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.

Conflict remains the world s greatest problem; conflict prevention our biggest hope, but if we do not face down crime and uphold justice, we simply risk swapping the challenges. Over the last century crime has been transformed. Mobsters are more likely to be board members of companies; safecrackers and getaway drivers have been replaced by worldly accountants and lawyers. Billions are laundered in the 21st century through the world s financial centres. UNODC s study of illicit flows showed that the combined proceeds of all crime amounted to some USD 2 trillion. If crime were a country, it would fall somewhere between Italy and India in the GDP league. That s enough money not just to bribe and corrupt the odd customs or law enforcement officer, but to pocket ministers and ministries in fragile and vulnerable countries. And crime also adores a vacuum.

Germany s Angela Merkel is often referred to as the "climate chancellor" because of her impassioned stand on climate protection, which has included the muscular arm-twisting of laggard nations in Europe and beyond -- as she demonstrated at the G20 summit in Hamburg in earlier this month. And during her three full terms in office, she s guided Germany s vaunted Energiewende, or renewable energy transition, which has vastly increased the number of renewables in the power mix to make up a third of the country s electricity supply today -- and an astounding 85% of power generation on particularly sunny, windy days.

Since the very first moment that four states – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – announced their boycott of Qatar, followed by the leaking by the latter of the 13 demands presented by these countries to the Kuwaiti mediator, Doha alleged that these demands are inapplicable because they conflict with the principle of sovereignty, which it insists on and won t forsake. Turkey said the same and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeated the same argument. From a purely formal perspective, it is the right of every state to stick to the concept of sovereignty as an absolute right in administering its affairs without any foreign interference, and in return it should refrain from interfering in other states affairs, whether directly or indirectly. This is done as a commitment to the principles agreed by the international community concerning good neighbourly conduct and refraining from harming others. According to which, the state s absolute sovereignty – even if we accept this concept – is not absolute in reality, neither in the external sphere nor internally.

After 25 January 2011, the army and police directed their efforts towards maintaining law and order. Many then considered the security vacuum that emerged a golden opportunity, enabling them to do as they please. As authorities did not have the time or the manpower to go after the corrupt and fraudulent souls, state and agrarian lands became free for looters.

During the last few months I followed the arrests of several young people who protested the border agreement with Saudi Arabia according to which Egypt would give up the Tiran and Sanafir islands. These protests, it should be noted, were all peaceful: no weapons were brandished, roads cut, or citizens or security personnel attacked. Protestors simply held posters against the ratification of the agreement, urging parliament to postpone its debate pending the opinion of the Supreme Constitutional Court. Since that time, the detention of many of these youths has been renewed, and some were referred to criminal trial on charges of inciting to demonstrations and joining illegal organizations, even though they are members of legitimate, legal political parties operating under state oversight.

Reports this week that US President Donald Trump s son, Donald Trump Jr., met Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, apparently believing she possessed compromising information on Hillary Clinton s election campaign, has added to the woes facing President Trump s White House. The irony, missed in much the reporting, is that whether she was part of some Russian "active measures," dirty-tricks campaign, or merely a sharp opportunist who knew the best way to get an audience with the Trump team, the Kremlin gains, either way. After all, for Russian President Vladimir Putin, being considered a Machiavellian grandmaster of geopolitical skullduggery arguably gives him more power than he deserves.

Wonder Woman” starts, as most stories do, with a hero on a mission, an evil that must be conquered, and, if executed right, a viewer already enamored. On that last front, “Wonder Woman” definitively succeeds. The movie opens with Diana Prince s upbringing on Themyscira Island, a Pandora-meets-Mykonos wonderland inhabited by the all-female, all-powerful Amazons. The island was created and cloaked from the rest of the world by Zeus, and the Amazons are training on it to defeat Ares, the god of war, who wants to see humanity perish. Diana was molded out of clay to spearhead this battle. She is strong and effeminate, noble and naïve, a compilation of juxtapositions put together charmingly by Gal Gadot. The movie is set during World War I, and, with the help of Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Diana sets out to end the war to end all wars by killing Ares.