Egypt has lifted a state of emergency and nightly curfews that have been in force for three months.
Egypt's army-backed authorities announced a state of emergency and a nightly curfew in August, the day security forces dispersed two sit-ins by supporters of the deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo.
Those actions prompted nationwide violence and thousands of Mr Morsi's supporters were arrested during protests.
Reuters reported that it appeared anti-government protesters would now be prevented from taking to the streets.
As the government lifted its curfews, it also edged a step closer to passing a law regarded by activists and human rights groups as a threat to the right to protest.
The new draft legislation to regulate demonstrations has been widely condemned by political and rights activists who see it as a danger to the right to protest. That right is seen by activists as one of the landmark achievements of the 2011 uprising against Mubarak, who crushed all public dissent.
"They have the discretion to ban every single demonstration," said Egypt director for Human Rights Watch, Heba Morayef.
Court ruling
A court ruled the state of emergency had ended at 4 pm on Tuesday, two days earlier than expected, and the government said it was awaiting a copy of the decision to execute it.
It would mean an end to four-hour nightly curfews from 1 am and a longer curfew starting at 7pm on Fridays which have choked economic life.
But Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood says the state of emergency gave extra legal cover to a crackdown on the movement. Security forces have killed hundreds of Mr Morsi's supporters and arrested thousands more since his 3 July overthrow.
Some 250 members of the security forces have been killed in militant attacks since then, most of them in the lawless Sinai Peninsula where security sources said an officer was killed in an attack on a police station on Tuesday.
The army-installed administration led by President Adly Mansour says it wants to restore stability as it seeks to revive an economy pummelled in upheaval since the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.
The state of emergency and curfew had been due to last a month from 14 August, but the government extended it for two more months on 12 September.
The new government plans presidential and parliamentary elections next year. Mr Morsi was elected last year in Egypt's first democratic presidential vote but was deposed following mass protests against his rule.
Unrest by Mr Morsi supporters has persisted since his downfall, though the number of demonstrators has dwindled.
