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Via Middle East Eye As this year comes to an end, the most populous Arab country remains a stagnant mammoth with a slowly rotting political order, lacking domestic legitimacy and kept alive only by a continuous lifeline of cash from the West and Arab Gulf states who fear the repercussions of the Egyptian regime’s implosion. The year started with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who is now 70, renewing his presidential term until 2030 after an electoral circus whose outcome was determined from the start. His only serious competition, former parliamentarian Ahmed Tantawi, was swiftly jailed . Egypt’s secret police, Homeland Security , continued throughout the year targeting all forms and shades of dissent, both online and offline, keeping citizens incarcerated in an endless labyrinth of fabricated cases , dubbed by rights lawyers as a process of "rotation" . Prison conditions remain draconian, and detainees have repeatedly gone on hunger strikes to protest torture and maltreatment. More than 50 incarcerated people have died in interior ministry-run prisons, Homeland Security branches and police stations this year. Criticism of the president or regime officials in the mainstream media is virtually non-existent . Most media outlets are officially owned and micromanaged by one company created by the General Intelligence Service (GIS). A handful of online independent news sites operate under strict conditions, are censored and denied media licences and face constant harassment . At the time of writing, at least 24 journalists and media workers remained in prison, according to the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. Street activism, which experienced a rare, sudden revival in October 2023 with the outbreak of the Gaza war , was quickly crushed by security services , who ensured the streets remained quiet. A year later, more than 100 people are still in prison for taking part in peaceful solidarity actions with the Palestinian people. Syria shows the way? While organized street dissent remains under siege, spontaneous social protests by politically unaffiliated citizens involving confrontations with state forces have become increasingly frequent. Specifically, there have been industrial actions over wages and working conditions, as well as protests over housing, evictions and road safety. Since the 2013 coup, the regime has embarked on one of the biggest demolition campaigns in Egypt’s modern history, part of its militarised urban restructuring . Architect Omnia Khalil estimates that roughly 10 percent of the residents of Giza and Cairo alone have been displaced since 2013. This onslaught has triggered long-running fights against evictions, which have turned into clashes with the military and police, such as in Jemima, Port Said, Warraq and elsewhere. These protests should be monitored because they will likely escalate in the coming year. Earlier this month, Egyptians watched in jubilation as the brutal dynastic dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad fell. How this will play out for the millions who live under Sisi's brutal dictatorship remains to be seen. With the destruction of the Egyptian opposition and almost daily acts of state terror against the slightest sign or gesture of dissent , a repetition of the 2011 domino effect is unlikely - at least in the short run. However, there are certainly those in Egypt who are watching the Syrian events and contemplating whether an armed insurgency is the only way to topple Sisi, just as the Syrian 'rebels' did. Needless to say, the rebels' victory will boost political Islam in Egypt and elsewhere . Sisi is also nervous about the events in Syria. Roughly one week after Assad's downfall, he met with military commanders, senior police officials, the GIS chief, the prime minister and several other top government officials at the defense ministry's strategic command headquarters in the new administrative capital to discuss the impact of the regional wars in Syria and Gaza. Humanitarian organizations and media reports have estimated that there are some 70,000 political prisoners under Sisi ... "Sisi's prisons are no less horrifying than the atrocities of Syria's prisons." After Syria's rebels freed scores of political detainees, Egyptians are calling for the same in Egypt. Since 2013, Egypt's President Sisi has detained over 60,000 political prisoners nationwide. pic.twitter.com/ZCdvGc7Knq Speaking to his publicists on the same day, he called on the people to unite and safeguard the Egyptian state. "There are two things I've never done, thanks to God," he said . "I neither stained my hands with anyone's blood nor took anyone's money." Military business Despite pressure from international donors - and occasionally, prominent Egyptian businessmen - on the regime to remove the army from the civilian economy, the military continues to expand its control . It manipulates free-market forces in its favor and uses its clout to impose itself in partnerships with local and global capital. In 2024, Sisi continued to dodge calls to privatize military corporations or curb their influence. On the contrary, they were given more monopolies and a larger share of the pie. Early this month , Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced plans to list several companies affiliated with the military on the Egyptian Exchange. However, this is not the first time such statements have been made. Sisi announced in November 2022 that two military firms - a petrol company