This week, the Minister of Investment and International Cooperation launched a new chapter in ‎the rich United Nations history in Egypt. We have signed – all 19 UN agencies with operational ‎activities in the country – a new United Nations Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) ‎with the Minister Dr. Sahar Nasr, detailing our partnership with the Government of Egypt over ‎the next five years. It entails a total resource envelope of US$ 1.2 billion and builds on the ‎capacities of the UN development system, that reached in 2015/16 nearly 33 million Egyptians ‎through various projects and partnerships with Government and civil society. ‎

Today, newspaper journalism faces many challenges in terms of financing, which in turn has caused fewer newspapers to be published. One factor contributing to the rising costs of publication is the rising cost of paper, which has been increasing annually by 10 per cent. Combined with the costs of printing and distribution, this means that the modern newspaper industry is in dire need of additional financing.

A ccording to a New York Times article, published on Monday 12 March, the White House is expected to wrap up its much-awaited peace plan for the Middle East. The plan would deal with the major questions of borders, security, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem. According to three senior officials in the United States government, President Donald Trump s administration is actually adding the finishing touches to this plan, and Trump is expected to present it. However, no date has been set for the announcement thus far. But it will be sooner rather than later. The Trump administration has been working on this plan for a year now, although few details are known about its general contour and the specifics, if any. Absent is the basic notion of a two-state solution unless the Israelis and the Palestinians would adopt it.

It is no wonder that a number of countries, corporations, and major banks have begun to consider the adoption of dealing with blockchain and the related cryptocurrencies as means of payment. Some European countries, such as Germany, have announced the adoption of encrypted currencies as a means of payment. Venezuela created a new currency linked to oil; a crypto-oil currency. Moreover, HSBC aims to adopt the technology of blockchain at its branches. The banking even considered using it for national recording of data, theoretically, given its high levels of confidentiality and safety. Why? Because blockchain technology is of high quality, safety, and speed. It is impossible to be hacked. It can be adapted according to need. And it is flexible to meet all different clients needs. It has become an important resource for companies, and even many countries, of which some have started to impose taxes on it, such as Australia, while others made the technology tax exempt. In addition, some of the currencies created through it have become a tool for fund raising and repayment of debts and obligations. It has also become a tool to repatriate corporate profits smoothly and at lower fees. There are companies that use it for their logistics system, such as China s Alibaba Group.

The global struggle for domination between the US and Russia is not a novelty or a temporary state of conflict. This struggle has been ongoing for seven decades with short periods of dormancy. However, strong words and the exchange of accusations between the two superpowers are now reaching alarming new heights, with Russian President Vladimir Putin bragging about the development of new Russian nuclear inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to counter the US redeployment of nuclear missiles in Europe.

You need to prepare yourself for language shock before listening to speeches at the annual convention of AIPAC, the Israel lobby. Speaker after speaker will use words that you think you understand, but they will use them in ways that so distort their meaning that the experience will leave you exhausted or exasperated. On the opening day, for example, the group s new president, Mort Fridman and a former Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm, wreaked havoc with the word "progressive."

The stereotype of the poor, uneducated jihadist is largely incorrect, and this does not surprise anybody who has looked closely at the matter. At least a half of international jihadists have a solid upper-middle class background, and around 15% are even richer. The poor are a significant minority, except in the Maghreb region (which includes Western Europe, for Sageman). Most of the converts, however, are from disadvantaged classes. Sageman also says international jihadists are neither ignorant nor deprived from access to education. Their level of education is well above the international average, and well above the average in the Global South. Moreover, if we ignore the Maghreb region, the average education level of jihadists is even higher.

As the UN gears up to remind the world on international Women s day of the challenges rural women across the globe face, women in Egypt have an historic opportunity. As all Egyptians, they are better educated, healthier and more engaged in the economy than previous generations. The highest political levels of the country have shown the commitment and willingness to address historic inequities that have affected the position of women in society. Social change however is slow, and gains are often hard fought. It will take more than political will to make sure that all girl children remain in school, to the age at al least 14. We know this is important; better educated girls get married later in life and have fewer children. So, we need the schools, we need the support at school and we need the willingness of parents to commit to also offer their girl children access to quality education.

Italy s elections may have ended in a political deadlock -- no one party or alliance gained the 40% necessary to have an absolute Parliamentary majority -- but the projected results of the vote signal that sweeping changes are on the horizon, changes that don t bode well for liberal democracy. The governing center-left Democratic Party received just 19% of Italians votes (a historic low) while anti-EU, populist and far-right parties like the Five Star Movement and the rabidly anti-immigrant League did very well (32% and 17.5%, respectively).

In this column, on 21 June 2017, I spoke of a “region of mutual security and prosperity” in connection with the Egyptian-Saudi maritime border demarcation agreement. That agreement would open the doors to a promising era of prosperity in the Red Sea region between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, I wrote. The agreement came at a time when Egypt cast its sights towards projects in the Sinai, and Saudi Arabia pledged to support Egyptian development efforts in that peninsula.

We are at a pivotal moment for women s rights. The historical and structural inequalities that have allowed oppression and discrimination to flourish are being exposed like never before. From Latin America to Europe to Asia, on social media, on film sets, on the factory floor and in the streets, women are calling for lasting change and zero tolerance for sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination of all kinds. Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world.

