STORY: A military helicopter dropped Egyptian flags on throngs of jubilant protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday (July 3) not long after the army announced it had toppled elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.

Egypt's armed forces announced a political transition with the support of a wide range of political, religious and youth leaders.

After a day of drama in which tanks and troops deployed near the presidential palace as a military deadline for Mursi to yield to mass protests passed, the top army commander announced on television that the president had "failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people".