Worldinbrief

EGYPT’S MORSI FACES DEATH PENALTY IN SPY, JAILBREAK TRIALS

Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi, already jailed for 20 years for inciting violence against protesters, faces the death penalty Saturday for espionage and jailbreak nearly two years after his overthrow. The country’s first freely elected president was ousted by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al- Sisi in July 2013 following mass street protests demanding the Islamist’s resignation after just a year in power.

PANAMA GRIPPED BY MILLIONAIRE EX-PRESIDENT’S GRAFT SCANDAL

When he ran for office, Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli promised graft- weary voters he would never steal a cent: Why would he need to, since he was already a millionaire?, he asked. Six years later, he is at the eye of a swirling scandal that has taken down several close allies, including two former ministers jailed for stealing public money. The mounting accusations of massive corruption during his presidency ( 20092014) are now closing in on Martinelli, a white- haired supermarket magnate who is already under investigation for skimming money off the top of a school lunch contract.

LUXEMBOURG PM FIRST GAY EU LEADER TO MARRY

LUXEMBOURG: Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel married his gay partner on Friday, becoming the first European Union leader to enter into a same- sex union in a symbol of growing social change across the continent. Bettel, 42, a center- right politician who became premier in 2013, tied the knot with Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian architect, just months after the conservative Roman Catholic duchy legalized gay weddings.

SOUTH SUDAN REBELS IN MAJOR ASSAULT ON MALAKAL

Rebels in South Sudan have launched a large- scale attack on the strategic northern oil hub and state capital of Malakal, an official and aid sources said Saturday. “The rebels of Riek Machar have attacked Malakal from all directions, from east, west, north and south, and the fighting up to now is continuing,” Information Minister Michael Makuei told AFP.

US ISSUES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR BURUNDI

The United States issued a travel warning Thursday for strifetorn Burundi, telling its citizens not to go there and urging those in the country to get out as soon as possible. Burundi’s government survived a coup attempt this week that saw fierce fighting between rival army factions. It was the culmination of weeks of violent street protests against the president’s bid to seek a third term in the poor east African country.