The annual Munich Security Conference is considered one of the ‎most important international forums where states discuss issues ‎pertaining to both national and international security. This conference ‎is also a forum for states and regional powers to deliberate on their respective defence and military operations. The Egyptian delegation to ‎the conference, led by foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, played ‎a prominent role in discussing both its national security issues and ‎the security issues plaguing the global sphere. ‎

New York—Growing up in Argentina, I had an English teacher named Sarah, a kind and knowledgeable woman. Reading one of my papers, in which I called a character in the story “a despicable man,” she admonished me: “you shouldn t use that word, César, it is too strong.” Now, decades later, I find that perhaps that word is not strong enough to describe the Florida legislators who overwhelmingly voted against a motion to consider legislation that would “ban assault rifles and large capacity magazines”. That this happened days after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in which 17 people died makes this even more ludicrous. The legislators move came as teenage survivors of the Florida massacre watched the proceedings from the gallery. That wasn t an obstacle for the GOP-controlled Florida House, who showed no shame and no regret for their actions. And I couldn t help but wonder: do these people have children? Do they have grandchildren? And if they do, how can they act that way? As Sheryl Acquaroli, a junior from Stoneman Douglas told CNN after the 36-71 party-line vote: “it seemed almost heartless how they immediately pushed the button to say no.”

The 54th edition of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) of 2018 convened in Germany from 16 February to 18 February. The MSC brought together more than 450 senior decision-makers from around the world, including heads of state, ministers, leading personalities of international and non-governmental organisations, as well as high-ranking representatives of industry, media, academia, and civil society, to engage in an intensive debate on current and future security challenges. The central theme of this year s conference “To the Brink — And Back?” dealt with European security and the challenges facing Europe and the European Union in a changing international security atmosphere.

Life in Egypt did not, before 25 January, and still does not, after 30 June, live up to the aspirations of many of its inhabitants. Social welfare has been sacrificed on the altar of economic “reform”, as if that was the only hurdle impeding the government s effectiveness to provide a decent life for all. For more than a year (mid-2015 to late 2016) there had been a shortage of foreign currency in Egypt, especially US dollars. The shortage had fuelled the black market due to the difficulty to obtain the American currency. Amid such a shortage, rumours erupted that there would be a devaluation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar. Despite such panicking and destabilising information circulating, the government did not release any statements declaring its economic orientation at the time. Black market dealers then reacted by purchasing dollars at the highest possible price. That highly contributed to the current price of the US dollar against the Egyptian pound and thus to the present falling living conditions as the prices of necessary goods have doubled or even tripled since the pound was floated while wages and salaries stayed the same.

Newspapers have recently publicized the arrest of a Palestinian girl named Ghada, who is only fourteen years old, during a visit to see her aunt in the town of Al-Issawiya. Ghada was arrested under the pretext of entering the Arab part of Jerusalem without permit. After her arrest, Ghada s mobile phone was confiscated and she was forbidden from communicating with her mother, who resides in the town of Al-Ram, a Jerusalem suburb.

Over the past few years, terrorists have taken the lives of many Egyptian people, have severely harmed the economy, and have introduced insecurity and fear into the personal lives of many.

The decision to go to war for any country in modern history depends on several factors. Egypt, as one of the oldest nations in the world, has a long history and experience in vital interests, and the decision to go to war for Egypt is always motivated by protecting these interests, its borders and territories. All the wars it fought were defensive to protect Egypt s national interests. Nations go to war when there is imminent threat that can reach their borders, and a rule of thumb is the best defence is a strong offence. Egypt s current declared war on terrorism in the vital region of Sinai and on the western and coastal borders, is on the offensive to prevent this threat — which has swept through and destroyed many regional countries — from reaching its heartland.

North Sinai has been one of the most-searched-for terms over the past few years, according to the Google search engine, particularly since the 25 January Revolution and later when millions of Egyptians revolted against the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood in June 2013. Few people, however, thought about North Sinai on a daily basis before 2011. Now the area has become everybody s daily business until further notice. According to a statement by the security forces a few days ago, “the Air Force has targeted weapons and ammunition depots used by terrorist elements to target the security forces and civilian targets in North and Central Sinai.” These depots have been building up over recent years, but there have still been comments even in some parts of the mainstream press that instead of pointing to them for what they are has instead talked about an “insurgency” against “poverty, alienation and injustice” in North Sinai.

In Egypt, almost all my friends are either scholars working for state institutions, including the media, or high-ranking civil servants. We have weekly discussions, and sometimes, like last week, we welcome newcomers to our circle. I also might be invited to join new ones. Most of these circles discuss domestic policy, or foreign policy, though a few prefer to focus on cultural life. While foreign policy is predominant in our discussions, we also spend time on the domestic situation. Sometimes we evoke specific issues, and sometimes we assess the situation as a whole.

Whenever I contemplate the state of the Arabs and the Arab world, I become more and more convinced that the difference between word and deed is what distinguishes developed nations from those still struggling under the plights of underdevelopment. As we sustain continuous slaps and blows from others, we imagine that expressions of denial and condemnation are a sufficient defence or assertion of our position.