The slow progress made during GERD talks last week is continuing to dominate the coverage in the foreign press: Takes range between the optimistic (AFP | AP) to the cautious (Voice of America | Foreign Policy).

The fallout from the death of Mostafa Kassem in Egyptian custody is still taking up a lot of column inches: Two Democratic senators are calling for the US government to place sanctions on Egypt in retaliation for Kassem’s death, according to a letter seen by the Washington Post. Senators Christopher Van Hollen and Patrick Leahy described Kassem’s treatment as “particularly egregious,” given that Egypt is one of the top recipients of US military aid. An opinion piece in the same paper by human rights activist and former detainee Mohamed Soltan urges the US government to demand the release of people unjustly imprisoned. The Independent is running a similar piece written by Omar Soliman, whose brother is also detained in the Egyptian prison system.

Other stories getting pickup in the foreign press:

• Residents in flooded neighborhoods in Alexandria have taken to social media frustrated by what they say has been a lack of action on the part of local officials to address the recurring problem of winter flooding that has left rainwater mixed with sewage remain uncleared in their neighborhood, France 24 reports.
• Instagrammer arrested for climbing the pyramids: Vitaly Zdorovetskiy was detained in Egypt for five days after posting a picture of himself sitting at the top of one of the Giza pyramids, according to the Daily Mail.
• A social entrepreneur is turning rice straw into a resource: A small NGO is giving young people, women, and people with disabilities workshops on creating products made out of agricultural refuse, Arab News reported.