"You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming" – Pablo Neruda In Arabic and many other Semitic and Hamitic Afro-Asiatic languages, there is a peculiar feature of consonantal transformation, a sort of metamorphosing of consonants that is an intriguing diachronic morphological trait.

The current Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, designed to prevent Iranian-backed forces from gaining power, symbolises the Gulf’s new assertiveness. This is unfolding as the various Gulf states seek to hedge their bets with different strategies that complement rather than replace the regional US security umbrella.

Ten days into the beginning of “Decisive Storm”, and we are still divided on who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Led by Saudi Arabia, the coalition forces continue to strike the military facilities and the strategic locations under the control of the Houthis, and will continue to do so until they restore the legitimacy of President Hadi.

The Arab Summit was held this year amid crucial circumstances, an outcome of internal disturbances in some Arab countries and external interference in others.

The 22nd March was World Water Day – dedicated as such in 1993 by the UN General Assembly. Ashoka Arab World has focused on environmental protection since our inception and long recognized the importance of finding and supporting leading social entrepreneurs working in this area. Seeing the water crisis our region is facing is a further reminder of the urgent need to take action.

We are entering the fifth year of crisis in Syria, with no end in sight. Instability is threatening neighboring countries and indeed the whole region. A political solution that could put an end to this unprecedented crisis remains on a distant horizon.

This week, I visited Abshway district in Fayoum Governorate, Egypt for the launch of the Legal Aid Office in the Abshway Family court. My visit was within the context of a project that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt is implementing with the Ministry of Justice.

Since the Syrian crisis grew to be a hub of attention for all those concerned with the future and destiny of this nation, it became a topic present in all political and humanitarian debates, official and unofficial.

Egypt is now in a state of constant psycho-emotional intransigence. Old neighbours who once enjoyed daily cups of tea are turning on one another, some Christians are being accused of being Muslim Brotherhood sympathisers and some mothers are turning against sons. Egypt is not in a state of civil war but it is a very uncivil state of affairs that are the calling card of, what history will label as, the Al-Sisi period. How we got here and more crucially where Egypt goes from here will have very profound impact on the daily lives of ninety million Egyptians who call the Nile delta home.

There are a number of notions that have become myths wrongly used, both politically and ethically. One of the most famous is the widespread notion in political and media discourse that there is no impartial or objective media, and that the media in the most established democracies is owned by individuals and run as enterprises aiming at profit, thus serving the interest of owners, or is controlled by advertisers or governments.

In today's Arab world, it is becoming more and more difficult to isolate the internal affairs of a specific country from the regional and international dynamics. Egypt is no exception; it is a case where the regional plays a fundamental role in how local decisions are taken by the head of the 3 July military coup.

Over the past few days, the Egyptian government has unveiled to the world and surprisingly enough, its own Egyptian nationals, that there shall be a change of its capital state. It will be moving from Cairo to a patch of uninhabited land 50km to the East of the Fifth Settlement. According to the government and their respective ministries, the projected budget for such a city is estimated at approximately $66bn, and will be completed in between five to seven years.

Governments, utility companies and private enterprises around the world have rapidly been embracing the potential to tap into our most abundant energy resource – the sun – and for good reason: the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth’s surface every six minutes is sufficient to produce more electricity than the world’s population consumes over an entire year. Solar energy is not only clean and renewable, but is also cost competitive with fossil fuels.

There are a number of notions that have become myths wrongly used, both politically and ethically. One of the most famous is the widespread notion in political and media discourse that there is no impartial or objective media, and that the media in the most established democracies is owned by individuals and run as enterprises aiming at profit, thus serving the interest of owners, or is controlled by advertisers or governments.

The Libya issue is very complicated, beyond local players. This article may not be enough to discuss all aspects of the problem, but what is certain is that we should not quarrel over the parameters of Egypt’s national security. This is a red line irrespective of the type of regime in power. It is also unacceptable to dispute supporting our soldiers when they are on the battlefield.

There is no difference if the choices are coming from those in power or from some theoreticians, or under the weight and challenges of political and security turbulence or terrorism and the advisory opinions emanating from this situation.

In the 26th year of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Somalia recently became the 195th state party to ratify the convention. As South Sudan is expected to ratify the Convention later his year, the US would be the only country in the world that hasn’t yet ratified the CRC.

It’s been decades since optimism reigned in Egypt as it did yesterday after the announcement of giant development and construction plans heralding a “new Egypt”. Amid the positivity, there was no mention of the words “Muslim Brotherhood” and there was no talk of the absurd audio leaks, an attempt by rivals to pit the people against the government. Indeed, the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) has been a smart move; its sole focus on advancing Egypt—at a time when Brotherhood-affiliated media outlets are full of explosive stories aimed at damaging its leadership.

Exactly one year ago, in an article titled: “So how is the Economy”, we spoke about the reality, mistakes and solutions for the Egyptian economy. Now, as the as final preparations are underway for Egypt’s Economic Development Conference which is set to take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, the same question comes back to mind: Are we on the right track?

Expectations are running high, as Egyptians anticipate tangible improvements as soon as the economic conference is over.

Did the revolution lose its direction on the course of the years, or did it fail from the very beginning? Looking at the current political scene, Egypt is ‘back to square one’. More than four years after the 25 January Revoltuion, Egyptians stand at different sides. But the only consensus that revolutionary youth, who chanted in Tahrir Square, have, is that Egypt today is not the one they were dreaming of back then.