World
Egypt Sees Its Refugees as a Problem and an Opportunity
In easier times for Egypt’s refugees, Azza Mostafa, a pro-government TV anchor, had nothing but generous words for the many thousands of Syrians who had built new lives in Egypt after their own country imploded into civil war in 2011.
“I’d like to say to our Syrian families and our brothers in Egypt,” she said in a 2019 broadcast, “you’ve truly brought light to Egypt.”
But there she was on her show in June, fulminating against Egypt’s growing number of outsiders — an echo of the country’s leaders, whose policy toward refugees and migrants has hardened as they wrestle with an economic crisis made worse by wars in neighboring Gaza, Sudan and Libya.
“This has become unbearable,” Ms. Mostafa said, accusing migrants of driving up rents and promoting female genital mutilation. “There are many acts of overstepping bounds. Is that acceptable? After we opened our country for them?”
Egypt long made it easy for foreigners of all kinds to live and work in the country, largely without interference, whether they were refugees, migrant workers or Westerners escaping coronavirus lockdowns.
The past 13 years have brought a near unbroken stream of newcomers fleeing conflict to the country that is known among Arabs as the “mother of the world.” That includes not just Syrians but also Sudanese, Yemenis, Eritreans and, most recently, Palestinians from Gaza.
Egypt’s lax immigration rules meant many never formally registered as refugees or received official permission to stay long-term, yet managed to stitch themselves almost seamlessly into the country, supporting themselves and sometimes starting businesses.
Since Sudan’s civil war drove a surge of refugees to Egypt starting in 2023, however, the impoverished government in Cairo has complained louder and louder about the burden of foreigners. It rapidly tightened its policies — hoping, analysts and diplomats say, to win more support from international backers eager to prevent migration to their own countries.
Egypt says it spends $10 billion each year on its nine million refugees, according to officials and government-controlled media (though experts say both numbers are greatly exaggerated), all while Egyptians endure soaring prices and subsidy cuts.
Years of government overspending, reliance on imports and policies that neglected private-sector growth left the country’s finances in precarious shape before the wars in Ukraine and Gaza sent them crashing. Egypt lost $7 billion in crucial revenue from the Suez Canal in 2024 as the conflict in Gaza has squeezed shipping in the Red Sea, according to government officials.
With Egypt deep in debt and hard-pressed to pay for imports such as wheat and energy, the currency has crashed, while some goods have become difficult to find.
Ahmed Abu Al-Yazid, the head of a government-owned sugar firm, the Delta Sugar Company, blamed refugees for a sugar shortage that experts link to the economic crisis. The president accused them of draining Egypt’s precious water. On social media, pro-government accounts — some of which appeared to be fake — accused Sudanese refugees of driving up rents and promoting female genital mutilation.
A crackdown soon followed the accusations, according to migrants, refugees and their advocates.
Sudanese refugees have been rounded up in police sweeps, detained and summarily deported. Syrians who have lived in Egypt for years have been told to pay thousands of dollars to stay. Many remain hesitant to return, despite the fall of the Assad regime in December, until the situation stabilizes.
Foreign workers from Asia and from other parts of Africa now face extra hurdles to keep their legal status, and in some cases, have been arrested to compel them to pay high fees, advocates say.
Last month, Egypt passed a law that would hand responsibility for screening refugees and others to the government, instead of to the United Nations refugee agency.
Government officials said the measure would ensure a wide array of refugee rights. Critics of the move, however, said that it would become far harder for refugees to gain protection or access to health care and schools. The law also empowers the government to revoke refugee status on vague grounds such as breaches of national security, political activity or violations of Egyptian social customs.
Abu Saleh, 32, a Syrian who works in a small Cairo grocery, said he had lived in the city for 13 years “without a single issue” until he discovered in July that he could no longer enroll his son in school without a residence permit.
Just to renew his family’s tourist visas, he said, he was told that he would have to return to Syria and pay $2,000 per person in fees — a process he would have to repeat every six months.
