The White House is one of the most instantly recognizable buildings in the world -- a global symbol of American values and democracy. It is also a historic building, in need of constant repair and maintenance to ensure it remains safe and sound. It is now into its third century of life. Imagine if it were announced that an unavoidable part of the essential repair programs was that it would have to be painted gray for the next four years. The outcry would be deafening. Tourists would be shocked, Americans aghast. But that -- in effect -- is what is happening in London s most famous landmark: Big Ben. Repairs to the Westminster s Clock Tower -- formally the Elizabeth Tower since Queen Elizabeth II s Diamond Jubilee -- have led to the bell being silenced for four years.

Amid the intense and violent debate that engulfs Egypt on every crisis, whether it is economic, political or the result of acts of violence or terror, we can observe this time with that the ongoing discussions arise from mental images regarding Egypt and the region that are not compatible with reality. It goes back, mostly, to the 1950s and 1960s, when Egypt was living in the heyday of the July Revolution, the nationalisation of the Suez Canal, and had embarked on a promising process towards development and industrialisation. It was also a part of the Non-Alignment Movement, it supported liberation movements in Africa, and played a major role in the founding of the Organisation of African Unity.

It used to be known as propaganda when adversary governments concocted bizarre stories to further their agendas. Tabloid journalism is a lighter version of the same; it goes after overblown gossip and bogus rumours. Now, in the age of social media, the words “disinformation,” “yellow journalism” or better yet “fake news” have come to life. Hoax stories are created to deceive and intended to mislead, and in the process influence millions.

Over the 22 years I have been involved in the annual Euromoney Egypt Conference I have seen both Egyptian and international experts and policy-makers advocate many models of development. Egypt s been through some challenging times both politically and economically and has changed beyond recognition since I first visited in 1994, but I believe that few would disagree that the country has missed many opportunities and travelled down some wrong paths. The need for change and development is stronger than ever.

If we truly took the Bible seriously, we might never get past the first chapter. Push far enough down our respective family trees, the Bible teaches, and we will all end up with the same starting point, Adam. The Bible begins this way, the Talmudic Sages teach, "so that no person might say to another, My father was greater than yours. " One of the most fundamental claims Judaism makes about the world is that every human being on the face of the earth -- black and white, male and female -- is created in the image of God and is therefore infinitely valuable.

US President Donald Trump implied in one of his latest tweets that he forced North Korea to back down over its threat to Guam. It s a dangerous misperception that could cause the crisis to escalate and Trump to miss what could be the best chance he will have to halt the tests of missiles that can now threaten the American homeland. Anxious about annual US-South Korea military exercises that begin next week, Pyongyang has presented the United States with a clear, coercive choice: reduce tensions or face a highly destabilizing missile strike to the waters around Guam.

Donald Trump s supporters are convinced that no matter what the President says on the thorny issue of race, it will never be enough for his critics. "If Donald Trump (had) suddenly jumped on Marine One ... down to Charlottesville, walked into the jail where the young man was being held, shot him between the eyes, I guarantee you people said he didn t use the right caliber bullet," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said this weekend on Fox and Friends. Trump supporters, like Huckabee, are right: only Trump s actions will matter because the President has so devalued his own words.

In Russia and neighboring Belarus, preparations are underway for Zapad -- a major military exercise to be held in September. The two countries Western neighbors are worried. Zapad is Russian for "West," and of all the different major exercises in the Russian military calendar, it causes the most excitement and concern because it is the one that most closely resembles practice for invading those neighbors. As a result, this regular event receives a lot more attention than other Russian manoeuvers of similar size. Held every four years, the exercise can even develop its own mythology: Much of the Western coverage said that the 2009 exercise ended with a simulated nuclear attack on Warsaw, Poland, even though there is no evidence at all from unclassified sources to suggest this was the case.

Despite condemnation from 40 countries and even the Pope, Venezuela s ruling party installed its new assembly last weekend. Choosing as its head former Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez, a loyal follower of President Nicolas Maduro, the assembly focused on efforts to stifle any dissent, beginning deliberations to undermine the opposition controlled legislature and restructure the government. The government swiftly moved to consolidate its broader authoritarian grip, firing state workers who didn t vote, punishing the last remaining independent media outlets, ousting the outspoken attorney general, Luisa Ortega, and arresting many opposition figures.

There is something that instinctively scares us when we see slavish military synchronicity. It awakens deep fear, an inescapable conditioning that tells us such an excess of squeaky precise coordination won t end well. Kim Jong Un may not intend us to read him this way, although much of his behavior suggests that he does. Of course, what is really getting under our skin, beyond the parades of soldiers and civilians, is that this third-generation dictator still only in his 30s is on the verge of nuclearizing his intercontinental ballistic missiles -- and if something isn t done soon, he might make good on his promise and lob one at the US.

I wouldn t have imagined that one day I would write about Lebanese racism that some incite publicly and shamelessly and that is practised by many in largesse and a good-natured manner as if it is a recipe for superiority and surpassing past complexes. According to comments circulating by some big politicians, analysts and heads of municipalities in the north and south of the country, and what is worse, in the statements of major religious personalities, Lebanese racism is directed mainly to Syrian refugees obliged by the accursed war in their country to seek asylum in a friendly country, or so they thought.

