Driving the agenda this morning for the mainstream international press is the Associated Press’ pickup on a court of appeals upholding the one-year sentence handed in March to Islamic researcher and former talk show host Islam Beheiry. The business press, meanwhile, remains squarely focused on the IMF bailout talks, with coverage this morning riding primarily on the back of Reuters coverage.

As IMF talks enter their third day this morning, senior economist for global markets and treasury at Emirates NBD Jean-Paul Pigat writes in the National that not only is the news good for Egypt, but it’s good for the wider region. The agreement highlights the fund’s “growing influence” in the MENA, making Egypt the fifth active program in place here if talks go through. “The fund’s lending acts as a policy anchor, committing authorities to pursuing strategies that are ultimately aimed at restoring stability in the short term, and improving competitiveness over the longer term.” The fund “is now critical to ensure the region is eventually able to wean itself off foreign aid and multilateral assistance, and attract the private sector investment necessary to boost growth potential in the years ahead.”