Brawls in Egypt court as judges meet on constitution - Reuters
CAIRO |
CAIRO (Reuters) - Brawls broke out in an Egyptian courtroom as judges prepared to issue rulings on Tuesday that will either bolster the country's new President Mohamed Mursi, or undermine him in his power struggle with the military.
With his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood hailing a "decisive" day in the country's democratic transition, hundreds of Mursi supporters came to protest at the courthouse, accusing the generals of using the judiciary to undermine his authority.
With opinion split on how the Cairo administrative court would rule, tension was high as lawyers, protesters and members of the public pushed and elbowed one other.
"Down, down with military rule," shouted supporters of the Brotherhood, drawing an angry response from their opponents.
"Down, down with the rule of the (Brotherhood's) Supreme Guide," shouted a woman as the courtroom descended into mayhem.
"I have never seen a courtroom like this anywhere in the world. This is no way for us to work. Do you call this justice?" said one lawyer, Khaled Fouad.
Judge Abdel Salam El-Naggar arrived and told the crowd "Your presence here will not intimidate the court". He suspended the session to allow time for the atmosphere to cool.
The power struggle unleashed by the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak last year has shifted from the streets to the ballot box and now the courts as Islamists vie for influence with their perennial adversaries in an army-led establishment.
At Tuesday's hearings judges will decide if an assembly drafting a new constitution should be scrapped. They will also hear appeals against decrees by the military and one from Mursi that recalled an Islamist-dominated parliament that the generals had dissolved.
"Everybody should know that the conspiracy against parliament will end in failure, as will the conspiracy against the constituent assembly and the constitution, and the president himself," said Essam al-Erian, leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, in al-Ahram newspaper.
Brotherhood supporters warned the army not to undermine the country's new elected institutions.
"Who elected the constitutional assembly? Parliament. And who elected parliament? The people. We are the ones to determine our fate," said 20-year-old student Ahmed Mohamed el-Sayed, a member of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP).
On its Facebook page, the FJP declared the Cairo administrative court's deliberations "decisive" for the nation.
WHO IS IN CONTROL?
The military took power from Mubarak promising a new era of accountable, civilian rule but the transition has been chaotic and inconclusive.
It oversaw the first open leadership contest in Egypt's history, only to claw back vital powers from the new president, leaving Egyptians still wondering who really controls the Arab world's most populous nation since Mursi took office on June 30.
Self-proclaimed guardian of the Egyptian people, the army already disbanded parliament's first attempt at a constitutional assembly that critics saw as too heavily dominated by Islamists.
The generals have taken greater control over how the constitution is formed, angering the Brotherhood but comforting some liberals who fear Islamists are intent on dominating the state to impose their conservative agenda.
Some legal experts said the military was right to dissolve parliament because it was acting on a ruling by the country's Supreme Constitutional Court that had challenged the rules under which the legislature was elected.
"We are debating judicial, constitutional verdicts that are not debatable," said Sameh Ashour, head of Egypt's lawyers' syndicate, in newspaper al-Shorouk.
With Mursi yet to form his cabinet, there is no fully functioning government, parliament or constitution for Egypt, deepening the sense of turmoil that has pushed the economy to the brink of a balance of payments and budget crisis.
The president has avoided a major confrontation with the military council led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi - figurehead of the turbulent transition.
At a military graduation ceremony on Tuesday, Mursi sat alongside Tantawi and other senior officers and made a speech in which he paid homage to the leaders of the armed forces during the uprising against Mubarak.
Appearing to address the political and legal tensions unfolding in Egypt, Mursi said he was in ongoing talks to put in place "a comprehensive vision for managing the coming period constitutionally, legally and politically".
He also said a new government would be announced as soon as possible.
(Additional reporting by Shaimaa Fayed and Tom Perry; Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Jon Boyle)
Stars pay tribute to Deep Purple's Jon Lord - BBC News
Stars from the world of music and beyond have paid tribute to Jon Lord, former keyboard player with heavy rock band Deep Purple, who died on Monday.
Artists took to Twitter to pay their respects to the 71-year-old.
The Kinks posted: "RIP Jon Lord. A fantastic pianist and composer. With The Kinks, he played keyboards on You Really Got Me. Legend."
Twisted Sister's Dee Snider tweeted: "What an amazing musician and a true gentleman. We lost a great one. RIP."
Former Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash posted his comments: "Sad day in rock'n'roll. Jon Lord has passed on. One of the biggest, baddest, heaviest sounds in heavy metal. One of a kind. RIP."
Actor Ewan McGregor also paid tribute: "Jon played with my great friend Tony Ashton. They'll be jamming upstairs now!"
While jazz pianist Jamie Cullum described Lord as "a hero of the keys."
Referring to a popular make of synthesizer, he added: "I think I still have one of your Moogs!"
Richard Jones of Welsh band Stereophonics tweeted: "Deep Purple in Rock was the first album I bought. RIP Jon Lord. Legend! RJ x."
Lord co-founded Deep Purple in 1968 and co-wrote many of the group's songs including Smoke On The Water. He also played with bands including Whitesnake.
The band said on Twitter: "God bless you Mr Jon Lord. Hasta siempre maestro Jon Lord."
Lord had been receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer since last August.
He died at the London Clinic on Monday, surrounded by family, a statement said. "Jon passes from Darkness to Light," it added.