One of the main issues in the east is centring all attention on women. In a time where people have surpassed their physical needs, heaven remains for the eastern people a collection of food and women. In Merzak Allouache s 2017 docunarrative Investigating Heaven, we follow the story of Nejma, a journalist who is doing an investigative report on the concept of heaven in the Algerian society. She asks her subjects what paradise will be when the pious dead men are promised a 72 sex-driven virgins by the divine.

The curtailing of electricity to Gaza conducted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah in connivance with Israeli authorities seriously hurts the people of that region. They have become the victims of the political fighting between the PA, ruled by Fatah, and the Palestinian leadership in Gaza, ruled by Hamas. The PA pays Israel for the provision of electricity to Gaza. However, it has decided to reduce the electricity supply to Gaza from three hours a day to only two hours, thus worsening an already serious situation. Gazans health has been particularly affected. “The health sector is able to provide only the absolute minimum standard of care—hospitals are being forced to cancel some operations, are cutting back on maintenance, and are dependent on the UN for emergency fuel to run their generators,” stated Michael Lynk, UN special rapporteur for human rights in the occupied territories. With his characteristic nonchalance, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel s defence minister, declared, “We are not a side in this issue. They pay, they get electricity. They don t pay, they don t get electricity.”

In a time when world-leaders are trying to pull us people apart and make us enemies, we must oppose this in the best way possible: let s talk to each other, and let s read eachothers books and stories. As a feminist, I am in no doubt that women all over the world have much more in common, than what divides us by culture or religion. Do not believe those who wants us to believe otherwise, because feminism can be a strong force within a global movement towards a new kind of freedom for both women and men.

Political parties around the world typically vie for public support based on their ideas and platforms, pitting left against right, conservatives against liberals, and partisans of globalisation against skeptics. In Egypt, however, the real challenge for parties is not winning support versus competitors, but restoring credibility and standing to party politics itself.

I recall a recent discussion with one of the rising stars of Egypt s security studies. I tried to expose the main arguments on political Islam and the rift opposing the French academics Gilles Kepel, Olivier Roy and François Burgat. This sharp polemic went global, with all the main international media evoking it at some point or another. Kepel thought many Islamic schools, ulemas and believers went radical; Roy claimed radicalisation underwent a process of Islamisation (and not the other way around), and Burgat believed the rise of Islamism was a new and much needed anti-imperialism. I thought my friend would be sceptical, as he has a very elaborate knowledge of the issue, mastering the details and the history. So I was very surprised by his reaction. He did not hide his admiration and said: "Well, these are real debates. The three have ideas. This is a clash of ideas, of great narratives. We badly lack this. We may have a better knowledge of the facts, we know and understand the actors, we are not fooled by them, we may sharply differ on policy recommendations, but we do not have this."

President Trump s turn toward a general who radiates a calm sense of command signals he is truly distressed. North Korea s missile tests, massive legislative failures and record-low poll numbers would rattle anyone, but must surely be worse for a man whose constant claims to confidence and success suggest that he is, in fact, deeply conflicted about his own competence. In addition, for a man who prizes loyalty and surrounds himself with family instead of those with policy expertise, Donald Trump s elevation of John Kelly to a position in which Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner will report to him instead of directly to the President further speaks to a sense of inner panic. A respected Marine Corps general, Kelly is expected to bring order to a White House that is perhaps the most chaotic and dysfunctional in history but is so burdened by infighting and intrigue that officials generally avoid uttering obvious truths, except when they leak to reporters.

President Donald Trump has finally done it. He has turned his administration into a B-level reality show. A cross between "Celebrity Apprentice" and "Jersey Shore," the characters in this White House drama even have theatrical nicknames like "Mad Dog," or Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and "The Mooch," referencing Anthony Scaramucci, the newest director of communications. And while it may be fun to watch, it s a travesty for our nation. We deserve a president who is thoughtful, informed and focused on working for all Americans. Instead we have Trump, who seems preoccupied with creating a televised spectacle.

As the parliament decides on the legislative authority’s position regarding the 2016 maritime borders demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, it becomes clear that it supports the deal against the judiciary opposing the situation. Behind the position of the judicial authority opposing the agreement, there are great powers which the regime and the ruling elite know very well. These powers are not only related to the positions taken by the majority of the political parties, civil society and former prominent leaders of the army, such as Shafik and Annan; above all, there strong popular opposition to the agreement, to which the executive and legislative powers are trying to turn a blind eye.

US Vice President Mike Pence travels to Eastern Europe on Sunday to meet with important US allies. The visit -- with a subtext focusing on the future of US-Russia relations under the Trump presidency -- will see stops in Estonia, Georgia and Montenegro from Sunday to Tuesday, comes in the wake of the US Senate and House of Representatives votes this week to impose new sanctions on Moscow.

Since the annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the subsequent involvement of Russia in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Western powers -- led by the United States and European Union -- have been remarkably firm in maintaining a united front when it came to the hard business of dealing with Russia. This was nowhere more notable than in the West s use of economic statecraft as the primary tool in exerting pressure on Russia to change its policy concerning Ukraine. The sanctions regime that gradually came into effect targeted strategic sectors of the Russian economy, including energy, defense and finance. But as well as hitting Russian entities, Western firms also suffered.