Egypt Judges Suspend Talks With President

Egypt’s top judicial council has suspended talks with President Mohammed Morsi after a renewed push by Islamist lawmakers on a controversial bill that would remove thousands of senior judges.

Critics say the bill aims to install Islamists and solidify Morsi’s power while backers say it seeks to remove remnants of Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

The state MENA news agency carried a statement by the Supreme Judicial Council after an emergency meeting Wednesday in which the judges announced a suspension of their talks with Morsi, saying it’s the result of maneuvers by his Islamist allies in parliament to resume debating the law.

The council’s six judges met Morsi last month, and the two sides agreed to form a committee of legal experts that would draft legislation to reform the judiciary.

Al Arabiya