CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi canceled a decree which had sparked huge protests by giving him sweeping powers.
But Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood said a referendum on a new constitution would go ahead as planned on December 15 - suggesting the climbdown by Mursi may not be enough to satisfy the opposition.
(Writing by Edmund Blair)
HONG KONG: The world's top racehorse Cirrus des Aigles has withdrawn injured from Sunday's Hong Kong International Races in a major blow to the competition, one of the richest meetings on the global calendar.
The French gelding was set to headline a stellar line-up for the 2,000-metre Hong Kong Cup and was seeking to make it fourth time lucky at the meet, where he has failed to scoop a prize in his last three appearances.
But it seems that he was unable to shake off his Hong Kong curse after sustaining what Jockey Club vets described as a "soft tissue injury" in his left front tendon, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
He has now been scratched from Sunday's race card so that his injury can be treated.
"It is a relatively mild injury but it would be very unwise to run him in a race," said Dr Chris Riggs, the head of veterinary clinical services at the club, according to the newspaper.
However, executive director of racing Bill Nader remained optimistic that Sunday would still be a great race day.
"Obviously, it's disappointing to lose the world's top-rated horse," he said in the SCMP.
"I think the depth of talent remaining right across our four international races gives us some top-quality compensation," he added.
Cirrus des Aigles became the top-ranked racehorse in training after British champ Frankel retired in October to go to stud.
His withdrawal leaves last year's surprise victor Hong Kong-based California Memory the front-runner for the title, having raced to a late win at the Jockey Club Cup in November on the same Sha Tin course as Sunday's meet.
Other favourites include two more French raiders -- Giofra, who won the Falmouth Stakes against the odds in July, and Saonois who had a surprise win at the Prix du Jockey Club French Derby in June.
This year for the first time one of Queen Elizabeth II's horses will also join the field -- Carlton House came in second to So You Think at the Prince of Wales Stakes at Ascot in June and competes for the Cup in the British monarch's Jubilee year.
The Hong Kong Cup has a prize purse of US$2.8 million and is the world's richest turf race over 2,000m.
It is one of four Group One contests that will take place at Sunday's Longines Hong Kong International Races and offers the largest pot of money. Total prize money at the meeting is US$9.2 million.
The 2,400-metre Hong Kong Vase will see last year's winner Dunaden defending his title after failing to do so at the Melbourne Cup in November.
Britain's Sea Moon looks set to be the French horse's biggest challenger in the US$1.9 million race, having beaten him into second at the Hardwicke Stakes at Ascot.
Also featuring at the meet are the 1,200-metre Hong Kong Sprint and the 1,600-metre Hong Kong Mile, both usually dominated by the home team but with strong international challengers this year.
As well as providing top-flight racing, organisers hope to up the glamour stakes with Oscar-winning British actress Kate Winslet making an appearance in her role as ambassador for Longines, the Swiss watch brand, which is sponsoring the race for the first time.
- AFP/ir
Progress?
Sometimes an invention comes along that makes you excited about the future.
For a long time, it seems that handcuffs have been stuck in the movies of old. They restrain you, but, odd for our interactive world, that's all they seem to do.
Might I tempt you toward futuristic handcuffs that will offer you a small involuntary judder?
I am grateful to Gizmodo for discovering that Patent Bolt has lucked upon a patent that offers bound(less) excitement.
For these are handcuffs that offer surprises. Indeed, they might make the idea of being tased, bro, not quite so bad.
The patent is called "Apparatus and System For Augmented Detainee Restraint."
The augmentations it offers are truly quite something. You see, these handcuffs are "configured to administer electrical shocks when certain predetermined conditions occur."
These shocks might be "activated by internal control systems or by external controllers that transmit activation signals to the restraining device."
This progressive tool is the brainchild of Scottsdale Inventions.
And while you might be shocked or even excited by the idea of handcuffs with electric shock capabilities, might I move you further?
For Patent Bolt points out that this patent also allows for the idea of a substance delivery system. Yes, these handcuffs might also be used to, well, inject the detained with who knows what -- to achieve "any desired result."
Clearly, the desires of the detained and the detainer might differ. Yet, this patent allows for the possibility of the substance being in the form of "a liquid, a gas, a dye, an irritant, a medication, a sedative, a transdermal medication or transdermal enhancers such as dimethyl sulfoxide, a chemical restraint, a paralytic, a medication prescribed to the detainee, and combinations thereof."
Yes, you really did read the word "paralytic."
Naturally, some will be wondering whether, as in fine restaurants, the arresting officer will ask whether the detained has any allergies.
Some might be concerned, though that -- at least theoretically -- this creation might put quite some power into the hands of those who might not always be lucid or learned enough to use that power wisely.
