Syria slams Egyptian leader's speech as interference

Syria condemned on Thursday calls by Egypt's president for change in the country, which is battling a 17-month-old uprising against Bashar al-Assad, saying they amounted to blatant interference in its internal affairs.

The foreign ministry said President Mohamed Morsi's comments to a meeting of Arab ministers in Cairo were a "clear attack on the right of the Syrian people to choose their future by themselves, without foreign interference". (Reuters)