Iran and the United States have reached one of the most crucial turning points in the history of their 40-year non-diplomatic relations since Iran’s revolution in 1979. American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has passed through the Suez Canal and four B-52 bombers are stationed at the US military base in Qatar. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that there is reliable information that Iran is preparing to launch an attack against US forces in the region. There have been reports claiming that Iran is attempting to move its midrange missiles on speeds boats, or is possibly instigating attacks by their militant allies, such as the Houthis in Yemen and Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi in Iraq, against US personnel and interests in the Gulf of Aden or in Iraq. While there is no clear information about the threats the Americans are preparing to confront, the escalation warns of the potential for confrontation. On 12 May, Iranian lawmakers held a closed door meeting with the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) commanders to hear the country s defence strategy. “The situation is under control and there will be no war since Israel is in our grip,” Ali Motahari, a well-known PM, told reporters after the briefing with the IRGC commanders, adding that Trump will be the one who decides whether to start a war. However, so far both sides are denying that they have taken a confrontational stance. Trump said in recent remarks that he wants to talk to Iran—and that he can help their economy get “back to great shape.” But the regime in Tehran knows that if they agree to talk to Trump, his demands will not be limited to Iran giving up its nuclear programme. It would cover everything from releasing detained US citizens to ending its support for proxy militias in the region and its advanced missile programme. For a country with normal diplomatic relations with the US, the Trump question would seem easy and straightforward, but it is very difficult for a regime that feels insecure and has created a hierarchy based on anti-imperialism and anti-US sentiment. The United States has repeatedly made it clear that it would hold Iran responsible for any attack carried out by its proxies. The “maximum pressure” strategy here makes sense if it intends to pressure Tehran to deter its militant allies from making any moves against the US and its allies, perhaps including Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other small Persian Gulf countries. It will be interesting to see if this strategy will affect a drastic change from Yemen to Iraq and whether it will cause the militias associated with Tehran to change their course from violence to diplomacy. Some of these groups, such as Hezbollah, are believed to have a huge arsenal of missiles. Others, like the Houthis in Yemen, often use mid-range missiles which, according to UN investigators, were imported from Iran. Regardless of what Iran s Ayatollahs have in mind regarding what diplomatic strategy to pursue to safeguard their national security interests, Trump wants to achieve his goals by carrot or stick. Trump is keen to sort out the Iranian disturbance and ends its regional interference, irrespective of the IRGC’s ego, the nuclear deal card played often by Iran s foreign minister, or the country s politicians attempting to shame Trump for dishonesty or for violating the international agreement to end Iran s nuclear programme. "What I d like to see with Iran, I d like to see them call me," the US president said. "What they should be doing is calling me up, sitting down; we can make a deal, a fair deal .... We re not looking to hurt Iran," Trump said on Thursday. Trump’s simple offer to talk to Iran on the phone prompted many Iranians inside and outside the country to post online humorous video clips about lovey-dovey telephone calls, including parody songs like Hello, this is me Hassan. Social media broke the cold, confrontational atmosphere even before the two countries’ leaders could start any talks. When Iranians woke up on 10 May and learned that the US had given Iran Trump’s direct phone number via the Swiss embassy in Tehran, Iranians reacted with their famous sense of humour, insisting that if Ivanka Trump were appointed as the liaison between the two countries, there would be a queue of visitors outside the embassy bearing bouquets of flowers and sweets. These jokes recalled last year’s visit by Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who was in Tehran in August and visited Iran’s parliament. Images were widely circulated of mesmerised Iranian officials lined up to take selfies with her, and were mocked by the public as "gentlemen prefer blondes," causing a huge local and international embarrassment. US navy ships and the B-52s are waiting to hear Iran s preference. With the economic crisis and the increase in sanctions, the truth is that Iran cannot resist for too long.

I’m Steve Bullock and I m running for president. I know I m not the first person to say those words recently. And with so many other candidates in the race, some folks have asked me, "What took you so long?" Steve Bullock The truth is, I ve been governing. As the governor of Montana, I was able to pass major progressive victories in the legislative session that just ended. We expanded Medicaid to nearly 100,000 people, froze college tuition, and banned foreign money from our elections. That may not be what you d expect from a so-called red state with a majority Republican legislature. But it s exactly the kind of results we could use more of in Washington. Fundamentally, though, I believe something else has been missing from this race. The fact is that Donald Trump will get another four years in the White House if we don t win back the places that voted for him. That means Democrats will have to make our case to voters in every community; maybe some that haven t heard from us in a while.

