Press freedom

Hassan Akkad speaks about fleeing Syria in 2015 and his work as a filmmaker at a BAFTA event, Sept. 2023.

Culture

In Syria, detention of Hassan Akkad raises alarm about free expression under Sharaa

Akkad, a British-Syrian filmmaker, was detained Wednesday night after his campaign questioning the whereabouts of funds allegedly pledged for relief, reconstruction and community initiatives across Syria.

Ahmed Shihab‑Eldin attends the Opening Night during the Doha Film Festival 2025 on Nov. 20, 2025 in Doha, Qatar.

Kuwait acquits journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin after 7 weeks in detention

The American-Kuwaiti journalist is expected to be released after 52 days in custody over posts about wartime damage.

Amal Khalil, a veteran correspondent for the daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, in the southern Lebanese border village of Jebbayn in 2024.

Lebanon bids farewell to Amal Khalil, journalist killed by Israel: What to know

Khalil's death in a targeted strike on a house where she and a colleague took cover sparked widespread condemnation by Lebanese officials and international media groups.

Ahmed Shihab‑Eldin attend "Palestine 36" red carpet during the Doha Film Festival 2025 on November 24, 2025 in Doha, Qatar.

Kuwait detains American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin: What to know

Kuwaiti authorities have been cracking down on alleged violators of the country's media law during the Iran war.

Latest News

Journalist who investigated Erdogan’s son jailed on 'disinformation' charges in Turkey

Journalists gather outside the Ankara courthouse on March 10, 2020 behind a banner reading in Turkish "journalism is not crime," to protest over jailing of journalists, sparked by the recent arrest of OdaTV's news director and a journalist's report on the funeral of a Turkish intelligence officer apparently killed in Libya.

Analysis

Iran’s longest-ever internet blackout leaves 99% offline: What to know

Traffic rolls along a main throughfare under a banner with images of past and present leaders that reads in Farsi, "Domino fall", as daily life returns to the streets following nationwide protests, in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 19, 2026. Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years. Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said January

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Qatar-based Al Jazeera commentators go dark on social media: What to know

This picture taken on August 11, 2025, shows the headquarters of the Qatari state-funded news television network Al Jazeera in the capital Doha. (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli-Russian journalist removed from Netanyahu’s US flight: What to know

Israeli state aircraft Wing of Zion, which flew to Greece from Ben Gurion Airport, is seen at International Airport in Athens on June 13, 2025, in Athens, Greece.

This picture shows a view of the newsroom at the main headquarters of Qatari news broadcaster Al Jazeera in the capital Doha on May 6, 2024. Al Jazeera went off-air in Israel on May 5, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government decided to shut it down following a long-running feud, a move the Qatar-based channel decried as "criminal". (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why closure of Al Jazeera is futile and slippery slope for Israel

There is broad understanding in Israel that shutting down Al Jazeera's local outfit is not only technologically impossible but also harmful to Israel's international image.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

An employee of the Qatar-based news network and TV channel Al Jazeera is seen at the channel's Jerusalem office on July 31, 2017.

Israel’s Netanyahu vows to shut Al Jazeera after Knesset law

The prime minister's pledge drew statements of concern and condemnation from the White House and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) escorts King Mohammed VI of Morocco (C) and Crown Prince of Morocco, Moulay Hassan as they leave the Elysee palace on December 12, 2017 in Paris, following a lunch hosted by the French President as part of the One Planet Summit. The French President hosts 50 world leaders for the "One Planet Summit", hoping to jump-start the transition to a greener economy two years after the historic Paris agreement to limit climate change. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN

Analysis

Can France restore Morocco ties without shifting on Western Sahara?

On a visit to Rabat, French Foreign minister Stephane Sejourne acknowledged for the first time the importance of the Western Sahara issue for Moroccan diplomacy, but did not commit to any movement by Paris on the issue.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

People take part in a protest against the arrest of nine journalists working for Kurdish media outlets including Mezopotamya news agency in Istanbul, on Oct. 31, 2022.

Kurdish journalists harassed, detained ahead of key municipal race in Turkey

The detentions come amid ongoing demonstrations across the majority-Kurdish southeast region in the run-up to the 25th anniversary of the arrest of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party leader Abdullah Ocalan.

MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

85 journalists killed in Gaza war, deadliest for the press in 30 years

The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the continued targeting of journalists in Gaza, coinciding with reports of Al Jazeera reporters sustaining serious injuries in an Israel strike in Rafah.

Tucker Carlson, US television personality and founder of the Tucker Carlson Network.

Why is Tucker Carlson in UAE after controversial Russia visit?

The controversial former Fox News host, who recently interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin, addressed a summit in the UAE’s largest city.

Turkey’s parliament ejects jailed lawmaker Can Atalay, defying top court

With the ejection, lawmakers from the Turkish president’s ruling coalition unprecedentedly defied the country’s highest court.

Photo illustration of a selection of front pages from UK daily national newspaper coverage, London, Jan. 18, 2024.

Analysis

UAE-backed fund's planned Telegraph takeover raises press freedom fears

Members of parliament and former state security figures have raised concerns about what it would mean for an entity with close ties to a foreign government to own one of the United Kingdom’s most influential newspapers.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Journalist Wael Dahdouh 'the mountain' inspires Gaza through tragedy

Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza has lost most of his family members and relatives, but is determined to continue covering the Israeli bombardment of the enclave.

Crowds examine the car in which two journalists, Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for AFP news agency, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, a journalist with Al Jazeera television network, were killed in an air strike on Rafah blamed by Hamas on Israel

Al Jazeera says two Gaza journalists killed in Israeli strike

Agence France-Presse

TOPSHOT - Palestinian journalists attempt to connect to the internet using their phones in Rafah on the southern Gaza Strip on December 27, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Power cuts have become a fact of life in war-torn Gaza. But thanks to embedded SIM cards, Palestinians can still access the internet and stay in touch with loved ones abroad. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza journalists killed at rate of 7.5%, higher than US soldiers in recent wars: IFJ

IFJ has recorded the death of 75 journalists in Gaza since Oct. 7 out of an estimated 1,000 working there before the war began.

Sara Massoumi in an undated photo

Iranian journalist Sara Massoumi sentenced to prison over tweet: lawyer

Sara Massoumi criticized the Islamic Republic over the death of teenage girl Armita Geravand, who some allege was beaten for not wearing the hijab.