In a televised statement on Wednesday by Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, he announced that the constitution would be suspended, and early elections would take place.

The general, who had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Mr. Morsi on Monday to respond to resolve the political crisis in the country said the president’s defiant response in a televised address on Tuesday had failed “to meet the demands of the masses of the people.” And calls by the armed forces for reconciliation.

The general’s announcement came after the armed forces had deployed tanks and troops in Cairo and other cities where pro-Mursi crowds were massing, according to Al Ahram English news website.

Mursi will be replaced by the chief justice of constitutional court, Adly Mansour. He will be sworn in on Thursday.

Shortly before the army’s announcement Mursi remained defiant that his presidency was still valid and refuseed to bow down to what he called an illegal coup.

Ahmed al-Tayeb, Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Cairo’s ancient seat of Muslim learning, and Pope Tawadros, the head of the Coptic Church, both backed the army’s decision and made brief statements following the announcement, Al Jazeera reported.

“Yemen is in the heart of its transition,” Special Adviser Jamal Benomar told the 15-member Council, presenting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report. “In a country awash with arms and a history of conflict, such an inclusive process of dialogue is a great achievement.”

The second round of the UN-backed National Dialogue Conference includes 565 delegates representing a cross-section of Yemeni society.

Just back from the capital, Sana’a, Mr. Benomar said “the ‘dialogue’ is extending well beyond the Conference” with men and women engaged in discussions and debates about the problems of their country and its possible future in seminars, roundtables and open tents in town squares.

“As President [Abdrabuh Mansour] Hadi has remarked, we are engaged in more than a political transition; we are witnessing a transformation of the political culture,” Mr. Benomar noted.

The ongoing conference will feed into a constitution-making process and pave the way for general elections in 2014. Preparations for the electoral process are underway, including steps to create a new biometric voter registry, with registration due to begin in September.

The UN has been providing support in Yemen’s transition in four key areas: political facilitation; technical support; capacity-building; and a public information and awareness campaign.

“We understand that there are no guarantees of what lies ahead,” Mr. Benomar told the Council. “It is an undertaking of great hope in a fragile environment, where a range of perspectives and diverse interested are seeking to realize a new and better order.”

He noted that to develop a new constitution, the National Dialogue will need to find a consensual settlement to the ‘Southern question’ linked to southern separatists.

“In the South, the streets are heating up,” Mr. Benomar said, adding that “pent-up resentment at more than two decades of unaddressed grievances and systematic marginalization.”

Since February, there was been a “significant increase” in the frequency and number of demonstrators, some resulting in injuries and deaths.

Two Commissions have been established to address the unlawful or illegitimate seizure of property and unjust dismissal from military and civil service, but without additional resources for the Commissions and further confidence-building measures by the Government or tangible improvements in people’s daily lives, “the voices of discontent will amplify, narrowing the space for dialogue,” he said.

The Special Advisor reiterated to the Council that the only peaceful route to progress is through open dialogue and, importantly, addressing the legacy of the past. He urged Yemeni authorities to establish a Commission of Inquiry into the events of 2011 and to adopt a law on transitional justice.

He also noted the steps taken by President Hadi to restructure the country’s armed forces, a move welcomed in April by Mr. Ban and the Security Council, but stressed that “much more remains to be done to ensure the professionalization” of the forces.

Highlighting other challenges to the country, Mr. Benomar noted that despite all efforts to counter it, Al Qaida remains a lethal threat in the Arabian Peninsula.

In addition, the UN official made reference to “those who wish to undermine the transition,” citing sabotage attacks on the country’s energy exports and its electricity lines, costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Those responsible for these crimes must be brought to account,” Mr. Benomar stressed.

He also cited a partisan war through “misinformation, fabrication and incitement” of the media for political means, and an increase in the assassination of mid and high level security officials and the apparent amassing of weapons among political factions.

“Arms smuggling into Yemen continues,” he said, noting that several shipments have recently been seized.

Also, the humanitarian crisis in the country “continues unabated,” with more than half of the population in need of humanitarian assistance to access food, healthcare, safe water and sanitation, and more than one million children suffering from acute malnutrition, Mr. Benomar said.

Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that more than 90 per cent of the internally displaced people from Abyan, southern Yemen, have returned home.

The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) dropped from 68,533 last December to 6,133 in April, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists in Geneva.

“The fighting was subsiding, the overall situation looked better and there was an ongoing political process,” Mr. Laerke said.

