Egyptians once again are mourning the victims of a vile terrorist attack, this time on a church in Helwan near Cairo that killed nine innocent people including a police officer and injured four others during religious celebrations preceding Coptic Christmas on 7 January.

I have come to know much about manipulative journalistic measures: I read between the lines and infer where a journalist is going with an argument, and, I, shrewdly if I may add, can anticipate the tone, voice, and scope of media outlets. More importantly, I have come to realize that some journalists work relentlessly against Egypt and are unabashed about that hatred.

It was written about Jesus Christ that ‘he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil. (Acts 10:38) I remembered this verse as we celebrate Christians and New Year. It was amazing that Christ has served not only those who loved and hated him as well. This was the opposite of what the terrorist who shot several Copts dead in the street as he went around doing evil! The man believes he is serving God and pleasing him by killing the infidel Christians and was hardly arrested by the unarmed people, which proves the police didn’t do their job as they should.

One bombing after another mark the successive terrorist attacks against the Copts, especially during the feasts. I didn’t want to write about the recent attack until my friends asked me to do so. However, I have very few comments on the attack in the form of few questions. Was there clear negligence by security forces? In fact, two policemen were securing the church against a terrorist who was holding a machinegun. They were not prepared or trained to react to such attacks which led them to be among the victims.

Many people have interests in rooting subversive ideas inside the minds of the Copts. Those people incite hatred against the Copts at the time the clergy and the religious leadership propagates the ideas of submissiveness, surrender to oppression, humiliation and taking slaughter as gifts from heaven to the Copts! It is clear that the extremists allied with the state as they are controlling extremist religious discourse and spread it in all kinds of media broadcasting from the heart of Cairo Media Production City! Those extremists are using the hatred and anger inside the youth and turn it against the Copts.

It seems that Iran and Turkey agreed to share the legacy of the old, sick Arab man, although they disagreed on the master whose instructions they should follow in the region to help them to achieve their interests and plans. Iran is a Shiite Muslim country, and the majority of Turkey s population is Sunni Muslim. The two nations have historically strong relations, but they outwardly disagreed over the Syrian civil war. Turkey tried to show itself as the only power capable of defeating the Syrian ruling regime and stop Iranian Shiite intervention. Under this premise, Turkey manipulated most Gulf countries and also Europe, claiming that it is capable of hosting refugees and preventing them as much as possible from entering Europe. To keep the situation unchangeable as long as possible, Turkey allegedly purchased oil from the Islamic State, according to some intelligence reports. On the other hand, Iran intervened in Iraqi and Syrian internal issues and controls the situation there, and finally, also in Yemen.

Though many previous US presidents contemplated the idea of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, they didn t see the move through. Whether it is out of recklessness and irrationality, lack of diplomatic experience and perception, pressure from the Israeli lobby, or wanting to be different from previous US presidents who passed the decision over to following presidents, we may never know, but President Trump defied the world and did it. For a brief moment, the world stood still in disbelief. You see, it hasn t happened before that an occupier is given the green light and the nod of approval to continue with aggression and occupation. This is exactly what President Trump did.

The summer of 2017 proved to be a different type of revolution in the Arab region. In the span of less than a month, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia transformed the region s legal and social landscape when their respective governments revoked so-called marry-your-rapist laws. These antiquated laws allowed a man to escape prosecution and punishment for rape if he married his victim. It is hoped that momentum surrounding these repeals will compel other states in the region, namely Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Syria, and Palestine, to revoke similar laws.

The American decision to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem is an unjust decision and contrary to International Law; it undermines the foundations of peace; it inflames emotions; and it is condemned, unjustified and rejected. That s how the international community described the American president s decision, and all those descriptions apply to the originator of this dangerous decision.

In the last few days remaining of 2017, Cairo hosted an eminent international leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was his second visit to the Egyptian capital in less than two years. In between, Egypt and the Middle East have witnessed dramatic developments that catapulted Russia to the driver s seat in shaping the future of the Middle East. When President Putin had come to Egypt in early 2015, the country was facing serious economic, financial, and political pressures from the interior and exterior. Regionally, the terrorist groups operating in both Iraq and Syria were emerging as powerful and destructive non-state actors. They were expanding east and west in the Levant, enjoying tacit and indirect western, regional, and Arab support, both financially and politically. One of these groups, the so-called “Islamic State”, had conquered Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, in June 2014. In the meantime, the west and its regional and Arab allies and partners had financed terrorist and extremist groups operating within Syria to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. Turkey was the headquarters of this alliance, where terrorists roamed without hindrance and arms and militants were smuggled into Syria. Coordination and cooperation among several intelligence services, including the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been almost daily routine on Turkish territory to provide a certain shameful cover to these groups. The ultimate objective was to empower a pro-western fundamentalist regime in Damascus, in a western-inspired master plan to install Islamist regimes in the main Arab capitals that would become silent allies and partners for the United States and the west in the first half of the 21st century. Once established in these capitals, it would use them to threaten Russia and Iran, and ultimately China, in the name of spreading democracy under the guise of Islamist regimes.

