US Navy secretary ousted as Pentagon leadership clash and Iran blockade intensify

🍿 Good afternoon, friends, and hats off to you for making it to the weekend. It’s been a busy week and we’re looking forward to unwinding — that starts now. It’s a quiet day at home, and today’s issue is all about film and television as we sit down with French-Egyptian film director Namir Abdel Messeeh and take a look at Steve Carell’s Rooster to see if it stuck the landing.

LONG WEEKEND ALERT- Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that Thursday, 7 May is an official holiday for the public and private sectors in observance of Labor Day, which falls on Friday, 1 May.

AND- Don’t forget to move your clocks 60 minutes forward at midnight as we welcome daylight saving time this Friday, according to a cabinet statement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 Leading the news this afternoon is the ousting of US Navy Secretary John Phelan, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell revealed in an announcement on X. The surprise departure comes amid leadership turmoil within the Pentagon and tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over shipbuilding reform efforts and leaders seen to be at odds with the Trump administration.

The Pentagon continues to enforce a naval blockade on Iranian ports. As the US and Iran dominate headlines with ship seizures — even as ceasefire talks loom — Iran says it has received its first toll from vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic republic continues to assert that re-opening the strait is impossible if the US blockade and Israel’s “warmongering” continue. Oil extends gains as strait restrictions push Brent prices up to over USD 101 a barrel and WTI prices to near USD 93 a barrel as of publication.

^^Read more on: BBC, CNN, and the Financial Times.

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☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures are back on the up in Cairo, with a high of 30°C and a low of 19°C, according to our favorite weather app.