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Egypt gets new Parliament :After three years

Egypt gets new Parliament :After three years

Egypt's parliament has opened for the first time in more than three years, packed with supporters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The previous Islamist-dominated legislature was dissolved by a court ruling in 2012.

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The following year, the then General Sisi ousted President Mohammed Mursi following massive protests against him and his Muslim Brotherhood party.

Egypt's new parliament has just 15 days to ratify over 300 new laws issued.

 

Newly elected MPs were sworn in on the first day. They were then due to elect a speaker and two deputies.

Parliament comprises 568 elected members and is dominated by an alliance loyal to President Sisi.

Yesterday's session was supposed to be mostly procedural but it was disrupted by one outspoken member.

Murtada Mansour, a President Sisi supporter, at first refused to read the official text of the MPs’ oath, before relenting and "hurriedly and casually" reciting it, the Associated Press reported.

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Mr Mansour was angry at parts of the text endorsing the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, which some pro-government figures now see as a mistake, according to the agency.

Meanwhile, gunmen have killed two Egyptian police in the city of Giza, officials said.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) group said it was behind last Saturday’s attack.

The incident came hours after three foreign tourists were stabbed by suspected IS militants who stormed a hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada last Friday.

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Egypt is battling an insurgency largely based in the Sinai Peninsula which became more active after the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Mursi.

Hundreds of security force members and government personnel have been killed, with attacks creeping closer to the capital Cairo.

The instability has threatened Egypt's important tourism industry.

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Survivor speaks

Those injured in the attack in Hurghada - two Austrians and a Swede - are said to be in a stable condition.

Security forces shot dead one of the attackers and wounded the other.

Both were armed with knives and reports say they raised the IS flag.

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"Everything happened so quickly," said the wounded Swedish tourist, Sammie Olovsson. "I thought I would bleed to death."

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