Elsewhere: Russia and Egypt are holding what’s being billed as their first-ever joint military exercises, scheduled for this month, “in preparation for an anti-terrorist operation ‘in a desert environment.’” (That conveniently sets aside the whole Arab Socialist / USSR interregnum, but hey — these days, we’ll take our friends where we find them). The exercises are “a demonstration of the capabilities of Russia’s rapid-response forces amid the ongoing conflict in Syria, as well as evidence that Cairo, in case of the deterioration of the situation, is counting not only on Washington, but would also like to enlist the support of Moscow,” experts tell Inna Sidorkova in a translation of a piece in Russian in Gazeta. Although the Russian Foreign Ministry said there is no political motive for the exercises, “the Russian military will go to Egypt dressed in a new uniform for a hot climate. Sessions on language preparation, tactics and orientation are already being held at training ranges and in classrooms.”