Turkish-American economist Daron Acemoglu wins joint Nobel Prize Turkish-American Daron Acemoglu has become Turkey's third Nobel laureate. Turkey
Interview NATO deepens engagement with Iraq as US prepares to withdraw In an exclusive Al-Monitor interview, Lucas Schreurs, commander of NATO Mission Iraq, explains the scope of his outfit's mandate. Commander of NATO Mission Iraq Lucas Schreurs
Azerbaijan detains Iranian boat for alleged drug smuggling The incident has added to tense ties between Iran and Azerbaijan, in part due to the Baku’s ties to Israel and Tehran's support to Armenia. Iran
Iran-Azerbaijan ties still off track despite diplomatic gestures Azerbaijan's energy minister visited Tehran for preparations to reopen his country's embassy, but such hot-button issues as the Nakhchivan corridor and Azerbaijan's affinity with Israel appeared as stumbling blocks on the path to effective normalization. Iran
Egypt's Sisi taking his time picking vice president Egyptians are speculating about why the president has yet to appoint a vice president to fill in for him if necessary. Egypt
Why this political movement is turning its back on the Iraqi PM Ammar al-Hakim's National Wisdom Movement, which once supported Adel Abdul Mahdi for the premiership, has turned against the prime minister, organizing protests against his government. Iraq
Egypt plans single cash transfer system for combating poverty Egypt plans to launch a new social protection system to help the poor, which would include merging a social security safety-net plan with the program known as Takaful and Karama. Egypt
Shiite militias react angrily to decree integrating them into Iraqi forces Pro-Iran Shiite militias in Iraq reacted with displeasure to the prime minister's decree to integrate the Popular Mobilization Units into the Iraqi military forces, but the majority of the PMU are pledging allegiance to Baghdad. Iraq
NGOs will watch, work with new Palestinian government Nongovernmental organizations will help evaluate the new Palestinian government, its transparency and its efforts to improve communication with the public. Palestine
A century of Lebanese documents preserve shifting identities The exhibition “Identity Papers” uses old government documents and artworks to show how identity is created, informed and changed by official papers. Lebanon
Lebanon’s interior minister pushes for prison reform amid calls for radical change Unless broad, structural reforms to the administration of prisons and military detention centers are passed in conjunction with changes to the criminal justice process itself, the reforms announced by Lebanon’s interior minister so far will likely only have a moderate impact on the penal system. Lebanon
How Iran's hard-liners aim to sideline traditionalist clerics Iranian hard-liners are establishing parallel entities to train clerics in order to marginalize traditionalist clerics at the Qom seminary. Iran
Why Iran-US confrontation may intensify under new IRGC commander A sharp-tongued commander taking the helm of Iran's most powerful military force has been interpreted by many as a signal that Tehran is bracing for more tensions, including a possible military conflict with the United States. Iran
Bill to restrict consecutive MP terms raises debate in Iran A bill to limit the number of consecutive terms of Iranian parliamentarians is stirring debate amid accusations that it may be a hard-liner plot to seize the legislative branch. Iran
Iraq's Basra province seeks upgrade to federal region Basra governorate hopes the third time will be a charm as it once again seeks to become an Iraqi federal region. Iraq
Gaza’s Justice Ministry has a new delivery service For the first time, judicial notification and papers in Gaza will be delivered by a private company. Palestine
