Egyptian army suspends constitution and removes President Morsi – as it happened

Here's a brief summary of where things stand: 

The Egyptian army deposed President Mohamed Morsi after four days of sustained giant street protests that eclipsed even the rallies that brought down Hosni Mubarak. Morsi became the second Egyptian leader to be kicked out of power in 28 months. 

General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the change in government in a televised address joined by influential leaders of opposition parties and religious groups. Among those who spoke after Sisi were opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, the sheikh of Al-Azhar mosque and the Coptic pope. Leaders of the Islamist Nour party also joined the announcement.

Sisi said the head of Egypt's supreme constitutional court, Adly Mansour, 68, would take over the presidential palace, the constitution would be suspended and new presidential elections would be held. Mansour was to be sworn in Thursday.

Morsi reacted defiantly to the Sisi announcement, which he called a "full coup." He communicated via Facebook, a Youtube video that was unpublished and a prerecorded audio track broadcast to rallies supporting him. He had not been seen in public Wednesday. Morsi insisted he is Egypt's only legitimate president but warned against bloodshed.

The Egyptian street reacted jubilantly. Scenes like this look unreal but are only slightly more spectacular than many scenes from recent days: 

Revolutionary stalwart Tarek Shalaby on an uncanny moment:

There are reports that Al-Jazeera Egypt has also been taken off the air. A video is circulating purporting to capture the moment the studio was shut down. Al-Jazeera English has broadcast a lower third saying "Al-Jazeera's Egyptian TV channel raided by security forces and taken off the air."

Egypt's new road map runs through risky territory, Guardian Middle East editor Ian Black writes:

Morsi's overthrow is a hammer blow for Egyptian Islamists who spent the long decades of authoritarian rule under Mubarak and his predecessors building up the Brotherhood organisation and dreaming of the day when they could take power. The worry must be that this experience will reinforce their sense of victimhood – that despite winning a free election they have been betrayed and prevented from exercising legitimate power. It clearly creates a dangerous precedent.

Read the full piece here.

The US state department has issued a travel warning for Egypt:

The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Egypt and U.S. citizens living in Egypt to depart at this time because of the continuing political and social unrest.

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees foreign aid, said on Wednesday that his panel would review the $1.5 billion in annual assistance the country sends to Egypt, Reuters reports: 

"Egypt's military leaders say they have no intent or desire to govern, and I hope they make good on their promise," Leahy said in a statement. "In the meantime, our law is clear: U.S. aid is cut off when a democratically elected government is deposed by military coup or decree." 

Meanwhile Saudi King Abdullah has sent his congratulations to nominal interim president Mansour:

In addition to television stations being taken off the air after Sisi's address, there are reports of arrests of some media crews. Al-Masri al-youm reports that the owners of TV stations have been detained. 

Al Hafez, Al Nas & Misr 25 disappeared from the airwaves after Sisi's address. Mada Masdr has this report:

Abeer al-Saady a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate said that she received a call from Ahmed Abdel Gawad, a Misr 25 reporter, at 9.45 pm, not long after the end of Sisi’s speech.

“He told me that he and five other employees of the channel were in a police truck and being taken to an unknown location,” Abdel-Gawad said.

Zeyad Salem, a producer with the Baladna Bel Masry programme broadcast on the ONtv satellite channel said that police forces that have been stationed in the Media Production City in 6th of October that hosts the majority of Egyptian satellite channels stormed the studios of Misr 25 and other religious channels.

Salem said that Misr 25 presenter Nour Eddin Abdel Hafez, popularly known as Khamees, had been arrested.

Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya report four deaths and seven injuries in clashes in Marsa Matrouh on the northern coast. Clashes have also been reported in Sidi Bishr in Alexandria and in Minya and Qena in upper Egypt, according to BBC Arabic. 

The pro-Morsi rally at Raba'a el Adaweya Mosque appears to be slowly breaking up, or shrinking, with no immediate reports of violence. "Morsi supporters slowly stream out of sit-in in quiet anger to find people cheering alongside army," Democracy Now correspondent Sharif Kouddous reports.

