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Egypt’s army chief calls for protests to fight ‘terror’
Cairo, July 24
The chief of Egypt's powerful army today asked people to take to the streets on Friday to back the military and grant him a mandate to confront "terrorism", even as clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Mursi claimed 12 lives.

A TV grab of Egypt’s army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a live broadcast on Wednesday. — AFP

Snowden to stay at Moscow airport
Moscow, July 24
A lawyer advising National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden said his asylum status has not been resolved and that he is going to stay at the Moscow airport for now. Anatoly Kucherena, who was visiting the American at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport today, said migration officials are still looking at his asylum request and that this process had been drawn out.

Sharif’s aide likely to be next Pak prez Nine candidates on Wednesday filed nominations for Pakistan's presidential election, with the ruling PML-N's India-born nominee Mamnoon Hussain emerging a clear frontrunner for the poll to be held on July 30. Mamnoon Hussain (C), a presidential candidate from the PML-N, in Islamabad on Wednesday. — AP/PTI

Jhumpa Lahiri longlisted for Booker Prize
London, July 24
Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘The Lowland’ has emerged a frontrunner among 13 novels longlisted for the Man Booker Prize this year. London-born Lahiri’s moving tale of family ties will vie for the prestigious literary prize worth £50,000 alongside novels by several lesser-known authors.

Egypt’s army chief calls for protests to fight ‘terror’

Cairo, July 24
The chief of Egypt's powerful army today asked people to take to the streets on Friday to back the military and grant him a mandate to confront "terrorism", even as clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Mursi claimed 12 lives.

Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in a speech broadcast live on state television, said he wanted the people to give the military a "mandate to confront violence and terrorism".

"I urge the people to take to the streets this coming Friday to prove their will and give me, the army and the police, a mandate to confront possible violence and terrorism," said Sisi, who is also the Defence Minister.

He rejected rumours about divisions within the army ranks. "I swear by God that the Egyptian army is united," he said.

Supporters of Mursi have been protesting against the army intervention which removed him as president of Egypt on July 3. But Sisi said he was not calling for public violence and wanted national reconciliation.

At least 12 persons were killed overnight and over 80 injured in deadly clashes across the country as pressure grew on the country's new leadership to release the Islamist leader.

The military ousted Mursi (61) on July 3 following days of massive street protests by millions of Egyptians demanding that the Islamist president step down. His supporters are calling for his reinstatement and insist they would not join the military-backed political process until then.

The clashes late that night saw the use of birdshot, gunfire and molotov cocktails, witnesses said. The police then intervened, firing tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Mursi hails, blamed "thugs" and the police for the deaths.

The family of Mursi has accused the powerful military of "abducting" the Islamist leader and vowed to take legal action against the army chief. Mursi has been held at an undisclosed location, without charge, since being ousted from power on July 3.

About 100 persons have died in violence since Mursi's removal.

Several countries, including the US, have called for Mursi's release. — PTI

US Halts delivery of jets to Egypt

Snowden to stay at Moscow airport

— Jay Carney, White House press secretary

Moscow, July 24
A lawyer advising National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden said his asylum status has not been resolved and that he is going to stay at the Moscow airport for now.

Sharif’s aide likely to be next Pak prez
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

Nine candidates on Wednesday filed nominations for Pakistan's presidential election, with the ruling PML-N's India-born nominee Mamnoon Hussain emerging a clear frontrunner for the poll to be held on July 30.

Hussain, a close aide of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, went to the Islamabad High Court with PML-N leaders and submitted his nomination papers. "I will be the President for everybody. I will resign from my party office if I become President," Hussain told reporters.

Iqbal Zafar Jhagra filed papers as the PML's covering candidate. Among the candidates who filed nominations were Raza Rabbani of the opposition Pakistan People's Party and six Independents.

Hussain, a leading businessman from the port city of Karachi, is expected to easily win the poll as the PML-N has a clear majority in the electoral college comprising members of parliament and the four provincial assemblies.

Born in 1940 in the historic city of Agra, he belongs to the Urdu-speaking ethnic group that migrated from India during partition in 1947.

Hussain is an old loyalist of Sharif and remained with the PML-N during the regime of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

After scrutiny of the nominations, the final list of candidates will be issued on July 27. The presidential election was earlier scheduled for August 6 but the Supreme Court today directed the Election Commission to hold it on July 30.

The new President will be sworn in on September 8 and will replace incumbent Asif Ali Zardari.

(With PTI inputs)

Jhumpa Lahiri longlisted for Booker Prize

Jhumpa Lahiri

London, July 24
Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘The Lowland’ has emerged a frontrunner among 13 novels longlisted for the Man Booker Prize this year. London-born Lahiri’s moving tale of family ties will vie for the prestigious literary prize worth £50,000 alongside novels by several lesser-known authors.

Lahiri's stories capture dislocation and ambivalence with a unique play of words.

‘The Lowland’, set in India and America, will be published in September and is one of the highly anticipated books of the fall. It is being pitched as an easy frontrunner in London's literary circles.

Lahiri, born in 1967 in London and based in New York, is the daughter of Indian immigrants from West Bengal.

She won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with her debut short story collection "Interpreter of Maladies" (1999), and her first novel "The Namesake" (2003) was adapted into a popular film of the same name by director Mira Nair. — PTI