Several years ago, when I was a young reporter and desperate to prove myself, I found myself barreling down a highway toward Falluja. This was 2004, when Iraq was beginning its descent into chaos. A squad of American Marines had just been killed and I was eager to get the story. I was new at The New York Times and took on what I now see was a stupid amount of risk. The road was supposed to be clear. But as the highway bent to the left, a blue van shot across our path and screeched to a halt 50 feet in front of us, cutting us off. The van s doors flew open. Our driver slammed on the brakes. We careened off the tarmac, and by the time we stopped, dust hanging in the air, we were surrounded by dozens of armed masked men.

Bizarre scenes emerged Monday from Moscow as thousands of protesters chanting, "Putin is a thief!" and "Down with the Czar!" intermingled with costumed actors re-enacting scenes from Russian history to mark Russia Day, a national holiday. Mass protests are a rare occurrence in Russia -- the last ones of this scale took place in the winter of 2011-12 in response to allegations of widespread vote rigging in parliamentary elections. What makes the recent protests -- which first began in March -- significant is their reach, engulfing almost 100 cities across the country and including the participation of Russian youth, once thought to be politically apathetic.

I write these words as the parliamentary debate on the border agreement with Saudi Arabia is still underway. All indications are, however, that parliament will approve the deal and Egypt will relinquish the Tiran and Sanafir Islands. If that happens, we ll have entered a new phase, and the consequences will be grave, though perhaps not immediate. Since the agreement was signed last year, I ve chosen not to address the historical and legal aspects, reasoning that many others discussed those dimensions in great detail and based on an exhaustive analysis of documents and evidence.

What s happening in relation to the Qatari crisis clarifies to a great extent that the Arab region is in a state of severe liquidity. There is a re-positioning in regional relations and behind it there are precursors for international changes that so far have not materialised, especially as every day new Arab and African countries are joining the boycott of Qatar, punishing it for spreading extremism and financing terrorism.

In the early spring of this year it was widely speculated by some that Marine Le Pen could become president of France, that Geert Wilders would be the leader of the largest party in the Netherlands and -- most significantly -- that the Pro-European German Chancellor Angela Merkel could lose power.

Actress Hend Sabry Baheya has been honoured by the Foundation for Early Detection and Treatment of Breast Cancer for her latest role in Halawyet El donia. The role spotlights the process of cancer treatment in Egypt, and raises awareness on different forms of the disease, The Sohour charity event was attended by several public figures, with the motto of the night as “Today s Dream is Tomorrow s Reality.”

Fifty years have passed since the Israeli army occupied the West Bank, including Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Almost 70 years have passed since more than two thirds of the Palestinian people were displaced at the hands of Zionist gangs. During all these harsh years, the Palestinian people didn t succumb and didn t concede their national rights. They resisted with all means, everywhere, sacrificing tens of thousands of martyrs, as well as those injured and about one million male and female captives detained in occupation prisons.

Ahead of Ramadan 2017, Canada Post issued its first ever Eid stamp honouring Islam s important holidays: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. An explanation accompanied the ten-stamp booklet: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are two of the most important festivals celebrated by Muslims worldwide. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Ramadan fast. Eid al-Adha commemorates Abraham s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God and marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Both celebrations can include special ritual prayers, lavish meals, visits with friends and family, gift-giving and acts of charity.

Negotiations became the cover for Israeli expansionism, raising the number of illegal settlers from 111,000 in 1993 to more than 700,000 now. The facts dispel all illusions. But the US president did not mention, in all his speeches in front of the Arabs, the Israelis and the Palestinians, and even the Europeans, three things: He did not mention occupation, although we are just a few days from the 50th anniversary of what has become the longest occupation in modern human history.

Although I ve often expressed my reservations about the draft investment law over the past year, it was necessary that the law is enacted, as it was last Thursday, to end the long-standing uncertainty that has gravely damaged the investment climate. What s important now is to close this chapter that has consumed too much time and effort and turn our attention to the real obstacles to investment, which are bound up with the general environment in which both Egyptian and foreign investors act. The following issues are especially worthy of attention. First, is the need to resolve the ambiguity in the state s economic direction: the official discourse favors and promotes private investment, but in reality the state s military and civilian agencies have claimed a greater role in the economy, even in fields of no special strategic importance.

While Yusuf Alaraby, a 14 year-old–boy, was hanging out with his friends as usual on his way back home, suddenly, in the middle of a crowded street, he fell to the ground—a victim to a stray bullet that struck him directly in the head. His friends, as young and innocent as him, were horrified and did not hear any gunshots in the vicinity; they only saw their little beloved friend who was just talking and laughing with them drowning in his own blood! Just like that—after a stray bullet caused him to lose consciousness! The ambulance took him to the nearest hospital to where the accident took place, “October University Hospital.”

