Courts and the law

Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system is displayed at the exposition field in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow on Aug. 22, 2017 during the first day of the International Military-Technical Forum Army-2017.

Analysis

As Trump admin drops Halkbank case, S-400 last big hurdle in US-Turkey ties

The move eases a key source of friction with Turkey ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Hungary’s parliament voted to remain in the International Criminal Court, reversing a planned withdrawal and marking a shift in Budapest’s approach to Israel and the EU.

Ozgur Ozel

Majority in Turkey rejects court ruling ousting CHP’s Ozel, poll shows

A new poll shows a majority in Turkey rejects the court ruling that ousted main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel.

Turkish riot police use water cannon to disperse protesters during a rally called by ousted opposition leader Ozgur Ozel, days after a court dismissed him from office, in Izmir on May 26, 2026.

Turkey: Thousands defy police to rally for ousted CHP leader Ozel

Tens of thousands of CHP supporters rallied for Ozgur Ozel in Izmir on Tuesday in a major show of defiance after a court ousted him from the party leadership.

Latest News

Explainer

Why Sunni frustration is growing over Lebanon’s amnesty law

Women hold portraits of jailed Islamist cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir during a protest calling for his release in Beirut on April 24, 2025.

Turkish court ousts CHP leadership amid opposition crackdown

Leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel addresses the audience during a rally in Istanbul on April 9, 2025.

Analysis

Iran tightens wartime crackdown across Kurdish, Baluch ethnic regions

Baluch Iranian youths cross a street in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan, on Dec. 18, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus on June 4, 2025.

Feature

Inside Congress' battle to repeal Syria's Caesar sanctions

Five months after President Trump pledged to lift sanctions on Syria, the harshest penalties remain on the books.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Wife of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti appeals to Trump for his release

Barghouti has been imprisoned in Israel since 2002, after being convicted of planning attacks that killed five people, and he has been held in solitary confinement since October 2023.

Leader of Turkey's main opposition party, Republican Peoples Party (CHP), Ozgur Ozel addresses the media at the party headquarters after a hearing on corruption charges against the party, in Ankara on October 24, 2025. An Ankara court on October 24, 2025 threw out a graft case against Turkey's main opposition CHP on grounds it had no substance, an AFP journalist at the hearing said. The case, which centred on alleged vote buying at a Republican People's Party (CHP) primary in 2023, was rejected by the judge

Turkey's main opposition survives court challenge amid legal crackdown

The court ruling ended months of political uncertainty over the Republican People’s Party's leadership, fueling concerns over democratic backsliding amid a broader crackdown.

Iran International broadcast

Iran's state TV doxxes journalists in Israel as post-war spy hunt intensifies

Since its June war with Israel, Iran has executed at least 9 people on charges of espionage.

TOPSHOT - Palestinians stand near a burning car reportedly set alight by Israeli settlers attempting to disrupt them harvesting olives near the occupied West Bank village of Turmos Ayya near Ramallah on October 19, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel's West Bank police chief condemns settler's 'cruel' beating of Palestinian woman

The attack, filmed in Turmus Ayya, comes amid a surge in settler assaults on Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest.

MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images

After decade in jail, Gadhafi’s son granted $11B bail in disappeared imam case

The lengthy detainment of Hannibal Gadhafi, the son of late Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, over the 1978 disappearance of Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr has long been a source of controversy in Lebanon.

OPSHOT - Maccabi supporters wave yellow flags next to Israeli flags during the UEFA Europa League, League phase - Matchday 4, football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Johan-Cruijff stadium, in Amsterdam on November 7, 2024. (Photo by Robin van Lonkhuijsen / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans barred from UK soccer game over safety concerns

Antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents are on the rise in the UK, with a recent report accusing British authorities of failing to address discrimination.

Former senior commander of the Sudanese Janjaweed militia Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman.

In a first, ICC convicts Sudanese militia leader of Darfur war crimes

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman was found guilty of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004.

People walk past a branch of Turkish bank HalkBank on Dec. 1, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Supreme Court clears path for Turkey’s Halkbank trial over Iran sanctions

The Turkish president personally raised the Halkbank case with US President Donald Trump at the White House, as Ankara pushes for a settlement to avoid a drawn-out legal battle.

A photo taken during a tour organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport shows staff loading cargo onto a plane at Beirut's international airport on June 24, 2024.

Lebanon seizes $1.5M in cocaine at Beirut airport: What to know

The country has recently stepped up its fight against drug trafficking, seizing large amounts of cocaine at ports and airports and targeting Captagon production.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) welcomes Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov (L) and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazeem Gharibabadi.

Analysis

How far will China, Russia go in shielding Iran from UN sanctions?

Iran is lobbying states to resist enforcement of UN sanctions — looking particularly to China and Russia to blunt the impact, even as questions remain about the limits of their willingness to act.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Women and children walk at the Al-Amal Camp (formerly Al-Jadaa), south of Mosul in northern Iraq, which houses Iraqi families who have been repatriated from Syria's Al-Hol camp, on May 8, 2025.

Pentagon pushes to accelerate ISIS detainee repatriations from Syria

Uncertainty about Syria’s long-term stability and the the US military’s future presence in the country have increased urgency among some Pentagon officials to further reduce the population of nearly 30,000 suspected ISIS-associated detainees in the camps.