Egypt's Morsi tries to defuse flap over slur against Jews

CAIRO — Egypt's Islamist president sought Wednesday to defuse Washington's anger over his past remarks urging hatred of Jews and calling Zionists "pigs" and "bloodsuckers," telling visiting U.S. senators that his comments were a denunciation of Israeli policies.

Both sides appear to want to get beyond the flap: Mohammed Morsi needs America's help in repairing a rapidly sliding economy, and Washington can't afford to shun a figure who has emerged as a model of an Islamist leader who maintains his country's ties with Israel.

Sen. John McCain said a congressional delegation he led that met with Morsi expressed to him their "strong disapproval" about his 2010 comments.

Still, despite calls by some in Washington to rein in aid to Egypt's Islamist-led government, McCain said the delegation will press in Congress for approval of some $480 million in new assistance to Cairo.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, also in the delegation, warned that "the Egyptian economy is going to collapse if something is not done quickly."

The flap was a new twist in Morsi's attempts to reconcile his background as a veteran of the Muslim Brotherhood — a vehemently anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. group — and the requirements of his role as head of state, which include keeping the strategic relationship with Washington.

Morsi's remarks came from speeches he made in 2010 when he was a leading Brotherhood figure. The remarks were revived when an Egyptian TV show aired them to highlight and mock Morsi's current policies. On Tuesday, the White House denounced the comments as "deeply offensive."

Mubarak to pay for gifts: Ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family will pay back around $3 million for gifts they received from a state newspaper while he was still in office, after a settlement agreement announced by prosecutors Wednesday. The settlement resolves a side case that opened against the 84-year-old Mubarak just as he was granted a retrial last week on charges of a role in killing protesters in the 2011 uprising that led to his downfall.