Egypt ramps up energy investments amid war-driven price pressures Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday that Egypt has secured commitments exceeding $19 billion from international oil companies over the next three years. Egypt
Analysis MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices. By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Analysis Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan The proposed framework faces major hurdles and fault lines, ranging from NATO constraints to Israeli opposition and weak military integration. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
IMF slashes Mideast outlook by nearly 3 points as Iran war hits economies The International Monetary Fund cut gross domestic product forecasts for the Middle East and North Africa, with the fallout from the conflict exposing stark divergences between the region’s energy exporters and importers. Iran
Analysis Egypt eyes energy breakthroughs as Iran war deepens gas crunch By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Analysis Hostage to Hormuz, can Gulf rewire future energy flows to bypass Iran’s chokepoint? By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Egyptian military breaks into movie business The Egyptian movie world is chock full of films glorifying the country's military and security forces, and security bodies are becoming increasingly involved in the industry. Egypt
Egypt raising awareness about mental illness The Ministry of Health and Population has launched a campaign to raise awareness of mental illness and to challenge the social stigma surrounding it. Egypt
Egypt moves toward criminalizing child marriage Many parents in rural Egypt feel no obligation to educate their daughters and instead seek to marry them off early; rights advocates want to put an end to the harmful tradition. Egypt
Why Hamas should thank Netanyahu The Netanyahu government has done its fair share to strengthen Hamas as part of its efforts to weaken Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and distance the possibility of peacefully resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestine
What's behind Cairo's call to unify expatriate groups? Egypt’s minister of immigration and expatriate affairs called for the unification of entities representing the Egyptian diaspora abroad under one association, an idea that was objected to by some given the obstacles it would face. Egypt
Who will control Gaza forces? An Egyptian proposal for a Fatah-Hamas joint security council in the Gaza Strip could pave the way for Palestinian reconciliation. Palestine
How Egypt’s opposition is countering Sisi ahead of presidential vote The sentence issued against Egyptian lawyer Khaled Ali, who intends to run in the 2018 presidential elections, comes after opposition factions announced the launch of talks to agree on a consensual candidate to run against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt
Qatari crisis seeps into UNESCO elections The Qatari crisis has cast a shadow across the election of UNESCO's next director-general with competing candidates from Egypt and Qatar. Saudi Arabia
How Sinai tribes are helping Cairo fight IS Musa al-Dalah, the spokesman for the Tarabin tribe and one of the most prominent participants in the Sinai tribes’ battle against extremism, speaks to Al-Monitor about the tribal gains and losses in this battle. Palestine
University's new dress code makes waves in Egypt Alexandria University has instituted a campus dress code forbidding ripped and close-fitting clothing as well as religious wear, to mixed reactions. Egypt
Israel bets against Palestinian unity Israel's intelligence community does not think a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation will last in the long run, and the current Israeli government hopes it is right. Palestine
US, Israel on standby as Egypt pushes Palestinian reconciliation The United States and Israel are laying low while Egypt tries to end the rift between Fatah and Hamas, which Cairo sees as an obstacle to regional peace and security. Palestine