Mursi declares emergency in 3 cities
January 28, 2013  23:53
Egypt's main opposition coalition today rejected as 'waste of time' a call by Muhammed Mursi for a national dialogue to end a wave of unrest, a day after the embattled president declared an emergency in three riot-hit provinces following the death of nearly 50 people.

As a month-long state of emergency in the provinces of Port Said, Suez and Ismailiya was declared, Egypt's senate today ratified a law that would grant the armed forces powers of arrest, the official MENA news agency reported.

The Cabinet earlier had approved the draft law empowering the army to behave like a police force in 'preserving security and protecting vital establishments'.

Nobel laureate Mohamed Elbaradei, after a meeting of the main opposition coalition National Salvation Front, said they would not participate in a dialogue that is 'empty of content'.
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