Egypt sentences hundreds over 2013 pro-Morsi protests

Egypt has delivered verdicts for more than 700 people over a pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-in after President Mohammed Morsi was ousted in 2013.

The court confirmed 75 people's death sentences and life imprisonment for 47 others, including Islamic leaders.

Deadly Violence In Egypt On Anniversary Of Morsi Ouster

CAIRO, July 3 (Reuters) - Five men died in Cairo in separate incidents involving a bomb blast and protester clashes with security forces on Thursday, the first anniversary of the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, security sources said.

Thousands of Egyptians opposed to the army's ouster of Mursi last year joined rare protests in cities and towns around the country, witnesses said. Previous protests had much lower turnout after a new law required official approval.

Egypt's Morsi charged with 'terrorist acts'

Egypt's deposed President Mohamed Morsi will stand trial on charges of "conspiring with foreign groups" to commit "terrorist acts."

Morsi, toppled by the military in July and already on trial for alleged involvement in the killings of opposition protesters, was also accused on Wednesday of divulging "secrets of defence to foreign countries" and "funding terrorism for militant training to fulfil the goals of the International Organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood", according to a prosecutor document seen by Al Jazeera sources.

The Temptation of Coups

There is something seductive about a military coup. Maybe it’s the uniforms, or the idea that it will bring order to chaos. Liberals are not immune, as we can see from the reaction to the Egyptian military’s forced removal of Mohamed Morsi, the country’s freely elected President. They may be particularly susceptible to the romance of it all—to crowds in the street demanding change and getting it, with the help of a military deus ex machina (or deus ex Apache helicopter). Just as common is the dismay when violence follows. Military coups are the national-politics version of drone strikes: the allure is that of a clean sweep; the reality is too many people dead and reverberating anger.

Egypt Protests: Mohamed Morsi Supporters 'Shot Dead' By Army

At least 30 people have been killed in Egypt as supporters of the country's ousted president Mohammed Morsi demonstrated on the streets of Cairo and other cities on Friday, according to reports. Dozens more are believed injured.

A Health Ministry official told Associated Press that four people were killed near the Republican Guard building in Cairo, another was killed in clashes that began in the evening when Islamists attacked Morsi opponents near Tahrir Square and four more died in the northern Sinai city of el-Arish. A 10th was killed in the southern city of Assiut.

Egypt Military Deadline: Showdown Looms After President Mohammed Morsi Vows To Stay On

CAIRO - With a military deadline for a resolution to Egypt's political crisis looming, the country braced for a showdown Wednesday after embattled President Mohammed Morsi insisted he will not step down in the face of demands by millions of protesters, vowing to protect his "constitutional legitimacy" with his life.

On the streets, the sense that both sides are ready to fight to the end sharpened, with overnight clashes between supporters of the Islamist president and opponents that left at least 23 dead, most of them in a single incident of fighting outside Cairo University.

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi Defies Military's Ultimatum

CAIRO — His fate hanging in the balance, embattled President Mohammed Morsi vowed not to resign Tuesday, hours before a deadline to yield to the demands of millions of protesters or see the military suspend the constitution, disband parliament and install a new leadership.

Egypt Military Intervention: General Says Army Will Intervene If Crisis Not Resolved In 48 Hours

CAIRO — Egypt's military issued a "last-chance" ultimatum Monday to President Mohammed Morsi, giving him 48 hours to meet the demands of millions of protesters in the streets seeking the ouster of the Islamist leader or the generals will intervene and impose their own plan for the country.

The military's statement, read on state TV, put enormous pressure on Morsi to step down and sent giant crowds opposing the president in Cairo and other cities into delirious celebrations of singing, dancing and fireworks. But the ultimatum raised worries on both sides the military could outright take over, as it did after the 2011 ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt Protests See Thousands March To Demand President Mohammed Morsi's Resignation

Thousands of people have gathered in cities across Egypt to demand the resignation of the Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, amid growing fears of a civil war.

In Cairo protestors gathered in Tahrir Square, the scene of 2011's revolution, and marched to the presidential palace.

Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of his inauguration but many are disillusioned with his rule and accuse him of failing to tackle security and economic problems.

Egyptians to Morsi: "We Don't Want You"

Egypt is bracing for June 30. Anticipation for the first anniversary of the inauguration of President Mohammed Morsi has reached a fever pitch, as millions prepare to take to the streets to demand his removal from office. Fears of a showdown between protesters and the president’s supporters have led people to stock up on food and fuel supplies. The military and police are deploying extra forces and barriers around public buildings and army tanks have reportedly taken up positions outside the capital.