Rage Against the Machine star Tom Morello praised "Deep Purple's cornerstone/keyboardist. So many great great songs and that incredible SOUND of his! Thank you."
Former Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman was a friend and said he was "a great fan".
"We were going to write and record an album before he become ill," he said. "His contribution to music and to classic rock was immeasurable and I will miss him terribly."
Iron Maiden said on their Twitter account that they were "very sad" to hear Lord had passed away.
Born in Leicester, Lord learned classical piano at an early age before being seduced by watching early rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis and jazz organist Jimmy Smith.
Lord's rock attitude helped Deep Purple become pioneers of progressive and heavy rock.
Away from rock music, Lord composed and performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969.
He also performed a concert to mark the 30th anniversary of Concerto for Group and Orchestra.
He broke the news of his cancer diagnosis on his website last year, telling fans he would continue to write music as part of his therapy.
Passion Pit pull tour over singer's 'mental health' - BBC News
Michael Angelakos (second right) will be back for Reading and Leeds
Indie-pop band Passion Pit have cancelled a number of gigs on their forthcoming US tour, with lead singer Michael Angelakos saying he's suffering from mental health problems.
He apologised to fans but confirmed five shows have been called off.
He said: "To ensure that there will be no further disruptions, I am going to take the time to work on improving my mental health."
The band's UK shows at August's Reading and Leeds festivals remain unaffected.
Tour dates in Knoxville, Charlotte, Norfolk, Dover and New York have been cancelled. The tour will resume on 2 August in Chicago.
The band, fronted by Angelakos, featured in the BBC's Sound Of 2009 list and released their debut album Manners in 2009.
In the message on their website the singer continued: "I'd like to thank all of our fans for their understanding. I hope to see all of you very soon in a much different light."
Passion Pit release their second album Gossamer on 23 July.
Police investigate choc ice tweet - Football
Published: 17 Jul 2012 - 11:16:51
Police are investigating racist comments made against footballer Ashley Cole on social networking site Twitter, just days after his team-mate John Terry was cleared of racism.
A user, believed to be a man from the Derbyshire area, referred to Chelsea star Cole as a "choc ice" on the site and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand then replied: "I hear you fella! Choc ice is classic hahahahahaha!!".
Derbyshire Police said it was now investigating the original Tweet after receiving complaints from members of the public.
The incident comes after Chelsea captain Terry was cleared of a racially aggravated public order offence at Westminster Magistrates' Court last week. It was alleged Terry had maliciously called Rio's brother Anton a "f****** black c***" during a game last October.
Cole, 31, had told the trial that Terry, his Stamford Bridge captain, was not racist.
The "choc ice" term is understood to mean "black on the outside, white on the inside".
A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Constabulary said: "We have received complaints from members of the public regarding alleged racist comments made on a social networking site. These concerns will be fully investigated to establish whether any criminal offences have been committed."
Cole moved to calm the situation at the weekend after users began discussing the comments and reacting to them.
In a statement issued through his lawyers, the footballer said: "Ashley Cole has been made aware of the discussion following comments appearing on Twitter and wishes to make it clear that he and Rio Ferdinand are good friends and Ashley has no intention of making any sort of complaint. Ashley appreciates that Tweeting is so quick it often results in off-hand and stray comments."
Ferdinand later tweeted: "What I said yesterday is not a racist term. It's a type of slang/term used by many for someone who is being fake. So there." A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said the force was not investigating the comments made by Ferdinand.
Related Chelsea News
UPDATE 1-PGS bullish on Q2, lifts guidance again - Reuters UK
* Sees performance ahead of market expectations
* Expects full year 2012 EBITDA above $750 million (Adds spokesman, background, share)
OSLO, July 17 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil hunter Petroleum Geo-Services said on Tuesday its second-quarter results would be significantly better than current market expectations and raised its full-year core earnings guidance.
PGS shares rose 7.6 percent by 0725 GMT, while its Oslo-listed peer TGS was up 3.6 percent, making them the top gainers in the Oslo benchmark index, up 0.7 percent.
"We have had a more positive development than the market has expected, both when it comes to multiclient seismic, where we have had good pre-funding, and on the contract field where we have had success in addition to the data-processing part of operations," said PGS spokesman Tore Langballe.
Total revenues for the quarter are expected to exceed $395 million, up from $327 million in the year-ago period, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisations are seen to exceed $230 million from $164 million in the second quarter of 2011.
PGS, whose advanced ships scan the seabed for oil and which sells the data to energy companies, said it currently expects full year 2012 EBITDA to exceed $750 million, up from the previous guidance of about $700 million.
It had already raised its 2012 guidance in May.
Earlier this month, PGS said it had allocated 48 percent of its total capacity to multiclient seismic scanning in the second quarter, up from 31 percent in the previous period, and that 40 percent of the capacity had performed contracted seismic, down from 57 percent in the first quarter.
Multiclient scanning typically generates higher margins than contract seismic as the firm can sell the same data to many energy companies, but comes with added risks since it cannot be sure it will be sold at all.
The full quarterly report is due on July 26. (Reporting by Victoria Klesty and Vegrad Botterli; Editing by David Cowell)
0 Responses to "Brawls in Egypt court as judges meet on constitution - Reuters"
Post a Comment