Egypt's first democratic govt goes; No country for Snowden?; Why Asian internet cos aren't global; Merkel warns on youth joblessness

1 Egypt’s first democratic govt goes (Hamza Henadawi, Maggie Michael & Sarah El Deeb in San Francisco Chronicle) Egypt's first democratically elected president was overthrown by the military Wednesday, ousted after just one year in office by the same kind of Arab Spring uprising that brought the Islamist leader to power. The armed forces announced they would install a temporary civilian government to replace Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who denounced the action as a "full coup" by the generals. They also suspended the Islamist-drafted constitution and called for new elections.

The ouster of Morsi throws Egypt on an uncertain course, with a danger of further confrontation. It came after four days of mass demonstrations even larger than those of the 2011 Arab Spring that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Egyptians were angered that Morsi was giving too much power to his Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists and had failed to tackle the country's mounting economic woes. Beyond the fears over violence, some protesters are concerned whether an army-installed administration can lead to real democracy.

2 No country for Snowden? (Khaleej Times) Just a few days back, American President Barack Obama said that he would not engage in “wheeling and dealing and trading” with leaders to coax them into extraditing Edward Snowden. But it seems like there might actually be a great deal of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing going on vis-à-vis Snowden. A Mowcow-Bolivia plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales was denied flight over Portugal and France’s airspace amid suspicions that Snowden might be on that flight.

The plane had to be diverted to Austria, where subsequently the Austrian authorities confirmed that Snowden wasn’t on the plane. The incident has shown that at the moment, America’s most wanted man is not a dangerous terrorist, but a CIA technical worker ‘armed’ with secrets about the US government. With each passing day, Snowden is feeling even more trapped in Moscow’s transit area, as his asylum requests are being rejected by one country after another. Nine countries have rejected Snowden’s request. Snowden withdrew his asylum application made to Russia, after Putin said that he would consider the whistleblower’s request only if he stopped his anti-American activities.

So where will the leaker of classified information really go? The left-leaning Morales, notorious for his anti-American statements, has recently said that his country will consider giving Snowden asylum if he applies for it. There’s also Venezuela and Cuba, where Snowden can potentially go. But the real conundrum is how Snowden will actually make his escape since his passport has been cancelled. It seems like there’s no country for Snowden, except of course, his own, where his compatriots are desperately waiting to convict him. 

3 Why Asian internet cos aren’t global (Eric Pfanner in The New York Times) Asia is home to nearly half of the 2 billion Internet users in the world. It makes most of the hardware — laptops, smartphones, tablets and other gadgets — that is used to gain access to the Internet. Yet in one aspect of the high-technology economy, Asia still struggles. It has yet to create an Internet company with the global scale of a Google, Facebook or Amazon. A report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, examines some of the possible reasons for this.

In some cases, the study says, Asian Internet companies have simply been held back by a lack of international ambition. In countries like China or India, domestic markets are so big that expanding abroad has not always been seen as a necessity. But that is starting to change. Alibaba, an e-commerce giant in China, has increasingly international ambitions. Another Asian e-commerce company, Rakuten of Japan, has moved to expand abroad through acquisitions of companies like PriceMinister of France.

Yet these are the exceptions. The study says Asian Internet companies have been hobbled by factors like a lack of trusted online payment systems, a reluctance among Internet users to pay for digital content and restrictions on hiring foreign workers. The report also highlights burdensome regulations, including laws in countries like India and Thailand that make Internet companies responsible for the content posted on their sites.

4 Merkel warns on youth joblessness (BBC) Youth unemployment is "perhaps the most pressing European problem", German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said, ahead of an EU meeting on the issue. EU leaders have agreed to put spend 6bn euros ($7.8bn) on the problem, but have not agreed on what measures the money will be spent. Statistics suggest 23% of people under 25 are unemployed in Europe.

The rate is nearer 50% in Spain and Greece - countries that are among the worst affected by the eurozone economic crisis - while in Germany it is just 7.6%. Germany has been among the strongest proponents of austerity reforms set as preconditions for international bailouts of struggling European economies.

Speaking to delegates, Ms Merkel said: "I don't think money is the problem right at the moment. The problem is, how do we want to earn our money in the future, how can we give your people an opportunity."