Stories about Middle East & North Africa
Erdoğan's priorities turn to space as earthly problems mount in Turkey
As part of its national space program, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled plans to have its citizens serve aboard the International Space Station.
Central Asia’s fears of rising militancy in Afghanistan as Moscow invades Ukraine
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the three Central Asian states that border Afghanistan intended to defend their borders through security reinforcement and diplomacy, primarily relying on Russian initiatives.
‘The ambition of expressing myself freely': A conversation with Iranian artist Arghavan Khosravi
"One does not need to be Iranian to relate to the sense of uncertainty and repression woven into [Khosravi's] paintings."
Turkey's latest attack on the arts: A provincial governor cancels a long-awaited music festival
While the statement did not specifically mention the upcoming music festival, the event falls under the calendar days mentioned in the statement.
In Turkey, a comedy show lands in hot water over a political sketch
The Guldur Guldur Show, a popular comedy show in Turkey, had its sketch removed by a television channel over a satirical bit about Minister of Finance and Treasury Nureddin Nebati.
Turkey unveils an initiative that would send one million Syrian refugees back
{lans to send close to one million Syrian refugees living in Turkey back to Syria are at "advanced stage", President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a video message on May 3.
In Turkey a journalist is arrested for covering an alleged hacking of a government database
The arrest comes after Haskoloğlu reported on an alleged hacking of a government database.
The life sentence handed to Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala is a dark day for the civil society in Turkey
Turkey's renowned philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced to life in prison after having spent four and a half years behind bars for baseless crimes.
In Turkey, media watchdog uses licensing to attempt to censor foreign media
A 2020 social media law introduced a set of requirements that will have a lasting impact on digital rights and freedom of expression in Turkey.
Tensions mount in Karabakh as parties exchange blame
The Azerbaijani army's seizure of a strategic village of Farrukh has led to accusations of a ceasefire violation leveled against Azerbaijan by both official Yerevan and Moscow.
Undertones: Populist discourses against the ‘elite’ and the ‘poor’ in Turkey
Turkey’s doctors and refugees have an unlikely commonality -- they are the target of far-right and populist narratives.
Syria's dire economy and years of fighting send young ‘mercenaries’ to fight in Ukraine
Syrian mercenaries, having fought in Libya and the Nagorno-Karabakh region, are now making their way to Ukraine, driven by extreme poverty, and political rapprochement between the two regimes.
Pandemic tech and digital rights in Morocco
While data-driven technologies can add great value, they carry very significant risks for human dignity, autonomy and privacy and the exercise of human rights in general if not managed appropriately.
What does Russia’s history of urban warfare in Aleppo and Grozny mean for Ukraine?
By weaponize refugees and using illegal munitions, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will continue to exacerbate one of the worst humanitarian crises in Europe since World War II.
Turkey and Armenia inch closer to mending ties
The meeting was the first sit-down meeting between each country's foreign minister since 2009 and is part of mutual efforts to establish diplomatic ties which were severed in the early 1990s.
Russians against war are fleeing state crackdowns
They were concerned about their futures, closed borders, and their livelihoods, but mostly for the friends and family they left behind. The fear of persecution still looms.
Has Turkey dodged its sunflower oil crisis?
In recent months, Turkey has been rocked by a handful of crises - financial, political, environmental, diplomatic but now it is grappling with a new one - the sunflower oil shortage.
In Turkey, health workers mark Doctor's Day by going on strike
To mark the holiday, health workers across the country said they would be on a two-day strike starting March 14 despite earlier warnings from the Ministry of Health against the protests.
The hijab on Algerian TV: An end to all things French
The move is praised by many Algerians as more reflective of nation's Islamic identity. Experts also say the decision restores hope among young veiled Algerian media students of claiming spots on screen.
New regulations in Turkey sacrifice olive groves for mining operations
The regulations have sparked a backlash, with lawsuits filed to overrule a decision civil society believes will do long-term damage to olive groves and natural protected areas.
Women across Turkey demonstrate in annual night march
Despite government attempts to prevent demonstrations from marking International Women's Day, women across Turkey took to the streets demanding equal rights, equal pay, and better protection against gender-based violence.