Ethnic/Religious Minorities

Women worshippers stand at the altar, they pray and tie knots in pieces of cloth that represent their wishes, during their visit to the new Yazidi Temple in the village of Aknalich, 35 kilometres from the Armenian capital Yerevan, on October 11, 2019.

Yazidis or Kurds? The fight over identity in Armenia and Iraq

A growing number of Yazidis insist they are not ethnic Kurds, part of an effort to construct a distinct identity in order to survive.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Former President of the French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) parliamentary group Marine Le Pen.

Analysis

What a far-right French government could look like

Jews and Muslims fear that a far-right win at the French parliamentarian elections on Sunday could damage their freedom of religious practice.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Regional View

Israeli demonstrations turn violent as ultra-Orthodox protest draft

Protests broke out in Israel over the weekend over thousands of ultra-Orthodox facing the draft.

A woman wearing a hijab with a bouquet of flowers in her hand walks down a street in the Barbes district in Paris on June 25, 2023.

Analysis

French Jews, Muslims warn of far-right rise in upcoming elections

The far-right National Rally is expected to make big gains in upcoming legislative elections, with immigration and cost of living among central issues motivating voters.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Latest News

Poverty in Lebanon tripled to 44%, as high as 62% in rural areas: World Bank

Displaced Syrians walk through a makeshift camp for Syrian refugees only miles from the border with Syria in the Bekaa Valley on Nov. 12, 2013, in Majdal Anjar, Lebanon.

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Regional View

Three main disagreements constrain Turkey-Greece ties following Mitsotakis visit

TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images

Family of Christian Palestinian woman held in Israeli detention speaks out

An undated image of Layan Nasir.

Ahmad Melhem

By Ahmad Melhem

In Ramallah, reporting on politics

Sudan war rages amid reports of ethnic cleansing, children 'piled up and shot'

Children fill a bucket with water from a pipe in the southern Sudanese city of Gedaref on April 21, 2024. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Cyprus is favored route for thousands of Syrian migrants escaping Lebanon

TOPSHOT - Migrants walk in the sea to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. Five migrants, including a seven-year-old girl, died on April 23, 2024 trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, local authorities said, just hours after Britain passed a controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

Hanna Davis

By Hanna Davis

In Amman, reporting on refugees

Israeli soldiers of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion hold morning prayers as they take part in their annual unit training in the Israeli annexed Golan Heights, near the Syrian border, May 19, 2014.

Analysis

Inside Netzah Yehuda Battalion, Israel’s army unit bracing for US sanctions

In an unprecedented move, the Biden administration is set to sanction the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, which is accused of violating the human rights of West Bank Palestinians.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Regional View

In divided Cyprus, century-old bookshop brings people together

Located in Europe's last divided city, a bookshop in Nicosia, Cyprus, has been weathering volatility since its inception in 1937.

Bishop Emmanuel

Quick Take

What we know about stabbing of Assyrian bishop in Australia

A suspect was detained after allegedly stabbing Mar Mari Emmanuel at Christ the Good Shepherd Church west of Sydney, though the motive is not yet known.

Louis Raphael I Sako of Iraq poses as he attends the courtesy visit of relatives following a consistory for the creation of new cardinals in the Apostolic Palace at St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on June 28, 2018.

Quick Take

Iraq’s Sudani hosts Chaldean Patriarch in Baghdad following dispute

Patriarch Louis Sako moved from Baghdad to Erbil last year after the state revoked a decree recognizing him as head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, a move related to a dispute with the pro-Iran militia Babylon.

Ultra Orthodox Jewish youths block a road in Bnei Brak as they protest against their conscription into the Israeli armed forces, on April 1, 2024.

Analysis

Row in Israel over ultra-Orthodox draft threatens Netanyahu’s government

Ultra-Orthodox leaders are threatening to topple the government should the IDF start recruiting yeshiva students to serve in the army.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Getty

Analysis

How Israel’s far right is courting European populist, nationalist parties

Nationalist Israeli politicians have been reaching out to conservative and populist parties in Europe since Oct. 7.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Palestinians walk past the Dome of the Rock at the compound of the Al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem on Feb. 20, 2024.

Regional View

What to expect at Al-Aqsa during upcoming Ramadan

Despite calls by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to limit the entry of Muslim worshipers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to allow a similar number of Palestinian worshippers as in previous years to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the month of Ramadan.

Supporters hold a poster depicting Malis interim leader and head of Junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta (L) and Guinea Interim leader and head of Junta, Mamady Doumbouya (R), in Bamako, Mali, on September 22, 2022 during Mali's Independence Day military parade. (Photo by OUSMANE MAKAVELI / AFP) (Photo by OUSMANE MAKAVELI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Mali’s junta pokes at Algeria, what’s at stake for North Africa and Sahel?

Three years after severing its ties with Morocco, Algeria faces challenges in its relations with Mali and other Sahel countries.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 24: Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves 10, Downing Street after meeting Britain's Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, on March 24, 2023 in London, England. Benjamin Netanyahu visits London against a backdrop of unrest at home. Protest are being held weekly across Israel against legislation neing pushed through the Knesset by his government to restain the judiciary. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Analysis

Can't count him out: Netanyahu, allies score big in Israel's municipal elections

Despite the Likud's plunge in the polls, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party preserved most of its power in this week's municipal elections.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

AFP via Getty Images

Regional View

UN accuses Sudan’s RSF of rape, ethnic killings as Hemedti courts region

A new UN report has documented the shocking brutality of the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Masked Palestinian protesters walk near flaming tires during clashes with Israeli forces following a rally in solidarity with Gaza by supporters of the Fatah and Hamas movements, in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on October 13, 2023. AFP correspondents and a security official reported clashes after rallies in solidarity with war-battered Gaza in Ramallah, Nablus, Tulkarm, Hebron and other cities and towns, with the Palestinian Red Crescent reporting dozens wounded across the West Bank, some cr

Analysis

As Gaza boils, West Bank implosion tops Israel's, US fears on eve of Ramadan

US and Israeli officials fear potential unrest over access to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan and its spread to Israeli Arab communities and the rest of the region.

By Ben Caspit

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 4: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chancellory on December 4, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The German and Brazilian governments are holding consultations today in Berlin. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Regional View

Will Israel-Brazil row escalate as envoys recalled over Lula's Hitler comments?

Both Israel and Brazil are still recoiling after Brazilian President Luiz Ignazio Lula da Silva likened Israel's actions during the Gaza war to the Nazi regime.