Politics

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A Year Without Assad| A new Middle East begins in Damascus

Politics_

One year on from Assad’s fall, Syria’s upheaval is reshaping the region. From Ankara to Tel Aviv and Washington to Tehran, Damascus has become the hinge of a new political order.

Mohamed El Kholy_ 14-12-2025

A Year Without Assad| A new Middle East begins in Damascus

A Year Without Assad| The metamorphosis of a jihadist

Politics_

A year after Assad’s fall, Ahmad Al-Sharaa—formerly the jihadist Al-Joulani—represents the defeat and cooption of political Islam to serve the agendas of regional players

Amr Adly_ 10-12-2025

A Year Without Assad| The metamorphosis of a jihadist

Water workers raise their voices, but is the state listening?

Politics_

Cairo drinking water workers lead rare, organized protests over wages, delayed bonuses, and job insecurity, exposing how austerity and soaring prices are eroding daily life.

Ahmed Khalifa_ 1-12-2025

Water workers raise their voices, but is the state listening?

The Empire's Vizier: Epstein and the new Middle East

Politics_

Long after his death, Epstein’s shadow lingers—across war zones, intelligence corridors, and tech firms carving and re-molding today’s Middle East.

Nihal Salama_ 27-11-2025

The Empire's Vizier: Epstein and the new Middle East

Election rigged by bribery, no matter the president’s shout

Politics_

Widespread vote buying, staged crowds and voter steering marked Egypt’s second election phase, defying the president’s call for cleaner voting and repeating phase one’s violations.

Mohamed Napolion_ 25-11-2025

Election rigged by bribery, no matter the president’s shout

Parliamentary elections with a local-council flavor

Politics_

Campaigns focus on services over legislation, reflecting weak competition, muted opposition, and voter frustration amid rising living costs.

Ahmed Albordeny_ 24-11-2025

Parliamentary elections with a local-council flavor

Britain's 'Core Protection': A temporary visa in asylum limbo

Politics_

UK unveils sweeping asylum overhaul—temporary protection and tougher removals for all refugees, with Arab and Egyptian claimants among those most affected.

Raphael Isaac_ 23-11-2025

Britain's 'Core Protection': A temporary visa in asylum limbo

The Gulf’s moment is Saudi

Politics_

Saudi Arabia, not Qatar or the UAE, is best placed to turn today’s “Gulf moment” into lasting regional power, from Gaza diplomacy to economic weight.

Amr Adly_ 20-11-2025

The Gulf’s moment is Saudi

Déjà vu in Egypt’s parliamentary elections

Politics_

Election day for first phase of House vote echoed the Senate: empty polls, staged crowds, widespread violations, and rampant vote buying shaping a tightly controlled process.

Mohamed Napolion_ 11-11-2025

Déjà vu in Egypt’s parliamentary elections

The Talgo train deal: Not quite out of love for the President

Politics_

A Spanish train deal hailed as a presidential favor hides conflicting figures and missing costs—raising questions about transparency in Egypt’s 158 million euro Talgo contract.

رحاب عليوة_ 10-11-2025

The Talgo train deal: Not quite out of love for the President

El-Sisi's last parliament?

Politics_

Analysts see Egypt’s new parliament—elected without real competition—as a potential step toward scrapping presidential term limits and extending El-Sisi’s rule.

Mohamed El Kholy_ 9-11-2025

El-Sisi's last parliament?

Law on Trial: UNRWA, ICJ, and Israel's politics of defiance

Politics_

As Israel blocks aid and defies the ICJ, the Court’s ruling is clear: UNRWA is indispensable, and Israel’s legal obligations are no longer open to negotiation.

Nourhan Fahmy_ 6-11-2025

Law on Trial: UNRWA, ICJ, and Israel's politics of defiance

Britain’s Gaza paradox: Diplomacy in the shadow of death

Politics_

After a Gaza ceasefire, Britain’s ‘recognition’ of Palestine exposes deep hypocrisy: mass protests, arms sales, and intelligence support show UK complicity it still denies.

Cara Burdon_ 23-10-2025

Britain’s Gaza paradox: Diplomacy in the shadow of death

Gaza on life support under Israeli control

Politics_

Gaza struggles for survival under Israeli control as a fragile cease-fire continues, revealing destruction, displacement, and the fight to rebuild amid occupation.

Salem Elrayyes_ 20-10-2025

Gaza on life support under Israeli control

Parliament Diaries| 2025 House elections, reconfiguring power

Politics_

Egypt's 2025 House elections signal a shake-up: veteran MPs sidelined, opposition gains space, and ex-ministers return in a tightly managed political recalibration.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 15-10-2025

Parliament Diaries| 2025 House elections, reconfiguring power

Gaza’s gamble: The price of making the world watch

Politics_

Two years after Oct. 7, Gaza endures vast losses as Israel faces growing isolation. Legal pressure builds, but repeated US vetoes blunt accountability and delay a ceasefire.

Ahmed Albordeny_ 7-10-2025

Gaza’s gamble: The price of making the world watch

Raphael Cohen: The translator who chose to stand on the line of fire

Politics_

Cohen's whole life has been a refusal of easy binaries—Jew or Arab, East or West, translator or activist. He carries all those identities within him, refusing to be boxed in one.

