Egypt's interim prime minister said a referendum on the amended constitution is likely to take place in second half of January, a key first step in the country's political transition after the July ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.
A 50-member appointed panel has been amending the 2012 Islamist-drafted constitution during Morsi's one-year presidency. It has worked mainly in closed sessions amid rising concerns over the powers it will give the president and the military.
Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi on Monday called the referendum the "most critical moment" for Egypt. He did not give a firm date, but his comments carried by the state news agency MENA were the most precise timeframe given yet for the vote.
Passage of the constitution is to be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections.
Protests:
Egyptian security forces fired tear-gas and dispersed university students who had defied a law passed on Sunday that restricts demonstrations, the state news agency reported.
Students of Al-Azhar University and Assiut University in Assiut province, south of Cairo, staged a protest in defiance of the new law, chanting against the army and police.
Bahraini activist:
A Cairo airport official said a prominent Bahraini activist was barred from entering Egypt, but denies opposition claims that he was mistreated.
A statement issued on Monday by the Waad political society in Manama said its deputy head Abdulla Janahi was interrogated for hours.
The official said Janahi was barred from entry on Saturday upon the request of a security agency, but said he was allowed to move freely inside the transit hall until his departure. The official spoke anonymously as he is not authorized to brief the media.
Last year, another prominent Bahraini activist was barred from Egypt.
Bahrain has seen nearly three years of unrest, pitting mostly Shiite protesters against its Sunni rulers.
REUTERS/AP