VOA News for 5 July 2013 - 20130705
Channel: ListenAndReadAlong
Date: 05/07/2013

Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text
VOA NEWS  Friday July 5th, 2013
From Washington, this is VOA news.  Coming up, Egypt gets a new interim leader, and America celebrates Independence Day.
The chief justice of Egypt's Supreme Court was sworn in as interim leader one day after the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi and placed him under house arrest.
Adly Mansour took the oath as interim president Thursday, vowing to respect the law and the safety and independence of Egypt and its people.
Prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 300 members of Mr. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, including some of its top leaders.
The Muslim Brotherhood plans a peaceful protest Friday over what it calls the military coup that toppled President Morsi.
France and Tunisia are expressing alarm at the ousting of Mr. Morsi and French President François Hollande is paying a state visit to Tunis on Thursday.  We'll get more now from Lisa Bryant in Paris.
At a joint press conference Thursday in Tunis, French President François Hollande described the unfolding crisis in Egypt as a "failure" for the country's democratic transition, while his Tunisian counterpart Moncef Marzouki expressed regret at the Egyptian army's intervention.
The remarks of the two leaders come after other expressions of concern around the world following the toppling of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi by the Egyptian army.
Both presidents, Hollande and Tunisian President Marzouki, dismissed the idea that Egypt's crisis could spread to Tunisia.
Lisa Bryant for VOA news, Paris.
President Obama is ordering a review of U.S. aid to Egypt.  He says he is deeply concerned about the military's decision and called for a return to democracy as soon as possible in Egypt.
He also urged Egypt's military to ensure the rights of civilians are protected during the transition.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon described the upheaval in Egypt as a volatile situation and called for a return to civilian rule as soon as possible.
And NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says he is gravely concerned about Egypt.  He urged all sides to exercise restraint.
In southern Afghanistan, gunmen have shot dead the most senior female police officer serving in Helmand province.
Lieutenant Islam Bibi was killed Thursday by unknown assailants while on her way to work.
The 37-year-old mother of three was widely seen as an example of how opportunities for women have improved in Afghanistan since the representative Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.
France is rejecting a request for asylum from fugitive former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.  His disclosures about U.S. intelligence gathering have sparked reports that U.S. surveillance programs also were aimed at allies in Europe and the European Union itself.
After complaints by a number of European leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Obama agreed to hold meetings about the surveillance program.
Snowden remains at an airport transit area in Moscow since fleeing Hong Kong last month.
The European Central Bank says it plans to keep record low interest rates for as long as needed to boost the euro currency bloc out of its 18-month-long recession.
Bank policymakers on Thursday talked about cutting the benchmark rate of one half of one percent but left it unchanged.
Zimbabwe's top court says the country's presidential election will go ahead as planned on July 31.
The Southern African Development Community has pressured Zimbabwe to delay the vote amid concerns about funding, organization and intimidation by security forces that favor President Robert Mugabe.
Mr. Mugabe's opponent in the election, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, also pushed for a delay.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela remains in critical but stable condition at the Pretoria hospital where he was admitted last month.
The update on the 94-year-old former leader follows a visit Thursday to the hospital by current President Jacob Zuma.
Mr. Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, spoke about her husband's condition.  "Although Madiba sometimes may be uncomfortable, very few times he is in pain.  But he is fine."  Nelson Mandela's wife.
And across the United States, rural Americans joined those in small towns and large cities on Thursday in celebrating the 237th anniversary of their country's independence.  There were parades, picnics, fireworks, rodeos, sporting events and concerts.
In a July 4th address, President Obama urged Americans to live up to the words of the Declaration of Independence.
For more on that story and the rest of the hour's news, check out our website at voanews.com.  I'm Steve Norman, VOA news.