Continuing unrest in Cairo

Egypt's acting president and head of its supreme constitutional court, Adly Mansour, issued a decree on 8 July providing an election timetable in a bid to halt the continuing civil unrest between Egyptians since the former president Mohammed Morsi was deposed by the army on 3 July.

Mansour's decree involves establishing a panel to review and amend the suspended Islamist-drafted constitution within 15 days. The panel's proposed changes would then be put to a referendum within four months, in preparation for parliamentary elections in early 2014. Then, once the new parliament convenes, presidential elections would be called.

However the contents of the decree have been rejected by the main liberal opposition coalition the National Salvation Front (NSF) which was led by prominent opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei until his appointment as Egypt's deputy president on 9 July. The NSF claims it was not consulted on the decree which was also rejected by the Muslim Brotherhood whose members are calling for the immediate reinstatement of the democratically-elected Morsi, as well as the Tamarod (Rebel) movement, the protest group behind much of the protests that led to Morsi's downfall.

On 9 July at least 51 people – mostly pro-Morsi supporters – were killed outside the Cairo barracks in which he is believed to be held. On the same day the country's new prime minister was named as Hazem el-Beblawi, a finance minister in the military-backed interim government that followed the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Beblawi is known as a liberal economist and supports a free market system in Egypt. As the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan begins and clashes between the pro- and anti-Morsi factions continue, the army has pledged to guarantee the "smooth and safe implementation of the political roadmap".

An arrest warrent was issued on 10 July for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, accused of being responsible for inciting the violence in which 51 people died in Cairo the previous day. Badie has said that protests will continue until Morsi is reinstated.