An Egyptian court has recommended the death sentence for a man who murdered a student after she had refused to marry him.

The defendant, Mohamed Adel, pleaded guilty to stabbing Nayera Ashraf to death outside Mansoura University north of the capital, Cairo.

The case caused outrage across Egypt when a video of the killing went viral after being posted online.

Ms Ashraf had previously reported her fears about being attacked after receiving death threats on her phone.

The verdict was met with celebrations in front of the courthouse.

The AFP news agency explains that the verdict will now be referred to Egypt's top theological authority - the grand mufti - which is a formality in death penalty cases.

Egypt carried out the third-highest number of executions in the world last year, according to Amnesty International.