The eyes of the world are firmly fixed on Egypt as COP27 gets underway in Sharm El Sheikh: The foreign press’ coverage of the opening day of the COP27 summit is dominated by the breakthrough to get loss and damage on the agenda (Reuters | Bloomberg | New York Times | Sky News | The Guardian) while others are foregrounding the negotiations against the the global economic and geopolitical crises (Associated Press | Wall Street Journal).

Egypt’s human rights record is almost as big a talking point as the climate negotiations: Alaa Abdel Fattah is everywhere in the foreign press this morning a day after the BBC reported that the imprisoned political activist had begun refusing to drink water as part of his escalated hunger strike against his detention. The Guardian reported yesterday that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will raise his case during the summit, while the Associated Press picks statements made by the head of Amnesty International yesterday warning that Abdel Fattah could die in the coming days, a point that is echoed by former British ambassador to Cairo John Casson writing in the Sunday Times. Our rights record is getting front-page, above-the-scroll treatment in the Financial TImes as well.

Meanwhile- The German government criticized Egypt’s human rights record yesterday, according to AFP, cybersecurity experts tell the Guardian that the official COP27 app could be used to surveil conference delegates, and Reuters looks at how Egypt is looking to leverage the summit for international clout.