begun in egypt referendum on draft constitution amendments they potentially allow president bill fattah el-sisi to stay in office until two thousand and thirty the amendments would also boost the rule of the military and expand the presidential president's power which dishes appointments results are expected on saturday. the main candidates in sprains general election clashed over how to handle catalonia is independence drive accusing each other of lying in a tense t.v. debate that left questions open on what coalition deals might be struck spain's parliamentary election on sunday is one of the most divisive since the country return to democracy in the nineteen seventies meanwhile supreme court has rejected the final appeal of two reuters journalists serving a prison sentence because of their reporting on the country's crackdown on muslims . have spent more than sixteen months in detention they were arrested during an investigation into the killing of ten muslim men during a military crackdown in the western part of man ma a district court sentenced the two journalists to seven years in prison

very much day two of voting in egypt's controversial referendum which could extend president bill fattah el-sisi term until twenty thirty the poll is happening over three days but human rights groups say the referendum won't be free or fair voters are also deciding on whether to allow the president to appoint top judges and to expand the role of the military security has been increased across egypt joining us today again omar sure he joins us here in doha he's the director of the security studies program and the doha institute for graduate studies omar sure is there one sense perhaps that this is a good thing inus much as it bucks the trend of what's going on across so much of north africa as we speak. there's so much pessimism in the whole region i don't think this adds to the optimism in any way i think the it's more of a facade. the system and the status quo is built on bullets not ballots what you will see now is more or less effort on them out of the twenty eight and on them that egypt's had in the modern history since the day in a public all of them ended with all of them or the only two o