The Malian government has lifted the state of emergency, imposed on the country in January, ahead of presidential elections.

As part of a peace deal with Tuareg rebels, Malian troops re-entered the town of Kidal, clearing the way for the elections.

The elections at the end of the month will be the first since an army coup in 2012, which saw Tuareg rebels ally with Islamist groups to capture the north of the country.

The rebels later left the alliance and supported French efforts to recapture the north.

Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia have said that they could offer US whistleblower Edward Snowden asylum.
Snowden had sent asylum applications to 21 countries, most of which rejected him.

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro said he had decided to give him asylum.

South Sudan has accused Sudan of carrying out attacks in the disputed border areas involving two attacks with planes and land forces, reports Reuters.

South Sudan's army spokesperson, Philip Aguer, asserted that two Sudanese MiG warplanes bombed military positions in the Jau area on Wednesday, and that Sudanese infantry troops had attempted to seize land just north of the upper Nile state.

Aguer said:

Clashes between supporters and opponents of the ousted President Morsi have killed twelve in Alexandria and three in Cairo reports the BBC. The violence was sparked by the killing of three pro-Morsi demonstrators by security forces in another part of Cairo. Although calm has been restored militarily in Cairo, official figures state that 26 have died in violence across the nation with hundreds more injured.

Mali’s army has re-entered the rebel-held town of Kidal as part of efforts to improve security before the presidential election, officials have said.

Tuareg rebels captured Kidal after a French-led offensive forced militant Islamists out in February.

A leaked UN report by a group of UN experts has said that Rwanda is only providing limited support to Congo’s M23 rebels and Uganda has completely ceased all support.

The report, leaked by Inner City Press, details findings of the UN group from its trips in early 2013.

Egypt's army has said it will protect the populations right to peaceful protest, as the deposed president's followers are planning marches, supporting Mohammed Morsi.

The Bolivian President Evo Morales, has threatened to close the United States embassy after his official plane was banned from European, reports the BBC.

The Bolivian president blamed Washington for pressurising European countries into refusing him passage.

A senior Burmese military official has been blacklisted by the US, who accuse him of making arms deal with North Korea, in breach of sanctions.

The US Treasury claimed Lieutenant-General Thein Htay purchased military equipment from North Korea, defying several UN resolutions.

In a statement, the treasury said Burma’s government was not going to be targeted.

The chief of the armed forces in Egypt, General Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, announced the suspension of the current constitution in what the current presidency called a full military coup.

The elected president, Mohammed Morsi, was removed from office in the evening with  the arrest of the head of the Muslim Brotherhood party happening simultaneously.