BBC News with Marion Marshall
The Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has announced a month-long state of emergency in three cities after days of violent protests. In a televised address to the nation, Mr. Morsi said the state would stand up to whoever tried to threaten Egypt's security. Earlier at least seven people were killed in Port Said during mass funerals for those who died during violence on Saturday. Our Cairo correspondent Aleem Maqbool says President Morsi has now taken a hard line.
He was very uncompromising in his speech he gave us, the speech a few days ago which was very conciliatory, talking about dialogue between the different groups in Egypt. But today he was talking about using the full force of the law against those who intimidated people, who attacked people and who had used weapons on the streets. We've had three days now of violence and what President Morsi has said is that he is going to impose a state of emergency in three cities, in Port Said, in Suez and in Ismalia. There will be a curfew in those cities. Nobody would be allowed out of their homes after 9 p.m. until 6 o'clock in the morning and he was talking about using greater powers if [it] need be.
At least 230 people, mostly students, have died in a fire at a nightclub in the Brazilian southern city of Santa Maria. Witnesses said the incident began early on Sunday after a member of a band lit a flare on stage. Most of the victims died of smoke inhalation. Firemen said that many bodies were found in the toilets, suggesting that people mistook the door for the exit. Reports say the nightclub was holding a party for the local university's agronomy department.
There has been a furious reaction to remarks made by the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in which he defended the legacy of the country's wartime leader Benito Mussolini. Mr. Berlusconi chose to make his comments at an event held to mark World Holocaust Remembrance Day. Alan Johnston reports.
Speaking on the sidelines of a holocaust commemoration ceremony in Milan, Mr. Berlusconi tried to excuse Mussolini's alliance with Hitler. He said the Italian dictator had feared German power and chosen to side with it rather than oppose it. But he said that the dictator had, as he put it, done well in so many other ways. In response, a spokesman for Italy's Jewish community said Mr. Berlusconi's remarks show that the country still has trouble accepting its responsibility for its past.
French-led forces are stepping up their efforts to retake the last strongholds of Islamist insurgents in northern Mali. They've pushed on towards the desert city of Timbuktu after announcing the capture of Gao on Saturday. There have also been aerial bombing raids on the city of Kidal, where the insurgency in Mali began in March last year. There are few details about the extent of the fighting. A BBC correspondent says northern residents have seen Islamist rebels fleeing urban centres and going into hiding.
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The Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said that President Assad of Syria has committed a serious and possibly fatal error. Mr. Medvedev, whose government is Mr. Assad's strongest backer said in an interview with an American television channel that the Syrian leader should have sat down earlier to negotiate with the opposition, he said his chances of survival were now shrinking by the day. But Mr. Medvedev continued to insist that Syria's future must be decided by negotiations.
Ninety-four people are to be tried in the United Arab Emirates over an alleged plot to seize power in the gulf state. The Attorney General said on Sunday that while the suspects had publicly called for people to adhere to the teachings of Islam, they were in fact discreetly planning to take over the country. He added that the accused, who were arrested in July last year, had formed a secret organization and were in contact with individuals in groups abroad, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Membership of political parties is banned in the UAE.
One of the most outspoken critics of the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the academic professor John Makumbe, has died of heart attack. He was 65. Brian Hungwe reports.
Professor John Makumbe was a witty and outspoken critic of President Mugabe and his ZANU PF party policies. It was a dangerous role to play. He had been beaten and detained for holding what the police said were illegal meetings. His party, the Movement for Democratic Change led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has described John Makumbe as an icon of democracy, and a voice for the poor.
In the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament, the host, South Africa, have gone through to the quarterfinals after a 2-2 draw against Morocco. In the group's other game, Cape Verde also qualified after beating Angola 2-1 in the last minute. This is Cape Verde's first appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations.
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