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The Twentieth Century was the age of ideologies in the Arab world, with governments wedded to socialism, nationalism, Islamism and liberalism to a greater or lesser degree. However, today, except Islamism (which is itself failing to deliver on its early promises), these once apparent dominant ideologies are withering – ageing shells of ideas that once commanded loyalty and pride.…

THE TURKISH apparel sector is capitalising on sourcing diversification and changes in retailers’ orders in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Exports are up on last year, and the industry is laying the foundations for strong future demand as the sector expands.…

Istanbul is gearing up for its second fashion week of 2021, with the expectation of repeating the success of previous virtual events that reached some 25 million viewers worldwide.

With a physical Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Fashion Week (IFW) not feasible in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisers pivoted to a virtual event.…

Oil-service provider Petrofac is to pay out a total GBP77 million (USD104.6 million) after pleading guilty to seven separate counts of failure to prevent bribery to win over GBP2.6 billion (USD3.5 billion) in Middle East contracts. In a case brought by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Her Honour Judge Deborah Taylor October 4 sentenced the Jersey-based contractor in Southwark Crown Court to pay GBP47,197,640 (USD64,208,613) in fines, a GBP22,836,985 (USD31,066,704) confiscation order plus the SFO’s GBP7 million (USD9.5 million) costs.…

Only a foolish person would deny the importance of culture and historical consciousness on the present behaviour of humankind, and that counts maybe double for the Arab world, where citizens often view society through a more ideological or religious lens than – say – in the west.…

A key political question emerging from the Coronavirus pandemic has been how the disease might readjust relations between this world’s two largest powers – the United States and China. The two countries have had two very different experiences of Covid-19, which reflect their contrasting social and political systems.…

A friend from Syria once told me of a 20-year-old man, an only child, who left his country, having been ordered to emigrate by his father in fear of the frenzy and killing in his country’s civil war. He moved to the comparative calm of Beirut, Lebanon.…

While the Arab world certainly has a political culture of its own, there are many universal human truths that its politics shares with the rest of the globe, even if – perhaps – tensions can be more intense in this region than others.…

While the rule of President Xi Jinping has not been known for its support of civil liberties in China, his administration has certainly taken proactive steps to fight organised crime. Initially its focus was on corruption, but now the regime is reforming its anti-money laundering (AML) legislation.…

Cryptocurrency innovation is moving fast, with AML/CFT-oriented financial institutions and law enforcement struggling to keep up as criminals exploit the system through newer technology such as decentralised finance and anonymous privacy coins.

The use of cryptocurrencies is surging, and is increasingly being adopted in more, often unregulated, markets.…