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.

Ultra-Orthodox set sights on Housing, Welfare portfolios

The ultra-Orthodox population is poor and faces a housing crisis, which has led their elected representatives to demand welfare and housing portfolios as conditions for joining the next government.

Tunisia's indigenous Amazighs launch their first political party

The Akal civil movement, which defends the rights of Amazighs in Tunisia, is entering the political arena.

Israeli-Arabs key to returning the center-left to power

Comparing Israel’s demographic profile with the results of the recent election show that large numbers of Israeli Arabs not voting, some due to intimidation, had a dramatic impact on the political map.

Turkey polishes Iraqi relations, champions Turkmen in politics

The Turkish foreign minister's recent visit to Baghdad and Erbil included a push for appointing Turkmens to Cabinet positions in Iraq.

Is the Palestinian social fabric at risk of tearing?

A recent local incident on the West Bank required the attention of the national leadership to tamp it down, leading some to wonder it if portends trouble ahead for the Palestinian social fabric, which has to this point been distinguished by its unity.

An Iraqi family listen to questions asked them by government officials conducting the country's official census, October 16. Iraqis stayed at home on Thursday as the country conducted its first census for 10 years, the first since the imposition of sanctions by the United Nations following Iraq's invasion of -Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf-War. - PBEAHUMQHCP

Iraq's plans to take census raise controversy

The central government's plans to undertake a census late next year have raised the concerns of groups in multicultural Iraqi cities such as Kirkuk.

More Druze risk prison to reject military service in Israel

A campaign launched years ago continues to have an impact as more Arab Druze in Israel are refusing to join the army despite the risk of imprisonment.

An undated picture taken in 2016 shows a man walking past images of executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on a wall in the Awamiya area in Saudi Arabia's Eastern province.

In a Sunni-majority kingdom where banners of King Salman, his crown prince and deputy crown prince are widely displayed, the homage paid to Nimr is unusual and provocative.

/ AFP / STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump pressed to punish Saudi Arabia over religious intolerance

A federal commission on religious freedom wants the president to end a decadelong pass for Riyadh.

A priest blesses worshippers during an Orthodox Easter service at the Church of Saint Jacob in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 28, 2019. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP) (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Christians in northeastern Syria seek to revive Easter spirit following IS ouster

After the fall of IS, Easter celebrations were held in only in some northeastern Syrian areas.

Will Netanyahu re-create Arab Affairs Ministry?

Consideration linked to coalition talks and to the importance of the Arab constituency might persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to re-create the Ministry for Minorities Affairs.

Likud's election day dirty tricks

The day after Knesset elections, a public relations firm that worked for the Likud revealed the party's “secret plan” to deter Israeli Arabs from voting.

Blue and White ignored Israeli Arab vote at own peril

The Blue and White list shunned the Arab electorate, lost their vote and as a result will now have to sit in the opposition.