SPEEDY

Egypt: Constitution Almost Ready

Leaders vow quick finish after crisis.

Egyptian leaders said on Wednesday that they are finishing the Constitution faster than expected after the crisis brought on by President Mohamed Morsi, who announced plans last week against all legal opposition to his power until the Constitution is complete. Morsi said he had issued the decree because he learned that the Supreme Constitutional Court—with judges appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak—was ready to strike down the current Assembly. But Morsi’s decree set off days of protests, with hundreds of thousands taking to Tahrir Square—the site of the 2011 uprising—on Tuesday. If the constitution is completed, it could moot the whole conflict—although it still will have been approved without the opposition.