“Egypt has been there for us all along,” said Abu Saleh, who asked to be identified by the name he uses around town to avoid possible repercussions. “I’d like to appeal to the government of Egypt: Give us residence, even if it’s a little more expensive. We’re facing tough conditions.”
Egypt has not explained its hardening attitude toward foreigners. But analysts and migrant advocates tie it to the economic crisis, which has generated widespread bitterness and undermined President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s rule.
The newcomers make convenient scapegoats for Egyptians’ hardships, rights groups say. Immigration fees, charged in dollars, can supply some of the foreign currency that Egypt badly needs. And foreigners are also valuable pawns in Egypt’s quest for more financial support from its international partners, rights groups say.
“They think, ‘How can these people be useful for the government?’” said Nour Khalil, executive director of the Refugees Platform in Egypt, which advocates for migrants’ rights.
The U.N. refugee agency counts about 818,000 registered refugees in Egypt, who are entitled to free public health care and education. There are likely many more unregistered refugees, though analysts and aid workers dispute the figure reaches nine million.
The benefits that registered refugees receive mean that Egypt “is treating them like Egyptians, despite the fact that we are not a rich country,” the foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, said at a news conference last month. “There is no country in the world assuming these responsibilities and challenges like here in Egypt. We don’t have one single refugee camp — they are fully integrated in society.”
Refugee advocates agree that Egypt needs more resources. Unlike other countries in the region, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where the United States, the United Nations and the European Union have poured billions into supporting refugees, Egypt has not received significant funds to help house Syrian or other refugees.
That is changing.
As the war in Gaza has pounded Egypt’s finances, Western backers have rushed to Egypt’s aid, anxious to prevent an economic collapse in the Arab world’s most populous country, analysts and diplomats say. A crash in Egypt could further destabilize the Middle East and send a deluge of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, where there is heavy public pressure to restrict migration.
The European Union pledged a fast-tracked $8 billion aid package to Egypt in March, echoing deals the bloc has struck with Mauritania, Tunisia and Turkey that funded migration enforcement in those countries.
Other backers, including the International Monetary Fund, have sent billions more to stabilize Egypt’s economy.
Critics say the European pact with Egypt, like the bloc’s other migration deals, is enabling rights abuses by rewarding Mr. el-Sisi’s authoritarianism and potentially funding the current crackdown on migrants.
Groups including Amnesty International and the Refugees Platform in Egypt have documented what they say is a pattern of mass arbitrary arrests and unlawful deportations of Sudanese refugees — some detained as they were smuggled across the border, others rounded up during random sweeps of predominantly Sudanese neighborhoods.
Some Syrians, too, have been expelled, Mr. Khalil of the refugees platform said. His group has also documented more than 50 arrests of foreign workers, some of whom already had residency, who were held until they paid $1,000 in fees and fines, he said.
An atmosphere of fear has brought throngs of Sudanese to the doorstep of the U.N. refugee agency in Cairo, seeking formal protection. But refugee status can take months, if not years, to obtain: Appointments to begin the process are not available until late 2025. And some of the Sudanese who have been detained and deported, Mr. Khalil said, held some form of U.N. identification, casting doubt on whether the organization could guarantee security.
Among those waiting outside one morning was Mohammed Abdelwahab, 36. By the time he and his family tried to cross the border from Sudan this spring, Egypt had tightly restricted what had been free-flowing movement between the two countries, so they resorted to smugglers instead.
Without legal papers, Mr. Abdelwahab and his 14-year-old son, Mohanad, collected plastic bottles on Cairo’s streets for a living. Mr. Abdelwahab was looking for better work one day in June when Mohanad disappeared.
Twenty days later, Mohanad resurfaced with a WhatsApp message: He had been rounded up with a group of other Sudanese and deported.
Mr. Abdelwahab had been looking for Mohanad in another city. When he returned to Cairo, his wife and three other children had been evicted for nonpayment.
