The New York Times takes a deep dive into Egypt’s foreign policy under President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in “Egypt and Turkey Soften Positions on Syria, Benefiting Assad.” In a story that nibbles around the edges of the rift between Cairo and Riyadh, Michael Wahid Hanna is quoted as saying the emerging “Sisi doctrine” is marked by “rigid anti-Islamism and rigid anti-militancy and a very vocal support for nation states and sovereignty.” He’s right, of course, as is much of Anne Barnard’s well-written piece, but both miss the wider point: After a decade in which our foreign policy has been a struggle for relevance beyond “We made peace with Israel” and “We can help broker peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” Ittihadiya is finally allowing MoFA to run a multipolar foreign policy. One that has seen us balance America with France and Russia (on the foreign policy and weapons front). One that saw China — cultivated since El Sisi came to office — help us close the IMF facility with its currency swap. One that has seen us re-engage with East Africa after decades of neglect…

Otherwise, wire service reports dominate headlines on Egypt in the western press the weekend:

• Egypt is giant prison, activists banned from travel say (Reuters)
• Egyptian man grows ‘Beard of Bees’, hopes to promote apian benefits (Reuters, with plenty of uncomfortable photos)
• Mixed rulings for protest law by Egypt constitutional court (Associated Press)
• For one Egyptian with HIV, the stigma is too much to bear (Associated Press)

And, finally, the British press is going bonkers over what is essentially a snuff film, with both the Daily Mail and the Independent covering mauling to death of a lion tamer during a live show in Alexandria. Keep it classy, folks.