Egypt to lift state of emergency

Egypt plans to lift a three-month-old state of emergency and curfew Tuesday, two days earlier than expected, a Cabinet spokesman said Tuesday.

A Cairo court ruled earlier in the day that the state of emergency expires Nov. 12, two days earlier than the interior minister said it would end.

The discrepancy arose because while the state of emergency began on Aug. 14, it was renewed for two months on Sept. 12. The court said that means it ends on Nov. 12, not Nov. 14.

The end of the state of emergency would mean the end of a curfew also in place. The Cabinet spokesman says the government will abide by the ruling but is waiting for the court to issue the decision in writing. It was not clear how long that will take.

The state of emergency allowed the authorities to make arrests without warrants and gave security officials the right to search people's homes.

Hundreds of supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi have been staging almost daily protests against the army since it deposed him in July, and Egyptian authorities have arrested thousands of them.

Many blamed the curfew — which initially started at 7 p.m. but has been pushed later — for dampening trade in central Cairo at a time when the government is desperately trying to create jobs and boost an economy that has been badly hit by the turmoil.

Al Jazeera and wire services