Egypt extends state of emergency for 3 months

By Diana Shalhoub

ISTANBUL (AA) - Egypt's parliament on Sunday approved an extension to the nationwide state of emergency for another three months, according to the country's government gazette.

This was the 17th three-year renewal of the state of emergency since April 2017 and will go into effect on July 24.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi first declared a three-month state of emergency in April 2017 after twin bomb attacks killed 45 people in northern Egypt.

The state of emergency allows authorities to take exceptional security measures, including the referral of terrorism suspects to state security courts, imposition of curfews, and confiscation of newspapers.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara