Egypt's protest movement has given the president an ultimatum to step down by Tuesday or face a mass rebellion. Some 20 million outraged citizens have flooded cities across the nation in a show of frustration at Mohamed Morsi's failure to keep the promises he made when he came to power a year ago. At least 7 people have been killed and more than 600 injured during the rallies so far. RT's Bel Trew reports from Cairo. Millions have taken to the streets across Egypt to demand the resignation of President Morsi on the first anniversary of his inauguration. But Morsi loyalists are staging counter-demonstrations, saying they will defend the leader with all means available. 15:43 GMT: Egypt's armed forces would suspend the constitution and dissolve the Islamist-dominated parliament under a draft political roadmap to be pursued if Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and the liberal opposition fail to agree by Wednesday, military sources told Reuters. 13:23 GMT: Canada has closed its embassy in Cairo, saying it is "deeply concerned" about violence across Egypt. 13:03 GMT: Mohamed Morsi has met with the head of the armed forces for the second day, along with the prime minister, Morsi's office said in a statement. No details of the talks were given. 12:59 GMT: Egyptian troops are preparing to deploy on the streets of Cairo and other cities if necessary to prevent clashes between rival political factions, military sources told Reuters. 12:32 GMT: Human Rights Watch has stressed the "need for accountability and for the authorities to take all reasonable steps to protect the right to life." "With the prospect of more protests ahead, the potential for street battles and further violence is high," the organization wrote in a statement. 12:08 GMT: Egypt's justice minister Ahmed Suleiman contradicted an al-Arabiya television report that the government had resigned, Reuters reported. Six ministers who are not members of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood submitted their resignations on Monday, according to the official MENA news agency. 11:05 GMT: The Prime Minister has not handed in his resignation, as the Egypt Independent just corrected their translation of the AMAY story. Premier Qandil is to submit the resignations of his ministers to the president. 11:00 GMT: Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Egypt for the third day in a row to stage anti-government rallies. 10:54 GMT: Presidential spokespersons Omar Amer, Ehab Fahmy have resigned. 10:43 GMT: UN human rights office has urged the presidency of Mohammed Morsi to listen to the demands of the Egyptians, and start a "serious national dialogue" to get out of the crisis. 06:37 GMT: US President Barack Obama has urged his Egyptian counterpart to address the issues raised by the demonstrators in the mass protests that erupted over the weekend. "President Obama encouraged President Morsi to take steps to show that he is responsive to their concerns, and underscored that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process," the White House said in a statement on Tuesday. It added that the Obama Administration does not support any one party in Egypt, but is committed to the "democratic process." 05:54 GMT: Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi has rejected the army ultimatum to resolve the crisis in 48 hours. The military insisted that otherwise they will introduce a roadmap for the country's future, stressing that the national security was at risk. 01:40 GMT: Minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs Hatem Begato along with minister of communications Atef Helmy, minister of environment Khaled Fahmy, water minister Abdel Qawy Khalifa and tourism minister Hesham Zazou all resigned on Monday according to state news agency MENA. In that joint action, the five government members announced their intention to abandon Morsi's cabinet and join protests demanding the president's ouster and early elections. They were later followed by foreign minister Kamel Amr. In addition to the ministerial resignations five secular Shura Council MPs had also tendered official resignations on Monday, only a few days earlier fifteen other MPs had submitted their resignations in protest to President Morsi's speech on Wednesday, which the opposition has said offered no solutions for the current political polarization still rocking Egypt's government. 23:50 GMT: AlHayat TV has reported that Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mourad Ali has rejected the 48-hour deadline imposed by Egypt's army, during which time Morsi's government is intended to reconcile with protesters and end widescale public unrest. Ali said that the Army has no rights to set ultimatums for the country's government.

• published: 02 Jul 2013
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