Iranian filmmaker Rasoulof says he's fled country after prison sentence The crew for Mohammad Rasoulof’s latest film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” was barred from traveling to Cannes for the premiere, their lawyer said. Iran
What does Turkey's three-year austerity plan to curb inflation entail? The plan is to increase the efficiency of the public sector through cost-cutting measures such as a ban on buying new vehicles for civil servants. Turkey
Gulf consolidates stature as sovereign wealth hub, lags on per capita holdings A frenzy of recent initial public offerings has again highlighted Gulf states' statuses as global wealth hubs. By Sebastian Castelier In Dubai, reporting on regional business
Emirates airline reports record $4.7B profit as Gulf competition heats up The Dubai-based airline has posted strong performance figures in recent months. United Arab Emirates
Israel ramps up attacks on northern Gaza as 60,000 flee Rafah As the Israeli military expanded its operation in Rafah, the government faced strident criticism over its failures on and since Oct. 7 at Memorial Day observances around the country. Israel
Inside Kuwait's political turmoil as parliament dissolves, new government forms The Kuwaiti emir’s move to dissolve parliament and appoint a government a few days later further deepens years of political instability in the Gulf nation. Kuwait
Interview AI pioneer Schmidhuber bets on Saudi Arabia for trillion-dollar breakthrough Juergen Schmidhuber, a pioneering AI researcher told Al-Monitor that Gulf players have opportunities to take on traditional tech powerhouses in this high stakes AI race. With Juergen Schmidhuber AI computer scientist