The arrest of seven concertgoers who raised rainbow flags at last week’s Mashrou’ Leila concert is still leading the conversation on Egypt in the western press this morning. The arrests are once again raising eyebrows and stirring discussion on Egypt’s human rights record, particularly as the detained men have undergone forensic tests that “are standard practice in Egypt, but they have been condemned by human rights groups as a form of torture,” the New York Times’ Declan Walsh says.

Some are also looking at the legal merits of the arrests, with Quartz reminding everyone that while Egypt technically does not have a law against being gay, “in a country where [redacted] violence is rife [the LGBTQ community] is frequently railed against by the Muslim majority and Coptic Christian minority.”

Thomas Cook says demand for destinations including Turkey and Egypt has “picked up as customers look for quality and value,” according to TTG. The company says overall bookings and pricing for summer 2018 was currently ahead of this time last year, “reflecting a good performance from the UK and Northern Europe in particular.” CEO Peter Fankhauser told Yahoo News that Turkey and Egypt “are wonderful countries with great hotels, great beaches, nice people, and really great value for money … We are not a security company, as long as we have the advice that we can fly to Egypt and Turkey, we will offer great holidays.”

Also worth noting in brief today:

• Brett Sholtis writes for USA Today about how Coptic Christians are settling in the US. “The migration is part of a broader movement of Copts that began at urban centers in places such as New Jersey and Southern California. Since then, Copts have established churches in most states.”
• Zahi Hawass refutes new archaeological findings on the construction of Giza pyramids (probably because he didn’t discover them), according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
• Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa, who was acquitted of all charges last week, should be released from prison within “a short number of days,” The Independent reports.