Egyptian authorities said they would lift a three-month state of emergency and nighttime curfew imposed to discourage protests by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. At the same time, the military government is set to pass a new protest law seen by some as a replacement for the state of emergency. Speaking on Democracy Now!, Cairo-based correspondent and Nation contributor Sharif Abdel Kouddous called the draft law a "more aggressive authoritarian order than the one we rose up against in 2011," referring to the revolution that brought down former President Hosni Mubarak. He also talked about the current government's selective prosecution of Morsi supporters and the burgeoning nationalism surrounding Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
—Steven Hsieh