Egypt's judges, Parliament at sharp odds over bill

Egypt's judges are up in arms over a draft law expanding the president's control of the judiciary, saying the bill undermines their independence.
Addressing a news conference today, the judges voiced their anger over the bill, which empowers President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to pick the country's top judges.
The dispute over the bill between the judiciary and Parliament, a 596-seat chamber packed with el-Sissi supporters, could potentially develop into a constitutional crisis with serious consequences for the government's stability.
The judges, who are threatening unspecified measures to kill the bill, say the legislation is tailored to prevent specific judges from presiding over top courts and may be linked to a pair of high-profile rulings that annulled an agreement to transfer two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.