Egypt’s budget deficit fell to 10.9% in FY2016-17, down from 12.5% the previous year, according to an Ittihadiya statement on Tuesday picked up by Reuters. This is only negligibly higher than expected results of 10.8% reported by the Finance Ministry last month. The country’s GDP growth for the year came in at 4.1%, slightly ahead of the 4.0% expected by the Planning Ministry. GDP growth for 4Q2016-17 stood at 4.9%. Bloomberg also has the story, where it’s getting heavy play on the business information service’s Mideast front page.

The Ismail cabinet is expected to give its final seal of approval today to the executive regulations of the Investment Act. The Cabinet economic group unanimously approved the regs on Monday, Investment Minister Sahar Nasr said yesterday. What’s purportedly the most recent draft of the document is here. There’s no word yet on whether the accompanying investment map is ready.

Cabinet’s agenda for today will likely also include the Leasing and Factoring Act, according to statements on Monday by Nasr.

Trump threatens North Korea with “fire and fury like the world has never seen,” Pyongyang says it is mulling an attack on Guam: Things heated up in Asia overnight as US President Donald Trump threatened strikes against North Korea in what the US press is calling “the most serious foreign policy challenge yet of his administration.” Exuding calm, Pyongyang accused the US of preparing to wage “preventive war” and promised it would wage “all-out war wiping out all the strongholds of enemies, including the U.S. mainland.” The New York Times and Reuters have more on the story, which was still evolving at dispatch time.

Israel is starting to prepare for a post-Netanyahu world, the New York Times’ Isabel Kershner writes: “Now, with one of Mr. Netanyahu’s closest former aides having turned state’s witness in two cases involving suspicions of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, Israelis across the political spectrum are trying on the idea of the curtain coming down on Mr. Netanyahu’s durable political career.” It’s a transition in our eastern neighbor we should be watching carefully. Eight years ago, at the start of the “Netanyahu era,” could you have imagined ties warming to the point that a top Israeli diplomat would write in retirement a piece for Newsweek headlined “A strong Egypt, as Trump knows, is a strong Middle East,” as Ron Prosor did yesterday?

The case for unlimited screen time: If you, like us, struggle daily with the kids over how much screen time is too much, the former head of the UK’s electronic spying agency has a message for you: “If you appear to be spending your holiday unsuccessfully attempting to separate your children from Wi-Fi or their digital devices, do not despair. Your poor parenting may be helping them and saving the country,” writes former chief codebreaker Robert Hannigan for the Telegraph. “We need young people to explore this digital world just as they explore the physical world.” Read: “Don’t pull your kids away from screens. I ran GCHQ and know that Britain is desperate for digitally curious minds.”

When you’re done, go visit Common Sense Media, a great resource for parents and kids alike that runs down what people on both sides of the age gap think of recent movies, video games, books, TV shows and other media streaming through that screen. We’ve found it a great resource whenever we’re asked by the resident 10-year-old, “Can I download [fill in the blank]?”