Clashes block access to US Embassy in Cairo

The US Embassy in Cairo closed Thursday after fighting between protesters and police blocked access to the building. The clashes stem from Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's refusal to back away from a showdown over his decree granting himself near absolute power, CBS News reported. CBS said the protesters were targeting riot police, not the U.S. Embassy in the confrontations occurring near the diplomatic compound. Most embassy staff were gone, and the embassy was closed for all American citizen services, officials said. Activists warn that Morsi's actions could spark a "second revolution" for the democratically elected Islamist president who enjoys support of the nation's most powerful political movement, the Muslim Brotherhood. Meanwhile, Egypt's Constituent Assembly was expected to vote on the final draft of the new constitution Thursday before submitting a copy to Morsi Saturday, the Egypt Independent said. The current draft retains controversial clauses not agreed upon by different political parties. Analysts have described the draft as an effort to defuse the positions of the military and other Islamist forces polarized by Morsi's presidential declaration. The state-run al-Ahram newspaper reported lawmakers approved an article that would allow civilians to be tried by the military for crimes that "harm the armed forces." The draft also establishes a National Defense Council that doesn't include lawmakers on the panel other than speakers of both parliamentary chambers, the Independent said. The draft also states "the principles of Islamic Sharia [law] shall include full evidence, orthodox and juris-prudent rules, and sources approved by schools of the Sunnis and the community." Al-Ahram said members of the Constituent Assembly agreed Wednesday on an electoral system in which a third of Parliament would be elected by single-winner voting and the remaining two-thirds would be elected through party lists. In June, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled regulations governing a similar system were unconstitutional, which led to the dissolution of the People's Assembly. The Constituent Assembly has also reportedly agreed to a transitional constitutional article that would bar officials from the administration of deposed President Hosni Mubarak from running in elections for a time, although the draft didn't indicate how long that time would be. The Muslim Brotherhood and allied groups announced they would hold nationwide protests in support of Morsi Saturday.