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Egypt: Official Calls to Rationalize Spending amid Rising Prices

Egyptian factory workers decorate candy dolls in preparation of the Mawlid celebrations, marking the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, at a traditional factory in the Bab al-Bahr district in Cairo, Egypt, 26 September 2022. (EPA)
Egyptian factory workers decorate candy dolls in preparation of the Mawlid celebrations, marking the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, at a traditional factory in the Bab al-Bahr district in Cairo, Egypt, 26 September 2022. (EPA)
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Egypt: Official Calls to Rationalize Spending amid Rising Prices

Egyptian factory workers decorate candy dolls in preparation of the Mawlid celebrations, marking the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, at a traditional factory in the Bab al-Bahr district in Cairo, Egypt, 26 September 2022. (EPA)
Egyptian factory workers decorate candy dolls in preparation of the Mawlid celebrations, marking the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, at a traditional factory in the Bab al-Bahr district in Cairo, Egypt, 26 September 2022. (EPA)

The Egyptian government stressed that it would continue to subsidize bread and provide a safe reserve of goods, meat and poultry, amid official and media calls to “rationalize spending due to high prices.”

Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi said President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directives to raise the reserve of strategic commodities, especially wheat, and to provide the necessary financial funds for this purpose, helped confront the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

The minister noted that his country “has a reserve of wheat for a period that can last 6.6 months, a reserve of seven months of frozen poultry, and self-sufficiency of live poultry.”

He added that the annual bread subsidy budget amounted to 51 billion Egyptian pounds, adding that bread subsidies “may reach 73 billion pounds during this year.”

The Dandara Economic Forum, which concluded on Friday, called for the need to “rationalize consumption according to the actual needs in order to confront the economic crisis.”

Last month, Egyptian and media officials conveyed assurances about the country’s “safe economic position” that coincided with the announcement of official measures to “maximize agricultural production” and support “food security.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Local Development Major General Hisham Amna called on the supervisors of Sanad Al-Khair initiative, which was launched by the ministry to provide basic food commodities to citizens, to intensify their presence in popular neighborhoods and most needy areas.

In a statement on Saturday, the minister said that the initiative launched in March came in implementation of Sisi’s directives, with the aim to unite all the state’s efforts to support citizens in the most needy and popular areas, and to provide their food needs at low prices and high quality.

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Arab World

Hezbollah Links Ceasefire Stance to Iran Track

Hezbollah supporters wave flags during a march marking Ashura in Beirut’s southern suburbs (EPA)
Hezbollah supporters wave flags during a march marking Ashura in Beirut’s southern suburbs (EPA)
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Hezbollah Links Ceasefire Stance to Iran Track

Hezbollah supporters wave flags during a march marking Ashura in Beirut’s southern suburbs (EPA)
Hezbollah supporters wave flags during a march marking Ashura in Beirut’s southern suburbs (EPA)

Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon has slowed, but not stopped, as Hezbollah seeks to cement a two-track position: declaring commitment to the ceasefire while documenting Israeli violations.

The latest came Saturday, when Israel struck the outskirts of Nabatieh. The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah members who had approached its positions.

Despite continued Israeli strikes in the South and drone flights over Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah said after a strike near Zawtar al-Sharqiya that it remained committed to the ceasefire. It called the Israeli army’s actions a “flagrant violation” of the agreement and said it was documenting all Israeli breaches.

Hezbollah part of the Iranian track

Political writer Harith Suleiman said Hezbollah’s insistence that it remains committed to the ceasefire, while documenting Israeli violations, “does not reflect a position within the Lebanese track, but falls within the framework of understandings underway between Iran and the United States.”

He said the group was acting as part of that track.

“Hezbollah wants Iran, not Lebanon, to negotiate on its behalf,” Suleiman told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“It is trying to make Lebanon part of the negotiations between Iran and the United States, and to present the ceasefire as part of an understanding between America, Israel and Iran, not as part of the Lebanese track.”

“When Hezbollah says it is committed to the ceasefire while Israel is violating it, it is effectively sending a message to Iran. It is saying: The agreement we are part of is being violated, and you, together with the United States and Israel, must act. That is why Hezbollah is part of the Iranian track, not the Lebanese track.”

Commitment tied to Iran talks

Suleiman said Hezbollah’s documentation of violations, coupled with its repeated commitment to calm, pointed to the continued existence of negotiation channels between Tehran and Washington.

