VOA News for 3 July 2013 - 20130703
Channel: ListenAndReadAlong
Date: 2013-07-03

Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text
VOA NEWS  Wednesday July 3rd, 2013
From Washington, this is VOA news.  Egypt's President Morsi remains defiant.  U.S. fugitive Edward Snowden goes looking for asylum.  I'm Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
Egypt's political crisis is deepening, with President Mohamed Morsi saying he will not step down and is calling for military to withdraw its ultimatum that it will intervene in the country's political crisis.
During a televised address to the nation late Tuesday, Mr. Morsi said that he will not be dictated to domestically or in foreign affairs.
Meanwhile, demonstrations are building again in Cairo and other cities as the situation unfolds.
Henry Ridgwell reports.
Above Tahrir Square, the military helicopters buzzing Cairo elicit cheers from the crowds below.  The protests are swelling; the opposition emboldened by the military's ultimatum that President Morsi reaches a power-sharing deal.
Among them, protester Mohamed Shaaban.  He says Dr. Morsi can suggest anything to the people in the square, but it's the people of the square who are doing the talking.
Analysts say Egypt is now entering the unknown, and the military will likely decide the fate of President Morsi in the coming days.
Henry Ridgwell, the VOA news, London.
Possible peace talks for Syria will likely be delayed even longer, with the United States and Russia still disagreeing over how to resolve the civil war that has killed almost 100,000 people.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talked about Syria's conflict with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Tuesday on the sidelines of a forum of South East Asian nations in Brunei.
Secretary Kerry says a peace conference in Geneva originally planned for last month may now not take place until after next month.
Canadian police have charged a man and a woman with planning to set off some pressure cooker bombs outside the legislature in British Columbia this past Monday.  That's the Canada Day holiday.
The bombs were packed with nails, nuts and bolts similar to those used by the Boston Marathon bombers.
Police say the suspects were inspired by al-Qaeda but created the plot on their own, with no signs of any foreign involvement.
Senegalese have formally charged former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré with war crimes, torture and crimes against humanity.
Habré is accused of overseeing more than 40,000 political killings, systematic torture and human rights violations.
He ruled Chad from 1982 until a 1990 military coup.
Fugitive former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden is applying for asylum in at least 20 countries, and he has dropped his bid for permanent refuge in Russia.
Jessica Golloher has more.
WikiLeaks' legal adviser Sarah Harrison submitted the asylum requests for Edward Snowden by delivering the documents to an official at the Russian consulate at Moscow's Sheremetevo Airport, where Snowden has been holed up for more than a week, in a sort of diplomatic purgatory.
Snowden has been on the run since last month after releasing secret NSA documents that detailed U.S. surveillance of domestic and international telephone and Internet use.
Among the countries where Snowden is seeking asylum are Poland, Germany, Iceland, Austria and Ecuador.  But European leaders say that Snowden most likely would have to be on a country's soil in order to be granted asylum.
Jessica Golloher for VOA news, Moscow.
North Korea told an Asia-Pacific security forum that it will not give up its nuclear weapons program until the United States drops what it calls "hostile" policies and agrees to hold direct talks without preconditions.
Washington had no immediate response to the North Korean demands.  Previously, it said Pyongyang must demonstrate a willingness to abandon nuclear weapons before any direct talks take place.
A strong earthquake struck Indonesia Ache province on the northern tip of Sumatra Island, killing at least six people and injuring dozens of others.  It registered 6.1 magnitude.
Two debt-ridden European countries--Portugal and Greece--are facing new challenges on the austerity programs they agreed to in order to secure international bailouts and avoid bankruptcy.
In Lisbon, the government was near collapse after two key officials resigned in protest of its cost-cutting measures.
Meanwhile, Greece's international creditors are putting new pressure on Athens to meet its pledges to cut government spending before handing over more bailout money.
I'm Ray Kouguell, VOA news.  Details on these and other stories on our website on the Internet at voanews.com.