Egypt Morsi: Mass Political Protests Grip Cities
BBC: Huge protests calling for the resignation of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi and early presidential elections are taking place in the capital, Cairo, and other cities.

Tens of thousands of opponents have massed in Tahrir Square and outside the main presidential palace.

Protesters accuse Mr Morsi of failing to tackle economic and security problems since taking power a year ago.

A presidential spokesman urged them to respect the democratic process.

Morsi supporters massed in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City with banners denouncing the opposition.

The president's critics say the country's first Islamist president has put the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood party ahead of the country's wider interests.

In Cairo, they have been chanting: "Irhal! Irhal!" ("Leave! Leave!"), reports the BBC's Aleem Maqbool.

Demonstrations are being reported across the country (+ video) » | Sunday, June 30, 2013

100,000 Egyptians Protest as ‘Pharaoh’ Morsi Digs Heels In over Power Grab
Egyptian protesters wave their national flag as they shout political slogans against President Mohamed Morsi's decree granting himself broad powers during a demonstration in Cairo's Tahrir Square on November 27, 2012

Egypt’s Salafists Deploy Virulent Rhetoric, Accuse Liberals of Being Foreign Agents

BIKYA MASR: CAIRO: On Friday, Mohamed Amr watched as ultra-conservative Salafists converged on Egypt’s iconic Tahrir Square. Their deafening chants of “Islamic state” resounding throughout downtown Cairo. For him, a liberal activist wounded in the January 2011 uprising that ousted the country’s long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak, it was frustrating.

“I am very worried about the future of the country and how the Salafists are trying to accuse liberals and those of us who fought and bled for change as foreigners in our own country,” he told Bikyamasr.com.

“It is a sad time for the Egyptian revolution. It might be dead and what we are seeing is something very scary,” the former member of the April 6 Youth Movement added.

Making matters worse for the left is the growing anti-liberal sentiment growing on the streets and in mosques.

On Friday, as thousands of puritan Salafists gathered in Tahrir Square to demand that the new constitution for Egypt be an Islamic one, member of al-Gama’a Islamiya Sheikh Mohamed el-Soghir accused secular and liberal activists of pushing a Western agenda.

“Our Prophet [Mohamed] fought the infidels of Mecca, who are now represented by the Liberals,” said El-Soghir in comments published by local media. » | Yussif Ibrahim | Sunday, November 11, 2012

Mike Hannah Reporting from Tahrir Square, Cairo
Thousands gather in Tahrir Square ahead of Friday prayers as frustrations with the military reaches a climax.

Thousands Join Egypt Rally Called by Muslim Brotherhood
BBC: Thousands of people are gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against a decision by the ruling military council to assume new powers.

The protests have been called by the Muslim Brotherhood, as it claims its candidate Mohammed Mursi won last weekend's presidential election.

His rival, former PM Ahmed Shafiq, also says he has won.

As Egyptians voted, the generals dissolved parliament and claimed all legislative power for themselves.

Correspondents say the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) appears to be working on the assumption that Mr Mursi will win, and making moves designed to reduce or constrain the power of the president and entrench its own.

Activists have described the moves as a "military coup". » | Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Related »

Egypt Braced for Verdict of Hosni Mubarak

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Egypt is braced for a new round of street violence as relatives of those killed in last year's revolution demand the death penalty for their one-time dictator Hosni Mubarak when a verdict is handed down in his trial on Saturday.

Relatives of the “martyrs of Tahrir Square” told The Daily Telegraph they did not believe the former president’s trial was fair and said they would reject a lenient sentence.

“I was happy when Mubarak was first put on trial, but now I don’t have any trust,” Ali Hassan, 50, whose son Mohab, a 20-year-old computer science student at one of Egypt’s leading universities, was shot dead by police.

“Now I have no doubt that he will get a light sentence or nothing.”

He and other relatives warned there would be trouble outside the special courtroom set up in the Cairo police academy – once named after the defendant – when the verdict was given.

That could easily spread to Tahrir Square, particularly as activists are already calling for demonstrations.

The army is preparing for trouble in what will be the first test of the end of Egypt's state of emergency, which has been in place since 1981 but expired with little notice on Thursday. » | Richard Spencer, Cairo | Thursday, May 31, 2012