CAIRO -- Egyptian authorities on Thursday announced a two-month extension of a state of emergency declared in August, which grants the government extraordinary powers to suppress dissent. The move, effective immediately, was announced by the office of interim President Adly Mansour just before the start Thursday evening of Egypt's weekend. A statement from presidential spokesman Ihab Badawy said the decision, approved by the Cabinet, was made "in light of ... the state of security in the country." The state of emergency was imposed after a bloody crackdown Aug. 14 against supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi, which left hundreds of people dead, mainly supporters of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi, a democratically elected but deeply unpopular Islamist, was ousted in a military-led coup July 3. In the weeks since the August confrontation, the government has clamped down hard on Morsi's followers, arresting and rounding up hundreds of them. The crackdown has been widening to include activists and journalists not specifically associated with the Brotherhood. A curfew has been in effect since the state of emergency was declared, although it has been gradually shortened on weekdays. It currently begins at 11 p.m. every evening except Friday -- a much-grumbled-about restriction in a city famous for its night life, especially in the warm summertime hours. The curfew runs until 6 a.m. On Fridays, the day on which main Muslim prayers take place and a time often associated with violent protests, the curfew begins at 7 p.m. Apple fans in China find new iPhones costly