and a bottled water producer - would be listed on the stock exchange. A few months later, Madbouly announced that 10 more army companies would be offered on the stock market. To date, no single military firm has been privatised. There is a good reason why the regime has been procrastinating all those years with selling those firms. At this point, Sisi’s loyal constituency is confined to the officer corps. His popularity among all social classes in Egypt, including sections of big capital, has hit rock bottom. Antagonising the brass or messing with their economic privileges could prove fatal in such turbulent times. So, is the regime finally embarking on privatizing the army’s firms? The devil is always in the details. According to Madbouly’s statements, parts of the firms will be sold directly to a "strategic investor", though no specifics were provided regarding the identity of these investors or the percentage of shares to be sold. Also, the firms will not be fully privatized, but a percentage will be offered in the stock market. Again, it is unclear what percentage. Some possible scenarios to watch in 2025 include stocks being sold to civilian investors who act as fronts for the military or to companies that the military partially or wholly owns. For instance, the army’s National Service Projects Organization (NSPO) holds a 20 percent stake in Taqa Arabia, which is seen as a potential bidder for Wataniya - one of the four firms to be listed. If Sisi takes something away from the army with one hand, he will compensate them for it with the other hand. This could mean more concessions in other sectors, allocated lands and so on. For example, while planning the privatization of Silo Foods, the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) is now, in effect, running the agricultural production sector and has recently been given a monopoly over grain imports . Crisis of hegemony In the summer of 2023, Sisi signed a law ending tax exemptions for government economic activities. But tax exemptions for army business ventures remained in place, as the new law included an exception for economic activities related to “national security”, which could be conveniently interpreted as anything related to the military. In the coming year, the regime is likely to continue evading calls to reform the military-economic complex. It will likely resort to maneuvers such as floating military firms in the stock market, only to buy them through other companies and businessmen who are fronts for the army, or curbing the privileges of military corporations in one sector, only to compensate in another. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi unveiled the new administrative capital and presidential palace, built 45 kilometers east of Cairo in the desert, during the D-8 summit. The mega city, comparable in size to Hamburg, cost $45 billion. pic.twitter.com/J1YnIm0ttG Meanwhile, news emerged this month that Ibrahim al-Organi , a criminal smuggler-turned-militiaman and state-sponsored businessman, is planning to launch a political party. An official declaration has yet to be made. But if the project proceeds, the proposed party will contest the parliamentary and senate elections in 2025. (I stress “if”, as Organi has not publicly confirmed this, and the project could ultimately be scrapped.) But we must ask why such plans are being floated. This is not necessarily driven by Organi’s personal ambitions. He is an agent for the state and can be easily replaced at any point if the regime deems him useless or harmful. Rather, this is driven by the regime’s crisis of hegemony . Sisi is ruling solely by coercion, unlike his predecessors and has eviscerated the civil society and political institutions that manufacture some necessary level of consent, which is crucial for the endurance of the regime and the state. Political desert Sisi desperately needs something a la former President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP). But so far, he has failed to replicate it, including through the miserable Nation’s Future Party, whose public events for shoring up support for Sisi only backfire and turn into anti-regime protests . Attempts at rigging the votes in professional syndicates either fail or descend into pure thuggery , causing scandals that the regime has to scramble to manage. News of Organi’s proposed political party is the latest attempt to “create politics” in a country whose political scene has become wholly desertified. The total reliance on foreign debt has led to domestic fallout, widening class gaps in Egypt and a state of social decay , along with a decline in Cairo’s regional clout and soft power . From an active regional hegemon under previous regimes, Sisi’s Egypt is now dependent on foreign loans, grants and continuous bailouts by regional and international donors who see Egypt as "too big to fail" and do not want to risk further instability in the Middle East . As a result, Sisi has been unable to steer the course of events in Egypt’s traditional spheres of influence. Instead, he has either suffered diplomatic defeats or brought Egypt to a state of shameless complicity in the ongoing genocide on his eastern border under the watchful eyes of his military. In the coming year, Egypt will remain relevant to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict by virtue of geographical proximity, which puts it in control of Gaza’s only exit to the outside world - the Rafah crossing. While incapable of forcing Israel to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor along its border, Cairo will continue to pressure the weaker side - the Palestinians - into concessions and compromises to prove its own worth to the Trump administration in the US .Health Spotlight | Ultrasound targets chronic pain and depression