Donald Trumps first major trip overseas may be fraught with diplomatic land mines for the President, but the Trump administration can at least comfort itself with the clear hit that Melania Trump has been with the Saudi press. The fact that Melania is communicating with the media and the public in Saudi Arabia -- mainly through what Saudi news reports have deemed her "classy and conservative" fashion choices -- works well in the notoriously anti-woman kingdom. Her intense appeal makes sense, considering the first lady represents so much that Saudi citizens find familiar and can relate to, especially visually. Melania walks behind her husband, is quiet and reserved, does not make obvious demands (at least not ones we can hear), and most importantly, she looks beautiful and polished.

During my participation in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, I have seen and heard many things that I have heard before, but the vital question here is: how could we activate the strategic relationship between Egypt and China? I think the relations of the two countries are weird. A senior Egyptian official told me that Chinese investments in Egypt are less than Yemen’s! I told him that I was surprised to know that Thailand is the largest Asian investor in Egypt. Moreover, the number of Chinese tourists who come to Egypt does not exceed 180,000, out of 120 million Chinese tourists worldwide.

Human Rights’ article, “Sisi’s Egypt is a Poor Partner for the United States in the Fight Against Terrorism,” warned President Trump against mending ties with Egypt, concluding that “Hosting Egypt’s repressive president sends the wrong message to the world on how to overcome the scourge of violent extremism and terrorism,” reckoning

Michael Flynn has a story to tell, but we may never get to hear it. According to his lawyer, Flynn plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment right and refuse to comply with a document subpoena from the Senate, unless and until he is granted immunity. So far, senators haven't been willing to take Flynn up on his offer. But they should. Flynn could produce valuable information into alleged ties between the Russian government and the Donald Trump campaign. But Flynn doesn't have to talk to Congress or anyone else about this case if he doesn't want to. He has a Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The Fifth Amendment also protects Flynn if he refuses to produce documents requested by a subpoena. Flynn only needs to show that "the act of producing" the documents may be incriminating, and that he has a realistic chance of being prosecuted. The threat of prosecution for Flynn is real. This week, House Democrats released a letter suggesting the former national security adviser made a false statement to investigators when renewing his security classification. If Flynn told investigators that his trip to Moscow was paid for by "US companies" when it was in fact sponsored by a Russian media outlet, then he lied. And if he lied to these investigators, he committed a federal felony offense.

One of the pretexts which were heard in justifying the weak participation of some people in backing the captives' hunger strike or national activities in general is the daily living concerns that preoccupy people's minds. The majority of the people are struggling to survive in the face of the high cost of living, which is worsening every day. Despite that, I am persuaded that the struggle for supporting one's family does not hinder the ability to participate in the national action. The proof of this lies in the amount of time that many spend in different activities which are not their daily work.

Donald Trump wouldn't be President if not for Roger Ailes. The media giant -- who died Thursday at 77 -- revolutionized American politics. First, he rebranded conservatives for the TV age. Then he created a news channel for them to dominate. Love him or loathe him, you inhabit the imagination of Roger Ailes. Ailes' life reflected a great conservative paradox: The right claims to hate the media, and yet it's often a better master of it than the left. When, as a young producer, Ailes met Richard Nixon backstage at "The Mike Douglas Show" in 1967, Ailes famously told him that if he dismissed TV as a gimmick, then he'd never make it back to the White House. Nixon hired him.

President Donald Trump's trip through the Middle East should puncture a myth Americans have been fed for generations: that this country's foreign policy lives up to its high-minded rhetoric on the advancement of human rights. Donald Trump took a lot of heat several weeks ago for his warm words for Philippines authoritarian leader Rodrigo Duterte, who has been widely criticized for alleged human rights abuses in his war on drugs. But in his cozying up to Duterte, President Trump has simply followed a long tradition. For decades, Democrats and Republicans alike have chosen allies principally based on the strategic and economic priorities of the United States, no matter how much blood flowed from such choices.

We are haunted by an unanswered question: why is Egypt’s share of tourism less than one percent of the global tourism market? But, there is another important question we do not want to ask ourselves.

It is a confusing question: Who is responsible for Egypt’s image? Perhaps the mystery lies in Egypt’s “important cards”, which are capable of producing a “wonderful image”, but the new image of Egypt is usually “temporary”. The investment conference in Sharm El-Sheikh created an “attractive atmosphere”, however the Egyptian government did not complete it. The same thing happened with Lionel Messi when he came to Cairo to promote the treatment of Hepatitis C in Egypt. Finally, Pope Francis’ visit to Egypt shed light on Egypt’s efforts in religious tolerance. After the visit, we were very happy and exchanged congratulations, but we did not realise, as usual, that the difficult part would be in the next day. It leads us to the same question: Who is responsible for Egypt’s image?