Morsi in Bazinga: Jon Stewart Defends Bassem Youssef

My Arabic classes in Cairo usually do not begin with Jon Stewart. The teacher’s name is Rifat, and he’s a committed Nasserite; as far as he’s concerned, the Egyptian revolution that mattered was the one that occurred in 1952. We often have detailed discussions about the Free Officers Movement, the ration-card system of the nineteen-sixties, and the singer Om Kalthoum. I’ve been forced to perform painstaking translations of radio broadcasts that are almost fifty years old. But this morning Rifat produced a fresh copy of The Seventh Day, a Cairo newspaper, and pointed to the front-page headline:

AMERICAN SATIRIST JON STEWART TO MORSI: YOU AREN’T QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNTRY BAZINGA

Morsi Issues Vague Warning After Violence Rocks Cairo

CAIRO — Egypt's president delivered a stern warning to his opponents on Sunday, saying he may be close to taking unspecified measures to "protect this nation" two days after supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood and opposition protesters fought street battles in the worst bout of political violence in three months.

Nearly 200 people were injured in Friday's violence, some seriously, outside the headquarters of the Brotherhood, Egypt's dominant political group.

Egypt on the Brink

The second anniversary of Egypt's revolution has been marked by rocks, firebombs, tear gas and bullets. More than fifty people have been killed and over a thousand wounded across the country. The army has been granted arrest powers, and military troops have been deployed to the three cities where President Mohamed Morsi has declared a state of emergency and ordered a curfew.

This outbreak of rage has laid bare the precarious state of a country plagued by a disfigured transition process, a lingering sense of injustice and the repeated failures of an entire political class that has forsaken a host of popular grievances in its scuffle for power.

Egypt’s state could collapse if crisis continues, army chief warns

PORT SAID, EGYPT—Thousands of mourners chanting for the downfall of Egypt's president marched in funerals again Tuesday in the restive city of Port Said as the army chief warned the state could collapse if the latest political crisis drags on.

Troops in Port Said and Suez, two riot-torn cities along the strategic Suez Canal, stood by and watched Monday night as thousands took to the streets in direct defiance of a night curfew and a state of emergency declared by President Mohammed Morsi a day earlier. Residents of the two cities and Ismailiya, a third city also under the emergency, marched just as the curfew came into force at 9 p.m.

Cairo erupts in riots amid Egypt state of emergency

Riot police fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters in central Cairo on Monday, a day after Egypt's president declared a state of emergency in three provinces hit hardest by political violence and vowed to deal "firmly and forcefully" with the unrest roiling the country.

The eruption of violence, which began around Friday's second anniversary of the uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, has plunged Egypt once again into political turmoil and exposed the deep fault lines running through the country. More than 50 people have been killed in the unrest, which is fuelled by anger over the policies of the country's new Islamist leader and the slow pace of change.

Egypt State Of Emergency Declared In 3 Provinces

CAIRO — Egypt's president declared a state of emergency and curfew in three Suez Canal provinces hit hardest by a weekend wave of unrest that left more than 50 dead, using tactics of the ousted regime to get a grip on discontent over his Islamist policies and the slow pace of change.

Angry and almost screaming, Mohammed Morsi vowed in a televised address on Sunday night that he would not hesitate to take even more action to stem the latest eruption of violence across much of the country. But at the same time, he sought to reassure Egyptians that his latest moves would not plunge the country back into authoritarianism.

Egypt opposition leaders probed over treason allegations, plan to overthrow President Morsi

CAIRO—Egypt’s chief prosecutor ordered an investigation on Thursday into allegations that opposition leaders committed treason by inciting supporters to overthrow Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The probe by a Morsi-appointed prosecutor was launched a day after the president called for a dialogue with the opposition to heal rifts opened in the bitter fight over an Islamist-drafted constitution just approved in a referendum. The opposition decried the investigation as a throwback to Hosni Mubarak’s regime, when the law was used to smear and silence opponents.

Egypt: Morsi vows economic improvement as new constitution becomes law

President Mohamed Morsi admitted on Wednesday that Egypt’s economy faces serious problems after he enacted a new, bitterly contested constitution that is supposed to help end political unrest and allow him to focus on the financial crisis.

The president said the economy also had great opportunities to grow, but earlier the Egyptian pound tumbled to its weakest level in almost eight years as ever more people rushed to buy dollars and withdraw their savings from banks.

Egypt’s military assumes temporary powers ahead of vote as country braces for more rallies

CAIRO—Egypt’s military assumed responsibility Monday for protecting state institutions and maintaining security ahead of a Dec. 15 constitutional referendum, as the country braced for another round of mass demonstrations by the supporters of the country’s Islamist president and the liberal opposition over the disputed charter.

The referendum on a contentious new constitution lies at the heart of a bitter political battle that has deeply polarized Egypt and triggered some of the worst street violence between backers and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi since he took power in June as the country’s first democratically elected leader.

Egypt's Army Takes Over Security Ahead Of Constitution Vote

CAIRO — The Egyptian military on Monday assumed joint responsibility with the police for security and protecting state institutions until the results of a Dec. 15 constitutional referendum are announced.

The army took up the task in line with a decree issued Sunday by President Mohammed Morsi. The Islamist leader on Monday also suspended a series of tax hikes announced the previous day on alcohol, cigarettes and other items.