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 hopes economic conference will yield results Egypt's economic conference in Sharm el-Sheikh was considered a success in terms of agreements to foster Egypt’s economy, but some projects will only be implemented in the long run. Egypt
Will Egypt seek Nile River agreement with upstream countries? In an interview with Al-Monitor, executive director of the Nile Basin Initiative, John Rao Nyaoro, discusses Egypt’s shift on the Entebbe Agreement and negotiations to form a regional commission. Egypt
The new Saudi king, Egypt and the MB Saudi Arabia might be witnessing a slow shift in the region, especially since the new King Salman seems friendlier to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood than his predecessor. Saudi Arabia
Is there an Egyptian cotton conspiracy? Amid arguments chalking it up to global conspiracies and others to poor government management, Egypt’s cotton industry is on the decline, further crippling the country’s textile industry. Egypt
Egypt’s security forces look to cooperate with Bedouin The economic conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh surprisingly went through with no security incidents, as some Sinai residents say that the Egyptian security forces imposed strict measures to prevent any armed attack. Egypt
Libyan minister: Solution to crisis lies in supporting army In an interview with Al-Monitor, Libyan Minister of Information and Culture Omar al-Qweri stressed that the solution in Libya is not political, but rather military, and can only be achieved by lifting the ban on arming the Libyan army. Egypt
Can Gaza's Islamic Jihad ease tensions with Egypt? Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been exerting efforts to open the Rafah crossing, angering Hamas, which believes the initiative will divide the Palestinian resistance. Palestine
Egypt's election delay leaves foreign investors uncertain Economists say that the delayed Egyptian parliamentary elections might discourage foreign investors, whose first consideration is stability in Egypt. Egypt
Walaa Hussein on why she writes Al-Monitor contributor Walaa Hussein shares her thoughts on journalism. Egypt
Pakistan declines to join Saudi Arabia's anti-Iran alliance Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has rejected, at least for now, Saudi Arabia's entreaties for Pakistani troops to help guard the Saudi border with northern Yemen, controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite forces. Saudi Arabia
Ayah Aman on why she writes Al-Monitor contributor Ayah Aman shares her thoughts on journalism. Egypt
Belly dancer runs for Egyptian parliament seat Egyptian belly dancer Sama El Masry is an official candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, stirring outrage among conservative Egyptians who find her art offensive. Egypt
