Egypt's army secures state TV building

The Egyptian military is currently securing the state TV building, yet it does not interfere with the work of the newsroom, deputy chairman of state TV news sector told Xinhua Wednesday. "All the news presenters and editors work normally in their regular shifts," Hassan Thabet said, denying reports that the TV building had been evacuated. Meanwhile, an official source at the state TV headquarters told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the army usually secures the state TV building under such circumstances, "but this time the armed forces intensified deployment, especially after June 30 anti- president protests." There is military presence at different departments and studios of the TV building, yet the army did not put restrictions on the material broadcast on the official news channel, the source stressed. Islamist-oriented President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt is facing waves of protests across the country demanding his ouster and an early presidential election, while his supporters hold similar rallies "to defend his legitimacy." Presidential adviser Ayman Ali said earlier Wednesday that Morsi "would rather die standing like a tree" than being blamed by history and future generations for giving up democracy. Morsi has repeatedly said he would "sacrifice his own life" for the sake of legitimacy, disregarding the 48-hour ultimatum given by the army to resolve the ongoing crisis, which expired Wednesday afternoon.