Egyptian authorities have moved to end a three-month state of emergency and nightly curfews.
The government imposed the emergency and curfews on 14 August, when security forces forcibly dispersed two Cairo sit-ins by supporters of deposed president Mohammed Mursi.
A court ruled the state of emergency had ended at 4pm today, two days earlier than expected.
The government said in a statement it was committed to implementing the court ruling and was awaiting a copy of the decision to execute it.
It would mean an end to nightly curfews that have choked economic life, although state media said the army had not received instructions to lift the curfew.
The move may help the army-backed government restore a semblance of normalcy after turmoil ignited by the military overthrow of Mr Mursi.
But as the authorities moved to cancel the exceptional powers, the government edged a step closer to passing a law regarded by activists and human rights groups as a threat to the right to protest.
Mr Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood said the state of emergency has given extra legal cover to a crackdown on the movement.
Security forces have killed hundreds of Mursi supporters and arrested thousands more since his 3 July downfall.
About 250 members of the security forces have been killed in militant attacks since then, most of them in the Sinai Peninsula.
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.
General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the head of the military, enjoys popular support among many Egyptians although his critics fear the new government aims to revive the autocratic ways of the Mubarak era.
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.
