House agrees to a third term of emergency rule

House agrees to a third term of emergency rule: The House of Representatives unanimously agreed yesterday to extend the state of emergency for another 90-day period effective 13 October, Al Shorouk reports. Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail briefed MPs on the reasons behind the decision, assuring them that the exceptional measures, which are necessary to counterterrorism efforts, according to a Cabinet statement. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had issued a decree earlier this month re-imposing emergency rule after two consecutive three-month terms — the maximum term allowed by the constitution — had expired. El Sisi first proposed the measure in April after Coptic churches were targeted in deadly attacks, but promised that emergency rule would not be extended indefinitely as was the case during the Mubarak era.