The victors in World War II split into two camps, one in the East led by the Soviet Union at the head of the Warsaw Pact, and the other in the West led by the US at the head of NATO. By the end of the 1940s, the two sides began to face off in the Cold War which only heated up in those remote Third World countries that won their independence in the 1950s and 1960s and then were unsure what to do with it, such as whether they should attach themselves to the Western camp or to the Eastern camp or play both ends against the middle beneath the banner of “nonalignment”.

During his recent trip to Europe US President Donald Trump faced a new challenge with his European allies over the status of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Some 70 per cent of the costs of this are paid by the United States, while the rest is shared by the other members of the alliance. Trump urged European leaders to pay their share of the costs of NATO, calculated at defence costs of two per cent of GDP. NATO defence expenditures rose in 2017 to $946 billion, over $616 billion of which is paid by the US. NATO defence expenditure is now equal to some 70 per cent of the world total, and the burden carried by the United States to sustain NATO, established in 1949 to counter the former Soviet Union, is enormous, with the country spending some 3.58 per cent of its GDP on defence.

Donald Trump came to Helsinki to clear his name of collusion. Instead he soiled it and with it, dragged the world further down a path toward previously unthinkable instability. It is 70 years since the future of the western democratic alliance has been so precariously and ambiguously poised between chaos and certainty. Standing next to Putin following their secretive two-hour meeting, it seemed the pair wanted nothing more than deny they ever knew each other before Trump s election.

Who are the potential Mandelas of our generation?" The question hung in the air after I had asked it. I didn t intend to, as young South Africans hosted me at a Cape town event May this year, but it had slipped out as we engaged in an honest interrogation of our contributions to our nations. But there it was, and the room was silent as a first response. It was a powerful indictment. Chude Jideonwo "Julius Malema has such a potential to be a once-in-a-lifetime-leader," we continued. "He has the courage and the charisma. But that kind of leadership requires clarity of character. How do we get that?" As we celebrate Nelson Mandela s Centenary, that question hangs in the continental air. Of course, to be sure, it is a question of global consequence.

The eyes of the world are now on Donald Trump s performance in Helsinki next week against a formidable foe, Russian President Vladimir Putin. As Trump emerges from administering a fresh round of tongue-lashings to his NATO allies, not to mention a contentious visit to the United Kingdom, many of us will be keenly observing which leader -- the American or the Russian -- out-mansplains the other. The smart money is on Putin, a sly former KGB agent with a black belt in judo. But unlike the heady days of glasnost, there will be no chic, Raisa Gorbachev-type first lady from the Russian side to satisfy the appetites of fashion watchers. With Putin s rumored partner, gold-winning Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, rarely making public appearances, Melania Trump will have the stage all to herself.

The Global Food Security Act, an Obama-era piece of legislation that marshals foreign aid to speed up agricultural growth and reduce hunger in poor countries, will expire this year if it is not renewed. Fortunately, it seems to have bipartisan support, as evidenced last month when the Republican-controlled Senate reauthorized the legislation for another five years. It will soon face a vote in the House, and its odds there are relatively high -- with 107 cosponsors (including 30 Republicans) already lined up. But even if the bill passes both houses, it remains to be seen whether President Donald Trump will sign it into law. If the administration s stance on another very similar Obama-era initiative -- the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, which increases food security by boosting agricultural productivity, predominantly in African countries -- is anything to go by, the chances for renewal appear quite low. On the one-year anniversary of the Trump presidency, the Treasury Department declared the US would pull out of that program.

For seven decades, the equations of the Arab-Israeli conflict revolved around two variables: the creation of realties on the ground and political, diplomatic and military prowess. The result was the establishment of the atate of Israel, its expansion beyond the borders set by the 1948 UN partition resolution, and its subsequent expansion after the 1967 War to an empire extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean and from Qantara in Syria to Quneitra east of the Suez Canal in Egypt.

How can the new government fulfil the president s instructions concerning culture, healthcare, education and preservation of identity when it slashed the budget for the ministry in charge of culture and identity and failed to abide by constitutional provisions with respect to allocations for healthcare and education? When being sworn into office, the president stressed that people were the real treasure of our nation and that building this treasure would be his foremost priority in his second term, stressing that educational, healthcare and cultural development would top the list of the government s concerns in the forthcoming period.

As concepts and buzzwords on women s financial inclusion increasingly penetrate boardrooms and ‎local communities alike, the gender gap in accessing the formal financial system persists globally. ‎According to the latest Global Findex data, 56% of the 1.7 billion of adults worldwide who do not have ‎a bank account are women and data on account ownership shows a gender gap at 9% in favour of men ‎across all developing economies ‎.‎ In Egypt, significant efforts have been made to increase women s access to financial products and ‎services. According to the Global Findex Database, formal account ownership among women has more ‎than tripled between 2011 and 2017 (from 7% to 27%). However, it is still below the rate among men ‎‎(39% in 2017). ‎

For six decades, Serge and Beate Klarsfeld devoted their lives to hunting former Nazis -- from death camp guards to leaders of the Gestapo -- and bringing them to justice. It was the Klarsfelds who identified the Butcher of Lyons, Klaus Barbie, who was living in exile in Bolivia under an assumed name. Thanks largely to their efforts, Barbie was extradited to France and spent his last years in a French prison, convicted for having sent some 14,000 French Jews and resistance leaders to their death. The Klarsfelds identified fascists who had scattered after the end of World War II, at times to hidden exiles. The duo pursued them, often at great risk, and held to account politicians and diplomats who sought to mask their Nazi backgrounds and carve out a new life in post-Holocaust Europe.

