A wounded Egyptian protester is carried away from the site of clashes in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Friday. Supporters of Egypt's new Islamist president stormed a stage erected by opposition activists, smashed loudspeakers and tore the structure down during competing protests Friday in Cairo. The scuffles between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi reflect deep political divisions among the country's 82 million people, more than a year after the popular uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. — AP CAIRO – An influential group of Egyptian judges backed the state prosecutor's refusal to resign after President Mohamed Morsi ordered his removal to allay public anger over the acquittals of Mubarak-era officials, state media reported Friday. The disagreement revived a power struggle between the Islamist leader and the judiciary, which comprises influential judges appointed under ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. Abdel Maguid Mahmud refused to quit Thursday, hours after Morsi ordered his removal to allay public anger over the acquittals of Mubarak-era officials accused of organizing a notorious camel-borne assault on protesters last year. The president's bid to remove Mahmud by issuing a decree appointing him as ambassador to the Vatican bypassed checks on presidential control over the prosecutor's job, and came as the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi emerged, called for protests Friday against the acquittals. The decision reopened a rift with powerful judges appointed under Mubarak and Morsi, who has unsuccessfully tried to reverse a court order disbanding the Islamist-dominated parliament following his election in June. Ahmed Al-Zind, head of the Judges' Club, said the judiciary backed Mahmud to uphold “the sovereignty of the law and the principle of separation of powers,” Al-Ahram newspaper reported. He said the judges would hold an emergency meeting “to confront the current crisis that aims at harming the judiciary.” Zind's group had fiercely opposed the Islamist's election last June, which ended a military-led transition after a popular uprising overthrew Mubarak in February 2011. – Agencies
