Egypt journalist dies of wounds from clashes

An Egyptian journalist who was hit in the head by a rubber bullet while covering bloody clashes in Cairo last week has died in hospital from his injuries, the state MENA news agency reported on Wednesday. El-Husseini Abu Deif, a reporter for the Al-Fajr independent news weekly, had been in a coma with a fractured skull and severe brain injury, it said. He was shot at close range by an unidentified gunman during clashes that erupted between supporters and opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi outside the presidential palace on December 5. His death took the toll from that night to eight. More than 640 people were also hurt in the violence, which saw rival mobs attack each other with petrol bombs and metal bars. A few were armed with handguns.