Ethnic/Religious Minorities

A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aims a machine gun while lying prone during a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022.

Turkey escalates push to replace Kurds as top anti-ISIS force in Syria

Turkey is attempting to form a new coalition to combat ISIS remnants and replace the Pentagon-backed Kurdish forces in Syria.

Shaibani

At Dubai summit, Syrian FM expresses interest in Baghdad visit

On his second trip to the United Arab Emirates since assuming his role, new Syria Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani stressed the need for good neighborly relations, lifting of sanctions and guaranteed rights for minorities in the country.

People carry a banner during a march demanding truth and justice for Kurdish activists, Paris, Jan. 11, 2025.

27 Kurdish civilians, activists arrested in Iran following protests

After protests over the death sentences of Kurdish political prisoners, Iranian authorities arrested at least 27 people across the Kurdistan region.

The destroyed grain silos and a sculpture made from salvaged steel following the explosion stand in the port of Beirut as the sun sets on Lebanon, Jan. 11, 2024.

Analysis

Eyeing reconstruction, port investment, UAE resets Lebanon ties

A weakened Hezbollah and a new government in Beirut give room for the Emirates to play a big role, politically and economically, in Lebanon.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Latest News

Feature

As sectarian tensions rise, what future awaits Syria's Alawite community?

A fighter affiliated with Syria's new administration gestures with his rifle in Syria's western coastal city of Latakia on December 26, 2024. Syria's new authorities launched an operation in a stronghold of ousted president Bashar al-Assad on December 26, with a war monitor saying three gunmen affiliated with the former government were killed, a day after angry protests erupted in several areas around Syria over a video showing an attack on an Alawite shrine that circulated online. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / A

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Amid Alawite tensions, Syria's new rulers launch security operation: What we know

Fighters affiliated with Syria's new administration are deployed after closing a road leading to the Alawite-majority Mazzeh 86 neighbourhood in western Damascus, on Dec. 26, 2024.

Three years after fleeing, Afghanistan's last Jew arrives in Israel

Zebulon Simantov reads his old, tattered Hebrew prayer book as he celebrates the Jewish New Year feast of Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 18, 2009, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

As IRGC begins offensive, Iran links Sunni militant attacks to 'Israeli plot'

A view of Zahedan from ShirAbad neighbourhood in Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran, on Dec. 3, 2018.

Israelis sit in a coffee shop in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, on April 14, 2024, one day after Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory.

Analysis

Post Oct. 7 Israel: Divided, veering right and embracing Jewish identity

A divided, polarized and more right-wing-than-ever Israeli Jewish society marks the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Iran's former President Hassan Rouhani (L) waves to the media as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks on before a meeting at Hyderabad house, New Delhi, India, Feb. 17, 2018.

India tells Iran’s Khamenei to 'look at own record' over comments on Muslims suffering

India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei’s remarks on the treatment of Muslims.

US President Pro Tempore of the Senate Patty Murray (D-WA) swears in US Senate-Designate George Hemly (D-N.J.).

George Helmy becomes first Coptic Christian sworn into US Senate

Helmy fills the New Jersey seat left vacant after Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted of federal crimes and resigned.

Shiite Muslim devotees attend mourning rituals in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Karbala on August 23, 2024 ahead of the Arbaeen commemorations that mark the end of the 40-day mourning period for the seventh century killing of the Prophet Mohamed's grandson Imam Hussein ibn Ali. (Photo by Ali Abdul Wahid / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by ALI ABDUL WAHID/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

On eve of Iran’s Pezeshkian visit, Iraq jostles for Shiite space amid rivalries

Ahead of a top-level visit by Iran’s new president, Iraq seems to be garnering greater attention as the go-to place for Shiites looking for an alternative to its eastern neighbor.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Jewish worshippers pray at Joseph's Tomb as hundreds of faithful mark the anniversary of the biblical Joseph's death, Nablus, West Bank, July 4, 2011.

Hundreds of Israeli pilgrims pray at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus

Joseph's Tomb in Nablus has often been the site of violent conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis.

An armed Israeli soldier watches nationalists gathered at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on June 5, 2024, during the so-called Jerusalem Day flag march.

Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount visit angers both Muslims, ultra-Orthodox

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the Temple Mount on the fasting day of Tisha B’Av drew condemnation not only from the Muslim world but also the ultra-Orthodox community.

Women worshippers stand at the altar, they pray and tie knots in pieces of cloth that represent their wishes, during their visit to the new Yazidi Temple in the village of Aknalich, 35 kilometres from the Armenian capital Yerevan, on October 11, 2019.

Yazidis or Kurds? The fight over identity in Armenia and Iraq

A growing number of Yazidis insist they are not ethnic Kurds, part of an effort to construct a distinct identity in order to survive.

Former President of the French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) parliamentary group Marine Le Pen.

Analysis

What a far-right French government could look like

Jews and Muslims fear that a far-right win at the French parliamentarian elections on Sunday could damage their freedom of religious practice.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli demonstrations turn violent as ultra-Orthodox protest draft

Protests broke out in Israel over the weekend over thousands of ultra-Orthodox facing the draft.

A woman wearing a hijab with a bouquet of flowers in her hand walks down a street in the Barbes district in Paris on June 25, 2023.

Analysis

French Jews, Muslims warn of far-right rise in upcoming elections

The far-right National Rally is expected to make big gains in upcoming legislative elections, with immigration and cost of living among central issues motivating voters.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Displaced Syrians walk through a makeshift camp for Syrian refugees only miles from the border with Syria in the Bekaa Valley on Nov. 12, 2013, in Majdal Anjar, Lebanon.

Poverty in Lebanon tripled to 44%, as high as 62% in rural areas: World Bank

In a recent report, the World Bank revealed a three-fold increase in poverty rates in Lebanon, which is hard hit by an economic crisis and financial meltdown, with nine out of every 10 Syrians displaced in the country living under the poverty line.

TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images

Three main disagreements constrain Turkey-Greece ties following Mitsotakis visit

The Greek prime minister's visit to Turkey inspired both optimistic and pessimistic outlooks for the future of the two NATO allies.