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
Israel, Hamas, Egypt indirectly cooperating against IS While Egypt and Hamas coordinate efforts against the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula, Israel is providing intelligence to Egypt to boost these efforts. Palestine
Egypt acts to preserve Jewish heritage The Ministry of Antiquities has begun preservation and renovation of Eliyahu Hanavi in Alexandria, one of the biggest synagogues in the Middle East. Egypt
Why did tribes take up arms in Egypt's Sinai? Sheikh Issa al-Kharafin, the sheikh of the Rumailat tribe and the head of the North Sinai Sheikhdom, speaks to Al-Monitor about the pros and cons of the tribal decision to take up arms to help the army fight extremists. Egypt
Proposal to extend Sisi's term sparks controversy in Egypt Signatures are being collected to lift constitutional restrictions on Egypt's presidential term limits and give Sisi more time to "implement the projects he started." Egypt
What's behind Egyptian theater's revival? With new shows and stars taking the stage, Egyptian theater is taking on a new life. Egypt
Iranian return to hajj could help end Saudi deadlock The resumption of Iranian participation in the annual hajj pilgrimage may help pave the way for an end to the diplomatic deadlock between Riyadh and Tehran. Saudi Arabia
Critics challenge validity of Egypt's anti-terror council Culture now has a place on Egypt's National Council to Fight Terrorism, but does it have a real purpose there? Egypt
Egypt, Sudan stray further apart over Gulf crisis Egypt is doubling down on its efforts to convince African countries to take a stance against Qatar, while Sudan decided to take a neutral position over the Gulf crisis. Saudi Arabia
Israel pushes security ties while Cairo, Amman embassies sit empty Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to care little about Israel’s diplomatic ties with Egypt and Jordan so long as security ties are maintained. Palestine
Leaked recording sparks debate on harassment at Egypt universities A Cairo University professor allegedly is heard sexually coercing an anonymous student on a leaked audio recording, raising the ire of female activists and civil society organizations. Egypt
Egypt's first female dolphin trainer swims against the stream Nesma Rafet, who left a corporate career for swimming with dolphins, says her male colleagues' attitude that she couldn’t do the job encouraged her further. Egypt
Egyptian lawmakers rile Congress with US gun violence jab In a letter to Congress protesting a US travel advisory, an Egyptian parliamentary delegation downplayed the threats to Coptic Christians in the country, comparing the statistics on violence against them to shootings in US cities. Egypt