Egypt to reconvene parliament
Egypt’s new president yesterday ordered a parliament dominated by his Islamist party to reconvene, challenging the authority of the generals who had dissolved the assembly in line with a court order. President Mohammed Mursi’s decree appeared to catch off guard the generals who handed power to him on 30 June. State media said the army’s supreme council held an emergency meeting and a council member, declining to be named said the generals were not given prior warning. Before the handover, the army put some curbs on the presidency and gave itself legislative powers. Mursi’s decision hands those powers back to a parliament that was led by his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood.