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 faces power cuts, potential drought Egypt discharges extra water from the Nile to help its power shortages, yet this policy might lead to a drought if it's not properly executed. Egypt
Islamic State becoming ‘dominant voice’ among global jihadists The United States intensifies military planning against the Islamic State; Syria’s new Cabinet; Israel faces "highly complex reality" in Syria; IS-linked group threatens more terror, beheadings in the Sinai Peninsula; what Egypt lost in the Al Jazeera trial. Egypt
Adopting Arab Peace Initiative will take time Though a full implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative is currently unrealistic, gradual progress toward the initiative could help establish a Palestinian state. Palestine
Egypt seeks help in disarming Libyan militias While denying accusations that it helped conduct air strikes in Libya, Cairo is seeking international support for an initiative to stabilize the country and disarm the militias. Egypt
Under pressure, Sinai jihadists threaten more beheadings Though Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis has been weakened by Egyptian security forces, the group continues to threaten the stability of the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt
Ethiopia excludes three dams from Khartoum talks with Egypt A series of important files related to three planned dams were excluded from the meeting, as well as some files related to the Renaissance Dam. Egypt
Gaza cease-fire might lead to indirect Egypt involvement After a cease-fire was finally reached, the Palestinian Authority could return to the Gaza Strip where Egypt might be playing an indirect role in the future. Palestine
Questions remain on Egypt’s Suez Canal project The cost of Egypt’s ambitious project to build a parallel canal at the Suez Canal is expected to skyrocket, raising questions about the immediate financial return to the Egyptian economy. Egypt
Tensions rise between Sisi and business sector The relationship between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egypt's business community might be undergoing tensions after Sisi declared that businesspeople should donate funds to the state to support the country's economy. Egypt
Israel lost on all fronts of the Gaza war Not only did Israel lose its deterrence edge against Hamas, it also severely exposed its frayed ties with the US and the international community and faces a more comprehensive European boycott of settlement products. Palestine
Rafah crossing used as a bargaining chip in Gaza crisis The economic and humanitarian interests of the people of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula are relegated to the political game that will determine whether the Rafah crossing is reopened or not. Palestine
Can Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE form Arab security alliance? With the Islamic State (IS) out to change the regional order, Gulf states ought to establish a security alliance to prevent this from happening. Saudi Arabia
