Headlines:

• Desperate Measures by Sisi
• Trump tries to save face at NATO Summit
• Cyclone Mora

Desperate Measures by Sisi

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has signed into law a contentious new bill to regulate non-governmental organisations, making it harder for charities to operate. The measure restricts NGO activity to developmental and social work and introduces jail terms of up to five years for non-compliance. No organisation can carry out or publish any results of a study or survey without prior permission from the state. Those who violate the law could receive up to five years in jail and fines of up to one million Egyptian pounds (more than $55,000). The government has been working for years on a new law regulating NGOs, which rights groups feared would be more restrictive than Mubarak-era rules, but the bill drafted by lawmakers was so restrictive even cabinet ministers objected. It is hardly surprising that just over half a decade after the removal of Mubarak Egypt has returned to the same trajectory if not worse. Sisi, loved by western governments has gradually removed the newfound “freedoms” post-Mubarak. Although lawmakers say the measure is necessary to protect national security, it is being introduced to solidify Sisi’s weakening position as the bulk of his policies continue to fail and introducing a law which restricts what information leaves the country aims to reduce to the backlash that occurs as a result of the failing policies.

Trump tries to save face at NATO Summit

During a meeting consisting of the leaders of NATO states, US President Donald Trump stole the show in trying to assert himself. After reversing many of his campaign promises, including those concerning NATO, making contradictory statements and even colluding with the so-called enemy, the US president is now trying to save face. From pushing away the Montenegro president along with undermining NATP once again, Donald Trump’s actions are a whole host of contradictions with even his spokesperson in the White House being lost for words. All this is a reflection of US policy in some sense, with the world recognising the waning consistency of the US in the face of rapidly rising competitors abroad.

Cyclone Mora

Bangladeshi authorities are trying to evacuate up to a million people before a powerful cyclone makes landfall. Cyclone Mora is likely to hit the eastern coast early on Tuesday 30 May, the meteorological department said. Port cities in the south-east have been asked to display the highest warning system known as “great danger level 10”. Ports further west are on level 8. The cyclone formed after heavy rains in Sri Lanka caused floods and landslides that killed at least 180 people. The worst flooding in 14 years on the island has affected the lives of more than half a million people. More than 100 people remain missing. In Bangladesh, people in Chittagong district have been flocking to nearly 500 cyclone shelters as warnings were announced on loudspeakers. Schools and government offices are being used to shelter people, and residents of hilly areas are also being urged to evacuate. Though Bangladesh is used to cyclones, many people don’t live in dwellings sturdy enough to withstand bad weather. Their lives, and the crops on which so many of them depend, he says, are constantly at risk when cyclones hit. The Bangladeshi government has consistently failed at meeting the requirements of their people, leading to mass casualties and injury.