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October 24, 2026

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Analysis

What's at stake as Libya's eastern parliament approves Turkey maritime deal

Libya's eastern-based parliament's approval of a long-disputed maritime deal with Turkey marks a strategic win for Ankara as Saddam Hifter seeks Turkish backing for his presidential ambitions, according to analysts.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a joint statements and agreements during the EU and Egypt summit in Brussels, on Oct. 22, 2025.

Sisi says Egypt has no ‘territorial ambitions’ after Israel’s Smotrich threatens Sinai

The Egyptian president’s remarks follow a warning from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that Israel would seize the Sinai Peninsula if Egypt attacks.

China's President Xi Jinping (center L) walks along with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi followed by their wives Peng Liyuan and Entissar Amer (R) upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport on September 1, 2026. President Xi Jinping arrived in Egypt on September 1, making a rare trip to the Middle East as both countries face the threat of US sanctions over financial links to Iran. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why renewed Egypt-Ethiopia tensions are a problem for China

For Beijing, the renewed Egypt-Ethiopia standoff is a zero-sum bind that threatens vital strategic interests on both sides of the Nile.

Joyce Karam

A quadrilateral summit was held on Oct. 4, 2026, attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi, Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki, President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan Gen. Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, in New El Alamein City, Egypt.

Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan hold summit amid Ethiopia tensions

All four countries have increasingly tense relations with Ethiopia, driven by disputes over the Nile, Red Sea access and security.

Latest News

Explainer

Why are Egypt and Ethiopia clashing over Tigray, Somalia and the Nile?

This general view shows the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2022. - Ethiopia's massive hydro-electric dam project on a tributary of the Nile has raised regional tensions notably with Egypt, which depends on the huge river for 97 percent of its water supply. Government officials said the dam would begin producing electricity on Sunday, more than a decade since work first started. (Photo by Amanuel SILESHI / AFP) (Photo by AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP via Getty Ima

Ex-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to sue Netanyahu over Oct. 7 accusations: What to know

Ronen Bar, former chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency

On secret UAE visit, Netanyahu asked MBZ to deny pre-Oct. 7 warnings

Israeli PM

20 Israelis stranded in Ethiopia seek evacuation as fighting resumes: What to know

A general view of the damaged building housing Tigray TV, the state broadcaster of the Tigray region, following a drone strike in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sept. 27, 2026.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In London, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Mohammed Magdy

In Berlin, reporting on Egyptian politics

Ayah Aman

In Cairo, reporting on politics and culture

Salwa Samir

In Giza, reporting on politics

Nada Shaker

In Cairo, reporting on culture

People shop at a liquor store in the Zamalek district of western Cairo on July 21, 2016
Since the early 2000s, Kouroum of the Nile and Domaine de Gianaclis -- the only two companies that produce wine in Egypt -- have launched an ambitious quest: to revive the country's wine production by importing grape varieties from France, Italy and also Spain -- Merlot, Syrah, Viognier and Vermentino. / AFP / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY TONY GAMAL-GABRIEL (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHE

Egypt's alcohol bans keep stirring controversy

A ban on alcohol during an Islamic holiday has revived debate over the effectiveness and fairness of government attempts to regulate such spirits.

A displaced elderly Iraqi man who just fled his home arrives on military humvee at Sepcial forces base , as Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State militants, in western Mosul, Iraq February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra - RTS10M3H

Trump budget slashes Middle East aid

The State Department is seeking deep cuts to military and economic assistance for Arab states.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Empowering Egyptian women by turning homes into factories

A personal tragedy led Gamal Talaat to start a project that boosts the economic power of women and keeps the Egyptian handicrafts industry alive.

Souvenir vendors wait for tourists in front of the Giza pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, November 8, 2015. Egypt's Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou said Cairo regretted the suspension of flights and was doing all it could to secure its airports and tourist sites, adding that he would fly to Sharm al-Sheikh to oversee measures to support tourists there. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTS60A4

Egypt may impose hefty fines on tourist harassers

A draft law that would impose fines on vendors who harass tourists in Egypt also hopes to curtail the sexual harassment of visitors to the country.

U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd L) and first lady Melania Trump (3rd L) stand with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R), his wife Sara (R) and Israel's President Reuven Rivlin (L) upon their arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX36ZTW

Will Trump’s Middle East deal work?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is all in favor of a regional alliance with pragmatic Sunni states, but he will do everything in his power to remove a deal with the Palestinians.

Geologist Leonard Karr walks out from an old mine in the Eastern Desert near the southern province of Luxor, Egypt May 20, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTSGK11

Mining companies in no rush to exploit Egypt's gold

Egypt's deserts are thought to hold an abundance of gold, but the government needs to find companies willing to pick up the cost of exploration and production.

Birds fly over mosques during sunset in Old Cairo December 22, 2012. Early indications showed Egyptians approved an Islamist-drafted constitution after Saturday's final round of voting in a referendum despite opposition criticism of the measure as divisive. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: RELIGION ANIMALS SOCIETY POLITICS) - RTR3BUPB

Will Egypt jail rogue clerics?

The draft law criminalizing public fatwas without a license in Egypt has started a discussion, with some arguing that it could lead to a further rise in radicalism and terrorism.

Egyptian antiquities workers are seen in a recently discovered tomb of Userhat, a judge from the New Kingdom at the Dra Abu-el Naga necropolis near the Nile city of Luxor, south of Cairo, Egypt April 18, 2017. REUTERS/ Mohamed Zaki - RTS12SLV

How Egypt plans to crack down on antiquities theft

Archaeologists and others say that changes to Egypt's antiquities law, if applied properly, will reduce the theft of artifacts and also make the lives of tourists more hassle-free.

Photo campaign blows lid off skin color discrimination in Egypt

A new photo campaign casts the spotlight on darker-skinned women's experience with discrimination in Egypt.

Former presidential candidate and leftist Hamdeen Sabahi is pictured during a protest against restrictions on the press and to demand the release of detained journalists, in front of the Press Syndicate in Cairo, Egypt May 4, 2016. REUTERS/Staff - RTX2CTZB

Can a consensus candidate be found to challenge Egypt's Sisi?

Several political and civil forces have launched initiatives to select a consensus candidate to run against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the elections set for May 2018.

New restaurant offers eco-friendly oasis in bustling Cairo

A first-of-its-kind eco-friendly restaurant in Egypt serves homestyle food in a fully recycled setting where there is no internet, television or air-conditioning.

A worker rests at The Hanging Church as Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty (unseen) tours the grounds, which forms one of the religious communities in Old Cairo, for a tourism development project August 19, 2014. Egypt's tourism revenue dropped by 24.7 percent to around $3 billion in the first half of 2014, the Ministry of Tourism said in a statement. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: BUSINESS RELIGION TRAVEL) - RTR42Y3N

Will Jesus save Egypt's struggling tourism industry?

The Egyptian government hopes that highlighting sites surrounding Jesus' flight into Egypt will boost its sagging tourism sector.