The organizers of the rebel movement Tamarod, whose call to demonstrations drew millions into the streets on 30 June:

There's some effort amid the tumult of celebration – and, in some quarters, outraged protest – to get a bead on who the new president of Egypt is. 

Guardian video: Thousands celebrate in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, following an announcement from the Egyptian army that Mohamed Morsi has been deposed from presidential office.

The head of Egypt's supreme constitutional court, Adli Mansour, will be sworn in as interim head of state on Thursday, Reuters quotes military and judicial sources as saying.

Syrian president Bashar Assad has spoken up about the political upheaval in Egypt. He sees it as a blow to "political Islam", Reuters reports:

"Whoever brings religion to use in politics or in favour of one group at the expense of another will fall anywhere in the world," Assad was quoted as telling the official Thawra newspaper, according to an official Facebook page.
"The summary of what is happening in Egypt is the fall of what is called political Islam." 

Without a television station to carry his message to the people, Morsi appears to be calling for defiance of the army through whatever channel he can. There has been a Facebook post and a briefly published YouTube video in which Morsi was quoted as saying the army's moves "represent a full coup categorically rejected by all the free men of our nation."

Now Al-Jazeera reports an audio message from Morsi is being broadcast to supporters in Nasr City and in east Cairo.

Morsi says "I am the only legitimate president in Egypt," El-shayyal reports.

Journalist Mosa'ab Elshamy has been at the pro-Morsi rally at Raba'a el Adaweya Mosque, where he is live-tweeting a recorded Morsi audio message: 

Morsi delivering a recorded speech to MB sit-in. Claims he's still president, orders army & military to protect the people and legitimacy.

"People's will can not be overlooked a year later. This is selective democracy"

"We're facing a historic challenge. Do not fall for calls of bloodshed. We'll all regret it"

An important presence at the army televised address is the Nour party, Egypt's second-largest Islamist organization, which opposed the Muslim Brotherhood in the post-January 25 period. The party has declared its support for the political transition. 

Mahmoud Badr, head of Tamarod or rebel movement, speaks after ElBaradei, the Coptic pope and the sheikh of Al-Azhar:

[Former] president Morsi appears to be making good on his promise to fight for "legitimacy." A statement attributed to Morsi has appeared on Facebook defying the army's claim to power. Additionally there are reports that a video of a new Morsi speech was posted briefly to the Egyptian Presidency account before being taken down. 

Many sources including the Muslim Brotherhood spokesman are reporting that the army has taken pro-Morsi TV stations off the air:

Here's a summary of what General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced:

President Mohamed Morsi and his government no longer lead Egypt

The constitution has been suspended and new presidential elections will be held 

The Egyptian Presidency, a verified Twitter account, is sending responses to Sisi's announcement of Morsi's overthrow. An initial tweet quotes "Pres. Morsy" as saying that "measures announced by Armed Forces leadership represent a full coup categorically rejected by all the free men of our nation."

Two sides out in the streets in force.

The Coptic pope Tawadros has also spoken. "We have all gathered under the Egyptian flag," he says, supporting the army's move.

Next up is Mohamed El-Baradei, the former presidential candidate and opposition leader. He says the transition period will move toward new elections. He calls for "social justice for every single Egyptian." He says the Egyptian street has paid a high price for a hopeful political future. 

The sheikh of Al-Azhar mosque follows Sisi at the podium. He says he supports the step the army has taken and calls on Egyptians to mend their differences. 

McClatchy's Nancy Youssef reports live gunfire at the pro-Morsi rally. 

CNN and Foreign Policy are at the pro-Morsi rally in east Cairo: 

General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addresses the nation. 

Sisi has finished speaking. Tahrir erupts in fireworks, cheers. Morsi is out.

The army warns against unrest in the streets. Sisi says anyone who commits violence will be confronted by the military. 

Sisi says the army attempted to have a national reconciliation that included the presidency. But that the army felt the people were calling for help. He insists the army does not seek to rule but to reset the national course.

Morsi is out. Sisi announces a transitional government and new presidential elections. 

