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October 26, 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 hold posters with an image of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Al-Hussein mosque, named after Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein ibn Ali, before Ahmadinejad's visit to the mosque in old Cairo February 5, 2013. Ahmadinejad was both kissed and scolded on Tuesday when he began the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution. The trip was meant to underline a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state, President Mohamed Mursi, l

Are relations between Iran, Egypt warming?

The rise of the Islamic State as a common enemy threatening Muslims from all sects explains the possible rapprochement between Iran and Egypt.

A general view shows Al-Azhar University, which was founded in the 10th century through the endowment of a charitable trust, or awqaf, in Cairo March 19, 2013. The endowments, known as awqaf, receive donations from Muslims to operate specific social projects, such as mosques, schools and welfare schemes. The system goes back more than a thousand years, to soon after the birth of Islam. A fund management venture set up in Dubai this month is taking aim at one of the great backwaters of the Middle Eastern eco

Turkey challenges Egypt with new Islamic university

The Turkish decision to build an Islamic university similar to Al-Azhar has escalated the already tense relations between Cairo and Ankara.

A Palestinian boy, hoping to cross into Egypt with his family, is held by his mother as they wait at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip August 12, 2014. Under Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Cairo has secured closures on the Gaza border, increasing economic pressure on Hamas from a long-running Israeli blockade. Talks to end a month-long war between Israel and Islamist militants in Gaza have made no progress so far, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, as a 72-hour ceasefi

Travel challenges for Gazans fuel frustration

A Palestinian journalist is one of many Palestinians who are subjected to discriminatory policies at the Rafah border crossing, to get to Cairo International Airport and board an international flight.

Deputy chairman of Hamas' political bureau Moussa Abu Marzouk talks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, August 9, 2014. Palestinian negotiators will leave Cairo on Sunday unless Israel agrees to return to Egyptian-mediated negotiations to end the war in Gaza, senior delegation member Marzouk said. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR41TT5

Gaza cease-fire boosts Hamas-Egypt ties

Hamas is pushing to improve its relations with Egypt after the Gaza war, accepting the new status quo with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

Egypt's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim (C), surrounded by security guards, walks along a street near Talaat Harb square, in downtown Cairo August 25, 2014. Security forces on Sunday cleared the streets near Talaat Harb Square, as the Interior Ministry launches a campaign to increase the presence of security forces in downtown Cairo, according to local media. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR43NMP

Egypt ministers criticized for cutting short their hajj

Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim cut short their pilgrimage to Mecca, leaving required rituals unfulfilled.

An employee works next to hay coming out of a threshing machine during a harvest of wheat crop in 6 October village in the Nile Delta province of Al-Baheira, northwest of Cairo May 22, 2014. Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer, has bought around 3 million tonnes of local wheat from farmers since the harvest began last month, the supplies minister said on Saturday. The figures are an indication that the government appears likely to meet its aim for local purchases this year. Picture taken May 22, 2014.

Egypt initiates plan to ensure food security

Egypt plans to cultivate 4 million acres of strategic crops for its large population, but water scarcity and a lack of funds raise doubts about its feasibility.

People celebrate in front of a polling station during the presidential elections in Cairo May 26, 2014. Egyptians voted on Monday in a presidential election expected to sweep former army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi into office, with supporters brushing aside concerns about human rights and hailing him as the strong leader the country needs. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3QYDW

Military candidates to dominate Egyptian parliament

As Egypt gears up for parliamentary elections, many fear that former generals will be elected to consolidate President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's power.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during the Gaza international donors conference in Cairo October 12, 2014. Kerry announced on Sunday an additional $212 million in aid to the Palestinian people at a Cairo conference on rebuilding Gaza following a war earlier this year. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR49UL4

Will Gaza donors conference encourage multilateral talks?

The Gaza donors conference, the third of its kind, is different from the two previous meetings in that the host has called on Israel to embrace the Arab Peace Initiative and join a multilateral negotiation track.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) talks to Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir at Khartoum International Airport in Khartoum June 27, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah (SUDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3W4LF

Sudan restates claim to disputed territory with Egypt

Sudan recently announced it was including the disputed Halayeb area as an electoral district for its elections in 2015, proving a setback to Egypt-Sudan relations that were gradually improving after Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s election as president.

Activists, accused of working for unlicensed non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and receiving illegal foreign funds, stand in a cage during the opening of their trial in Cairo March 8, 2012. An Egyptian judge said on Thursday he was delaying until April 10 the trial of civil society activists including 16 Americans accused of receiving illegal foreign funds and pursuing their pro-democracy activities without a licence. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTR2Z1

Egyptian activists fear new penalties for foreign funding

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has issued a presidential decree increasing punishment for groups receiving foreign funding in the context of counterterrorism, but activists fear the new measures will target them.

A disabled protester opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi waves a broom towards police during clashes along Qasr Al Nil bridge leading to Tahrir Square in Cairo January 28, 2013. A man was shot dead on Monday in a fifth day of violence inEgypt that has killed 50 people and prompted the Islamist president to declare a state of emergency in an attempt to end a wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world's biggest nation. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3D3EP

Egypt's disabled marginalized by government

The situation of disabled Egyptians is not improving and may further deteriorate with the prime minister’s decision to affiliate the National Council for Disability Affairs with the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Wind turbines, which generate renewable energy, are seen on the Zafarana Wind Farm, near El Ain El Sokhna port in Suez, 140 km (87 miles) east of Cairo July 6, 2012. Picture taken July 6, 2012. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR34OHM

Egypt aims to produce 20% of power from renewables by 2020

Egypt has conducted feasibility studies for the construction of solar power plants that could not only help cover its energy needs, but become an exportable commodity.