The Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Egypt's top Islamic institution, has begun inviting different political forces to talks on ending the country's political crisis.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyib hopes to oversee a national reconciliation meeting. Over the past three days, numbers have swelled at two protest camps where people are demanding the reinstatement of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The military-backed interim government has said police will clear the sites, raising fears of further bloodshed. More than 250 people, most of them Morsi supporters, have been killed in clashes since the military deposed Egypt's first democratically elected leader on 3 July following mass protests demanding his resignation. Source BBC.