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A plainclothes policeman catches a woman during a police crackdown on prostitution in Quanzhou, Fujian province, October 29, 2011. China should remove criminal and administrative penalties against sex workers which often lead to serious police abuses, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on May 14, 2013. The abuses include torture, beatings, physical assaults, fines and arbitrary detentions of up to two years, as well as a failure to investigate crimes against sex workers by clients, bosses and state agents, according to the report. Prostitution is not permitted under Chinese law, although the industry has boomed since the country launched economic reforms in 1978. REUTERS/Stringer

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Egypt president cancels state visit to Pakistan

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Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi smiles during a meeting with South Korea's presidential envoy and former Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan (not in picture) at the presidential palace in Cairo October 8, 2012, a day after Mursi's ''Al Nhada (Renaissance) project. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi smiles during a meeting with South Korea's presidential envoy and former Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan (not in picture) at the presidential palace in Cairo October 8, 2012, a day after Mursi's ''Al Nhada (Renaissance) project.

Credit: Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

ISLAMABAD | Thu Nov 22, 2012 10:40pm EST

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi cancelled a state visit to Pakistan on Friday, government officials said, a day after granting himself extended powers, a move likely to widen divisions in his country.

No reason was immediately given for the cancellation of the visit or for Mursi's decision not to attend a summit of developing nations in Islamabad a day earlier.

Mursi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, on Thursday triggered controversy in Egypt by issuing a decree that shielded from legal challenge any decisions he takes until a new parliament is elected.

The decree also exempt the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament and the assembly writing the country's new constitution from legal challenge.

(Reporting by Randy Fabi; Editing by Ron Popeski)
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