1 DEMOCRACY? Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said he will limit his absolute powers to “sovereign matters” to try to prevent a crisis. Egyptians have returned to Tahrir Square and today they are staging a massive rally. The protestors are demanding the president, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, revoke his decrees that would expand his powers and protect him from judicial review. But Egyptians are not buying what he is selling.
2 GRAVEDIGGING Yassar Arafat’s body was exhumed this morning. Eight years after his death in France, a team of experts will test the Palestinian leader’s body to determine if he was poisoned. Swiss experts found a radioactive chemical on his clothing earlier this year.
3 NOT SO SAFE The federal government had a major scare last night. Calgary Centre is a stronghold for the Conservative Party, but last night the seat was threatened in the federal by-election. Joan Crockatt, a Calgary media personality, won with just 4.2 percentage points ahead of her Liberal competitor. Some are blaming Liberal and Green Party vote-spliting for the narrow Conservative win.
4 SEXY AND HE KNOWS IT? The online version of China’s Communist Party newspaper apparently does not know that The Onion is a satirical news organization. A spoof report that crowned North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un the “Sexiest Man Alive” was re-published on the People’s Daily website with a lengthy photo essay. Oops!
5 PROVINCIAL APPEAL Today the provincial government is scheduled to appeal a court decision that prevented essential services legislation from passing. Public sector unions have said Bill 5 gives too much power to employers to determine who is an essential worker and who can strike.
6 TOOTH AND NAIL Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is calling his oust from office a left-wing conspiracy. It is always everyone’s fault but our own.