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Judge denies retired Montana Highway Patrol chief’s motion to find AG in contemptRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina election officials won’t order another recount in a close state Supreme Court race after a partial hand recount failed to suggest the trailing Republican candidate could overtake the Democratic incumbent. Following the completion of a machine recount of over 5.5 million ballots last week, Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs maintained a 734-vote lead over Republican Jefferson Griffin, who is currently a state Court of Appeals judge. Griffin then requested a partial hand recount in which randomly chosen ballots from 3% of the voting sites in all 100 counties were reexamined. The law says a statewide hand recount would have been required if the sample results differed enough so that the result would be reversed if the difference were extrapolated to all ballots. But the sample tabulations, which finished Tuesday, showed Riggs actually picking up more votes than Griffin. As a result, the State Board of Elections said a total recount won’t be ordered. The election, however, has not been fully resolved. The five-member state board was scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday on protests previously filed by Griffin and three GOP legislative candidates who also are in very close elections. Riggs, one of two Democrats on the seven-member court, declared victory again on Tuesday, and her campaign renewed calls for Griffin to concede. Griffin didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The protests going before the state board, which question if well over 60,000 ballots should have been counted, cover three categories of voting. They include votes cast by people with voter registration records that lack driver’s licenses or partial Social Security numbers; overseas voters who have never lived in North Carolina but whose parents were deemed state residents; and military or overseas voters who did not provide copies of photo identification with their ballots. Separately Tuesday, a Court of Appeals panel unanimously declined Griffin’s request to order the state board to rule on the protests before Wednesday’s meeting to accelerate the process. The board could dismiss the protests or — if problems are found — order corrected ballot tallies, more recounts or new elections. Decisions by the board — with a 3-2 Democratic majority — can be appealed to state courts. Other protests filed by Griffin and the legislative candidates are being first considered by county boards. The state Democratic Party seeking to block the State Board of Elections from ruling in any way to throw out the disputed ballots. The Democrats’ lawyers say federal law prohibits such systematic challenges to voter eligibility for an election that has already passed. Some of the protests focus on activities that Republicans already sued over before the November election. Democratic officials and their allies held a news conference early Tuesday outside the state Supreme Court building and strongly criticized Griffin and other Republicans for initiating claims they say would disenfranchise legal voters. North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said she fears the state Supreme Court could ultimately side with Republicans and remove the challenged ballots. “We are trying to make sure that people are raising their voices, that we are filing lawsuits where we can,” Clayton said. “And we are also trusting the process of our board of elections officials to do their job and to count every single vote.” Griffin led Riggs by about 10,000 votes on election night, and flipped to Riggs as qualifying provisional and absentee ballots were added to the totals. Other types of protests filed by Griffin and the legislators are being considered by county boards. The Associated Press has not called the Supreme Court race and two of the three legislative races highlighted in the protests. In one of the two, Republican state Rep. Frank Sossamon trails Democratic challenger Bryan Cohn. A Cohn victory would mean Republicans fall one seat short of retaining their current veto-proof majority starting next month.US President-elect Donald Trump's proposals to impose sweeping tariffs on imports could counter earlier efforts to cool inflation, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday, warning that consumer prices could rise. Her comments at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit come as Trump has vowed broad tariffs of at least 10 percent on all imports, and higher rates on goods from China, Canada and Mexico. Imposing broad-based tariffs could "raise prices significantly for American consumers and create cost pressures on firms" which rely on imported goods, Yellen said when asked about Trump's plans. She cautioned that this could weigh on the competitiveness of certain sectors and increase costs to households. "This is a strategy I worry could derail the progress that we've made on inflation, and have adverse consequences on growth," she said. But she defended efforts by President Joe Biden's administration to impose targeted tariffs on Chinese goods to counter unfair trade practices by Beijing. She has previously raised concern over China's industrial