He added that the resumption of some basic services and reopening of markets had encouraged some people to return, but shelter and agricultural livelihoods remain a concern. As some 80 per cent of the population in the south were farmers, it was critical to assist them in restarting their production.

In addition, the prospects for Yemenis in the north to return to their homes “remains distant,” Mr. Benomar said.

The international humanitarian community has sought $716 million for the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan to provide emergency and early recovery assistance to 7.7 million of the country’s most vulnerable. However, the plan is so far only 31 per cent funded. The early recovery sector was only 8.3 per cent funded of the $31.5 million needed.

In May, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, had said the country was that a crossroads that could either lead to increased stability or plunge the country back into conflict.

“There will be no political transition if we don’t deal with the humanitarian situation,” Mr. Ahmed told a news conference in Geneva.

Apparently though, as George Orwell had once stated, the fact that statistical figures might be looking good (or improving, at least) does not guarantee happy citizens. On the contrary, Greeks are destitute.

To be quite honest, I am surprised by the fact that our society is still in one piece. I fear the day though, when it finally cracks. I sincerely doubt the current calm before the storm will be prolonged.

I have been using public transport for the last month and as always have kept my eyes and ears open. One tends to pick up the national mood when in a bus or the tube. Everyone is moody, bad-tempered and hopeless. Frustration is all over the place. The only topic on the agenda is ‘we’re finished’.

Historically, revolution takes place when people lose all hope. We’ve reached this point. No politician can offer the people hope anymore and besides that, the latest images from last week’s parliamentary debate and voting on whether a number of politicians should face justice on a number of wrongdoings have confirmed the fear that we are governed by irresponsible and corrupt political parties.

I say we look to other social powers to face the crisis. I believe that it is definitely a time for social revolution. It is a time for changing guard and starting all over again. A time for people from all walks of life to re-establish a democracy that cares for every citizen, a just society that provides for everyone and in which public goods and services are accessible to all.

As Einstein once remarked, doing the same thing every day and expecting a different result is a clear indication of schizophrenia! And unfortunately, that’s what Greek society has been doing the last few years.

As a nation we have many rivers to cross, but as our history shows, we always get there.

“On Saturday, you will exercise a right that you have been denied for more than four decades, the right to vote, the right to elect a new National Congress – this is a milestone in Libya’s long march toward democracy,” Ban said in a video message. “The United Nations is proud to have assisted in the birth of an independent Libya. We will stand by you as you build a fully free and democratic state,” he added.

Some 2.7 million people in the North African nation have registered to vote for members of the new National Congress, which will be tasked with drafting a new constitution for Libya. More than 3,000 candidates are competing for office, including more than 600 women.

The polls, which were originally slated to be held in late June, will be the first free elections in decades in Libya, where Muammar al-Qadhafi ruled for more than 40 years until a pro-democracy uprising last year – similar to the protests in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa – led to civil war and the end of his regime.

“This is, truly, a moment for national celebration. We all know the road to democracy is long and hard. We share your aspiration for a peaceful and prosperous Libya founded on the principles of justice, human rights, inclusiveness and accountability,” Ban said.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ian Martin, has previously described the impending polls as “an important step in Libya’s road to recovery and democracy,” and as being one part of a process that requires addressing key issues in the country’s transition such as ensuring public security, promoting human rights, tackling arms proliferation and ensuring border security.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International warned that the country risks repeating the very violations that led to the “17 February revolution” unless the winners of elections make the establishment of the rule of law and respect for human rights their top priority.

In a report titled Libya: rule of law or rule of militias? the organization says that nearly a year after Tripoli fell to the revolutionary fighters ( thuwwar ), ongoing violations – including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture including to death, impunity for unlawful killings and forcible displacement – are casting a shadow over the country’s first national elections since the fall of al-Gaddafi’s regime.

During a visit to Libya in May and June, Amnesty International found that hundreds of armed militias continue to act above the law, many refusing to disarm or join the national army or police force. The Ministry of Interior told the organization that it has been able to dismantle four militias in Tripoli, a tiny proportion of the total number.

“It is deeply depressing that after so many months, the authorities have failed so comprehensively to break the stranglehold of the militias on Libyan security, with dramatic consequences for the people that bear the brunt of their actions,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.

“Calls for an end to repression and injustice were what led to the ‘17 February revolution’ in the first place. Without immediate action to stop abuses and lawlessness, there is a very real danger Libya could end up reproducing and entrenching the same patterns of violations we have seen over the past four decades”.