There is a saying, “When the US economy sneezes, the emerging markets get a cold.” The global economy now may be more complex: it is more resilient in terms of where new economic growth emerges, but more vulnerable in terms of risk emanating from the United States, but also in China, and in sites of conflict and geopolitical competition. Inflation…
Tunisians Emigrate in Record Numbers as Hopes Fade for Its Economy, Democracy
They once believed that the Arab Spring would yield stability, but Tunisians are now fleeing their home country in droves TUNIS, Tunisia—Record numbers of Tunisians are leaving the country after a decade of economic turmoil and the government’s turn toward authoritarianism, dimming hopes that a younger generation can build a future in the nation that sparked the Arab Spring. The flood of Tunisian émigrés…
Xi Wins Over Arab Leaders Looking Beyond U.S. in One of Most Powerful Trips
As Chinese President Xi Jinping reemerges in-person on the world stage after more than two years of avoiding travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his visit to Saudi Arabia may be his most impactful trip yet. The Chinese leader is seeking to bolster Beijing’s ties in a strategic region where the longstanding influence of the United States appears to be on on…
Jordan has a plan to retain nation’s youth – can they sell it?
All Anas Atef wants is to open a restaurant and live next door to his parents. His family has other plans for the 22-year-old college student: leave the country. “The last thing I want to do is leave my family and community behind, although they are all telling me to leave,” Mr. Atef says. “I’m defying them and staying. But…
China lends billions to poor countries. Is that a burden … or a blessing?
Chinese leaders have often boasted about their country’s “miracle” progress in alleviating poverty and indicated their willingness to share their expertise with other nations. Take its “Belt and Road Initiative,” also known as the New Silk Road. China has spent nearly one trillion dollars in the last decade building highways, railways, ports and energy plants from east Asia to Europe in a…
Water and food are overwhelming concerns for Middle East, Arab Barometer poll finds
Issues related to water, including pollution and scarcity, are key concerns in the Arab world, according to a study that canvassed the views of more than 26,000 people in a dozen nations. The Arab Barometer research by Princeton University found that while climate change was a worry for the region’s public, issues with a more immediate day-to-day impact tended to…