Clinton urges Egypt to end emergency law

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton criticised the extension by Egypt of a three-decade-old state of emergency declaration.

Mrs Clinton said the extension ignored “a broad range of Egyptian voices” and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement later, urging that it be replaced with a promised anti-terror measure that would protect Egyptian civil liberties.

The emergency declaration has been in effect since Hosni Mubarak became president after the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981. But critics say the government uses it to suppress dissent.