Leaders from Morocco to Gabon will cheer on the inauguration of Mali’s new president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Thursday in a show of African unity as Mali enters a new era of democracy after months of political chaos.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urged Egypt’s interim authorities to “advance the political roadmap” in a phone call with the country’s army chief on Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesman said.

Director of the media division at Egypt’s Interior Ministry, Brig. Gen. Ayman Helmy, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that 121 police officers were killed, and 1,082 injured, as part of operations to restore stability across the country following the nation-wide Muslim Brotherhood protests in response to former president Mohamed Mursi’s ouster. He added that …