Egypt draft charter approved for referendum

Egypt's new draft constitution was approved Sunday for a referendum billed as the first stage in a "democratic transition" promised by military-installed authorities after Islamist president Mohamed Morsi's July ouster. "Now we have approved the draft," Amr Mussa, the head of the 50-member constitution-drafting panel, announced on live television. The revised charter, which preserves the military's wide-ranging powers, including the ability to try civilians in certain cases, will be put to a referendum that officials say will likely be held in January.