Al-Monitor Staff - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent since 2012

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

wimmers enter the water in the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul's Bebek district on July 29, 2022. - Istanbul, a historic megalopolis of 16 million people resting between two continents and two sea, does not bring to mind immediate images of a beach resort. But just like the locals of New York, Beirut and a handful of other global cities, Istanbulites can swim all summer long and return home on the metro with salt layering their skin, sand trapped under their sandals. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN K

Culture

Tunis, Istanbul top Middle East city rankings for 'mindful travelers'

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on February 22, 2019. (Photo by HOW HWEE YOUNG / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read HOW HWEE YOUNG/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi crown prince calls China’s Xi following Iran, energy deals

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A customs agreement between Israel and the UAE is signed in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 26, 2023.

Israel, UAE sign customs agreement as Emirati president hosts Naftali Bennett

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A stock market ticker displays financial information and world time zones in the lobby of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Israeli shekel, stocks rally as Netanyahu pauses judicial reform

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud arrives for the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on July 8, 2022. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Iranian, Saudi FMs hold second call in a week on 'constructive' relations

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people

60,000 Syrians have left Turkey, Turkish defense chief says

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A man walks past a sign of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Mumbai on August 5, 2022. - India's central bank on August 5 hiked interest rates for the third time in four months, as Asia's third-largest economy contends with a widening trade deficit and weakening currency. (Photo by Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP) (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE, India to boost cooperation via digital currency

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

This picture taken on Nov. 17, 2019, shows the Hong Kong-flagged container ship CSCL STAR sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal.

Egypt-China relations strengthen with $2 billion factory deal

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

A merchant presents desert truffles at a stall in a market in the city of Hama in west-central Syria on March 6, 2023.

Islamic State kills 15 truffle hunters in Syria, as clashes resume in Aleppo

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

MARKKU ULANDER/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish parliamentary committee approves Finland's NATO bid

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

Marines

Setback for Iran as US court orders $1.68 billion payout for 1983 Beirut bombing

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff

US General Mark Alexander Milley, 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Feb. 14, 2023.

Top US general says ‘multiple options’ ready if Iran develops nuclear weapon

Al-Monitor Staff

Al-Monitor Staff