overcapacity -- which risks a flood of underpriced goods into global markets and could undermine the development of key US industries. On Tuesday, Yellen also expressed regret that the United States has not made more progress on the country's deficit, saying she believes it "needs to be brought down, especially now that we're in an environment of higher interest rates." She stressed the importance of an independent Federal Reserve too, saying that countries perform better economically when central banks are allowed to exercise their best judgment without political influence. Trump has said that he would like "at least" a say over setting the Fed's interest rate. "I think it's a mistake to become involved in commenting on the Fed and certainly taking steps to compromise its independence," said Yellen. "I believe it tends to undermine the confidence of financial markets and, ultimately, of Americans in an important institution," she added. Yellen noted that she has spoken with Trump's Treasury chief nominee, billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, congratulating him on his nomination. bys/bjt
Tweet Facebook Mail If there was any doubt a federal election is fast approaching, Anthony Albanese provided a stark reminder in one of his last major speeches of the year . Labor-red billboards, a crowd of supporters, and a childcare policy announcement worth roughly $1.5 billion – this was a campaign event without an election date. That could be as far as five months away, but federal politicians are clearly readying themselves. EXPLAINED: When will Australia's next federal election be held? The next federal is fast approaching. (Nine) Albanese announced candidates for two Tasmanian seats in early November, before a flurry of Senate activity on the final sitting day of the year that saw a number of key government policies, including the social media ban for under-16s, Reserve Bank reforms, and two housing and three migration bills, become law. The prime minister lauded that as his government doing more to help out Australian families, but those families haven't been returning the love. Opinion polls have unanimously shown a drop in support for Albanese and Labor this year, raising the prospect that it could become the first government in almost 100 years to be voted out after a single term. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has said it's possible he wins the next election. READ MORE: Liberal frontbencher Paul Fletcher to retire from politics Anthony Albanese was in campaign mode during one of his last major speeches of the year. (William Davis) Like Albanese, he's also been gearing up for the election with a flurry of media appearances in December, attacking the government over antisemitism and cost-of-living pressures. The latter topic has seen him take a leaf out of the Trump playbook. "Part of the problem in the United States was that people didn't believe that the government was listening to them when they couldn't pay their bills... they just felt a real disconnect, seems to be some of the analysis," Dutton said after the US election . "To be honest, there's an eerie parallel with what's happening here in Australia, in that sense." Sure enough, he's been asking the same questions of voters that Trump did of Americans before storming back to the White House. "Ask yourself this question; are you better off today than you were two and a half years ago?" Dutton said in late December. "Heaven knows how bad it will be in three years' time." Dutton, however, has maintained his Coalition is the underdog for next year's vote. READ MORE: Shorten reflects on failures, sausage regret in valedictory speech Opinion polls have been grim reading as of late for the government. (Alex Ellinghausen) Part of that comes down to simple electoral maths. The opposition would need to gain 21 seats to govern in its own right – history says parties just don't make up that much ground one term after being voted out. Dutton has also been extremely effective in campaigning against the government's policies, but has offered few of his own. There's a commitment to reduce migration beyond the government's targets, but an exact number won't come until after the election. There had been a suggestion that stage 3 tax cuts would be reworked, but that was walked back in November. READ MORE: What apps will and won't be covered by social media ban Peter Dutton says he can win the next election, but maintains he's the underdog. (Alex Ellinghausen/SMH) Costings for the much-publicised nuclear power push weren't released until a fortnight before Christmas (after several false starts), and have been highly disputed by experts. When other policies are announced, that will give the government a chance to attack the opposition, just as it has over the Coalition's commitment to wind back some of the workplace laws introduced this term. Albanese's unofficial campaign speech was significant not just for the childcare announcement, but for some attack lines he rolled out – just as Dutton has relentlessly criticised the government over the cost of living, the prime minister returned the favour. "Every Australian would have been worse off if Peter Dutton had blocked our tax cuts, cut people's wages, stopped energy bill relief and made it harder and more expensive for people to see a doctor," he said. Expect to hear a lot more of that in the new year, even if the election date remains a mystery. DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP : Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play .
