We have Egypt to blame for our collective obsession with cats: In case you needed further proof of the internet’s obsession with cats, the leading story on Egypt in the foreign press this morning happens to be a genetic study in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution that found that most modern domestic felines trace their genetic origins to the cats of ancient Egypt. While felines were domesticated well before their arrival to Egypt, it is there that the success of the human-cat symbiotic relationship took form and spread throughout the Mediterranean cultures and eventually the world, writes Ian Johnston for the Independent.

Parliament’s approval of a pact handing Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi willpit the Presidency and the legislative branch against the judiciary, which finds itself on the same side as opposition politicians and activists, writes the Associated Press’ Hamza Hendawi. “In Egypt’s sometimes murky power structure, it is not clear where such a battle of wills could go,” he adds. Hendawi then speculates into possible Saudi motives for acquiring the islands, stating that the move might preface closer ties with Israel in the interest of thwarting the influence of common enemy Iran.

US President Donald Trump’s Arab alliance is a “mirage,” Antony J Blinken writes in The New York Times. The decision by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates to sever relations with Qatar is not necessarily “an alliance united against extremism,” but could be a Sunni coalition that will roll back Iran. Blinken also says “our Arab partners could use the anti-Islamic State coalition to go on the offensive, dragging the United States into new misadventures in the Middle East.”

Other coverage worth noting in brief:

• Former President Mohamed Morsi has received visits from his family andlawyers only twice since his 2013 detention, which is unlawful and may have led to deteriorating his health, according to Human Rights Watch.
• An Egyptian national was among those who escaped unharmed following the terrorist attack on a luxury resort just outside Mali’s capital that left two people dead, Reuters reports.
• Forward explores how Spain under Franco helped over 1,500 Egyptian Jews flee Egypt following a clampdown as a result of the Six Days War.
• The Indian Embassy in Cairo is celebrating the UN International Day ofYoga tomorrow (June 21) in Egypt, The Statesman reports.