During my summer trip to Paris, where I had planned to investigate developments in world ideas, I found that a number of Egyptian-related events topped the agendas of my conversations with writers, journalists and politicians. Foremost among these, of course, was Egypt s participation in the World Cup tournament. This was a natural conversation opener given that I am Egyptian and our national team was playing at the time. It was not always the most gratifying opener, though.

On Thursday, 28 June, the White House press secretary released a statement that President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet 16 July in Helsinki. The two leaders would discuss bilateral relations between the United States and Russia, in addition to a “range of national security issues”.

Harley-Davidson -- and, really, the American motorcycle industry -- is in many ways iconic of America. Motorcycles are symbolic ambassadors for the American spirit. At the same time, the industry, which employs many people in both manufacturing and retail, runs on a very thin profit margin. Cutting into that profit margin does not help the motorcycle industry, motorcyclists or the American economy in general. Recently, the Trump administration raised tariffs on some European products, which, predictably, led to something of a trade war. The European Union came up with its own tariffs -- including higher duties on American-built motorcycles -- that will add an estimated $2,200 to the price of Harley-Davidson motorcycles exported to the EU.

A little more than 37 years after Ronald Reagan s first appointment to the Supreme Court was announced, his last appointee will retire. For the first time in nearly four decades, there will not be a Reagan appointee on the court. To some, that is regrettable. To others, it may be something to celebrate. Either way, it is worth noting that Reagan s first appointee -- Sandra Day O Connor -- and his last appointee -- Anthony Kennedy -- were perhaps the two most important and influential justices in the last three decades. Reagan announced his intention to nominate O Connor to be an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1981. She would, upon confirmation, be the first woman in history to serve on the nation s highest court.

On Wednesday, the North Korea watchers at 38 North released satellite imagery that shows North Korea making improvements to the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center. While this report is unsettling, it is not at all surprising. More unsettling than the report is the possibility that President Donald Trump believed that the North Korean nuclear threat could be solved by a handshake. In the immediate aftermath of the Singapore Summit, Trump said that, "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea." That statement was false, and the North Korean activity at Yongbyon proves it.

I do not think at all that Mubarak , Morsi or Elsisi are the solutions to Egypt problems . The solution is simply secular capitalism that is based on performance and ability only . Sports ,economy, industry ,tourism and the health system have to improve .Egypt is far away from progressing if it insists on playing the same way and applying the same regimen . Do you think there is a difference between Elsisi or Morsi . Both have the same agenda that is based on emotions not on the real facts which is based on performance and ability. Do you think that a military brain has the ability to understand or to perform in a ferocious secular system . Choose the brains of whatever colour creed ,race or religion and Egypt will progress .Egypt has the brains but these brains are hidden purposely by the Egyptians .If Someone can simply look back at the history of The old pharoic regimen and how it progressed you will find that they applied a western system.

During the presidential campaign, when Donald Trump recited his favorite riff: "Build the wall," I would always advise him, "Make sure that wall has big gates for immigrants to enter legally." Over the next few weeks, Congress has some big decisions to make on immigration, and this comes at a time when both parties seem to be leaning in the wrong direction.

Shortly after this year s presidential elections during a meeting with political party representatives at the Fifth Youth Conference in Cairo on 16 May, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said there were too many political parties in Egypt and that they needed to merge into a smaller number. Although Al-Sisi had called on the political parties to unite their ranks in the past, this time round his statement was followed by actions on the ground that suggested that this latest proposal was more than just a suggestion.

Terrorism is a persistent and evolving global menace. No country is immune. Social media, encrypted communications and the dark web are being used to spread propaganda, radicalize new recruits and plan atrocities. The threat ranges from the crude tactics of lone actors to sophisticated coordinated attacks and the horrific prospect of terrorists using chemical, biological or radioactive weapons. Our response needs to be equally agile and multifaceted. That is why I am convening the first-ever United Nations High-level Conference on Counter-Terrorism this week in New York. Heads of national counter-terrorism agencies and representatives from international institutions and civil society will discuss how to improve international cooperation and build new partnerships.

We may think we know a lot about Saudi Arabia s Mohammed bin Salman, one year after he was elevated to Crown Prince. After all, the past 12 months have seen him blitz world capitals, wooing politicians, business leaders and populations alike promoting his vision for modernizing his country. In London alone, he lavished a cool $1 million on advertising during a three-day trip, according to a source with knowledge of the visit. The US got a two-week version of the same charm offensive.

When a politician with authoritarian tendencies takes office -- even in a democratic country -- there s no way to know what the future holds. It s easy to take comfort in the prospects for setting everything right in the next election, to feel reassured by massive turnout in protests against excesses, and to believe that democracy is being protected by court rulings, by Congress, and by human decency. But recent history in the many countries now governed by authoritarian populists has shown that there s more reason for alarm than for comfort, more reason to remain on guard than to relax.