Austria s new government -- a coalition of the conservative People s Party (ÖVP) and the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) -- has pledged fealty to the European Union, contradicting the far-right party s longstanding rejection of the EU in its current form and previous threats to hold a referendum on leaving it. The alliance between Austria s conservatives and the far right in the heart of Europe is an ominous turn of events as the beleaguered continent looks at its immediate future. Coalition government with far-right party takes power in Austria In mid-October, the People s Party won the national election in Austria by taking a hard line on immigration, calling for cutting benefits to refugees in Austria, cracking down on Islamic groups, and halting "illegal" immigration.

After months of negotiations, fraught phone calls and middle of the night flights to Brussels, British Prime Minister Theresa May received the news she wanted in a simple tweet Friday. Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, wrote: "EU leaders agree to move on to the second phase of #Brexit talks. Congratulations PM @theresa_may." As May headed home from Belgium on Thursday night, she would have been confident that her terrible year was about to end on a positive note. EU leaders agree to second stage of Brexit talks

It seems that General Ahmed Shafiq did not properly calculate the consequences of his decision to suddenly announce from abroad his bid to run in the 2018 presidential election. While his 2012 campaign saw him only narrowly miss out on the presidency, Shafiq’s assumption that standing as a candidate in the upcoming election would give him immunity indicates he did not fully comprehend the changes in Egypt’s political climate, where the security apparatus’ control is prioritized over all other aspects of political life. Certainly, Shafiq has a right to run in the election, and there is no doubt that elements of the campaign already launched against him are obscene, unjust, and harm the state and political system. However, the question remains: how did Shafiq make the decision to announce his candidacy in the election before returning to Egypt?

Arab foreign ministers met, in an emergency meeting at the headquarters of the League of Arab States on Saturday, to discuss how to deal with the American decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that was announced by US President Donald Trump on 6 December. The American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital marks the end of five decades of peace-making in the quest for a permanent and just solution to the Arab-Israeli question and for a solution to the Palestinian problem. This search for a peaceful resolution has been based on United Nations resolutions pertaining to these two interrelated questions. Some of these resolutions have been concerned with the status of Jerusalem, for instance, UN Security Council Resolution 478 (1980) states that the Israeli law declaring the Holy City as the “undivided capital” of Israel is in violation of international law. The resolution was adopted unanimously, with the United States abstaining.

Disbelievers remain outlandish in their grim look of where Egypt is heading. They intentionally overlook extraordinary economic accomplishments, never considering them triumphs. So here is my effort to let the world see the other side of the coin by studying the leaps and bounds Egypt is taking today. It was high time the Egyptian pound got floated, and despite the burden that befell Egyptians and the hike in inflation, the results are manifesting successes.

Violence against women has been recognized by most Arab Statesas a phenomenon that needs focused attention, especially with goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals which allocates three targets to eliminate violence and discrimination against women. This has put further pressure on States to address the issue systematically and in accordance with due diligence standards that hold them accountable to prevent, respond, protect and provide remedies for violence against women irrespective of perpetrator or place. Most Arab States have been active in addressing this salient issue through national reform that mainly focused on the legislative aspect. Following the political developments that swept the region in 2010, Tunisia and Egypt introduced constitutional reform to explicitly safeguard women from violence perpetrated against them. In addition, five Arab States,namely Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Tunisia, have passed laws to combat violence against women, and six States have draft laws to address the issue. Other Arab States have introduced partial reform to their exiting penal codes. For example, in 2014, Egypt amended article 306 of its penal code and categorized sexual harassment in public spaces as a crime. It also amended article 242 in 2016 to criminalize female genital mutilation.

Anyone who loves their country will no doubt offer various solutions and suggestions for a better tomorrow, but the solutions should be radical to address the chronic problems of the administrative body of the ancient and historic Egyptian state. Ancient Egyptians made records on their temples and shrines throughout ages, the best governmental and administrative system that made the civilisation great and helped it last for more than 5,000 years. Unfortunately, with all due respect, the current system of management and local government in Egypt, with the utmost frankness and transparency, compared to the administrative systems in the world, is not up to international standards.

November 2017 has seen dramatic developments in the Middle East. For the last few months, indications have been that the region has finally gained the upper hand in its three-year war against the self-styled “Islamic State” (referred to as Daesh or ISIS), after the liberation of both Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, the capital of the so-called “Islamic State.” In Iraq, the central government has demonstrated enough political will to project its authority throughout Iraq in the context of the Iraqi constitution. It has successfully, and wisely, dealt with the Kurdistan referendum of September 25, 2017, and forced Massoud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan, to beat a retreat from announcing an independent Kurdistan.

A month ago, a friend asked me to write a very short piece on de-radicalisation and the deadline was quite short — less than 10 hours. I started my research, helped by my familiarity with some French debates. I downloaded working papers and studies, watched videos, read some articles, but the clock was ticking, and I had to stop my inquiry and start writing.

Ahmed Shafiq continued to receive media attention as he returned to Egypt for the first time since he left to the UAE after the 2012 presidential elections. Shafiq announced his intention to enter the presidential election against President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who is expected to run for a second term. In state-run daily Al-Ahram, Head of the Supreme Media Council Makram Mohamed Ahmed wrote an op-ed titled “Al-Sisi and Shafiq” where he strongly argued that Al-Sisi should continue a second presidential term and advised that it would be better for the country s sake if Shafiq did not run.