BBC News with Iain Purdon
The security forces in Egypt say they’ve cleared the al-Fath mosque in Cairo where supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood had barricaded themselves in. The standoff at
the mosque lasted many hours with eyewitnesses reporting use of heavy gunfire and teargas. Television pictures showed shots being exchanged between a gunman at the top
of the mosque’s main minaret and security forces on the ground. The BBC’s James Reynolds was there.
Inside the mosque, there were several hundreds of the Muslim Brotherhood, but outside the mosque there were effectively their civilian opponents, they are ordinary
people who chosen to identify with the military and with the security forces who were given a very hard time to anyone who choose to come out that mosque. And even
when we were there. It was made very clear to ask that we should leave the area, the crowd become very hostile towards the foreign media. And that course seem to
danger for Egypt in the coming days, if there any confrontation between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood or we called neighborhood groups which support the armed
forces.
Demonstrators have been out on the streets of several Egyptian cities in defiance of an overnight curfew imposed by the military-backed government since Wednesday.
Television pictures show protesters in the cities Helwan and Minya to the south of Cairo. The interim government said 250 Brotherhood supporters were been investigated
for series charges including attempted murder and terrorism. A spokesman said that the Islamist group returned to power was as he put it impossible and the government
was considering its dissolution.
A court in Pakistan has dismissed the case against the Muslim cleric who’d been arrested on suspicion of framing a Christian girl accused of blasphemy. The girl
Rimsha Masih was held in jail for several weeks after Khalid Jadoon accused her of burning pages of the Muslim holy book the Koran. Anbarasan Ethirajan our South Asia
desk has more details.
The cleric has said to people around the area that she was burning the page of the Koran allegedly was put inside her bag. But it has caused international concern
because very few people were survived after being accused of blasphemy in Pakistan. Dozens of people were linked to dead by mob and vigilantes. Later on, it went to
the court and the case was dropped, in turn, the Muslim cleric who'd accused her blasphemy, he was arrested on charges of trying to fabricate evidence against this
young girl. And now, the lawyers today say that the case against this cleric has been dropped because of the lack of evidence.
Poor weather has disrupted a search in the Philippines where dozens of people still missing after a ferry sank off the city of Cebu. More than 30 bodies have been
found and over 600 survivors rescued since the crowded ship sank after a collision with a cargo ship on Friday night. The Philippines has a poor record for maritime
safety.
World News from the BBC
Iran’s new president Hassan Rouhani said that one of the reasons he was elected was to change his country’s foreign policy.
“An important message of the election on the June 14th was a need to revise a foreign policy. This revision does not mean that there should be a change in the
principles and foundations as principles and foundations are constant. It means that at least there should be a change in the methods, practice and performance.”
Mr. Rouhani has already tried to ease a promise to try to ease tensions with the West particularly over Iran’s nuclear programme. His predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
followed a confrontational foreign policy which brought international isolation.
The United States coastguard has detained more than 50 illegal migrants found stranded on a tiny island off the western coast of Puerto Rico. The migrants thought to
have come from Haiti and the Dominican Republic were reportedly spotted on Friday evening. Illegal migrants are frequently abandoned by people traffickers.
At the World Athletic Championships in Moscow, the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has won the Man’s 200 meters final. Bolt finished ahead of his Jamaican teammate
Warren Weir. Allen Capstick in Moscow.
It’s been another gold harvest that Usain Bolt at a major Championships. The result in the 200 meters his favorite event was never in doubt. The trademark casual
pre-race antics were followed by a ruthless display from the fastest man in history. Injury and doping controversies had moved his closest rival out of the picture.
There was nobody left to mount a credible challenge, to complete the sense of deja vu, the world impromptu dance routine on the lap of honor. This time he was joined
by his Jamaican teammate the silver medalist Warren Weir. The only thing missing from the race itself was a dramatic element testimony to the dominance of Usain Bolt.
BBC News