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
Solidarity swells in Morocco after crackdown on free expression Moroccan journalist Omar Radi has been released pending trial in March, but other YouTubers, rappers and students remain in jail for criticizing the king and the regime. Morocco
Young Middle Easterners turning on to podcasts Young people in the Middle East are turning to podcasts to generate wide-ranging and in-depth conversations on politics, events and other topics of personal interest. Palestine
Algerian cartoonist, other political detainees released to rejoin protests The Algerian government surprised lawyers and activists by suddenly releasing dozens of prisoners detained over protest activities. Algeria
Egypt reinstates Information Ministry in Cabinet reshuffle Egyptian member of parliament Osama Haikal will return as minister of state for information affairs after Egypt abolished the ministry in 2014. Egypt
Lebanon’s revolutionaries launch their own newspaper Lebanese activists and journalists printed the first issue of a newspaper dedicated to covering all aspects of the country's protests. Lebanon
Egypt tells media not to report yet on reshuffle, governors Egypt has forbidden the media from reporting on the appointment of new governors and the upcoming Cabinet overhaul until authorities issue official releases. Egypt
Egypt's Mada Masr determined to press on despite raid Lina Attalah, editor in chief of the news website Mada Masr, spoke to Al-Monitor about a harrowing police raid of the site's office and how she and the staff are determined to continue their work. Egypt
Iraq clamps down on media and broadcast networks covering protests In order to reduce coverage of the protests in Iraq, the government has shut down several TV channels and warned others. Iraq
Iran debates end of confession broadcasts An outspoken Iranian lawmaker is pushing legislation that would abolish the state broadcaster's controversial tradition of airing forced confessions. Iran
Is release of two prominent journalists a sign of normalization? The release of two well-known journalists from prison shouldn’t lead anyone to believe and hope that Turkey is becoming less autocratic. Turkey
Palestinians up in arms over PA and Facebook censorship Palestinian Authority security forces in Ramallah were behind Magistrate Court's decision to block websites and social media pages. Palestine
Al Jazeera spends more than $500,000 defending itself against attacks The Qatari broadcaster is under attack from Doha’s Gulf rivals. Saudi Arabia
