Egypt suspends Islamist party

The body which regulates political parties in Egypt has suspended the activities of the only legal Islamist grouping, the Labour Party, and shut down its newspaper al-Shaab.

It said the move had been prompted by a leadership row within the party, which emerged after Labour was accused of inciting unrest over a novel deemed blasphenous by Islamists.

The book, 'Feast of Seaweed', by the Syrian author, Haidar Haidar, was denounced by the party's newspaper as a shame which could only be erased with blood -- a denunciation which was quickly followed by rioting by religious students. The party's secretary-general, meanwhile, has alleged that the challenges to the party leadership used as a reason for suspending Labour's activities have been engineered by the authorities.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service