“It’s indescribable,” he said. “Now they’re all camping out here,” he added, referring to his family and indicating the sidewalk in front of the refugee agency, where groups of other Sudanese waited listlessly in the sun.
Emad Mekay and Rania Khaled contributed reporting.
new video loaded: A Small Election Could Change British Politics
transcript
transcript
A Small Election Could Change British Politics
Voters in the northern English district of Makerfield cast ballots on Thursday to choose their representative in Parliament, the outcome of which could lead to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ouster.
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Well, I don’t think there should be a leadership election. I think that the last government proved that parties that spend their whole time in leadership elections don’t go on to win the next general election.
By Alisa Shodiyev Kaff
June 18, 2026
World
From bear hugs to handshakes: How India lost its edge with Trump while Pakistan quietly gained ground
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This week, President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came face-to-face at the G7 summit in France, their first such encounter since February 2025. Rather than his trademark bear hug, Modi greeted Trump with a smile and handshake.
Then on Wednesday, the two held a bilateral meeting. It was a friendly chat, but one that came against a backdrop of compounding tensions.
As India works at restoring its relationship with Washington, its arch-foe Pakistan has expanded its own diplomatic profile, complicating India’s campaign against its nuclear-armed rival.
COMMERCE SECRETARY HOWARD LUTNICK MAKES QUIET TRIP TO INDIA DAYS AFTER TARIFF SETBACK
President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Shariff announced his intention to nominate Trump for the Noble Peace Prize for a second time. (Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters)
For years, India built an international case against Pakistan, projecting it as an isolated or destabilizing state. This hardline stance appeared to be working, with Modi declaring to Pakistan, “India has been successful in isolating you, and we will intensify those efforts.”
But a decade later, Pakistan is rapidly emerging as a key global player in the region and beyond.
While Modi initially tried to engage Pakistan, his government’s approach eventually hardened around the mantra that “terror and talks cannot coexist.”
In Washington, India has typically been favored, with Presidents Trump, Biden, Obama and George W. Bush all making visits during their time in office.
President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Modi built a rapport with Trump during his first term in office and was one of the first world leaders invited to the White House after Trump’s inauguration. But over the past year, that relationship has come under strain as Islamabad quietly clawed its way back to credibility.
“India misjudged Trump in term two, banking on once friendly relations,” Sid Dubey, a visiting professor at Bennett University in India, told Fox News Digital. “They have yet to start recovering from that.”
PRESIDENT TRUMP, INDIA’S MODI TO TACKLE TRADE, TARIFF TENSIONS AT HIGH-STAKES MEETING
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave to the crowd at Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. India poured on the pageantry with a joyful, colorful welcome for President Donald Trump on Monday that kicked off a whirlwind 36-hour visit meant to reaffirm U.S.-India ties while providing enviable overseas imagery for a president in a re-election year. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
The shift first became apparent in May 2025, when President Trump announced he had secured a ceasefire between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. The fighting had come over India-administered Kashmir and was the worst in decades.
Islamabad promptly praised Trump for ending the deadly dispute and even nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. New Delhi, however, rejected the claim, insisting the ceasefire was the result of direct bilateral talks with Pakistan.
The response reflected India’s long-standing sensitivity to third-party involvement in what it fiercely maintains is a bilateral dispute.
In the months that followed, frictions only deepened.
FILE — In this Jan. 11, 2013 file photo, a Pakistani Ranger in black uniform and his Indian counterpart march during a flag-off ceremony, at the joint Pakistan-India border check post of Wagah near Lahore, Pakistan. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)
President Trump hit India with some of the steepest tariffs imposed on any major economy. Meanwhile, U.S. sanctions pressure on Russian oil rattled energy import-dependent India, while disputes over H-1B visas added further strain. Analysts say Trump’s America First agenda increasingly overshadowed the friendship Modi had cultivated during Trump’s first term.
