An angry Mohammed Morsi refused to call off a referendum on a disputed constitution that sparked Egypt’s worst political crisis in two years, drawing chants of “topple the regime!” from protesters who waved their shoes in contempt.

At least eight people were killed by a pair of car bombs that tore through shoppers in central Baghdad today, while a Slovak and Polish soldier were reported killed overnight by a roadside bomb south of the capital.

Two leading Islamic militants jailed over the 1981 killing of Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat have been released after more than two decades behind bars, prison officials and lawyers said today.