Driving the conversation on Egypt in the international press this morning: Egypt is among the three countries most at risk of genocide with a 24% chance of sometime this year or next, making it the third country most at risk of mass killings, according to analysis from the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Museum. At the beginning of 2018, the center saw the likelihood of genocide in Egypt significantly lower, listing us as the 15th most at-risk country.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s televised remarks on obesity and physical fitness continue to make waves in the international press, with the president urging television houses not to feature presenters or guests who are overweight. Sisi’s admonishment to Egyptians to lose weight is attracting both support and criticism, the Washington Post notes.

Other news worth noting:

• Egypt is trying to de-escalate tension along the Israel-Gaza border following the killing of four Palestinian protesters by the IDF over the weekend, according to Haaretz.
• Forbes has declared now is the time to visit Egypt, citing the favorable exchange rate and stable security conditions.
• Chinese tourists to the Red Sea are expected to increase in 2019, according to a Xinhua interview with the governor of the Red Sea governorate. "We want 1 percent of Chinese tourists heading overseas every year," the governor stated, noting that the major hotels in the governorate will offer signage and services in Chinese.
• Security forces are tightening security ahead of New Year’s and Coptic Christmas celebrations, CGTN Africa and African Daily Voice report.
• “Egypt’s Sunken Cities” exhibition has arrived at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The show features 250 antiquities from the ancient and now-submerged cities of Thonis-Heracleion.