I spent a few months this year studying how the US foreign policy machine has been responding to the avalanche of developments in the Middle East since December 2010 when the ostensibly stable region erupted into turmoil that brought its peoples to the streets in an upheaval that has not ended yet. Through written material, documents and interviews in Washington DC and New York, these articles are an attempt to piece together how US foreign policy was formulated and why in this period.

The Cairo elite are making noises today to spotlight the issue of illiteracy and its link to citizens exercising their political rights. Some have said they do not object to the idea and in fact demand that illiterates should not be allowed to vote. Tweets by writer Alaa Al-Aswany and earlier press statements by Mohamed ElBaradei have said as much. More recently, several judges have joined this campaign, which not only wants to block illiterates but even suggests limiting voting to those with at least a middle education. They argue that people voting for their parliamentary or presidential representative should have a certain level of awareness and culture.

Since January 2011, everywhere I went people would eagerly ask for a first-hand account of the situation in Egypt. The tone accompanying their questions varied greatly over the course of what is now approaching three years.

Where will Bassem Youssef go after terminating his contract with the Capital Broadcasting Center (CBC) channel?

Mohamed Morsi is in jail and Hosni Mubarak was released from prison. This highly symbolic double movement, and oft-repeated soundbite, news of which toured the world, was for many evidence of the return of the old regime, overthrown by a popular uprising in February 2011. Although the facts are slightly different (Mubarak is still detained awaiting retrial for the murder of some 850 protesters, while Morsi has not been convicted), the headline was widely spread to emphasise the reversal of the political situation in favour of the officials of the Mubarak regime, the famous feloul, remnants and profiteers of the authoritarian old regime, often accused of corruption.

Finally, after several months in office, Egypt's interim powers — the presidency and cabinet — gathered some courage and revolutionary spirit and took a decision on minimum income for workers in the government and public sectors. But it appears to be an embarrassed and forced courage, and thus the outcome is too little, very late. There are also overtures that the minimum wage will not be applied to the private sector, or at least some components of it, although I believe minimum income should be higher in the private sector.

This time last year, Egyptians were a week away from the disastrous extra-judicial decree of then president, Mohamed Morsi. Everyone knew, however, even without that decree, that the Muslim Brotherhood-led government had not the faintest idea (or perhaps intention) on how to govern inclusively. In a country that desperately needed consensus in order to simply maintain a path of reform (let alone actually implement any such reforms), such an approach eventually led to Morsi’s downfall, and the suspension of the democratic process altogether. It seems, however, that the idea of inclusion, and the corresponding one that relates to respect for diversity, is still not on the table in a real sense for Egyptian citizens. Indeed, it appears Egyptians now have to deal with yet more exclusion, and yet more contempt for diversity.

The article that I wrote under the heading "Miscellaneous" and initiated with the title "trial of the century", where I spoke about the trial of the "deposed" president; I convey to you the first paragraph on the subject.

The world will be watching on Monday, November 4, 2013 what may occur during the transferring of the "deposed" president by the will of the Egyptian people, Dr Mohamed Morsi Issa al-Ayatt, from his whereabouts under guard to the court for his trial based on what the prosecution has filed against him for crimes he committed before taking office and during his rule against the right of safety of the nation of Egypt and the Egyptian people.

During the two weeks spent in Tahrir Square in 2011 that culminated in ousting former president Hosni Mubarak, there was a young man who held a placard that read, “down with the next president”.

The Hon. Scott Morrison MP Parliament house CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Minister I am writing on behalf of the Copts who are in Australia, who represent more than 90% of the citizens who are of Egyptian origin. Egypt's Copts the never ending story which It started since the Arab armies invaded Egypt ..And gave Copts three choices, to convert to Islam, or pay tribute " gezya " , which was large even for the normal individual can not pay, the third choice is beheaded by the sword.