At the time where three hundred human beings are starving… three billion people live under the poverty line! It is the same world where its space vehicles landed on the surface of Mars and on the dark side of the Moon. It is the dazzling world which is playing with the study of the matter. With one hand it holds the microscope and the telescope with the other; wandering from the atom to the galaxy.

Many might find proof of the decline of American might as the US recoils from the world and wrangles with its allies after announcing decisions to withdraw from important parts of the world and from no less important treaties and conventions. No one will dispute that the US of Donald Trump is a far remove from the US of Barack Obama, George W Bush or Bill Clinton. Nevertheless, the US s presence in the world is pretty much as pervasive as ever due to America s soft power, which begins with the English language — the language most used globally for a variety of purposes and the one most universally accepted as a means of communication when a lingua franca is required.

The Trump administration promised weeks ago that its “Deal of the Century” to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be unveiled after the holy month of Ramadan that began early this week. There is a lot of speculation about the contents of this much-expected deal, and some reasonable people would argue that it is pointless to speculate on something that remains a mystery, with conflicting signals coming out of Washington about the basic and guiding principles that provide the general framework of the deal and whether it would be subject to negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis or not.

In an administration full of grifters, back-biters, con artists, and convicted criminals is it any surprise that loyalty and fair dealing flowing from the top isn t exactly the norm? Jill Filipovic But that s the complaint from Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who worked as a contractor for President Donald Trump s 2016 inauguration and an adviser for First Lady Melania Trump. Winston Wolkoff, described in the New York Times as "a New York socialite who is best known for her role in producing the Met Gala," left the White House last year under a cloud of rumors that her company profited handsomely (to the tune of more than $1 million) from her inauguration work. Now, she wants to set the record straight: She wasn t fired, she says. She didn t make millions. No, she was "thrown under the bus" amid negative publicity over inaugural spending.

When I was a federal prosecutor, I once indicted and tried a man named Roberto Ortiz for trying to convince his ex-girlfriend to leave town for a few weeks so she could not testify against him at an upcoming trial for illegal firearms possession. Despite Ortiz s efforts, the ex-girlfriend did not leave town, and a trial jury convicted Ortiz on various charges including witness tampering. Elie Honig Ortiz s obstructive conduct pales in comparison to President Donald Trump s prolonged campaign to torpedo the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election. That is one reason why I signed a letter along with more than 400 other former federal prosecutors who said that if Trump were a private citizen they would have indicted him on obstruction of justice charges based on the evidence set forth in Mueller s report.

Ramadan used to be a time only for faith, family, food, fun and forgiveness. In these last few years, this holy month for Muslims and others has become a time of fear. Mosques, designed to be places of peace and piety, are increasingly targets for white supremacist terrorists and haters of Muslims. The recent killing of 51 innocent worshippers at a mosque in Christchurch in New Zealand is a reminder of the psychological horror that Muslims will harbor as they turn to tarawih prayers every night. In 2017, a mosque in London was attacked during Ramadan, killing an elderly worshiper. That same year, six Muslims were shot at a mosque in Canada. Bomb alerts at mosques are frequently reported. A Ramadan etiquette guide for non-Muslims

Before landing on the island of Malabo in the Atlantic Ocean, the scene from the plane was a magical blend made up of green and blue. Dense trees are rivalling the ocean s waves. When I wandered on the capital s shores, the scene became most beautiful. I took pictures beside those fascinating trees while local inhabitants shook hands with their visitors with friendliness and appreciation. Equatorial Guinea lies in West Africa and its capital is located in that island in the east of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a newly rich country where oil was discovered several years ago. With the oil discovery, roads were paved and installations were built. A number of modern restaurants were opened and European-style promenades emerged. There is a modernist crust attempting to expand so as to remove the legacy of poverty and disease.

The crumbled ISIS caliphate has bequeathed the world a terrible inheritance: Thousands of captured ISIS fighters and their families, many of whom remain dedicated to ISIS. And with the apparent re-emergence, via video, of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Monday encouraging what remains of ISIS to continue, radical detainees represent an even greater risk. (The United States is working to confirm the authenticity of the video.)

