amendment
s to the constitution and setting the ground for presidential and parliamentary elections later this year. Millions of people
turned out
to vote on Saturday. Jonathon Head reports from Cairo.
According to the official count, a clear majority of nearly 80% of voters approved of the nine amendments to the constitution. That opens the way for the military to hand over power to a new civilian government in a matter of months. Parliamentary elections are now expected to take place no later than September, with the presidential election some time after that. The result will be welcomed by the millions of Egyptians who want life to return to normal as soon as possible. But it will disappoint many of the leaders of the January uprising, who've argued that the constitutional changes are not democratic enough and that the election timetable does not give new parties time to prepare themselves.
Iran has expelled a diplomat from Bahrain
in reprisal for
the Gulf state’s expulsion of the Iranian chargé d'affaires earlier today. Tension has risen between the two countries over the killing of anti-government demonstrations in Bahrain’s capital Manama. Iran with its Shiia majority had withdrawn its ambassador in protest of the deaths. It’s also condemned Bahrain’s Sunni rulers for inviting troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to help control the protesters who are mostly from Bahrain’s Shiia majority. Last week, Bahrain recalled its ambassador in Tehran in protest of what it called Iran’s