Egyptian military may retain power

Members of Egypt's interim military government have said they plan to keep the government under their control after a new Parliament is elected. They also said this week a presidential election will not be held until a new constitution has been ratified, a process that could take more than a year, The New York Times reported. In March, the interim government said a presidential election would take place by September. "We will keep the power until we have a president," Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Hegazy said. The suggestion that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces plans to retain the kind of power President Hosni Mubarak exercised has angered civilian parties across political and religious lines. Thousands of people joined a "national unity" march Friday from the Al-Azhar Mosque to the Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported. Demonstrators chanting "Muslims and Christians are one hand" and "Down with military rule" got into fights with worshipers leaving Friday prayers at the mosque. The protesters blamed the military for the deaths of 26 Coptic Christians who were demonstrating outside a government building.