Newsletter: FutureVerse LEAP’s comeback The fifth edition of the gathering offers a temperature check for the Gulf’s AI ambitions amid fallout from the US-Israel-Iran war. By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Xi makes first Egypt visit in decade as Cairo gets caught in US-China AI row China's Huawei last month submitted a bid to build advanced AI data centers and supply more than 2,000 AI chips for Egyptian government systems. Egypt
Analysis How Ethiopia’s new dams test Egypt’s ability to defend its Nile red lines Ethiopia’s water minister has emphasized the country’s plans to move forward with new Blue Nile dam construction, leaving Egypt to contend with the potential fallout. By Eli Siegel-Bernstein
Newsletter: Business & Tech Iran keeps Hormuz reopening on hold Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remained low, with only five commodity vessels transiting the waterway on Tuesday, according to data from maritime tracking firm Kpler. By Jack Dutton In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech
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
Sisi launches academy to train Egypt's next generation of politicians Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has established a national academy aimed at training young people to enter political life, but some are questioning the real intention. Egypt
Egypt aims to amend rules for revoking citizenship The government has approved a proposal to amend Egypt's nationality law, but some fear the amendments might be targeting the regime's opponents. Egypt
