Leading the conversation on Egypt in the international press this morning: The release of comedian Shady Abu Zaid after more than two years in pre-trial detention, the Associated Press reports. Abu Zaid was arrested from his home in 2018 and charged with spreading false news and joining a banned organization. He had been a correspondent for the satirical Abla Fahita show, and produced a youtube show called “The Rich Content.”

Also making the rounds: Al Monitor is out with a twofer on Egypt and Russia’s ties, including their recent joint naval drills in the Black Sea to send a message to Turkey, as well as the multiple agreements Cairo and Moscow have signed to revive Egypt’s railway network and support the Egyptian Railway Authority, which it says suffered EGP 12.3 bn in losses in 2019. The outlet also looks at the success of Egypt’s Serapium Forest, which is spurring more plans to plant trees in the desert to combat climate change. Meanwhile, the Washington Post notes that US Democrats have vowed to take a “different approach” to Egypt’s human right record should Joe Biden be elected president next month.