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 keeps Salafist imams out of pulpits ahead of elections After cracking down on the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian regime is now going after Salafists by restricting access to mosque pulpits. Egypt
Tamarod’s arrogance might lead to its division The request by Egypt’s Tamarod movement to form a political party was rejected due to missing information that the movement did not provide, thinking its position in the political scene before June 30 was enough to get its demands met. Egypt
Sisi under fire over proposed defamation law Even loyal followers of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are up in arms about the proposed defamation law criminalizing the January 25 and June 30 revolutions. Egypt
Shiites, Sunnis unite to denounce and condemn extremists The recent surge of Islamist extremists movements has had a positive effect in uniting Shiite and Sunni clerics, from Tehran to Cairo, to denounce the waves of intolerance and radicalism. Saudi Arabia
Egypt's June 30 coalition loses support Hamdeen Sabahi, a former presidential candidate, is leading a movement to boycott the final stages of the June 30 coalition talks to finalize a road map for Egypt in light of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s newest policies and the acquittal of former President Hosni Mubarak. Egypt
Egyptians struggle to return to Libya Egyptian nationals would rather go to Libya for the chance to find work than live in poverty in their own country. Egypt
Egypt passes new law on 'terrorist' entities Egypt has passed a new law defining individuals and entities to be deemed terrorist, prompting fears that many human rights activists and civil society organizations with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood will be targeted. Egypt
Trapped Palestinian students demand Gaza crossings reopen Approximately 1,500 Palestinian students enrolled in foreign universities are stuck in Gaza, and are protesting for the reopening of the Rafah or Erez crossings. Palestine
Egypt cautiously accepts reconciliation with Qatar Egypt has accepted a Gulf initiative launched by Saudi Arabia to achieve reconciliation between Cairo and Doha, with the former stressing that Qatar stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. Saudi Arabia
Egypt tackles embezzlement Egypt’s judiciary will consider a new reform to allow for amicable settlement between the government and those accused of embezzlement, bringing in recovered funds but also possibly legalizing corruption. Egypt
Egyptian politicians accuse US of violating rights in Ferguson Egyptian authorities are calling for an investigation into the US' alleged violation of the right to peaceful protest, when US police forces used excessive force against demonstrators in the city of Ferguson, Mo. Egypt
Rural Egyptian village stuck in time Egypt has gone through dramatic changes in the last three years, but in the remote upper Egyptian village of Western Bindar, life remains at a standstill with little state presence. Egypt
