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
Common market between Africa, Egypt not in the offing The African economic blocs summit left some feeling that the African common market idea is far-fetched. Egypt
Egypt cuts exports, exploits domestic raw materials The government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is adopting a new strategy to minimize exportation activities and exploit Egypt’s wealth locally, despite the negative repercussions these measures could have on the country’s economy. Egypt
Fight against IS draws Hamas, Egypt closer Relations between Hamas and Egypt, strained since the 2013 ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, appear to be improving with Saudi mediation. Saudi Arabia
Copts flee North Sinai As threats from terrorist groups escalate, Copts in Egypt's North Sinai governorate are fleeing their homes for fear of being killed or kidnapped. Egypt
Al-Azhar rewrites curricula Based on recommendations by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Al-Azhar University in Cairo is taking steps toward updating the religious discourse it teaches to its students through revising curricula and minimizing references to distorted concepts of jihad and extremism. Egypt
Did Khamenei blur his own red lines on sanctions? Supreme Leader Khamenei gives strong backing for Iran’s negotiating team heading into Vienna talks; Assad holds off on hitting Islamic State, for now; Israel forced to clarify position on Jabhat al-Nusra; Egypt seeks to counter Turkey’s role in Syria. Egypt
Al-Azhar goes online to fight extremism As terrorist groups mobilize young Muslims in cyberspace, religious institutions in Egypt are reviving religious discourse and recruiting technology to counter extremist ideas. Egypt
Poor services in Egypt public hospitals come to light The decision of Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb to transfer negligent physicians from hospitals in Cairo governorates to Upper Egypt has raised the ire of the public, which demands hospital reform. Egypt
Cairo's shifting stance on Syrian crisis Cairo and its regional ally Riyadh have not been seeing eye to eye when it comes to the Syrian crisis and ways to resolve it, amid bitterness on the part of Syrian opposition factions that accuse Cairo of not strongly contributing to finding a solution to the crisis. Saudi Arabia
Egypt death sentences further radicalize MB youths According to some, the death sentences issued against former President Mohammed Morsi and Brotherhood members in Egypt will push youths into joining extremist groups in Sinai. Egypt
Death penalty divides Egyptians Despite recent calls for Egypt to abolish capital punishment, getting rid of the death penalty is no simple matter. Egypt
Amid crackdown, tunnel smuggling is risky business in Gaza As the Egyptian army intensifies its campaign to destroy the border tunnels from southern Gaza, many still rely on smuggling goods for work, as no better jobs are available. Palestine