Sisi says the constitution has been suspended and a transition government will run the country with the support of the military until new elections can be held. 

General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is speaking on state TV.

He's addressing the nation from behind a podium. Sitting behind him are leaders reportedly including Coptic Pope Tawadros, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Mohamed El-Baradei, Tamarad or "rebel" movement leaders and Hizb el-Nour leaders.

Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reports on its web site that the army – who exactly is unclear, or how – has informed President Morsi that he is no longer in power. 

A rally in Damietta, on the northern coast:

Mohamed Beltagy, a top Muslim Brotherhood leader, has gone on Al Jazeera to echo earlier warnings about a military takeover destroying faith in democracy. 

"After this military coup, which we are about to see, people will have no confidence in democracy" Beltagy said.

Outside the main pro-Morsi gathering at Raba'a el Adaweya Mosque in east Cairo:

Mada Masr catches one of the many moments of jubilation in Tahrir Square this afternoon:

Writer Bassem Sabry quotes former general Seif El-Yazal as saying that the anticipated army statement on a political "road map" is being "fine-tuned." Yazal says the statement will be made with the presence of al-Azhar clerics and representatives of the church and political sides, Sabry writes:

Seif El-Yazal also said statement by Egypt military and political forces will continue a detailed roadmap, not just a basic announcement.

CNN's Ivan Watson:

US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says in her daily briefing that the US is very concerned about conditions on the ground in Egypt and that Morsi "must do more to be responsive to concerns of the Egyptian people."

"Democracy is not just about being elected through the ballot box," she says. "It's also about allowing the voices in your country to be heard."

Asked about animosity in the street directed at Ambassador Anne Patterson and the United States, Psaki says "we have been clear in not taking sides, and specifically supporting the right of the opposition protests."

Patterson's long meeting with Brotherhood leader Khairat al-Shater in his office before the massive June 30 rallies has fed perceptions of US support for the Morsi presidency. On the other hand the Pentagon announced today that secretary Hagel has been repeatedly in touch with General Sisi in the last week.

Patrick Kingsley has just spoken to a presidential aide who said president Morsi is "still in his office at the Republican Guard headquarters" – where a large opposition protest has gathered. "Nothing physical has happened yet," the aide tells Patrick. "No territory has been invaded."

Patrick also reports a large military presence outside the main pro-Morsi rally at Raba'a el Adaweya Mosque.

One of the bridges controlled by the army.

Photo is via @Saramsalem who found it at Cairo Scene.

Former Guardian Cairo correspondent Jack Shenker reports on army movements around Tahrir:

Armored personnel carriers moved in to separate opposing rallies at Cairo University, the scene of violence overnight in which at least 16 were killed and hundreds injured, BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports. But then the carriers withdrew, leaving a "light force of soldiers."

Bowen's timeline makes clear that the army presence on the streets of the capital is growing.

Kareem Fahim of the New York Times is at the scene of a confrontation between army soldiers and Morsi supporters at a rally in Nasr City. 

The presence of the army in the streets in the capital and elsewhere is difficult to ascertain. The Muslim Brotherhood spokesman tweeted that tanks are on the move in the streets of Cairo. But lacking photographic documentation that appears to be one more rumor for the moment. 

In Nasr City Fahim tweets:

Islamists fighting with officers. Commander orders soldiers down from vehicles

Islamists climb on top of armoured vehicles. "Your our military!"

Now: "the army and the people one hand!" But more officers approach

Soldiers fire in the air to disperse Islamists

US defense secretary Chuck Hagel has spoken with General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi twice in the last week, according to the Pentagon, Reuters reports. The defense department declined to offer details of the conversations.

Asked why the Pentagon had previously declined to disclose the calls, spokesman George Little told reporters: "I think you can understand the sensitivities of this situation and that's in essence the bottom line."

"We made a decision to acknowledge the phone call and that's where we are."

With so many people in the streets and with such great stakes – and given the violence of the past three nights – there is great concern about further bloodshed.

There are calls for restraint.

There's a notable fatigue in Egypt with the Western media and media analysis.