“When Trump unfortunately said the May 2025 clash ended because of him personally, that upset India a lot, and they made that known,” Dubey said. “Then the tariffs were another slap in India’s face. Meanwhile, Pakistan took advantage, leaving India at a bit of a loss. From there, relations fell further with the Iran conflict.”
India is among the countries most indirectly affected by the strategic fallout from the Iran war, facing economic pressure and mounting energy concerns.
IRAN WAR FUELS ASIA ENERGY CRUNCH AS INDIA, JAPAN, OTHERS FEEL STRAIN
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf meets with chief of Defence Forces of Pakistan, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Tehran, Iran, May 23, 2026. (Iranian Parliament Speaker Office/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters)
Last week, a U.S. strike further exacerbated tensions after three Indian seafarers became collateral damage in the conflict. They were the first and only seafarers confirmed killed as part of the U.S. blockade, sparking outrage across India.
New Delhi instantly summoned Washington’s Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks, expressing deep concern over the renewed attacks and arguing that its nationals were becoming casualties in a war not their own.
India also warned of the broader humanitarian, economic, and energy consequences of the conflict, which are expected to linger even as an agreement has now been reached.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, center, walks with Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, left, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via AP Photo)
All the while, Pakistan was gaining diplomatic visibility, finding itself in the unusual position of currying favor in Washington while maintaining deep ties with China, Iran and the Gulf states.
Pakistan’s prominent role in recent months highlighted how Islamabad has been more nimble in its diplomacy than India,” Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Sadanand Dhume told Fox News Digital. “Additionally, Pakistan decisively outmaneuvered India’s quixotic bid to isolate Pakistan on the world stage.”
Regional dynamics have also been reshaped by the two rivals’ competing strategies. India has deepened its strategic partnership with the U.S. through alliances such as the Quad partnership with the U.S., Australia, and Japan and has expanded cooperation across South Asian states, including a burgeoning relationship with Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s growing regional relevance has been reflected in its strengthened ties with China, improved relations with regional partners like Bangladesh and expanded security cooperation with Gulf states.
RUBIO VISIT TO INDIA PUSHES DEEPER ENERGY TIES AS IRAN CONFLICT RATTLES GLOBAL OIL MARKETS
Additionally, Trump, who accused Pakistan of “deceit and lies” during his first term, has since repeatedly praised its leadership. In June 2025, the president invited Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir to the White House for a high-profile lunch meeting.
Munir was the first Pakistani military chief who was not also president to be hosted by a U.S. president. He also led the war effort against India earlier that year.
In this photo released by the Inter Services Public Relations, Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces and Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir, center, Pakistan Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, left, and Pakistan Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar attend a guard of honor ceremony at the joint military command headquarters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Inter Services Public Relations via AP)
Trump described Munir as his “favorite Field Marshal” and an “exceptional human being.”
Their relationship has been further reflected in trade deals and, most recently, Pakistan’s role as a principal mediator in restoring diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran.
“India tried to make Pakistan an international pariah. Instead, Pakistan has wormed its way into Trump’s good books through a combination of concrete co-operation with the U.S. and outrageous flattery of the president, leading to Trump elevating Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as heroes,” Dhume said.
India, meanwhile, has maintained close ties with Israel while generally sticking to more measured messaging.
TRUMP’S FAVORITE FIELD MARSHAL: WHO IS PAKISTAN’S POWERFUL ARMY CHIEF ASIM MUNIR WITH DEEP INTEL TIES
On June 15, upon the agreement of a deal with Iran, Modi released a statement, saying, “India hopes that the implementation of this understanding will help restore peace and stability in the region and ensure the freedom of navigation and commerce.”
“Hats off to Pakistan. They worked really hard to bring this awfully disruptive war with Iran to an end,” Dubey told Fox. “India unfortunately lost out by not seeking to be a problem solver like Pakistan. It could have played its cards better as a peacemaker, given its traditionally strong relations with Tehran.”
Still, analysts caution these are rapidly evolving dynamics. There is no guarantee that Pakistan’s current moment will last, and the tide for India could still turn.
