Human rights is leading the conversation on Egypt in the foreign press this morning, with the Guardian running a piece on political prisoners and the Hill calling on the Biden administration to rebuke Egypt’s “human rights inferno.” Meanwhile, Vice and Deutsche Welle cover the jail sentences handed to two Egyptian TikTok influencers earlier this month, while AFP reports that the personal status draft bill proposed earlier this year is coming under fire by women who believe it will rob them of their rights and legal capacity. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also says that 10 detained Egyptian journalists, who were named in a letter sent last year by Reporters Without Borders, were arrested arbitrarily.

In international politics: Intelligence chief Abbas Kamel was in Washington last week for talks with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and other senior US officials, the UAE’s The National reports. Calling it “the most senior [visit] for an Egyptian government official since President Joe Biden took office in January,” the trip saw Kamel engage with the Americans on everything from GERD to Libya, counterterrorism and the reconstruction of Gaza.

The BBC is out with a piece examining Egypt’s recent moves to forge new allegiances with upstream African countries amid its ongoing dispute with Ethiopia over the GERD.

Also making headlines:

• The story of the Ever Given is still getting digital ink, with a narrative-style piece detailing the events and emotions at play during the infamous blocking of the Suez Canal in late March. (Bloomberg)
• A former Egyptian lawmaker and 17 others have been arrested on charges they illegally excavated sites nationwide and allegedly smuggled 201 ancient artifacts from the Roman, Greek, and Pharaonic dynasties. (AFP)
• An Egyptian man received a 30 year jail sentence for executing a 2017 terror attack outside Paris’ Louvre museum. (AFP)