With the publication of Essam al-Haddad's statement, Morsi's team has made a carefully crafted case that notwithstanding the crowds of millions in the streets, its deposition amounts to a coup, and the destruction of a democratic experiment.

A lot has changed from two days ago, when the Muslim Brotherhood English Twitter account argued that the military ultimatum did not represent a coup: 

The remarkable Facebook statement by Morsi adviser Essam al-Haddad is under dissection: 

The New York Times quotes security officials as saying that a travel ban has been placed on the president and top Muslim Brotherhood figures.

Agence France-Presse has also reported the news quoting unnamed security sources.

A top Morsi adviser, Essam al-Haddad, has posted a new Facebook message that begins, "I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page": 

For Immediate Release, July 3, 2013

As I write these lines I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page.

For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let’s call what is happening by its real name: Military coup.

It has been two and a half years after a popular revolution against a dictatorship that had strangled and drained Egypt for 30 years. 

That revolution restored a sense of hope and fired up Egyptians’ dreams of a future in which they could claim for themselves the same dignity that is every human being’s birthright.

Haddad goes on to warn that "And the message will resonate throughout the Muslim World loud and clear: democracy is not for Muslims." Read the full statement here. (h/t @evanchill)

Supporters of the opposition and others reject the characterization of what is happening as a military coup, pointing to the unprecedented popular demonstrations, the largest in Egyptian history.

The Guardian's Patrick Kingsley has spoken with top Muslim Brotherhood leaders "backstage" at the large pro-Morsi rally in east Cairo. He finds them calm:

Just spoke to Essam el-Arian, a senior, outspoken Brother, backstage at the Rafaa rally.

What surprised me was how utterly relaxed and jovial he was. As if today was no turning pt, but more of the same 85-year struggle.

Next I spoke to Mohamed Beltagy, another senior Brotherhood figure, similar vibe. Anti-MB violence has already started, he said, as if he'd already dug in.

Both leaders appeared earlier today at a news conference vowing support for the "legitimate" president.

OnTV is streaming live on YouTube, currently broadcasting dynamic scenes from Tahrir Square and Ittihadiya palace, packed full once again, flags waving:

A large pro-Morsi demonstration has convened outside Raba'a el Adaweya Mosque. The crowd, like those in Tahrir and outside the Republican Guard headquarters, is waiting for a statement expected from the army. The Guardian's Patrick Kingsley is at the pro-Morsi rally.

President Morsi has just repeated his offer of forming a national coalition government but note the two end paragraphs, writes David Hearst.

He quotes Morsi saying:

A scenario that some people are trying to impose on the Egyptian people, has no consensus amongst the Egyptian people and there are large masses who do not accept it. It will cause chaos in the process of building institutions that has already started. those who believe that Egypt can go back and destroy the legitimacy are mistaken.

These people who believe that imposing their legitimacy by force on the great Egyptian people, the Egyptian people who were so eager for freedom and sacrificed blood for it, those people can not accept that imposition.

The presidency issued a statement on its Facebook page moments ago, reasserting Morsi's right to the office and accusing the opposition of rejecting dialogue – an inflammatory assertion. The statement in Arabic is here. Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh has been tweeting a translation:

Presidency says transition plan based on constitutional legitimacy, blames opposition for turning down its earlier invites for dialogue

Morsi statement: I can't accept as president any bias (by army?) to one side over another

Presidency statement offers formation of coalition govt to oversee parliamentary elex, committee to amend constitution

Opposition factions argue that Morsi and his allies have allowed countless opportunities for dialogue slide by and it was never a priority for this presidency.

Here's a summary of the main events today:

Crowds of anti-Morsi rotesters have gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square as a military deadline for resolving the crisis expired. The influential anti-Morsi Tamarod campaign urged its supporters to gather outside the Republican Guards headquarters where the president is believed to be.

The Freedom and Justice party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, has refused an invitation to meet the head of the army. It accused the military of trying to impose opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei as a unity leader.

