The crackdown on media continued to dominate headlines of Egypt in the foreign press this morning in the wake of pro-government talk show host Khairy Ramadan’s arrest on charges of insulting the police. The case of Ramadan, who was released on bail of EGP 10,000 yesterday, “comes amid a climate of increasing pressure on journalists with frequent accusations of ‘fake news’ leveled at individual reporters and outlets, even those reporting in favor of the state,” The Guardian’s Ruth Michaelson notes.

This came as US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said the US is concerned about reports of journalists being detained in Egypt. The Hill also carried the story.

A crackdown on dissent in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East has partly averted large-scale unrest that could have followed subsidy cuts and austerity measures, Andrew England and Heba Saleh write for the Financial Times. They speak to people from Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan who believe the status quo will ultimately lead to a second Arab spring.