LONDON The British hospital that fell victim to a prank call from two Australian DJs asking questions about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge condemned the hoax on Saturday, as the radio station behind the prank tried to defend itself against rising anger a day after the nurse who took the call was found dead.
The body of Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found early Friday at nurses' housing provided by the London hospital where Prince William's wife, the former Kate Middleton, was being treated for acute morning sickness this week.
Police have made no connection between her death and the prank call, but people from London to Sydney have been making the assumption she died because of the stress.
The DJs have apologized for the hoax and taken the show off the air, but station 2day FM was forced to yank its Facebook page after it received thousands of angry comments and complaints have reportedly flooded into Australia's media regulator.
Rhys Holleran, CEO of 2DayFM's parent company Southern Cross Austereo, said the hosts were shocked and devastated by news of Saldanha's death.
"This is a tragic event that could not have been reasonably foreseen and we're deeply saddened by it," Holleran said during a news conference in Melbourne on Saturday. "I spoke to both presenters early this morning and it's fair to say they're completely shattered."
Greig and Christian have been offered counseling, Holleran said.
"These people aren't machines, they're human beings," he said. "We're all affected by this."
Holleran would not say who came up with the idea for the call, only that "these things are often done collaboratively." He said 2DayFM would work with authorities, but was confident the station hadn't broken any laws.
Australian 2Day FM radio presenters Michael Christian and Mel Greig Dec. 4, 2012, in a grab from footage posted on the Internet as they joke about their successful hoax call to the King Edward VII Hospital in London.
Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital, wrote the chairman of the radio station's owner, saying the consequence of the prank "was the humiliation of two dedicated and caring nurses who were simply doing their job tending to their patients."
"The longer term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words," he wrote in the letter.
A photo of King Edward VII hospital nurse Jacintha Saldanha, who is thought to have committed suicide, released Dec. 8, 2012.
Police released a grainy photo of Saldanha on Saturday. A native of India, she had lived in Bristol in southwestern England with her family for the past nine years, Scotland Yard confirmed.
Police said her death is being treated as "unexplained," though they said they didn't find anything suspicious. A coroner will make a determination on the cause next week.
Flowers were left outside the hospital's nurses' building. Attached to the red, white and blue flowers, a note read: "Dear Jacintha, our thoughts are with you and your family. From all your fellow nurses, we bless your soul. God bless."
Britain's Press Association reported she had a partner, Benedict Barboza, and a teenage son and daughter. In a statement, Saldanha's family said they were "deeply saddened" by the death and asked for privacy.
"She was a lovely, lovely person who always spoke to you when you saw her in the street," neighbor Mary Atwell told the agency. "She fitted in well around here, they all did. They've lived here for at least 10 years and were very quiet and pleasant."
1/2
Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Joshua Price-Brent was arrested on an intoxication manslaughter charge today after a single vehicle roll-over killed his passenger, Jerry Brown Jr., who had been a linebacker on the team's practice squad and his former teammate at the University of Illinois.
Price-Brent, 24, was allegedly speeding "well above" the posted 45 mph speed limit at about 2:21 a.m. when he hit a curb, causing his vehicle to flip at least one time before landing in the middle of a service road, Irving Police Department spokesman John Argumaniz said.
Authorities were alerted to the accident by several 911 callers, Argumaniz said. When police arrived, they found Price-Brent pulling Brown from his 2007 Mercedes, which had caught fire.
Brown, 25, was unresponsive and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Argumaniz said.
It was not known where the men were coming from or where they were going, but Argumaniz said officers suspected alcohol may have been a factor in the crash and asked Price-Brent to perform field sobriety tests.
"Based on the results of the tests, along with the officer's observations and conversations with Price-Brent, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated," Argumaniz said.
This is the second week in a row an NFL player has been accused of being involved in another person's death. Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs killed his girlfriend early Dec. 1, then committed suicide while talking to team officials in the parking lot at Arrowhead Stadium.
Jovan Belcher: Police Release Dash-Cam Videos of NFL Star's Final Hours
Price-Brent was taken to a hospital for a mandatory blood draw where he was treated for minor scrapes, Argumaniz said. He was then booked on an intoxication manslaughter charge after it was learned Brown had died of injuries suffered in the crash.
It is expected that results from the blood draw could take several weeks, the police spokesman said.
Price-Brent is scheduled to be arraigned Sunday at 10 a.m., when bond will be set, police said.
The second-degree felony intoxication manslaughter charge carries a sentence of two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It was not yet known whether Price-Brent had retained an attorney.
The 6-foot-2, 320-pound nose tackle left the University of Illinois as a junior for a career in the NFL. He was picked up by the Cowboys during the 2010 NFL supplemental draft and has played three seasons with the team.
The Cowboys are set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Ohio on Sunday.
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