Africa
Mass rally against Mursi in Cairo
Tens of thousands of people are holding a protest in Cairo against Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi, who last week granted himself extensive new powers. Flag-waving demonstrators are chanting slogans accusing the president and the Muslim Brotherhood of betraying last year’s revolution. Yesterday, President Mursi sought to defuse the crisis by meeting with the country’s judges, and saying the decree he had passed granting his new powers was limited in scope. His opponents want him to withdraw the measure entirely, however. “We don’t want a dictatorship again,” one protester told reporters. “The Mubarak regime was a dictatorship. We had a revolution to have justice and freedom”. Protests are also being held in Alexandria and other cities. President Mursi’s decree, known as the constitutional declaration, said no authority could revoke his decisions. It bars judges from dissolving the assembly and drawing up a new constitution, and authorises the president to take any measures to preserve the revolution, national unity or national security. Critics condemn it as an attack on the judiciary.
M23 rebels set conditions for Goma withdrawal
Rebel forces have outlined conditions for their withdrawal from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma, which they captured last week. Analysts say the demands, which include the release of political prisoners, seem impossible for the government to meet. Earlier, Uganda’s chief of defence forces said the M23 rebels’ military commander had agreed to pull out, as ordered by regional leaders. Some 500,000 people have fled their homes during seven months of fighting. There are also reports of new fighting in the area, with a rival militia said to have attacked villages over the border in Rwanda. Both Rwanda and Uganda have strongly denied UN accusations that they are supporting the M23.
Asia
Tibetan students protest as four self-immolations reported
A reported crowd of more than 1,000 Tibetan students has protested in Qinghai province, activists say, as four more self-immolations are reported. Reports say the students were protesting against the distribution of a book condemning the study of Tibetan language as devoid of relevance and self-immolations as acts of stupidity. The self-immolations occurred in Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces on Sunday and Monday, and are the latest in a long line of such acts that have become the typical form of protest against Beijing’s rule over Tibet. More than 80 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2011 over the issue. Activist groups have said that twenty students from the protest are in hospital, and that it was a peaceful demonstration until police arrived. Events after that are unclear, said London-based Free Tibet. Foreign media are banned from Tibetan regions, making reports of protests and self-immolations hard to verify independently.
Middle East
France to back Palestinian bid for UN status
France has confirmed it intends to vote for Palestinian non-member status at the United Nations later this week. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France has long backed Palestinian ambitions for statehood and would vote yes “out of a concern for coherency”. Backing international recognition of a Palestinian state was a campaign pledge by French President Francois Hollande. Among other permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany is expected to vote against Palestine’s bid, while the British ambassador to the UN has said today that London is undecided.
Shias targeted by bombings in Baghdad
At least 19 people have been killed in three separate bomb attacks in predominantly Shia Muslim areas of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, police say. Dozens of others were wounded in the blasts near Shia mosques in the north and north-east of the city. No group has said it carried out the attacks, but Sunni militants have targeted the Shia majority in the past, and the bombings come as Shia all over the world mark Ashura, the climax of the holy month of Muharram. The Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group and al-Qaeda affiliate, has carried out many recent bombings.
Kabul Bank fraud profited elite, leaked audit suggests
Afghanistan’s failed Kabul Bank was involved in a fraud that funnelled almost $900m into the pockets of a small number of the political elite, an independent auditors’ report says. One of President Hamid Karzai’s brothers, Mahmoud, is said to be a beneficiary. He denies wrongdoing. The report was leaked to the New York Times newspaper. Revelations of corruption led to a run on the bank in 2010, after which foreign donors bailed it out, fearing its failure could precipitate the collapse of Afghanistan’s fragile economy. However, according the report by Kroll Associates, when the bank’s assets were seized, the vast majority of its loans – almost $900m – were made to just 19 people and companies.
Europe
Eurozone finance ministers agree deal on Greek bailout
Eurozone finance ministers and the IMF have reached a deal on an urgently needed bailout for Greece. They have agreed to cut debts by €40bn ($51bn) and have paved the way for releasing the next tranche of bailout loans, which will total some €44bn. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras welcomed the deal, declaring “a new day begins for all Greeks”, but it was condemned by the main opposition, the left-wing Syriza party, as “a half-baked compromise, a band-aid on the gaping wound of Greece’s debt”. The euro and European and Asian shares all climbed on news of the agreement.
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