Egypt's president stands by his decrees

Source: AP-Excite

By HAMZA HENDAWI

CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi struck an uncompromising stand Monday over his seizure of near absolute powers, refusing in a meeting with top judicial authorities to rescind a package of constitutional amendments that placed his edicts above oversight by the courts.

Morsi's supporters, meanwhile, canceled a massive rally planned for Tuesday to compete with a demonstration by his opponents, citing the need to "defuse tension" at a time when anger over the president's moves is mounting, according to a spokesman for the president's Muslim Brotherhood.

The opposition rally was going ahead as scheduled at Cairo's Tahrir square, birthplace of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's regime nearly two years ago.

The meeting between Morsi and members of the Supreme Judiciary Council was a bid to resolve a four-day crisis that has plunged the country into a new round of turmoil, with clashes between the two sides that have left one protester dead and hundreds wounded.

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Egyptians carry the body of Gaber Salah, who was who was killed during clashes with security forces in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. Thousands of Egyptians on Monday gathered into Cairo's Tahrir Square to attend the funeral of Salah, who was severely injured during clashes with security forces last week and died Sunday night. (AP Photo/Hussein Tallal)