In a dramatic U-turn, Egypt's Islamist President Muhammed Mursi has annulled a controversial decree that had granted him Pharaoh-like powers, even as he rejected opposition demands to delay next week's referendum on a new constitution.
Egyptian President Muhammed Mursi has made it clear to the judiciary that he did not infringe on its authority by assuming sweeping powers, as the opposition planned "million-man" marches to protest the "attack on democracy".
An Egyptian court on Monday overturned President Muhammed Mursi's decree that had called for parliamentary elections from April 22, questioning its constitutionality, a ruling that may deepen the political crisis in the polarised country.
Egypt headed for another round of slugfest between largely secular opposition groups and Islamists backing President Muhammed Mursi, with massive rival rallies held on Tuesday, even as the powerful army called for dialogue to end the crisis in the polarised nation.