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.

Thirty years after the Seoul Olympic Games, the organization and events of which impressed the entire world, the 23rd Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in PyeongChang, Korea, in February 2018. The PyeongChang Olympic Games will build on what was founded three decades ago: it will cultivate the true values of the Olympic movement and provide an opportunity, once again, to show the world the path Korea has travelled over the past three decades.

No one can touch Egypt s water: Al-Sisi” read the main headlines of most state and private newspapers. This comes in light of renewed concerns about the Renaissance Dam. Al-Ahram s Morsi Attallah s Sunday column stated that the fact is, water security is part of the comprehensive concept of national security, defending Egypt s right in rejecting Addis Ababa s breach of agreements.

A few days ago, the World Bank Group released its Doing Business 2018 report. The report sheds light on the country s performance and business climate through a number of indicators during the period from July 2016 to the end of June 2017. The Doing Business Index has been issued 15 times to date. It aims to investigate regulatory actions that improve business activity and those that restrict it during the year. The report presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights in 190 countries. It measures regulations affecting areas of the life of a business. This includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, and protecting minority investors, amongst others.

The Ethiopian Renaissance Dam continues to be a topic of concern in op-eds, especially after the unsuccessful latest tripartite meeting and opinions that Sudan was not supportive of Egypt. But Sudan is entitled to protect its interests, wrote journalist Seliman Gouda in the private Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper on Tuesday. He argued that Sudan sees several benefits resulting from the dam and that it would not be logical for a country to put another country s interests before its own, despite historical relations.

If you happen to believe that miracles do not happen anymore, you are well advised to do some serious rethinking. When the President of the United States of America starts to vehemently defend economic and trade policies of a rather closed minded and protective nature – to say the least, that is – and even openly admits it while the President of the People s Republic of China, supposedly of a socialist/communist background, can t stop hailing the tremendous advantages of free trade and globalisation to an extent of describing the latter as irreversible, then the aforementioned idea becomes very much doubtful. This is exactly what happened with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in their speeches delivered to the “Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation” Forum (APEC) hosted by Vietnam last week, posing a number of important, and indeed, somehow worrying questions pertaining to the future of world trade, the redistribution of roles therein, the ties and relations that will regulate it, and the balance of power expected to be prevalent in the mid – to long term.

Middle East affairs continue to be the focus of attention with writers shifting focus towards Hezbollah and Iran after commentaries in the past week on the resignation of Lebanese PM Saad Al-Hariri and his continued presence in Saudi Arabia. Makram Mohamed Ahmed s column in state-run daily Al-Ahram on Monday called for an end to Hezbollah s power, arguing that it has become seriously threatening by unlawfully expanding across the region to execute Iran s agenda. Ahmed cited Israeli opinions that the resignation of Al-Hariri proved Iranian threats.

The World Youth Forum (WYF) held in Sharm El-Sheikh last week took over much of local news coverage and led op-ed writers to tackle different aspects of the event, write about the president and raise, or respond to, criticism to state policies. Much of the focus is expected to turn towards the upcoming presidential elections, the political scene and state institutions performance. Pro-state journalist and TV host Ahmed Moussa wrote in Al-Ahram, the state-run daily newspaper, about the re-appearance of figures who betrayed the country and its people, saying they claim to speak in the name of “bread, freedom and democracy.”

As I read the new poll conducted by Thomson Reuters Foundation, released October 2017, I grappled with the logic and rationale behind the results. The poll asked “15 experts” specialising in women s issues in 19 megacities how women fare as far as sexual violence and harmful cultural practices are concerned, and if they have good access to healthcare, finance and education.

Egypt experienced the taste of both wins and losses last month. The big win came via the national football team when it won in a very difficult match that qualified it directly to participate, after 28 years absence, in the next World Cup to be held in Moscow. As for the loss, it happened when Egypt s candidate for director-general of UNESCO, Ambassador Moushira Khattab, didn t qualify for the final round of the selection process. Between the two events, it was announced that Egyptian Intelligence had succeeded in reaching a new agreement to reduce escalation in southern Damascus with the participation of armed factions, including Jaysh Al-Islam (The Army of Islam), Jaysh Al-Ababil (Bird Flocks Army) and Aknaf Bait Al-Maqdis (The Environs of Jerusalem), under Russian auspices.

I imagine many officials and staff at the General Authority for Investment (GAFI) and the Ministry of Investment —some of them old colleagues of mine from my tenure as GAFI chair from 2004 to 2007 — felt a pang of frustration when it was announced Tuesday that Egypt had fallen in the rankings, from 122nd to 128th, in the World Bank s Doing Business Report 2018. The annual report compares business regulations and operations in 190 countries using 10 indicators, each including a set of sub-indices. Egypt, unfortunately, saw no improvement last year save in one field — protection for corporate minority shareholders — while it declined or remained the same in all other areas. The biggest drop was in the indicator that measures the ease of starting a business.