Dina Samak_ 6-10-2025

Raphael Cohen: The translator who chose to stand on the line of fire

Interview| Basel Ramsis on Gaza, the flotilla, and a journey cut short

Politics_

Forced off the Freedom Flotilla through accidental injury, filmmaker Basel Ramsis recounts the “senseless coincidence,” the trauma of leaving, and why Gaza must remain the hero.

Hoda Fayek_ 3-10-2025

Interview| Basel Ramsis on Gaza, the flotilla, and a journey cut short

Barrack forecasts a new Middle East: No more 'lines in the sand'

Politics_

Barrack invokes Sykes-Picot not to condemn colonialism, but to suggest maps can be redrawn again to by American power. This time explicitly with 'no guarantees.'

Mohamed Bassal_ 2-10-2025

Barrack forecasts a new Middle East: No more 'lines in the sand'

Because Trump’s plan for Gaza is the only available option

Politics_

Trump’s Gaza plan gains quick international backing, but experts warn it imposes victor’s terms, deepens Gaza-West Bank divide, and avoids statehood.

Mohamed El Kholy_ 2-10-2025

Because Trump’s plan for Gaza is the only available option

Tony Blair and the quest for redemption in the Middle East

Politics_

Tony Blair after Cool Britannia, the Iraq war, and Quartet envoy is tipped to lead Gaza’s new “Board of Peace.” Can he offer and find redemption—or repeat old failures?

Raphael Isaac_ 1-10-2025

Tony Blair and the quest for redemption in the Middle East

The House of Representatives 2025 with a 2015 flavor

Politics_

Egypt’s 2025 House race revives echoes of 2015: party feuds, money-driven nominations, and a fragile balance between pro-government blocs and the opposition.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 25-9-2025

The House of Representatives 2025 with a 2015 flavor

Israel eyes 'alternative homeland' for Palestinians; Egypt says no

Politics_

As Israel seeks to displace Gaza’s population abroad, Egypt wages a quiet but determined diplomatic battle—blocking deals, swaying capitals, and drawing a line in the sand.

Ahmed Albordeny_ 21-9-2025

Israel eyes 'alternative homeland' for Palestinians; Egypt says no

Interview| Jibril Rajoub: Arab support for the PA is insufficient

Politics_

Rajoub warns Arab support is insufficient, admits PA needs reform, slams Israel’s "crueler Holocaust", and admits Fatah struggle with Hamas is a fight over power.

Mohamed Khayyal_ 17-9-2025

Interview| Jibril Rajoub: Arab support for the PA is insufficient

Ethiopia’s GERD inauguration tests the fragile future of the Nile

Politics_

Ethiopia inaugurates the Nile’s giant dam after 13 years of failed talks. Addis hails progress, Cairo warns of threat. Will the project spark cooperation or conflict?

Mohamed Soliman_ 11-9-2025

Ethiopia’s GERD inauguration tests the fragile future of the Nile

FM Abdelatty, a police sergeant or a diplomat?

Politics_

Egypt’s foreign minister blurs the line between diplomat and enforcer, sparking scandal over protests outside Egypt’s embassies and tarnishing the country’s global image.

Khaled Dawoud_ 6-9-2025

FM Abdelatty, a police sergeant or a diplomat?

World media shrouds in black for Gaza journalists

Politics_

Now, as the blackout fades from screens and front pages, what remains is a resounding call for accountability.

Nihal Salama_ 2-9-2025

World media shrouds in black for Gaza journalists

‘Madame Afaf’ in a PR campaign at Rafah

Politics_

Egypt’s PR campaign may have succeeded in shifting blame, but it has failed to bring food or peace to Palestinians in Gaza—or to grant Egyptian media the right to investigate.

Mohamed Ali El-Sohagy_ 2-9-2025

‘Madame Afaf’ in a PR campaign at Rafah

Senate election results, a right-loyal stitch up

Politics_

With opposition wiped out and turnout low, Egypt’s Senate elections tighten the grip of government-aligned parties through coordination, cash, and closed lists.

Safaa Essam Eddin_ 14-8-2025

Senate election results, a right-loyal stitch up

Which Civil Society monitors elections in Egypt

Politics_

An investigation into 2025 Senate vote reveals a roster of “watchdogs” with fake titles, phantom organizations, and no record of monitoring, yet all were approved by the state.

Yousef Okail_ 13-8-2025

Which Civil Society monitors elections in Egypt

Iran and the E3: Negotiations on a cliffedge

Politics_

Israel might be compelled to reconsider its position in a newly reshaped regional landscape it may struggle to navigate.

Mohamed Saad Abdel Hafeez_ 3-8-2025

Iran and the E3: Negotiations on a cliffedge

When the president decides to speak

Politics_

El-Sisi spoke less but said more in 2024—defending his record, warning of collapse, and insisting that the people's patience and massive investment was Egypt’s only path forward.

Yousef Okail_ 29-7-2025

When the president decides to speak