Yesterday’s episode of Smurf Islands, namely, the Supreme Constitutional Court’s decision nullifying all verdicts on the handover of the islands, topped coverage of Egypt in the international news. Most contented themselves with running wire reports, adding only that the decision will further complicate the issue.

Not far from the top is coverage of Egypt supplying Gaza with fuel during the strip’s ongoing electricity crisis (we have more in Diplomacy + Foreign Trade). The foreign press, including Haaretz and Euro News, are noting how the move signifies a warming of ties between Hamas and the Egyptian government.

The privatization program “bear” in Egypt is beginning to stir again, Patrick Werr writes in The National. He says that while 2016 “came and went with virtually no privatisations,” the mood has recently become noticeably more upbeat. Selling minority stakes is a good start, but “what would be far better news would be if the government could bring itself to relinquish control of these companies by selling majority stakes.” Werr nails it when he notes “one of the main benefits of privatisation, probably even more important than the revenue that the cash-strapped government earns, is that it allows for more agile management” and hopes the government sees the EGP float “as an opportunity to attract buyers and not as an excuse not to sell. And let us hope that it is the beginning of far more comprehensive sales that would include larger stakes and companies in sectors that for political reasons have until now been out of bounds for privatisation.”

Omar Sabry, an Egyptian in Vancouver, wants to help teach refugees how to code, Tamara Rahmani reviews for CBC News. A coding class he took at the University of British Columbia helped Sabry become a business owner, Rahmani explains. “I used to be in a similar position [in 2013] where I was unemployed in a collapsing country in the Middle East and I didn’t really have skills that I could use,” said Sabry. “So the idea of giving that skill to people in refugee camps just seems like a very good solution,” he adds. Mr. Sabry’s charitable instinct notwithstanding, his offhand remarks about a “collapsing country” lead us to cordially invite him to… well, we’d say more, but we’re fasting.

International news and coverage worth noting in brief include:

• The New York Times’ Editorial Board is running a defense of Al Jazeera, claiming that Egypt and the GCC are so antagonistic toward the outlet because of a desire to suppress dissent.
• President Abdel Fattah El Sisi should set aside a death sentence confirmed by the country’s highest appeals court on 25 April, Human Rights Watch says. “The sentence followed a trial that violated the defendant’s due process rights,” the organization says.
• Egyptian Muslims and Christians breaking bread during Ramadan, a welcome sight with all the sectarian attacks, is being explored by Reuters.