The head of the army General Abdual Fatah al-Sisi has held talks with opposition figures, including ElBaradei, and senior clerics. It was due to make a statement after that meeting.

There have been conflicting reports about who controls the state media. According to some reports the army took control of the building in Maspero and ordered some staff to leave. But according to the Guardian's Patrick Kingsley Morsi's Republican Guards were still protecting the building.

Morsi offered a series of concessions in a four-hour meeting with General Sisi on Tuesday, a Muslim Brotherhood source told the Guardian. The concessions, which included setting up a national government and hints that he would hold a referendum on his presidency, were rejected.

The opposition Tamarod campaign has published its own roadmap for a political transition. It called for a new temporary president and prime minister and the election of a new body to draw up a new constitution within 30 days.

Morsi vowed to protect his presidency with his life in a defiant late-night speech on Tuesday. Morsi's insistence on his legitimacy left Egypt braced for its most decisive day since the revolution, with its military readying to suspend the country's constitution.

Crowds continue to flock to Tahrir to hear the army's statement as we reach deadline time.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad suggests the military is trying to impose Mohammed ElBaradei as a unity figure. He confirmed that the Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, rejected a meeting with ElBaradei and the head of the army General Sisi.

Egypt's military leadership has confirmed it has held talks with opposition figures and senior clerics, and that it will make a statement after the meeting, Reuters reports.

The general command of the Egyptian armed forces is meeting with religious, national, political and youth figures, the army said on its official Facebook page on Wednesday, as a deadline loomed for President Mohamed Mursi to yield to mass protests and share power or give way.

"The General Command of the Armed Forces is currently meeting with a number of religious, national, political and youth icons ... There will be a statement issued from the General Command as soon as they are done," the army said.

Cairo's Tahrir Square is filling up with people as the deadline approaches.

Journalists say the mood is "festive".

Patrick Kingsley says Morsi's guards, rather than the army, are in charge of the state media buildings in Maspero minutes after leaving the building.

The Republican Guards, not the army, are on the doors, which is significant because the Republican Guards are nominally under the leadership of the president, rather than general Sisi.

The military hasn't taken control just yet, and what's more it is exactly under lock and key - you can wander in and out fairly easily.

There continue to be conflicting reports about who controls state TV.

The source of the confusion appears to be whether the troops guarding the building are loyal to the president or the army.

Al-Jazeera's Rawya Rageh says the the president's troops guard the building, citing a state radio presenter.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool has backed away from an earlier report that the army was in control.

The army has denied that it has taken over the building or evacuated staff, Daily News Egypt reports.

Patrick Kingsley, who is in Maspero, says it is Republican Guards rather than the army who are in control of the state media.

The Freedom and Justice party, the political wing the Muslim Brotherhood, has refused an invitation to meet the head of the army, according to Reuters.

"We do not go to invitations (meetings) with anyone. We have a president and that is it," said Waleed al-Haddad, a senior leader of the FJP told Reuters.

A spokesman for Morsi said the president believed it would be better to die "standing like a tree", defending the electoral legitimacy of his office, than to go down in history as having destroyed Egyptians' hopes for democracy.

Saying that Morsi was not seeking to cling to office for its own sake, spokesman Ayman Ali told Reuters that, in his overnight speech to the nation, the president had defied calls to resign in order to "defend the democratic system".

"It is better for a president, who would otherwise be returning Egypt to the days of dictatorship, from which God and the will of the people has saved us, to die standing like a tree," Ali said.

Staff have confirmed that the army has taken control of State TV, according to the BBC's Aleem Maqbool.

Armoured vehicles have been deployed to the State TV building in the Maspero district of Cairo, according to breaking update from Reuters.

It said State TV staff responsible for live coverage have left the building.

According to NBC's Richard Engel the army has taken charge of the building, and told staff to leave.

Meanwhile, army vehicles have been deployed elsewhere in Cairo as the deadline approaches.

Egypt's ministry of interior has said it will support the army against violence, al-Jazeera's Gregg Carlstrom tweets.

The ministry's statement is being translated in a series of tweets by journalist Alaa Bayoumi.

