Egypt’s cabinet to debate fate of Muslim Brotherhood

{{Egypt’s deputy prime minister will propose a way out of a bloody confrontation between the security forces and the Muslim Brotherhood of deposed president Mohamed Mursi when the cabinet discusses the crisis on Sunday.}}

But his ideas seemed to run counter to a suggestion by the prime minister to dissolve the Islamist organization, the target of a fierce crackdown by the army-backed government last week.

The authorities declared a state of emergency and killed hundreds of people in raids on Wednesday on protest camps set up in Cairo to demand Mursi’s reinstatement.

The capital’s frenetic streets, unusually empty in the past few days, were returning to normal on Sunday, although the army kept several big squares closed and enforced a curfew overnight.

At night, soldiers standing beside armored personNel carriers man checkpoints, and vigilantes inspect cars for weapons.

Banks and the stock market reopened for the first time since Wednesday’s carnage, with shares rapidly falling 2.5 percent.

“As long as we have bloodshed on the streets, it takes away any reason for foreign and regional investors to buy in Egypt,” said Amer Khan, director at Shuaa Asset Management in Dubai.

The initiative by Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa el-Din, a liberal, calls for an immediate end to the state of emergency, political participation for all parties and guarantees of human rights, including the right to free assembly.

The Brotherhood has said it will keep up mass protests until Mursi, toppled by the army on July 3 after huge demonstrations against him, is freed from jail and returned to office.

{reuters}