Protests take place in Tahrir Square ahead of Mursi speech

Demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square prepared for another day of protest on Thursday, steeling themselves for further action in a bid to get President Mohamed Mursi to retract his move to take sweeping new powers.

Many protesters stayed in their tents while others kept the chanting going during the early hours of Thursday morning, expressing their unwillingness to compromise their demands ahead of the President's unity speech on Thursday.

In his speech, Mursi was expected to explain why he had issued his decree and to outline what he saw as conspiracies being planned by his non-Islamist political opponents, officials said.

The assembly tasked with writing the constitution ended its session in the early hours on Thursday, wrapping the final draft it will put to vote later in the day.

The vote comes as the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court on Wednesday accused Mursi of leading a campaign against the court

According to court spokesman Maher Samy, the Constitutional Court had been attacked since it dissolved the former People’s Assembly, although it made its verdict according to law provisions.

Conditions started escalating in Egypt after President Mursi issued a new constitutional declaration last week.

The clashes that erupted in response to the declaration left at least three people killed and more than 600 injured in Cairo and other governorates during a week of nationwide protests.