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A platform for the satellite launcher is seen ahead of the Shenzhou-19 mission to the Tiangong space station at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in China's northwestern Gansu province, on Oct. 29, 2024.

Analysis

From Sputnik to satellites: How China is pulling Egypt and Gulf into its space orbit

Beijing is emerging as a key partner for Middle Eastern and North African states seeking to develop satellites, navigation services and space industries of their own.

By Dale Aluf

In Amsterdam, reporting on China in the Middle East

Bahram / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

From looming war to currency crash: Iran ends 2025 on edge

Amid threats of war and an economy on the verge of collapse, the Islamic Republic is closing the year juggling deterrence needs and internal crises.

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Turkish naval forces patrol vessel TCG F 500 and an unidentified submarine (back) sail during a military naval parade on the Bosphorus in Istanbul on Oct. 29, 2023.

Analysis

Turkey's defense sector enters 2026 with naval progress — and unresolved vulnerabilities

A year marked by regional wars, drone incursions and major arms exports has left Turkey confronting a familiar dilemma: how to turn ambition and prototypes into real deterrence without the budget to fully sustain them.

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A customer browses books at a bookshop in the Moroccan capital Rabat on August 9, 2018. On the main arteries of old Rabat, dozens of itinerant booksellers offer books in French, Arabic, and sometimes in English, up to ten times cheaper than their originals. Despite being prohibited, the pirated-books market is largely tolerated in cities across the North African kingdom. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Morocco’s next generation of writers fights for a place on the shelf

A new book fair in Casablanca spotlights the country’s rising talent and the obstacles that still define Morocco’s fragmented publishing world.

Morocco

Analysis

Gaza realities test Trump’s 2025 Middle East ambitions

During its first year, the second Trump administration confronted wars in Gaza and Sudan, forged new ties with Syria and grappled with the growing nuclear threat from Iran.

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Latest News

Analysis

In 2025, Hezbollah was weakened in Lebanon, but unlikely to disarm in 2026

Supporters of Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah carry the coffins of militants killed in recent Israeli attacks during their funeral in the southern city of Nabatiyeh on November 2, 2025. Hundreds of people gathered in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh on November 2, 2025 to mourn five Hezbollah members killed in recent Israeli attacks, an AFP correspondent said, as Israel warned of intensifying attacks against the Iran-backed group. On November 1, an Israeli strike killed four people in Kfar Rumman, Nabati

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Analysis

2025: Why Gulf defense megadeals finally met reality

Saudi Air Force advanced F-15SA fighter jets perform during a ceremony in Riyadh on Jan. 25, 2017.

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Analysis

Eyeing Turkey, Netanyahu boosts Greece, Cyprus ties ahead of US visit

By Ben Caspit

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

As UAE-Saudi rivalry heats up, Yemen’s STC accuses Riyadh of airstrikes

A boy looks on as supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally calling for the revival of the former independent state, in Aden on December 12, 2025. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council last week swept through swathes of Yemen in a near-bloodless takeover they say aimed to expel Islamists and halt smuggling for the benefit of the Iran-backed Houthis. (Photo by Saleh Al-OBEID

Yemen

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A wooden stitched ship inspired by a fifth-century design set sail Monday

India's navy sails back to the future with historic voyage

Agence France-Presse

Guinea has huge deposits of bauxite, used for the production of aluminium

Emirates mining company challenges Guinea licence withdrawal

Agence France-Presse

Iraq's newly elected parliament holds first session

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk to a joint news conference following their meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS

Kremlin says Ukraine should withdraw troops from Donbas, and a Putin-Trump call expected soon

Reuters

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2025 Middle East business review: Gulf AI and mineral races heat up as startups, Red Sea shipping bounce back

Adam Lucente interviews Sam Wendel and Jack Dutton

27:24

The Al-Monitor Brief

Turkey’s year 2025 in review: Progress abroad, challenges at home?

Adam Lucente interviews Ezgi Akin

18:03

The Al-Monitor Brief

What’s next for Syria's economy, security after Trump repeals Caesar sanctions?

Adam Lucente interviews Danny Makki

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Interview

Cyprus weighs joining Gaza force but 'not enough clarity' on mission, FM says

Constantinos Kombos

Cypriot Foreign Minister

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Tamara Alrifai

Interview

Can protests in Israel halt Netanyahu's second attempt at judicial overhaul?

Shikma Bressler, an Israeli physicist and one of the leaders of the protest against the government's judicial overhaul.

Interview

Robots can solve UAE construction labor shortage, says Buildroid AI

Analysis

Stay a step ahead of your colleagues.

Analysis

Turkey's defense sector enters 2026 with naval progress — and unresolved vulnerabilities

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

From looming war to currency crash: Iran ends 2025 on edge

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

2025: Why Gulf defense megadeals finally met reality

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Analysis

From Sputnik to satellites: How China is pulling Egypt and Gulf into its space orbit

By Dale Aluf

In Amsterdam, reporting on China in the Middle East

Amberin Zaman, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Danny Makki, Joyce Karam in a virtual discussion on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's visit to Washington

Syria's Sharaa in Washington

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Iraqis prepare to head to the polls

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Amberin Zaman Reports from Damascus

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Elizabeth Hagedorn Reporting from UNGA in New York

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Past Live Journalism

AL-Monitor Global Institute hosts food security forum with Dr. Conrad Rein

On October 16, 2025, the AL-Monitor Global Institute hosted Dr. Conrad Rein, Secretary of the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security, alongside representatives from multilateral development banks and the private sector for a discussion on food security in the Middle East and Africa.

Washington, DC

October 16, 2025 11:00 EDT

Past Live Journalism

AL-Monitor Global Institute hosts Digital Cooperation Organization Secretary-General Deemah AlYahya

On Sept. 21, 2025, the AL-Monitor Global Institute hosted Deemah AlYahya, Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization, for a discussion on digital inclusion and economic empowerment in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

New York, NY

September 21, 2025 17:00 EDT

Past Live Journalism

Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani at AL-Monitor Global Institute

AL-Monitor Global Institute hosts Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright

On May 22, 2025, the AL-Monitor Global Institute hosted Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in Washington DC to discuss the future of power and energy in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Washington, DC

May 22, 2025 10:30 EDT

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