Egypt extends state of emergency for another 3 months

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday extended Egypt's countrywide state of emergency for an additional three months.

"The state of emergency will be applied across the country, effective as of 1:00 a.m. Friday, for an additional three months due to ongoing security concerns," read a presidential decree.

Al-Sisi first declared a three-month state of emergency in April -- later extended by another three months -- after twin bomb attacks killed 45 people in northern Egypt.

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