Exclusive: China considers delay of key party congress: sources

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party is seriously considering a delay in its upcoming five-yearly congress by a few months amid internal debate over the size and makeup of its top decision-making body, sources said, as the party struggles to finalize a once-in-a-decade leadership change. The two most senior posts, of president and premier, are not considered in much doubt. But any delay in the congress, no matter the official reason, would likely fuel speculation of infighting over the remaining seats in the nine-member politburo standing committee which calls the shots in China. ...

Barred Islamist says Egypt army wants to keep power

CAIRO (Reuters) - A leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Wednesday his removal from the presidential ballot showed the army wanted to cling to power, a charge that turns up the heat between generals and Islamists, who both say they back a transition to democracy. Khairat al-Shater, a wealthy businessman and top official in the Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest Islamist group, had been a frontrunner for next month's first round of voting - until the election committee rejected his bid over a criminal record he acquired during political persecution under Hosni Mubarak. ...