The Egyptian Emergency Supreme State Security Court (ESSSC) convicted and sentenced 26 individuals who Cairo accuses of being part of an active Hizbullah cell in Egypt on 28 April. The case, which ‘continues to arouse strong emotions inside Egypt and the wider region, marks the first time Egypt has prosecuted alleged members of Hizbullah,’ writes Chris Zambelis. But it also ‘showcased an underlying subtext behind the dynamic shaping some of the most important trends in Middle East politics today’, a shift in the Egypt’s pan-Arabian allegiances towards Western powers such as the US and Israel.

The geopolitics of African countries such as Algeria, a country in North Africa that has traditionally enjoyed strong relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and whose strategic importance and regional profile have increased markedly of late, is key to grasping the dynamics that shape contemporary Sino-Algerian ties and China’s Africa strategy overall, writes Chris Zambelis.