Prospect's Tuesday morning news roundup

The Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi has rejected an ultimatum from the country's powerful military commanding him to step down or else face the threat of their intervention. The 48-hour ultimatum was presented to the Islamist president yesterday, with warnings that he must heed “the will of the people”.

This comes after protests against the president's rule swept the country beginning on Sunday, with millions taking to the streets.

Elsewhere, Russian president Vladimir Putin has responded to a request for political asylum from Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor, by stating that Mr Snowden is welcome to stay in Russia on the condition that "he must stop his work aimed at bringing harm to our American partners."

According to the whistle-blowing site Wikileaks, Snowden has also requested political asylum in 20 other countries, including Norway, Germany, France and Ireland.

Business confidence in the UK is at its highest level in six years, according to a survey from the British Chambers of Commerce. The business group's quarterly survey said UK export sales had grown by their fastet rate since the survey began in 1989. The BCC now expects GDP to grow by 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has insisted that progress is being made in his aim to restart peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. His assurances came as he left Israel on Friday, having failed to secure the face-to-face summit between the two sides he had been hoping to achieve. He told reporters: "We have made real progress on this trip and I believe that with a little more work, the start of final-status negotiations could be within reach."

Closer to home, lawmakers in the Welsh Assembly are today voting over a proposal which would presume consent on the part of Welsh people to donate their organs for transplant after they have. It is hoped that this change in the law will lead to 15 extra donors leaving around 45 more organs for transplant each year.