Ethnic/Religious Minorities

US President Donald Trump (L) welcomes Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on Aug. 8, 2025.

Feature

Backed by Trump and Turkey, Armenia's Pashinyan eyes third term in pivotal poll

As Russia and the West vie for influence, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appears on track to secure a new mandate for his peace agenda with Azerbaijan and rapprochement with Turkey.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Arab-Israeli Knesset member Ahmed Tibi takes part in a demonstration against rising crime rates against Arab-Israelis in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 31, 2026.

Interview

Ahmad Tibi says Arab parties in Israel can block Netanyahu without joining next government

Ahmad Tibi, head of the Arab Israeli Ta’al party, accused US President Trump of enabling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to continue the war in Gaza and escalate settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Ahmad Tibi

Ahmad Tibi

Israeli Arab lawmaker

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl speaks at a press conference following a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Southern California, on May 18, 2026.

Three victims identified in San Diego mosque attack: What to know

One of the victims, Amin Abdullah, was a security guard at the center who "played a pivotal role in preventing this from being much worse," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.

Ali al-Zaidi

Iraq's Shiite alliance nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM candidate: What to know

Ali al-Zaidi, who leads a bank accused of money laundering, received support from previous nominee Nouri al-Maliki and incumbent Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, though it remains unclear whether the Trump administration will approve of him.

Latest News

Iran arrests Ahwazi separatist leader amid war crackdown: What to know

Iranians carry the coffin of one of the people killed in a shooting attack, during their funeral in the city of Izeh in Iran's Khuzestan province, on November 18, 2022. In some of the worst violence since the protests erupted, assailants on motorbikes shot dead seven people, including a woman and two children aged nine and 13, at a central market of Izeh on the evening of November 16, 2022, state media said. (Photo by ALIREZA MOHAMMADI / isna / AFP) (Photo by ALIREZA MOHAMMADI/isna/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Hostage to Hormuz, can Gulf rewire future energy flows to bypass Iran’s chokepoint?

A police speed boat patrols the port as oil tankers and high speed crafts sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Displacement and dissent: Hezbollah’s war with Israel splits Lebanon’s Shiites

A Hezbollah flag is seen in a destroyed car after an Israeli airstrike in Nabi Chit (Al-Nabi Shayth), Lebanon, on March 26, 2026. In the first week of March, the Israeli army carried out an unsuccessful nighttime commando operation there to recover the remains of Ron Arad, a pilot missing since 1986, triggering airstrikes and destruction in the area that forced residents to flee their homes. (Photo by Fabio Bucciarelli / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Karim Safieddine

By Karim Safieddine

In Beirut, reporting on politics

Lebanon scrambles to contain tensions over displacement as Israel ups threats

Displaced families set up tents along Beirut's waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 10, 2026, after fleeing recent Israel-Hezbollah hostilities.

Libyan Jews' potential return sends out political shockwaves

Some members of the Libyan parliament and public vocally oppose the idea of Jews returning or participating in the country's peace process.

(L to R) Heba Yazbak, member and candidate for the Balad (National Democratic Alliance) party that is part of the Joint List alliance, applauds as Osama Saadi, member and candidate for the Arab Movement for Change (Taal) party raises his hands together with Balad party member and candidate Mtanes Shehadeh, Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) party's chairman and candidate Ayman Odeh, Taal's leader and candidate Ahmad Tibi, Hadash's member and candidate Aida Touma, and the Islamic Movement's mem

Israel’s Gantz dismisses the Joint List, shooting self in foot, again

Blue and White head Benny Gantz has fallen into a trap set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by publicly rejecting the Arab Joint List.

Small Istanbul publisher sustains Armenian literature

Aras Publishing has spent nearly three decades publishing forgotten classics by Armenian writers in both Turkish and the at-risk Western Armenian language.

Why Lebanon's priests think marriage is better than celibacy

In Lebanon, Maronites, Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics and Syrian Catholics widely accept — and even prefer — married priests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yaffa Issachar, mother of Naama Issachar who is jailed in Russia on drug charges, and officials attend a meeting in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2MLE9IX6KG

What Israel gave to Russia in return for release of its national

In order to get Naama Issachar released from a prison in Moscow, Israel broke its rule of not interfering in real estate disputes related to churches in Jerusalem.

Russian Jews not Jewish enough for Israel's chief rabbi

In maligning immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef ignores that contrary to his ultra-Orthodox congregants, they contribute to Israel's economy and risk their lives serving in the military.

For many Gazans, it's another Christmas barred from Bethlehem

While most of Gaza's Christians submitted requests to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem, only a small number were granted access by Israel.

Should Jewish refugees from Arab countries be compensated?

An Israeli-government project estimates that Jews who fled Arab countries and immigrated to Israel left behind $150 billion in property, and the prime minister has been authorized by law to seek compensation for it in any peace deal.

Jewish museums in Istanbul focus on upside of integration

Jews have been living in Turkey for many centuries, and both the Sephardim from Spain and then Ashkenazim from Eastern Europe boast their own museums.

Avigdor Lieberman, head of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party delivers a statement at the Knesset, Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2ZED9OQ503

Liberman spawns 'alliance of the underprivileged'

Attacks by Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman on Arab and ultra-Orthodox parties has pushed the two groups into a surprising alliance.

Ancient Kurdish festival offers taste of enduring love, mysticism

Mythology, mysticism and tributes to love dominate the Pir-Shalyar wedding festival in a rocky Kurdish village in western Iran.

Egypt's Sephardim explore Jewish roots in quest for Spanish citizenship

Egypt's minuscule Jewish community has taken advantage of a chance to gain Spanish nationality, though will stay in Egypt if they get it.