Egypt has lifted its three months old state of emergency and curfew, the government has announced. The move came two days earlier than expected, after a c
ourt ruling.

It will be recalls that the state of emergency and the night-time curfew were introduced on 14 August after security forces forcibly ended sit-ins in support of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The measures had been due to last a month, but the government extended them for two more months on 12 September.

New protest law

The state of emergency and the curfew were lifted with effect from 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT), an adviser to Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi confirmed to Newsreporters.

This followed the ruling by the administrative court that said the decree extending the measures should only be effective for two calendar months.

The army-backed government said it would abide by the verdict.

The state of emergency and the 01:00-05:00 curfew had allowed the authorities to make arrests without warrants and search people's homes.
Many people had also blamed the curfew for a fall in business in Cairo - at a time when the government was trying to create jobs and revive the economy.

The measures were introduced after hundreds of people died following the clearing of the pro-Morsi camps in the capital.
Mr Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the army in July following widespread demonstrations against his rule.

He is currently on trial for allegedly inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in 2012.

Egyptians lived under a state of emergency - which gives extra powers to the security services - for more than three decades, until President Hosni Mubarak was forced from power amid mass protests in 2011.

The new law on public demonstrations is yet to be approved by Interim President Adly Mahmud Mansour.

But the draft has proved to be highly controversial, as the new legislation is expected to effectively ban street protests and give police sweeping powers to disperse them, the BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo reports.