“Pakistan’s mediation role has allowed it to substantially reset its international image. It has positioned itself as a responsible international actor rather than a rogue state responsible for both nuclear proliferation and exporting Islamic terrorism. How long this lasts depends in large measure on two things: will Pakistan find a way to remain in Trump’s good books, and will it be able to change its behavior sufficiently to convince the world that it has indeed turned over a new leaf,” Dhume told Fox News Digital.
Meanwhile, India is working to regain its position and show the U.S. it is still a reliable partner.
Marco Rubio visited India last month, his first since becoming Trump’s top diplomat last year, which was widely seen as an attempt to reset ties.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as President Donald Trump looks on during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 30, 2025. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump and Modi’s G7 meeting marked another significant step.
Trump praised Modi as “calm, cool and totally killer” and said he would be traveling to India “sometime in the future.” India has been pressing Trump for a visit, potentially as part of a broader meeting involving Japan and Australia.
Trump also said the United States would defend India.
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“If anybody attacks that man, we’re going to be there,” Trump said, referring to Modi. “Now, if there’s a new leader, I’m not sure about it.”
The Pakistani and Indian governments did not respond to Fox News Digital requests for comment.
Working with a coalition of six core European countries instead of 27 is the best way to reinforce Europe, former French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told Euronews on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Évian, France.
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His comments come as the European Union looks for ways to streamline its decision-making process and become more agile on key issues from defence to foreign policy.
“The single lesson that all the European leaders must draw from the past months, and I would say from the last two years, is that if they want to be relevant and strong, they need to be united. And they don’t need to unite with 27 member states,” he said in a Euronews interview.
“They need to give a new impetus to the European construction by building a European [project] with six core countries,” Le Maire, who was the longest-serving economy and finance minister since World War II and the shortest-serving minister for armed forces, note
Le Maire listed France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands — the EU’s six largest economies — as the states that should band together to discuss key issues facing the bloc, ranging from the Iran conflict and support for Ukraine to chip manufacturing on European soil and nuclear energy.
“Six countries instead of 27 countries is the best way of reinforcing Europe, of facing the threats posed by many empires around the world, and getting some concrete results,” he said.
Le Maire pointed to the pressure from the US administration against the EU, including tariffs and threats over regulatory standards, in response to Brussels’ antitrust fines and digital regulations targeting American tech giants like Google and Amazon.
“We can no longer accept being blackmailed […]. The way President Trump and the US administration are saying, ‘You should get rid of the taxation of Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft, otherwise, I will hit you with new tariffs,’ is 100% unacceptable among allies,” he said.
“If we want to resist that kind of threat, that kind of blackmail […] the six strongest European member states must stand united […]. If we are divided, you cannot resist that pressure,” he said.
“If you stand united, explaining that it will be difficult for the US to gain access to the European market if they do not respect Europe as a partner, that is the best way of getting some concrete results.”
Too much talk, too few decisions
Often held up by a principle of unanimity, Le Maire told Euronews that involving 27 countries to form a consensus on EU decision-making means “long talks and very few decisions”, while what is needed now is “strong decisions and fewer talks.”
He envisioned a structure in which the six core countries move forward on matters, and “then the 21 other member states, if they want to join, they will join,” adding, “first of all, let’s move on.”
The idea of this coalition is not new. In fact, it already exists in some shape or form.
Earlier this year, the finance ministers of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain launched a new coalition, dubbed the “E6”, to push for “decisive action and swift progress” in four strategic areas: defence, supply chains, the Savings and Investments Union, and strengthening the euro internationally.
“We are providing the impetus, and other countries are welcome to join us,” German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said at the time. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, endorsed this two-speed Europe concept as a way of bolstering the European economy.
In May, the E6 signed a joint letter calling for an acceleration of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) in an attempt to get a deal through a politically stagnant Brussels.
The CMU aims at creating a single, integrated market for capital across all 27 member states to service companies, investors and consumers.
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