Since multiple blasts killed at least 253 people and injured hundreds more in Sri Lanka last Sunday, the government has declared a state of emergency, bringing back draconian anti-terrorism laws that will curtail civil liberties and increase militarization. Officials have begun to investigate, and though the details are still emerging, reports suggest that these coordinated attacks were carried out by members of a splinter of a local fringe Islamist group, the National Thowheed Jama ath (NTJ). ISIS then claimed responsibility, but their involvement remains unverified. In the aftermath of the deadliest attacks in Sri Lanka since the end of a decades-long civil war, innocent Muslims have been targeted and are leaving multi-religious areas in fear of retaliation. Fake news and misinformation are circulating widely, fueling communal hatred and political power grabs. As members of the government evade responsibility for a major security lapse, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has blamed inquires into wartime human rights abuses for making the country vulnerable to attack.

Over the next few months, the world s current and previous superpowers are set to undergo enormous self-harm. The biggest victim could be democracy itself, and the biggest losers the approximately 4 billion people who live in its imperfect embrace. As London and Was

The course of the constitutional amendments ended with a result defined in all our previous referenda; the usual “yes” announced amongst Egypt s referendums. Yet a question remains: Were there any interactions or parallel paths invisible to Egyptian society? The course of the constitutional amendments shows that most people focused on the President s term in the office, regardless of any other articles.

Spring has arrived in Washington DC, and a sure sign of the change in seasons is the annual parade of Islamist lobbyists who come to the US capital in March and April to advocate, under the guise of human rights, for Islamist causes and to misrepresent the beliefs held by ordinary Muslims. Just a week before American Islamists descended on Washington to push for Islamist-friendly policies during the fifth annual National Muslim Advocacy Day, their Egyptian Islamist allies did the same. On 24 and 25 March, “Egypt Advocacy Day” took place in Washington, when, sponsored by Democratic Party congressman Tom Malinowski, Egyptian activists and Western lobbyists came together to warn policy-makers against Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and encourage the US government to ensure Egypt works “to uphold the democratic principle of peaceful transfer of power,” according to a statement.

The Arab world is again in the midst of major upheavals that none can say with certainty will lead to a restored state of normalcy. Less than two weeks after the Algerian army brought former President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika to submit his resignation, the Sudanese military were faced with a similar dilemma.

The three previous referendums may determine the 2019 referendum, which is likely to be held during the last third of April. Like any vote in any political system, the nation’s political environment will be reflected by the participation rate in the next referendum.

The failed Muslim Brotherhood organisation is attempting, through its tentacles in Qatar and Turkey, to make former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir a scapegoat in order to save the organisation s face and pull off a grand escape from bearing responsibility for the failure of the state in Sudan. This state was marketed by the Muslim Brotherhood for two decades as the first experiment to achieve empowerment of the Muslim Brotherhood organisation to rule a state the size and significance of Sudan. Attacking President Al-Bashir with such cruelty, especially from Muslim Brotherhood leaders and instruments who escaped from Egypt, recalls a complicated case of betrayal, treason and void of ethics. Because Al-Bashir s regime had sacrificed the entire history and deep relationship with the Egyptian state and sided with the Muslim Brotherhood since 25 January 2011 until its downfall.

If I were one of those who prepare the President s travels, especially within Africa, I would have recommended two leading scientists accompany him on the presidential plane: the first is Magdi Yacoub, dean of cardiologists, and the second is Hani Azar, one of the world s top engineers. I d even like to add two more; Mohamed Ghoneim, the famous Egyptian urologist, and Mohamed Abdel Wahab the famous liver surgeon.

Dr. Roshdi Rashed is one of the world s great philosophers and science historians. He worked as a professor in the universities of Paris, Berlin and Tokyo. He has received many international accolades and prizes. Rashed was born in Cairo and settled in Paris. Between his study of philosophy at Cairo University and teaching the history of science in the world s universities, his is a fantastic story of one of the grandest Egyptian intellects in modern history.

Investing in green turns out to be a good deal as well as a good deed. China, which has now become one of the world s largest markets for green finance, is showing how investing in sustainability is not only important for saving the earth but can bring about excellent returns for the investor. As Egypt seeks to “clean and green” the country while promoting economic growth, China s example offers some insight into a path forward for Egypt.