“As long as negotiations between the Americans and Iranians are going well, Iran does not need Hezbollah to create a problem to improve its negotiating position. That is why Hezbollah is committed to calm and to the agreement. But if Iran decides to open a front or create a crisis, Hezbollah will be ready to move in that direction.”

Asked about the Hezbollah secretary-general’s Ashura speech, Suleiman said: “There is a difference between ideological rhetoric and operational conduct. Deals and understandings are built on practical steps, not slogans or ideological positions. What determines the actual course is what happens on the ground, and that remains tied to what Iran wants and decides.”

Hezbollah abides by what Iran agrees to

Retired Brig. Gen. Yarub Sakher said Hezbollah’s stated commitment to the ceasefire, alongside its documentation of Israeli violations, showed that its decision was tied more to Iranian understandings than to the Lebanese-Israeli negotiation track.

“When Hezbollah says it is committed to the ceasefire, it is sending a clear message that it abides by what Iran agrees to,” Sakher told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“During negotiations with the United States in Switzerland, Tehran reached an understanding to halt military operations and attacks on different fronts, including the Lebanese front. That is why Hezbollah is declaring its commitment to this track.”

“This position is not tied to the ongoing Lebanese-US-Israeli negotiations, which may lead to consolidating the ceasefire or to later security arrangements. It is meant to entrench the Iranian view.”

Documenting violations: building a case for escalation

Sakher said Hezbollah’s announcement that it was documenting Israeli violations “does not change the reality, because these violations are documented daily by the Lebanese state and the Lebanese army, and are also monitored by surveillance systems and satellites.”

“The documentation itself is not new, but it carries political significance.”

“Hezbollah is using this documentation to build a narrative it can use later if Iran decides to reopen the front. It would then say it showed strategic patience for a long time, documented the violations and remained committed to the ceasefire before justifying any new escalation.”

“This is exactly what it did before the latest confrontation, when it spoke of months of restraint before moving to military action.”

“There are Lebanese forces influenced by Hezbollah’s position that are betting on a US-Iranian understanding and, in practice, trying to give that track precedence over the Lebanese negotiation track.”

“At the same time, the US administration is treating the separation between the two files with a degree of political oversimplification, despite attempts by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to address this gap.”

Arab World

UN: Yemen Bears World’s Highest Burden of Populations Trapped in Famine

The food security outlook for Yemen through the end of 2026 remains highly alarming (local media)
The food security outlook for Yemen through the end of 2026 remains highly alarming (local media)
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UN: Yemen Bears World’s Highest Burden of Populations Trapped in Famine

The food security outlook for Yemen through the end of 2026 remains highly alarming (local media)
The food security outlook for Yemen through the end of 2026 remains highly alarming (local media)

The food security outlook for Yemen through the end of 2026 remains highly alarming, with 53% of the population projected to face crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase3+), a UN agency warned this week.

In its Yemen Market and Trade Bulletin, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Yemen currently bears the world’s highest burden of populations trapped in the severe acute food insecurity classification (IPC Phase 4), a global early-warning indicator that the country is on the verge of famine, requiring urgent humanitarian intervention to prevent mass starvation.

Also, FAO said the presence of isolated pockets of extreme food insecurity conditions are already emerging.

“Yemen's structural food system collapse is driven by a critical convergence of localized instability, severe funding shortfalls (only above 14% funded as of June), and regional geopolitical shocks,” the FAO report warned.

It said although the intense conflict is likely to ease, regional disruptions and its lingering impacts are expected to continue for some time to come.

FAO affirmed that protracted trade disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz and volatile fuel costs will continue to exert upward pressure on domestic transport, food, and agricultural inputs.

“Without immediate, multi-year funding and the full restoration of humanitarian access, a slide into extreme food insecurity situation remains a risk,” the UN agency said.

Economic Fragility

FAO said that in May 2026, the Yemeni rial in government-controlled areas held stable month-on-month at 1,553 riyal per US dollar representing a notable 63% year-on-year strengthening.

It said while this stability temporarily buffers local markets and lowers imported food costs, the fiscal situation remains highly fragile due to critically depleted foreign reserves and high exposure to global market shocks.

The UN agency also found that the Minimum Food Basket (MFB) rose 2% month-on-month, though it remains 27% lower year-on-year and 9% below the three-year average.

However, household food access is still severely constrained by weak purchasing power, irregular salaries, scarce income opportunities, and the lingering effects of inflation.

