British MPs call for Alaa Abdel Fattah’s release

Leading the conversation on Egypt in the international press: Twenty-seven British lawmakers have submitted a letter to UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urging the government to press for the release of imprisoned activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, the BBC reported. Abdel Fattah gained UK citizenship in mid-April. The appeal by British MPs came after the Interior Ministry transferred Abdel Fattah — who has been on a hunger strike since early April — to Wadi Al Natrun correctional facility at the request of the National Council for Human Rights.

Also making headlines:

• Egypt will seek the Grand Mufti’s non-binding opinion on a death penalty for a man accused of killing a priest inAlexandria in April. An Alexandria court handed out a preliminary death sentence yesterday, which the Mufti will rule on by 11 June. (Associated Press)
• Extraterrestrial Egypt: The Hypatia stone discovered in Egypt in 1996 could be the first-ever interstellar evidence on Earth of a rare supernova. (Science Alert)