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has held a meeting with the head of the army Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, Reuters reports citing two political sources.

ElBaradei was chosen to represent the opposition National Salvation Front coalition and youth groups leading anti-Mursi street protests to negotiate with the army on their behalf.

"In the meeting, ElBaradei will urge the armed forces to intervene to stop the bloodshed," one opposition source said.

Senior clerics also attended the meeting, according to AP.

Meanwhile, the army is due to issue another statement after the deadline passes, according to AFP. The exact time of the deadline is the source of some confusion. It is either 4.30pm local time (1430 GMT) or half an hour later, depending who you believe.

Morsi offered a series of concessions in a four-hour meeting with General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi on Tuesday, a Muslim Brotherhood source told the Guardian's David Hearst.

All the concessions were rejected, the source said. David writes:

With the caveat that this is information which can not be cross-checked with the other parties to the discussion, my understanding is that President Morsi offered the following political concessions:

1. The formation of a national government representing all parties
2. The formation of a neutral committee to change the constitution
3. A call on the constitutional council to speed up the law on parliamentary elections.
4. A new attorney general (he has already gone)
5. Obliques hints that if a plan was put to him to hold a referendum on his presidency, he would agree to it.

This package was rejected.

There are key differences between the opposition and Morsi on the way forward. The opposition now insists that Morsi has first to resign; that the constitution and the upper house of parliament are suspended; that revolutionary courts are established; and that a presidential council be established pending fresh elections.

The exchange shows where a political compromise may lie if the principle of not toppling a democratically elected president is upheld.

The opposition Tamarod campaign has published its own roadmap for a political transition.

It calls for a new temporary president and prime minister and the election of a new body to draw up a new constitution within 30 days.

Under the plan a new president would be elected 60 after the constitution is agreed.

Tamarod said it rejected other roadmaps being put forward, including one by the army which involves appointing a military head of government.

Analyst Michael Hanna has a few more details on the opposition's plan:

Egypt's military council is currently holding a crisis meeting, Reuters reports citing a military source.

The meeting was being held hours before the expiry of a deadline set by the army for rival politicians to find a solution to the country's political crisis. The source said the meeting was being attended by senior commanders of the armed forces.

Meanwhile, Obama has spoken again to Morsi, according to Martin Chulov in Cairo.

Morsi has “gone beyond the point of no return,” according to the respected Egypt watcher Michael Hanna, senior fellow at the Century Foundation thinktank.

The most likely options are that Morsi is either pushed out of power or there is a last-minute deal to allow him to resign, Hanna told the Guardian.

It is hard to imagine the crisis dragging out too much longer, because much of what has driven the military to act is a real fear about broad-based civil strife, and the country reaching a point of violence that tips it into something much more consequential and worrisome.

But any military action comes with its own risks of counter violence from Islamist supporter of the president. It is clearly a very fraught moment for the country ...

A defiant Muslim Brotherhood that seeks to confront the military, on the heels of an incendiary speech by the president, really does raise the risk of violence engulfing the country.

A leaked version of an apparent transition road map from the military should be treated with scepticism, Hanna cautioned, but aspects of it appear plausible, he said.

The idea of a military head of government is “really troubling”, he added.

Hanna pointed out that anti-Morsi rallies of the last few days “far-surpassed” the level of discontent that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

“That in itself had a huge effect in eroding the legitimacy that he touted incessantly in his speech last night,” Hanna said.

Much of the state, including the foreign ministry, is in open revolt against Morsi, Hanna added.

The state is crippled. He [Morsi] doesn’t control the levers of authority. Those two things make it very difficult to imagine this president emerging from this crisis in a position to lead and govern.

The Brotherhood should focus on safeguarding its hard-earned position in Egyptian society which is in jeopardy by its mishandling of the crisis, Hanna argued.

"It is not the presidency and his executive branch that is the most important set of decision makers, it is the Muslim Brotherhood," he said.

Human Rights Watch has condemned what it calls an "epidemic of sexual violence" in Egypt with 91 cases of sexual assaults in the last four days.

