Ethnic/Religious Minorities

A Kurdish fighter from the Iranian Kurdish armed faction Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) stands with his rifle at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on March 8, 2026.

Interview

PJAK leader mocks Iran’s claim Turkey spiked US Kurdish-backed regime-change plan

The PJAK co-leader says he does not believe Washington or Israel would abandon a strategic objective as significant as toppling Iran's government because of Turkish objections.

Siamand Moeini

Siamand Moeini

PJAK Executive Council Member

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron for a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

How Macron seeks to carve out France's role in new Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron became the first Western leader to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, showcasing Paris' support for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa while seeking to secure a share of the country's emerging reconstruction market.

Volunteers of the Druze-led National Guard manage traffic at a checkpoint, Suwayda, Syria, Jan. 22, 2026.

Clashes between Druze fighters, Syrian forces raise fears of renewed violence

The episodes in Druze-majority Suwayda escalated amid kidnappings, various disputes, and absent movement on integrating Druze into state institutions.

A Druze fighter stands at a roundabout draped with the Druze flag and a portrait of a local leader in the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda in southern Syria on July 21, 2025.

Druze gunmen, Syrian government forces clash in Suwayda: What to know

The United Nations recently said that the government has thus far failed to bring calm to the area of southern Syria following sectarian clashes last year.

Latest News

3 IRGC members killed in twin attacks as Iran intensifies Kurdish crackdown

Members of the crowd wave Iranian flags during a funeral procession held for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri.

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Feature

Backed by Trump and Turkey, Armenia's Pashinyan eyes third term in pivotal poll

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.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Lively parties bring West Africa to Beirut club scene

In Lebanon, where West African culture is mostly associated with disenfranchised groups, a group of students has decided to shake things up.

Israeli Bedouin policewoman blazing trail, making enemies

An Israeli Bedouin woman who joined the Israel Police to serve her community has become the target of Arabs who consider her a traitor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) attends the inauguration ceremony of a police station in the Arab-Israeli town of Jisr ez-Zarqa November 21, 2017 REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1D4A2BB050

Netanyahu's mixed messages to Israeli Arabs

Inaugurating two police stations in the Arab sector is a tiny step in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should have done many years ago to assist the Israeli Arab population.

How Lebanese are countering racist attacks

The Anti-Racism Movement is standing up for victims of racism in Lebanon by providing assistance and support and exposing racist behavior in the country.

Sectarian forces fight for influence in Iraq's Diyala province

After being liberated from the Islamic State, the Diyala province is suffering from increased ethnic, sectarian and political conflicts that could turn into armed clashes at any moment.

Turkey's Erdogan defends Rohingya to enhance image

Big political ambitions lurk behind Erdogan’s vocal defense of suffering Muslims in Myanmar, as Ankara’s own human rights record casts doubt on his credibility.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) stand near a U.S military vehicle in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTS14EG4

Kurds plan ahead for shifting status in Syria

Syrian Kurds, worried by Turkey’s threat to enter Afrin and a possible rapprochement between Washington and Ankara, are firming up their plans for autonomy.

TAL ABYAD, SYRIA - JUNE 19: (TURKEY OUT) A Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG fighter controls the weapons in downtown of Tal Abyad, Syria. June 19, 2015. Kurdish fighters with the YPG took full control of Tal Abyad, dealing a major blow to the Islamic State group's ability to wage war in Syria. Mopping up operations have started to make the town safe for the return of residents from Turkey, after more than a year of Islamic State militants holding control of the town. (Photo by Ahmet Sik/Getty Image

US pushes back on Turkish media claims about Syrian Kurds

US Embassy in Ankara refutes fevered claims about aid deliveries to Syrian Kurds.

New app helps Egypt's Nubians retain traditional tongue

Nubi, an app conceived by a young Egyptian entrepreneur, offers a fun way for young Nubians to keep two of their heritage languages alive.

A Yazidi man carries his child at the Sharaf Al-Deen temple in Shingal's outskirts, Iraq, August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTX2KT69

Iraqi minorities move forward with autonomy plan

Representatives of the Turkmen, Yazidi and Assyrian minority communities of Iraq have declared a coalition and put forward the most complete vision yet for self-rule in the country’s north.

Nubian women sell traditional handicrafts at the Nubian Gharb Suheil village, near Aswan south of Egypt, October 1, 2015. For half a century, Egypt's Nubians have patiently lobbied the government in Cairo for a return to their homelands on the banks of the upper Nile, desperate to reclaim territory their ancestors first cultivated 3,000 years ago. Picture taken October 1, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS7J7U

Egypt’s Nubians protest for right to return to their lands

Nubians in southern Egypt have staged demonstrations and roadblocks in recent days, protesting a government takeover of what they claim to be part of their ancestral homeland.