Egypt army says it is ready to intervene

EGYPT'S army chief has warned that the military is ready to intervene to stop the country from entering a "dark tunnel" of internal conflict.

General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, also the defence minister, spoke on Sunday, a week ahead of mass protests planned by opponents of President Mohamed Morsi.

"The armed forces have the obligation to intervene to stop Egypt from plunging into a dark tunnel of conflict and infighting," el-Sissi said.

Egyptians fear the demonstrations calling for Morsi's ouster will descend into violence after some of the president's hardline supporters vowed to "smash" them.

El-Sissi's comments make clear that the military is willing to intervene on the side of the protesters if attacked by the president's Islamist backers.

He urged all parties to use the week leading up to the June 30 protests to reach a "genuine" understanding to defuse the crisis.

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Saudi govt adopts Friday-Saturday weekend

OIL powerhouse Saudi Arabia is switching its weekend to Friday-Saturday to better serve its economy and "international commitments," the official SPA news agency reports, quoting a royal decree.

Saudi Arabia becomes the last of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council - which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - to abandon the Thursday-Friday weekend to be closer to the world's Saturday-Sunday weekend.

The decision takes effect in ministries and government departments from next week, while it will be implemented by schools and universities from the start of the next academic year.

According to the decree the change was made to better serve "the Saudi economy and its international commitments" and co-ordinate with the working days in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.

It will "reduce the negative repercussions on economic and financial activity in the kingdom and make up for lost economic opportunities," said the decree.

Riyadh's stock exchange, the biggest in the Arab world, is open for five days a week, but until now only three of these coincided with the working week in the world's major financial centres.

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter and a member of the G20 group of the globe's biggest economies.

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Israeli chief rabbi faces fraud probe

ONE of Israel's two chief rabbis has suspended himself over a police probe into an alleged money laundering scheme.

Yona Metzger's lawyers said on Sunday he decided to refrain from carrying out any official roles during the police inquiry.

Metzger was questioned last week over fraud and bribery allegations.

Police raided his home and office following a months-long undercover investigation into his financial dealings.

He denies the allegations.

Metzger is only weeks away from ending his 10-year term as the country's chief rabbi for Israel's Ashkenazi, or European-descended, Jews.

Along with a second chief rabbi from the Sephardic, or Middle Eastern lineage, Metzger has led the country's supreme body for overseeing Jewish services.

In 2005, Metzger was also questioned over fraud allegations but no charges were filed.

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Suicide bombings kill 5 in Syria capital

AT least five people have been killed in two suicide bombing attacks on security compounds in the Syrian capital Damascus, activists and state media say.

The state-run news agency SANA said three suicide bombers blew themselves up while trying to break into the Rukneddine police station, killing five people.

SANA said three would-be suicide bombers also tried to break into the Criminal Security Branch in the Bab Mousalla area but were caught by security forces before they could detonate their explosives.

Activists also say least 5 people were killed in the first attack.

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Snowden has forced tighter security: NSA

COMPUTER technician Edward Snowden's blowing the lid on US surveillance of phone calls and web traffic has forced a tightening of security on system operators like him, the NSA says.

National Security Agency director Keith Alexander said it is overhauling its operations to keep a closer watch on contractors like the fugitive Snowden, who had top security clearance and "stole some of our secrets".

Alexander, interviewed on ABC television, was not asked about Snowden's departure from his first haven Hong Kong for Moscow en route reportedly to a third country.

Alexander described Snowden as an NSA computer system administrator with top secret security clearance who betrayed his country by taking a trove of information from the NSA and fleeing from his base in Hawaii to Hong Kong.

No red flags went up to detect that theft, Alexander said, and the NSA is working to overhaul things to prevent a repeat.

"Clearly, the system did not work as it should have," Alexander said.

"We are now putting in place actions that would give us the ability to track our system administrators, what they doing, what they are taking," the army general said, adding that the NSA is implementing what he called a "two man rule". He did not elaborate.

Also, "we've changed the passwords. But at the end of the day we have to trust that our people are going to do the right thing."

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Three Lebanese troops killed in clash

TWO Lebanese army officers and a soldier have been killed in a clash with supporters of a radical Sunni Muslim sheik opposed to Hezbollah, an army statement says.

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China 'concerned' at US cyber attacks

Accused speeder was not awake - mum

THE mum of a motorcyclist charged with racing at 273km/h says her son could not be responsible ... because he doesn't get out of bed before noon.

Police failed serial rapist's victims

POLICE refused to take statements from four victims of a serial rapist who was later jailed for 10 years after abusing 20 women, a report has found.

US whistleblower heads to Moscow

THE US spy wanted by Washington, Edward Snowden, did not emerge with other passengers landing in Moscow on a flight from Hong Kong.

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