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8. April 2017, 21:58

Egypt swears in a new interim president

Egypt´s chief justice, Adli Mansour, has been sworn in as the country´s interim president, a day after the army ousted and detained Mohammed Morsi in the wake of mass protests. The head of the army, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, announced the move on Wednesday, in what Morsi and his supporters said was a military coup. Khaled Dawoud, the spokesman for the National Salvation Front, accused Morsi of pursuing an Islamist agenda and of failing to tackle Egypt's economic problems: "We don´t think that god should be involved in this political dispute at all. We want to run our country for the sake of our people, for social justice, to meet their basic needs - education, housing, these kinds of issues that we need and not a religious war between believers and non-believers."

Outrage in South America after Bolivia jet row

The UNASUR group of South American nations has called an urgent meeting to discuss the forced landing on Tuesday in Vienna of Bolivia´s president Evo Morales, whose aircraft was barred from European airspace because of unfounded suspicions that the fugitive American intelligence analyst Edward Snowden was on board. South American leaders have expressed outrage at the incident. French and European Union flags have been burned in the streets of the Bolivian capital La Paz. France, one of a number of European countries which apparently refused transit, has apologised to Bolivia.

New US surveillance claims

Meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting on a sweeping government surveillance programme involving the United States Postal Service. Under the Mail Isolation Control and Tracking programme, Postal Service computers photograph the exterior of every piece of paper mail that is processed in the US - around 160 billion pieces last year. It enables the Postal Service to retroactively track mail at the request of law enforcement. Tens of thousands of pieces of mail reportedly undergo this scrutiny each year.

Portugal battles to avert political crisis

Portugal's governing coalition parties are holding emergency talks in a bid to resolve differences over austerity policies that have pushed the government to the brink of collapse. Paulo Portas, the leader of the junior Popular Party, is meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho to seek a solution and avoid fresh elections.

Court deals blow to Turkish state

A Turkish court has ruled against a controversial plan to redevelop Taksim Square and Gezi Park in Istanbul, which triggered mass protests against the government. Authorities may lodge an appeal. The ruling is being seen as a blow for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed the redevelopment.

The weather

Changeable, with some sunshine in the east and southeast, but showers in the west. Highs today generally from 18 to 25, up to 30 in the east and southeast.

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