Fears mount over fate of missing Turkmen dissidents in Turkey The pair vanished after being released from a Turkish deportation center, prompting concerns they were abducted or secretly returned to Turkmenistan. Turkey
Egypt holds second Senate vote as pro-Sisi parties dominate: What to know The Senate elections, dominated by pro-Sisi government parties, feature fewer party list and individual candidates compared to elections held in 2020. Egypt
Turkey’s Sozcu TV forced off air in latest crackdown on opposition: What to know As Istanbul's mayor remains jailed, pressure mounts on opposition-aligned media to soften their criticism, analysts say. Turkey
Turkey jails satirical magazine staff over alleged Prophet Muhammad cartoon Four staff members of the satirical weekly LeMan were arrested and charged with “publicly insulting religious values” amid protests against the image and government crackdown on the magazine’s social media accounts. Turkey
Feature Families of Kurdish journalists slain in suspected Turkish drone strike in Syria want their remains By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Press freedom watchdog criticizes suspension of Kurdish reporter in northeast Syria Rudaw's Vivian Fatah was suspended because she did not describe Kurdish fighters who had been killed in Syria as martyrs. Iraq
Media, rights groups decry Houthi court's execution orders Yemen is without a doubt hostile to the press, but the death sentences imposed on four journalists by a Houthi court shocked many observers. Yemen
Cloud of doubt surrounds coronavirus figures reported by Iraqi government There is great skepticism in Iraqi society and in the media about the government’s statistics of how many people have been infected by and died from the coronavirus. Iraq
Government's opacity makes Turkey’s war on COVID-19 harder Keen to minimize the political and economic repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has pursued a policy of opacity, keeping the public from fully grasping the graveness of the threat. Turkey
Trans-Atlantic official slams US for forcing Turkish broadcaster to register as foreign agent The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's media freedom representative said TRT's registration under a Nazi-era anti-propaganda law had a “restrictive & negative impact on media freedom.” Turkey
Northeast Syrian airwaves home to radio tower of Babel Multicultural northeastern Syria boasts a plethora of multilingual radio stations. Syria
Egypt removes media mention from terrorism law The Egyptian parliament has reversed its decision to specifically include media outlets in its anti-terrorism law, but rights advocates say the action is mainly window dressing and won't help protect journalists. Egypt
A song of praise: Netanyahu’s court journalists Over the years, and especially since the 2015 election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been striving to set up a more submissive, sycophantic Israeli press that praises everything he does. Israel
Turkey's main opposition boycotts CNN Turk in protest of press censorship Turkey’s main opposition party has banned its members from appearing on CNN Turk, the Turkish franchise of the US broadcasting giant, charging that the channel functions as an "advertising agency" for the government. Turkey
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. Turkey
Publishers, writers watch from behind bars as Cairo Book Fair wraps Egypt's restrictive cultural environment marred this year's Cairo International Book Fair with the recent arrests of publishers and closures of community libraries and bookstores. Egypt
Meet the dismissed sports host who challenged Iran’s state TV Popular sports host Adel Ferdosipour, who recently witnessed his show being taken off the air by hardliners in the state TV, has now launched a new show on the internet. Saudi Arabia