Its deputy Middle East director Joe Stork said:

The rampant sexual attacks during the Tahrir Square protests highlight the failure of the government and all political parties to face up to the violence that women in Egypt experience on a daily basis in public spaces.

These are serious crimes that are holding women back from participating fully in the public life of Egypt at a critical point in the country’s development.

HRW uploaded a video which features the stories of women who have been attacked.

Mona Chalabi, from the Guardian's data team, examines efforts to record and map reports of sexual abuse.

The influential anti-Morsi campaign Tamarod has urged its supporters to march to rally outside the presidential guard headquarters where the president is thought to be staying. 

Tamarod, which means rebel in Arabic, helped organise Sunday's massive protests and was behind a petition calling for Morsi's removal.

Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said it expected President Mohamed Morsi would either step down or be removed from office after today's deadline passes, Reuters reports.

Egypt's flagship state daily said an army road map for the future would set up a three-member presidential council to be chaired by the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court.

"Al-Ahram learnt that with the end of the 48-hour period set by the armed forces ... it is expected in the hours that follow it, one of two things: either Mursi announces his resignation himself, or the declaration of his removal through the road map for the future set out by the armed forces," it said.
Al-Ahram said the road map would set up a neutral transitional government to be headed by a military leader.

The transitional period would last nine to 12 months in which a new constitution would be drafted to set out a path to presidential elections.

By contrast a pro-Muslim Brotherhood newspaper go with a headline quoting from Morsi's defiant speech.

Welcome to Middle East Live on what is set to be a crucial day for the future of Egypt.

As the army's deadline for resolving the country's political crisis approaches (5pm local time, 3pm GMT) the military leadership and President Mohamed Morsi remain at loggerheads.

Here's a roundup of the latest developments:

Morsi has vowed to protect his presidency with his life in a defiant late-night speech hours before an ultimatum from the leader of Egypt's armed forces is due to expire. Morsi's insistence on his legitimacy left Egypt braced for its most decisive day since the revolution, with its military readying to suspend the country's constitution.

The military leadership responded to Morsi by saying the army was ready to die to defend Egypt's people against terrorists and fools.  In a response headlined "The Final Hours" on its Facebook page, it said: "We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool."

The health ministry said 16 people were killed and another 200 injured around Cairo University where pro-Morsi supporters had gathered, state-owned Ahram Online reports. A police officer was shot in the eye, it said.

Under a roadmap for ending the crisis obtained by Reuters, the head of the military, Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, would play a central role in the country's affairs by installing an interim council of civilians and delaying parliamentary elections until a new constitution was drafted. A senior military source said that scenario was the most likely among those being discussed. 

Britain's Foreign Office is advising against all but essential travel to most parts of Egypt because of the continuing unrest. Its updated advise says: "You should avoid all demonstrations and large gatherings. If you become aware of any nearby protests, leave the area immediately."

Morsi's former legal adviser, Mohamed Fouad Gadallah, has urged the president to find a compromise solution. Speaking to the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, Gadallah, who resigned in April, said Morsi should call early elections and form a government of national unity. He said:

It all depends on the people and the situation on the streets, not on the political forces, and this is what made the army interfere, after seeing these large numbers filling the streets. If MOrsi succeeds in satisfying the people with his offers and clears the streets, he will then succeed in buying himself some more time.

  General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, is the youngest member of the military council and thought to be pro-Islamist, writes Ian Black.

Despite coming from the heart of the security establishment he had a reputation for being sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood — the reason, many Egyptians assumed, Morsi chose him for the job. Sisi is said to be a religious man, and his wife, unusually, wears the full niqab ... 

He is also described as enjoying close relations with the US military as well as Saudi Arabia, where he served as a military attache. Inside the army, some critics reportedly believe he has been too soft on the Brotherhood.

Last December, the new Egyptian constitution gave the military greater autonomy than it had ever enjoyed before but relations with the Brotherhood worsened as public disenchantment with Morsi grew and the army polished its own PR. Sisi warned of intervention a week before the 30 June protests. Now he is at the centre of a high stakes struggle for the future of Egypt.

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