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Stories about West Asia & North Africa from June, 2022
Turkey's former mayor claims officials discovered hidden jellybean reserves
The former mayor was answering questions about recently discovered oil reserves when he made the comment about a major jellybean discovery.
A corny TV exorcism possesses Turkish social media
In Turkey, a woman named Pelin Hürman who describes herself as metaphysics expert, performed an exorcism on a TV show and quickly became a laughing stock on social media.
Istanbul police violently break up PRIDE March and arrest over 300 people
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Istanbul LGBT+ Pride Week. While local authorities banned all PRIDE events, protestors still took to the streets, marched, and chanted slogans.
Four years on: Saudi's movie market is of humble local productions, massive sales and censorships
Four years after Saudi overturned a four-decade ban on cinemas as part of "a reform package", many ask how tolerant officials really are to diversity amidst tight censorships.
The fall of the House of Arslan: How a Lebanese political newcomer ousted a dynasty
In May's polls, the Druze minority elected Marc Daou, a reform-minded political newcomer, over long-term politician Prince Talal Arslan, representing a shakeup to Lebanon's political stagnation ushered in by the October 17 protests.
The Gezi protests were led by riffraff and sluts, according to president Erdoğan
On the ninth anniversary of Gezi Park protest, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slamed the protest and its participants, calling them corrupt, rotten, and sluts.
Trace Turkey's path to normalizing the practice of blocking news websites
The sweeping legislative amendments to national laws as well as exhaustive institutional oversight by government institutions have created an environment of unlimited digital censorship in Turkey.
Journalists in Turkey could face three years in prison for disseminating ‘false information’ online
A statement issued by seven international and local media freedom and journalism organizations said the new draft bill "will boost systematic censorship and self-censorship in Turkey instead of fighting disinformation."
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