Driving the conversation this morning: Foreign press coverage of Egypt is largely focused on the passing of the law on church construction and the widening outbreak of hepatitis A in Virginia linked to strawberries exported from Egypt. Catholic News Agency notes the disparity in church and mosque per capita, with only 2.6k churches in the country, which breaks down to one church for every 5.5k Christians versus one mosque for every 620 Muslims. The Associated Press’ piece from yesterday afternoon will be influential in shaping how the subject is treated, which is to say that it encapsulates what critics have been saying for weeks on the bill: “Angry critics in the community say the law will only enshrine restrictions… According to an official supplement to the law, the governor should also take into account ‘the preservation of security and public order’ when considering the application,” which seems to suggest that if there are fears, perceived or real, of protests over construction, the permit will be denied. However, we are unable to find any mention of this supplement in the domestic press’ reports on the law, except for a popular Christian-affiliated website which links back to America’s ABC News, which in turn was based on the above AP story. We will keep an eye out for any official word on this alleged supplement, and if anyone can provide any clarification, let us know.

The outbreak of hepatitis A in Virginia, purportedly from strawberries sourced from Egypt, has spread, going from 28 confirmed cases on Thursday to at least 44 as of yesterday, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The story is getting coverage in New York Magazine, ABC News, as well as television broadcasts (run time: 1:52) from local ABC News affiliates, however each report gives a varying number of cases based on the date of its publication.