Nationwide emergency powers extended in Egypt

The interim President, Adly Mansour, extended a nationwide state of emergency by two months today, citing security conditions.

The nearly month-old state of emergency, which gives security forces greater powers of arrest, had been due to expire within days.

It was first declared in mid-August after authorities cleared two protest camps occupied by supporters of the ousted President, Mohamed Morsi, unleashing violence that claimed nearly 1,000 lives in the days that followed.

Ever since, a night-time curfew has also been in effect in much of the country. The extension had been widely expected.

AP