Islamist demonstration in Cairo called off
Egypt’s most prominent Islamist party, the Muslim Brotherhood, has called off a planned protest over current president Mohammed Mursi’s powers because they want to “avoid clashes”, according to the BBC. Mursi met with judges of the Supreme Judicial Council for five hours to discuss a decree that gave him ultimate power over any court decision, until a new constitution is finished.
The presidential spokesperson relayed that Mursi wanted to respect judicial power and independence, but would not remove the decree. He did clarify that it was only a temporary decree and had a very small scope. The Brotherhood’s decision to cancel the protest outside of Cairo University is the only response to the president’s announcement so far.
The protest was supposed to be a million-man march outside Cairo University, one of many violent protests that have sprung up across the country, due to the decree.
CNN poll shows Americans less optimistic than in 2008
CNN’s most recent national poll is showing that 56 percent of the public thinks the country will be better off four years from now, while four in six people believe things will be worse than they are now. At this time in 2008, it was 76 percent according to CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
The poll also showed that Obama’s approval percentages have not changed much between terms and are only a few percentage points lower than George W. Bush before his second term, CNN reports.
Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak quits, wants to stray from politics
Citing the need to spend more time with his family, Ehud Barak resigned from the position of defense minister to the Israeli government Monday. His resignation comes during a cease-fire with Hamas after eight days of severe violence that killed 160 people. He has agreed to stay in office until the next elections which will take place in three months.
His announcement has caused much speculation about what he hopes to form a new party, but according to CNN he hopes that new faces in Israeli leadership will be beneficial.
New Bank of England governor named, first non-british governor
Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, has been selected as the new governor of the Bank of England by Chancellor George Osbourne. He is expected to serve five years as governor and have regulatory powers over the bank.
Carney was an unusual choice, as he is the first governor of the bank that hasn’t been British. So much so that he had counted himself out of the running, according to the BBC. The role is considered a pivotal to the operations of the UK economy.
The current governor, Sir. Mervyn King will step down in June of 2013.
European ministers meet for third time to discuss Greece
In the hopes to assist debt-ridden Greece, Eurozone finance ministers are meeting again to determine the next installment of bailout funds for the $40 billion in loans it needs to pay. The ministers, currently meeting in Brussels, are close to finding a resolution, according to the BBC.
Currently Greece is surviving based off emergency loans, while the 17 members of the Eurozone figure out how to make it financially stable. This is the third meeting they’ve had, and the last one lasted 12 hours. Talks are expected to go through the night tonight.