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Top-25 teams will hit the court across four games on Tuesday’s college basketball schedule. That includes the Wisconsin Badgers playing the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center. Check out the piece below for picks against the spread. Place your bets on any men’s college basketball matchup at BetMGM. Sign up today using our link. Bet on the Tennessee-Miami (FL) spread—or any other NCAA men’s basketball matchup—with BetMGM ! Bet on the Duke-Incarnate Word spread—or any other NCAA men’s basketball matchup—with BetMGM ! Bet on the Houston-Troy spread—or any other NCAA men’s basketball matchup—with BetMGM ! Bet on the Illinois-Wisconsin spread—or any other NCAA men’s basketball matchup—with BetMGM ! Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER .
Young Men’s Social Club 1 Devonshire Cougars 0 Social Club captain Ryan Parris scored the lone goal in the second half to lead Young Men’s Social Club to an important victory over fellow strugglers Devonshire Cougars at Police Field on Sunday Parris, who scored with just over 20 minutes of the game remaining, was thrilled with the victory, which moved his side up to eighth position and three points clear of the relegation zone. “We needed to bounce back,” Parris said. “We started well with a few victories and then slacked off, so these three points are vital. “We needed to win this and we looked good for most of the game. We stuck together, limiting them to very few chances.” Social Club opened the game with attacking intent and their forward-thinking mindset earned them two golden opportunities to break the deadlock. A corner from Giniko Butterfield was poorly cleared by the Cougars defence and striker Josh Hardtman tried to prod the ball into the net, but Cougars stand-in goalkeeper, forward Domico Coddington, made an excellent reflex save. A few minutes later Malique Wilson should have found the target off a deflected cross by Jakida Richardson. Cougars had one of their few sustained periods of possession in the middle of the first half but Social Club's deep defensive line allowed them to keep their opponents at bay between the centre circle and penalty area. Social Club striker Hardtman was replaced by Jomeko Mallory at half-time with an apparent injury and the home side started to use the left-sided duo of Jakida Richardson and Pierre Smith more often. They also stepped their defence up to the halfway line, and that was the tactical switch to pay dividends. Substitute Mallory intercepted a loose pass by Cougars captain Zeko White. He played a beautiful switch to Trey Tucker, who held it up and played it through perfectly for Parris to side-foot first-time past the despairing arms of Coddington. Cougars' profligacy in the final third and lack of composure on the ball continued in the final 20 minutes when they huffed and puffed with very little result. Their best chance fell to Jayori Beach, who dragged his shot wide from Jazario Brimmer’s cutback SCORERS Social Club: Parris 69 TEAMS Social Club (4-2-3-1): S Tuzo 6 – T Tucker 6, K Butterfield 6 (sub: C Woolridge, 75min), K Smith 6, J Richardson 5 – A Matthews 6, R Parris 6 – M Wilson 5, G Butterfield 5, P Smith 6 – J Hardtman 5 (sub: J Mallory, 46 5). Substitutes not used: J Seymour, T Butterfield, B Swan. Devonshire Cougars (4-1-4-1): D Coddington 6 – O Smith 5, M Thomas 6 (sub: L Thomas, 76), Z White 5, N Carmichael 5 (sub: Cashun Brangman, 90) – Z Simmons 6 (sub: N Simmons, 83) – M Paynter 5, D Daniels 5, S Burrows 5, J Fox 5 – Chae Brangman 5 (sub: J Brimmer, 76). Booked: Carmichael, Paynter, Daniels. Referee: J Springer (Barbados)WASHINGTON — After decades of inaction, federal transportation officials have moved ahead with requiring new technologies to reduce crashes and fatalities involving large trucks. But the incoming administration could install a red light to block their efforts. At issue are proposed new rules by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require large trucks to be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems and devices to limit their speeds. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.