Driving the conversation this morning: A court acquitted on Thursday 40 NGO workers who were charged with operating without approval in a controversial 2013 case that dealt Egypt’s image abroad a blow and strained relations with the United States, Reuters reported. The workers, including Egyptians, Europeans, Arabs and at least 15 Americans, had been sentenced to varying terms of one to five years in prison. Nancy Okail, executive director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, was a defendant in the case. She writes for the New York Times that while the verdict is obviously welcome, “there is still plenty to be done” if civil society is to take root, let alone flourish. The story has gotten plenty of coverage globally: BBC, the WSJ, and news24.

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