Egypt court overrules President

Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament opened a new front in the country’s leadership showdowns today by meeting in defiance of orders that disbanded the chamber and brought President Mohammed Morsi in conflict with both the powerful military and the highest court.

The session was brief, lasting just five minutes, and suggested that lawmakers sought more of a symbolic stance rather than a full-scale backlash against rulings that invalidated the chamber over apparent irregularities in Egypt’s first elections since the fall of Hosni Mubarak 17 months ago.