State of emergency extension tops int’l coverage of Egypt on an otherwise quiet day: It was a quiet day for Egypt in the foreign press this morning, with coverage being primarily dominated by news that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has extended the state of emergency for an additional three months starting 13 January. The move, which means to aid Egypt’s battle against terrorism, coincides with the execution of “four alleged Islamic militants following their conviction by a military tribunal in the killing of three military academy students in a 2015 bomb attack,” The Associated Press notes. Turkey’s Anadolu Agency and i24 News also have coverage.

Other stories worth a brief note this morning:

• The Washington Post’s Marc Lynch draws a comparison between ongoing unrest in Iran and the cases of other neighbors including Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Bahrain.
• Ibrahim Halawa says his health is still suffering from the four years spent pending trial in his Egyptian prison, according to The Irish Times.
• TV presenter Azza El Hennawy has been sacked from state TV after allegedly joining the team of an Ikhwan-affiliated channel in Turkey, Gulf News reports.