埃及当局逮捕穆兄会领袖

Egyptian authorities have arrested Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohammed Badie, escalating a crackdown on the group following the military's ouster of president Mohamed Morsi.

The 70-year-old Badie was taken into custody early Tuesday in a neighborhood of eastern Cairo where for weeks pro-Morsi protesters rallied against Egypt's new interim government.

Badie is due to go on trial August 25 along with other Brotherhood leaders.  Authorities accuse them of inciting deadly violence outside the group's headquarters in June, days before the military deposed Mr. Morsi.

Since the July 3 move, the official death toll for violence across Egypt has topped 1,000 people.  The Muslim Brotherhood says many more people have died.

Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities may soon free former leader Hosni Mubarak, who has spent more than two years in custody following the 2011 popular revolt that drove him from power.

A court said Monday he could no longer be held on charges that he and his sons stole public money for presidential palaces.  With that order, Mr. Mubarak remains in detention in connection with only one other case.

The former president's lawyer said he expected Mr. Mubarak would be released by the end of the week.