In previous articles, I explored the different political parties and movements, along with the conflicts between them. The reason for the confusion among political parties and their inability to define their social standing is not only due to their members’ inexperience, but also due to the social variation of the Egyptian society. Often, one person entertains many social and cultural opinions, which leads to confusion and contradictory behaviour.

Last Monday was the trial of ex-President Morsi, and as expected, it was a circus. The deposed president looked healthy in a grey suit, walking into a cage of senior MB members dressed in prison whites, who were cheering him as president and holding up the Rabaa sign. As expected, he repeatedly shouted that he is the legitimate ruler of the country, refused legal counsel, faced chants of “hang him” from the civil prosecution attorneys, and the court was adjourned until next January. Outside, scores of MB supporters protested while the thousands they had protested in Maadi, which was the original location of the trial before the security apparatus changed it last minute. Despite public perception that the streets are dangerous and clashes are bound to happen, almost no clashes happened. Nobody died, which, in Egypt, is becoming the definition of a good day.

There is zero chance he gets acquitted. Forget the protests. Forget the procedural twists and turns. That’s all you need to know about deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s trial, which began on Monday in a heavily fortified police academy just outside of Cairo. Its outcome is a foregone conclusion—the product of a process whose sole goal is polishing the uprising-cum-coup that ousted Morsi this summer with a legalistic sheen.

Will political satire survive in Egypt? Since January 2011, satirist Bassem Youssef has become Egypt’s most popular comedian. He has poked fun at nearly every one of Egypt’s political elite, and his merciless, biting jokes about ex-president Morsi’s poor performance and bad English have earned him million of fans – and many enemies. Last April, he was briefly arrested for “insulting the president, denigrating Islam and disturbing the peace,” a move that created a global outcry, and even a tense Twitter exchange between the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and the Egyptian presidency.

Our talk this week is about the 2012 Egyptian presidential debate, the first ever presidential debate in Egyptian history. It was held between presidential candidates Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and Amr Moussa, broadcasted live on May 10, 2012 and moderated by famed TV personalities Yousri Fouda and Mona El Shazly. We take a quick stroll down memory’s lane to shed some much needed light on this debate and how did it contribute to the outcome of the elections if ever!

On 30 June I was suffering from a dislocated shoulder, which is quite painful by the way. However, I managed to make it to Kasr El Nile Bridge and join an anti-Morsi demonstration. Getting rid of Morsi and everything that he represented was certainly a pleasant thought that I was willing to do anything to see it happen.

If 30 years from now historians study Egyptian-US relations in the wake of the 30 June revolution in Egypt, they will be hard pressed not to use the three words in the title of this article to describe the course the Barack Obama administration has taken in this period. Many observers have accused the Obama administration of confusion in dealing with the situation in Cairo after the overthrow of the former regime.

Last week, the Egyptian interim cabinet passed a draft law to regulate protests. As per procedure, it sent it to the interim president, Adly Mansour, for approval. The new law gives the right to cancel, postpone or forcibly break up any protest to the Ministry of Interior (rather than the judiciary), and further restricts freedom of assembly, peaceful strikes and sit-ins, even if they do not constitute a threat to the security of citizens, or to private or public properties. It was then placed under review, in light of opposition from different political forces — even those that supported the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi — and is likely to be shelved until the election of a new parliament. But the law itself is interesting, as is the reaction to it.

Last week, the Egyptian interim cabinet passed a draft law to regulate protests. As per procedure, it sent it to the interim president, Adly Mansour, for approval. The new law gives the right to cancel, postpone or forcibly break up any protest to the Ministry of Interior (rather than the judiciary), and further restricts freedom of assembly, peaceful strikes and sit-ins, even if they do not constitute a threat to the security of citizens, or to private or public properties. It was then placed under review, in light of opposition from different political forces — even those that supported the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi — and is likely to be shelved until the election of a new parliament. But the law itself is interesting, as is the reaction to it.

Guests were waiting outside the church for the arrival of the bride when two gunmen riding a motorcycle drove by and opened fire on them. Four people died in the attack, including two young girls aged eight and twelve. Eighteen others were injured.