Tanks roll in Cairo; five killed in protests

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- At least 12 tanks were deployed outside the presidential palace in Egypt on Thursday as protests against President Mohamed Morsi's regime grew more violent, with five people killed and 450 wounded, according to reports. Islamists and seculor protesters fought with firebombs, rocks and fists in what's being described as the first major outbreak in the two years since the revolt against ousted leader Hosni Mubarak. The protests came as three senior Morsi advisors stepped down on Wednesday. The government also guarded the headquarters of state television, according to a report in The New York Times.

Former US Amb. doubts Syria's use of chemical weapons; says Assad will lose civil war

Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Harvard Professor Nicholas Burns says that there will be “negative repercussions” if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons against his people and that he will lose the civil war.

Burns says, “The Syrian government would have to think long and hard before using those weapons. There’ll be all sorts of negative repercussions from them including the threat of military intervention. And I do think the Russian government will not want to see Syria use chemical weapons or let them out to the control of rebel forces.”
When O’Brien asks if Assad is desperate enough to use weapons on his own people, Burns answers, "It’s really impossible to tell. The Syrian government spokespeople have been saying over the last couple of days under no circumstances will they use them, except for foreign military intervention. But, Assad is desperate. His back is against the wall. He is going to lose in this civil war. The rebels have made extraordinary advances over the last couple of days. So he’s got to be thinking about either exile or perhaps creating an enclave within Syria where his Alawite clan can defend themselves perhaps along the Mediterranean coast.”

South Africa Military Plane Crash Kills All on Board

A South African military plane has crashed in the eastern part of the country, killing all 11 people on board.

The South African Defense Ministry says the plane went down in the Drakensberg mountains after taking off late Wednesday from Pretoria.

The plane was carrying six crew members and five passengers en route to Mthatha, and encountered bad weather before the crash.