Recent news stories about the Trump White House and the fears voiced by prominent legislators like Senator Bob Corker raise a serious question: Is it time to consider the unthinkable and look at the options offered by the 25th Amendment? While this kind of discussion seemed premature a few months ago, there is mounting concern that the President could spiral out of control and, if this is the case, with his finger on the nuclear arsenal, be a danger to the Republic.

Recent developments regarding the resignation of Lebanese PM Saad El-Hariri while in Riyadh, as well as the Saudi leadership s detention of dozens of top figures in a corruption probe continued to top Middle East affairs press coverage on Monday. “Confrontation or escape?” wrote Al-Ahram journalist Maher Maqlad about El-Hariri s resignation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry wrote a new article published on the ministry s blog, coinciding with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi s launching of the International Youth Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh. The forum was also the subject of other op-eds in Sunday s daily local newspapers. Shoukry dedicated his article to presenting the efforts of the Egyptian government in empowering the youth. Two facts he stated are that young people led the change in 2011 and 2013 and they represent over half of the population.

One day, History will acknowledge that the Balfour Declaration was a crime committed against the Palestinian people, against humanity and its values of civilization. A crime that paved the way for a series of other crimes, the most heinous of which was the crime of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people in 1948, leading to the displacement of 70 percent of its sons and daughters and the demolition and perishing of 400 Palestinian villages and towns. One of the most horrible oddities is that this declaration, issued by the British government, lacked any legal foundation, for what Britain gave to the Zionist movement was the land of another people, over which it had no right and no authority.

Many long hours passed before the Interior Ministry released a statement on what happened in Wahat. I don’t know what to call it until now. Shall I call it a terrorist attack? Or a clash with a terrorist group? We understood from the statement that there was a plan for this raid, after national security agencies received information about terrorists in that area, and that the forces were searching for them. But what happened after proved that this information was meant to hunt down our sons who have been targeted with “heavy weaponry,” according to the Interior Ministry statement.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has developed a distinctive Editorial Guideline that compel its journalists and correspondents to follow strict rules aimed at transmitting events independently, professionally, and in a disciplined and impartial manner. Through these guidelines (which are available online), its successive developers address many problematic issues in media coverage of major events, such as wars, regional conflicts and terrorism. The corporation (along with several international media outlets) believe that the term “terrorism” has not been defined by different states, countries, or cultures. Even the United Nations itself has not agreed on a single inclusive definition that can be invoked and relied upon to classify what is a terrorist and what is not a terrorist in armed clashes taking place across the planet.

With every incident of terrorism or attack on the armed forces or police in recent years, all Egyptians, with the exception of a few malicious gloaters, unfailingly express their anger at such criminal acts, their appreciation for martyrs sacrifices and solidarity with their families, and their insistence on closing ranks behind the state and its institutions in their war on terrorism. The same happened last week, following the Western Desert battle, in which policemen gave their lives for the nation.

My bet is that those 9.4 million, and the many others who have fallen through the cracks, are Egyptian by birth, schooling, and rearing. Yes, they lived much of their adult lives elsewhere, and yet, in spite of the distances and the miles, Egypt remains in their hearts, and they carry deep-rooted affection towards it.

Cairo s relations with the US administration and with Saudi Arabia had worsened and reached new lows. Egypt was unable to achieve significant progress on many key issues. No tangible improvement had been seen in Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Palestine, etc. Relations with Italy were deeply affected by Regini s death. Egypt, after a promising beginning, was unable to develop its relations with Russia, and some countries still boycotted Egypt s airports. The world media coverage was impressively negative. The obviously wrong handling of some important crisis deserved criticism – and got it.

On the 24th of October 2017, we celebrate together with the Arab Republic of Egypt the 72nd anniversary of the UN Charter coming into force in 1945. Egypt, one of the founding members of the United Nations, celebrates the global commitment, along with the other Member States, to global peace and security. The UN-Egypt partnership is one that is enshrined in mutual respect, advocates for universal norms and values that promote the protection of human rights as laid out in the UN Charter, and supports the development needs and priorities of the most marginalized communities and individuals. Egypt is a valuable and dynamic member of the United Nations. For the 5th time, Egypt is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Egypt has also attained a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council and is one of the top contributors to peacekeeping operations globally. As underlined in President H.E Abdel Fattah el-Sisi s speech at the 2017 United Nations General Assembly, Egypt adamantly believes in the values of the United Nations. Moreover, he also stressed that the realization of these values is not only possible, but rather an obligation and necessity.