Egypt Court Dissolves Parliament, Clears Shafik for Runoff

Egypt’s highest court ordered that parliament be dissolved and cleared Ahmed Shafik, a former aide to ousted President Hosni Mubarak, to run for the presidency in what one former candidate in the race described as a “coup.”

The twin rulings are a blow to the Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest party in the Islamist-dominated parliament, and threaten to inflame tensions two days before its presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, begins a run-off against Shafik, a former air force general who briefly served as the last premier under Mubarak.