Egypt Today's world news brief

CAIRO – 23 June 2018: Egypt Today brings you the latest top of the hour news from around the world over the past 24 hours in this round-up.

Thousands join London march to demand Brexit deal referendum

Around 100,000 supporters of the European Union marched through central London on Saturday to demand that the British government hold a final public vote on the terms of Brexit, organizers said. Protesters packed the main arteries of the capital, waving British, Irish and European flags and colorful banners to call for a “People’s Vote” on the eventual deal in which Britain leaves the world’s biggest trading bloc.

EU supporters, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal, walk through Trafalgar Square in the 'People's Vote' march in central London, Britain June 23, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

Explosion rocks Zimbabwe stadium where President Mnangagwa addressed rally

An explosion rocked a stadium in Zimbabwe where President Emmerson Mnangagwa was addressing a rally on Saturday, his spokesman said, adding the head of state was unhurt and taken to safety.

"There has been an incident at Bulawayo (White City Stadium) where the president was addressing a rally. This is now a police issue but the president is safe at Bulawayo State House," spokesman George Charamba told Reuters.

"We are still to get information on what exactly happened as we understand that some people could have been injured as this happened in the VIP tent."

Emmerson Mnangagwa speaks after being sworn in as Zimbabwe's president in Harare, Zimbabwe, Nov. 24, 2017. | Photo: Reuters

Attack on rally in Ethiopian capital kills one person, wounds 132: health minister

One person has been killed and 132 wounded in a grenade attack during a rally in support of newly-elected prime minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's health minister said on Saturday.

"One person has passed away at Black Lion Hospital. I would like to pass my condolences to the family and Ethiopian people," Amir Aman said on Twitter.


Ethiopians react after an explosion during a rally in support of the new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 23, 2018. REUTERS /Stringer

Pope Tawadros visited Lebanon, then the Vatican

Pope Tawadros of Egypt was received by The President of Lebanon Michel Aoun at the presidential resident Baabda Palace to inaugurate a patriarchal residence Friday, a few weeks before the Patriarch’s Vatican visit.

Aoun welcomed Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, heads the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East. Then, they participated in the inauguration of the new Patriarchal Residence.

Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark intends to visit the Vatican in the coming weeks, heading a delegation from the church, to meet his holiness Pope Francis, an official church source from the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral told Egypt Today.


The president of Lebanon Michel Aoun receives heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East/ CC Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate Facebook page

Saudi Arabia refutes World Cup broadcast piracy claims

The Head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, Hafez Abu Seada, stated on Friday that the United States’ withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council is considered an "American scandal" as the withdrawal contradicts the values and principles of the U.S. Constitution.

On Tuesday, the U.S. withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council accusing it of a "chronic bias against Israel,” according to Reuters.

Abu Saeda said to Egypt Today that this is not the first time for the U.S. to withdraw from a national organization. In 2017, the U.S. pulled out of UNESCO, the international scientific and cultural heritage organization, accusing it of being “anti-Israel biased”. This decision of withdrawal implies that the U.S. no longer has the right to discuss or vote in the United Nations Human Rights Council, Abu Saeda added.


The Human Rights Council chamber in Geneva - UN Photo/By Elma Okic