BBC News with Marion Marshall.
The Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi has delivered a defiant speech to supporters outside his palace in Cairo, pledging to protect the country's revolution and lead Egypt to freedom and democracy. Opposition groups have accused him of behaving like a dictator after he granted himself sweeping new powers on Thursday. Our correspondent Jon Leyne has been following the events in Cairo.
Through the day across Egypt, demonstrators have poured out onto the streets. Some supporting President Mursi, many others furiously opposed. They say this edict makes him into a new dictator. The president himself came out to speak outside his palace offering this reassurance. "I'd like to see a genuine opposition, a strong opposition, I guarantee that." But there is a wider frustration in Egypt that the new government has done little to change their lives for the better. It's clear there are some turbulent times ahead for Egypt.
European Union leaders have ended their summit in Brussels without an agreement on a new budget deal. Most EU leaders supported an increase in the budget for the years 2014 to 2020, but Germany, Britain and several others wanted cuts. Gavin Hewitt reports from Brussels.
In the end, as many have predicted, Europe's leaders failed to reach agreement on the next seven-year budget, they will try again in the New Year. The differences were too great, particularly, between those countries like Poland which benefits from EU grants and those countries which are the main contributors. The original budget proposal at over a trillion Euros was reduced by 80bn. The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy remained confident of a deal in the New Year.
The European Union and the International Monetary Fund said they have made good progress with Cyprus on a bailout deal about $20bn to help prop up its banks and pay its debts. They said preliminary results of an investigation into the finances needed were expected within the next few weeks. Cyprus said earlier that an agreement had already been reached. The country was badly hit by the Greek debt crisis.
Ernest Bai Koroma has been elected as president of Sierra Leone for a second term. He secured more than 58% of the votes. Mark Doyle reports from the capital Freetown.
Mr Koroma won on his record of building roads across the country, attracting foreign investment and improving, albeit, only slightly the main electricity supply. This election was certified by a large number of foreign observers, has taken place in an atmosphere of peace and transparency. This country is still associated for many people around the world with war and atrocities. But today nothing could be further from the truth. Sierra Leone is now peaceful and democratic and this election show it is growing away from the war years.
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The United Nations aid agency is warning that the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis following this week's capture by rebels of the eastern city of Goma. Speaking in Geneva, the spokesman for the UN refugee agency Adrian Edward said thousands of displaced people were receiving no help because of the violence.
UNHCR is extremely concerned about the situation of displaced people in North Kivu particular, especially children and other vulnerable groups. Normally we work in 31 displaced camps in North Kivu, hosting just over a 108,000 people. The fighting has meant that we and our partners have not been able to access most of these areas. Only Mugunga 3, just outside Goma, can currently be visited.
The Chinese health ministry has issued instructions to hospitals and clinics across the country to provide care for HIV/AIDS patients or face harsh punishment. The move comes after a 25-year-old lung cancer patient in the city of TianJin was denied treatment after his doctors discovered that he also had HIV/AIDS. The man's case came to the attention of Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who demanded hospital treatment for him.
Burma's last state censor has told the BBC that the censorship has no place in the world. Tin Shwe, whose role was abolished in August, said that with the advent of the internet, censorship was no longer viable, almost every country have got rid of it. For decades Burma's military rulers strictly controlled what their citizens could read, hear and see, and BBC reporters were banned.
The Italian football authorities have apologized to the English team, Tottenham Hotspur for what it described as an anti-Semitic attack on its fans before a match in Rome against Lazio on Thursday. The President of the Italian Football Federation said football had again been used by delinquents to vent their racist rage. Tottenham is known for having a sizable Jewish fan base.
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