All major world media outlets are covering the recent events in Egypt following the ousting of President Morsi.
"Egypt Death Toll Passes 500 as Rally Looms" is an article published by the Wall Street Journal, and "Protesters storm building in Cairo, Egypt death reaches 525" is a headline from Reuters. "Cairo: Egyptian PM defends crackdown as death toll rises" is an article published by The Guardian today.
"Egypt's interim government and its backers remain defiant amid a rising death toll and widespread international condemnation of Wednesday's massacre of Islamist supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi – the country's third mass killing in six weeks," the article reads.
"The prime minister, Hazem Beblawi, said the crackdown was essential to create stability, and praised security forces for what he characterised as maximum restraint – despite Egypt's health ministry on Thursday saying 525 had died in the violence that ensued when pro-Morsi camps on either side of Cairo were cleared," the author reports.
"Egypt cannot move forward, especially economically, in the absence of security," the article quotes Beblawi, who in 2011 resigned from a previous government after a massacre of Coptic Christians.
The interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said the protesters had "threatened national security, incited violence and tortured and killed people". Protesters at both camps had been largely peaceful.
"The first night of a dusk-till-dawn curfew – enacted under Mubarak-era laws – achieved mixed results. The usually bustling streets of central Cairo were largely empty on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Military roadblocks restricted access between parts of the city," the article states.
"On Wednesday, several Christian churches were reported to have been attacked. Christians, who make up 10% of Egypt's population, are blamed by some Islamists for Morsi's downfall," the author writes.
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, condemned the violence and urged an effort at "inclusive reconciliation". France and Germany also called for dialogue.
