U.S. Senate panel passes measure to ease aid to Egypt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee overwhelmingly passed legislation on Wednesday to ease tight U.S. controls on aid to Egypt, which was largely cut off after Egypt's military ousted President Mohamed Mursi last summer.

The panel passed the measure by a 16-1 vote hours after Egypt's public prosecutor escalated a crackdown on the movement that brought Mursi to power by charging the ousted president and 35 other leading Islamists with international conspiracy.