Fuel costs surged 11 to 15% month-on-month in May, tracking 10–21% above three-year averages despite remaining 5–11% lower year-on-year.

FAO said this sharp uptick is renewing severe financial pressure across transport, food distribution, milling, agricultural inputs, water trucking, electricity generation, and overall household expenses.

In return, labor trends were mixed in May. “Agricultural wages rose 3% month-on-month and remained 19% above the three-year average, while non-agricultural casual wages dipped 2% month-on-month and stayed 11% below May 2025 levels,” the agency’s report found.

“This indicates strong seasonal support for farm labor but persistent weakness in broader income opportunities,” it added.

And while staple food prices remained broadly stable in May, FAO said rising fuel, transport, shipping, and global commodity costs threaten to renew upward pressure.

Decrease of Wheat Imports

FAO said wheat and flour imports fell 28% month-on-month but remained 22% higher year-on-year.

It noted that while fuel imports more than doubled from April, they were still 68% below May 2025 levels and 63% below the three-year average, signaling a partial recovery rather than supply normalization.

Meanwhile, Terms of Trade (ToT) improved for agricultural laborers and livestock owners but weakened for casual laborers.

The report said month-on-month, agricultural labor-to-cereal ToT rose by about 2%, goat-to-cereal by 6%, and sheep-to-cereal by 9%, while off-farm labor-to-cereal ToT fell by about 3%.

Although all indicators remain above May 2025 and three-year averages, the positive welfare impact is limited for households lacking regular work, stable income, market access, or livestock assets.

The UN agency also showed that driven by pre-Eid demand and higher transport costs, livestock prices increased by 7–10% month-on-month in May.

“While prices remained 10–13% below May 2025 levels, they tracking 17–19% above the three-year average, keeping meat expensive for consumers but improving sale returns for livestock-owning households,” it said.

The report concluded that the presence of a dual exchange rate regime in Yemen, governed separately by Houthi-held areas and those under the government-controlled areas, led to a noticeable disparity in food prices.

It said although prices in government-controlled areas might appear to be 'twice as high as in Houthi-held areas' in local currency, the prices when converted to US dollars are nearly equivalent, and at times slightly higher in Houthi-held areas.

Arab World

Berri on Lebanese-Israeli Framework Agreement: ‘I Saw Civil Strife in it’

An Israeli tank maneuvers amid destroyed structures in Lebanon, after Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement following US-mediated talks, as seen from northern Israel, June 27, 2026. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
An Israeli tank maneuvers amid destroyed structures in Lebanon, after Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement following US-mediated talks, as seen from northern Israel, June 27, 2026. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Berri on Lebanese-Israeli Framework Agreement: ‘I Saw Civil Strife in it’

An Israeli tank maneuvers amid destroyed structures in Lebanon, after Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement following US-mediated talks, as seen from northern Israel, June 27, 2026. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
An Israeli tank maneuvers amid destroyed structures in Lebanon, after Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement following US-mediated talks, as seen from northern Israel, June 27, 2026. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri coupled his opposition to the Lebanese-Israeli framework agreement with a call for calm in the streets, even as he sharply escalated his political objection to it.

Sources in the "Shiite duo," made up from Hezbollah and the Berri-led Amal Movement, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Lebanese speaker was taken by surprise by the agreement’s content and had not seen it in advance.

They said he learned of the deal from media reports, and had not been consulted beforehand or officially briefed afterward.

Asked by Asharq Al-Awsat whether he had reviewed the agreement, Berri said: “I read it ... and I saw civil strife in it.”

“O people of Lebanon, all of Lebanon, this is sedition,” Berri later said in a statement, quoting a well-known saying attributed to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib: “In times of sedition, be like the young camel — neither strong enough to be ridden nor able to give milk.”

Lebanese politicians read Berri’s words as a call for restraint. Several AI-generated interpretations of his meaning also circulated, including one saying that Berri’s use of the phrase “carries a message urging the Lebanese not to be dragged into internal strife or any escalation that could lead to clashes among the country’s people, while stressing the need to preserve civil peace and avoid becoming tools in the conflict.”

Sources in the Shiite duo said the authority that signed the agreement must contain its fallout and correct the “grave error.”

They said the agreement’s content was intended, among other things, “to let Israel blow up the US-Iranian agreement by blowing up the Lebanese battlefield.”