi has rejected an ultimatum issued by the country's army threatening to intervene if he does not meet the demands of the people.

It came as US President Barack Obama spoke to the Egyptian leader, urging him to take steps to show he is responding to concerns of protesters - millions of whom took to the streets on Sunday demanding Mr Morsi step down.

At the same time it was confirmed the country's foreign minister, Mohammed Kamel Amr, had resigned.

He is the most senior politician to quit Mr Morsi's government after a series of cabinet ministers stood down on Monday.

The ministerial resignations deal a further blow to the president, who has been warned by the armed forces that he has 48 hours to solve the country's political crisis or face intervention.

Protesters, demanding Mr Morsi quit, camp out overnight in Tahrir Square

But Mr Morsi rejected the ultimatum, insisting he would continue on his path towards national reconciliation. He said the directive "could cause confusion in the complex national environment".

The army statement, read out on television Monday, said: "If the demands of the people are not met in this period ... (the armed forces) will announce a future roadmap and measures to oversee its implementation."

The statement received a rapturous welcome from Mr Morsi's opponents, still camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Tamarod, the grassroots campaign behind Sunday's massive protests against the president, also hailed the statement by the armed forces which it said had "sided with the people".

It "will mean early presidential elections", Tamarod's spokesman Mahmud Badr said.

Egypt's army issued an ultimatum to Mr Morsi and his opponents

Responding to the army's ultimatum, the presidency also denounced any declaration that would "deepen division" and "threaten the social peace".

Mr Morsi was consulting "with all national forces to secure the path of democratic change and the protection of the popular will".

Referring to the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak, the presidency added: "The civil democratic Egyptian state is one of the most important achievements of the January 25 revolution.

"Egypt will absolutely not permit any step backward whatever the circumstances."

The White House meanwhile said Mr Obama had called Mr Morsi by telephone from Tanzania, during the final stop of his African tour, on Tuesday to express concerns over the escalating political crisis.

Mr Morsi says the army's directive to restore order is 'confusing'

Mr Obama told him Washington, a major military aid donor to Egypt, was committed to "the democratic process in Egypt and does not support any single party or group". 

He added that the "current crisis can only be resolved through a political process".

Sixteen people died in protests on Sunday, including eight in clashes between supporters and opponents of the president outside the Cairo headquarters of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Early on Monday, protesters set the Brotherhood's headquarters ablaze before looting it.

Mr Morsi's opponents accuse him of having betrayed the revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands and of sending the economy into freefall.

His supporters say he inherited many problems from a corrupt regime, and that he should be allowed to complete his term, which ends in 2016.

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