Middle East

competitive camel racers pose for a picture with their camels

Women's camel racing team takes an ancient sport back to the future

Camel racing is an ancient sport. There are records of races on the Arabian Peninsula that date back to the 7th century. These days, it's still hugely popular, with robot jockeys and cash prizes. But a new team is taking camel racing back to its roots — with a twist.

Women's camel racing team takes an ancient sport back to the future
Yousef Hammash with his wife and children, Elia and Ahmad.

‘I don't know what's waiting for us in the next minute’: A father tries to protect his family in Gaza

‘I don't know what's waiting for us in the next minute’: A father tries to protect his family in Gaza
people amid explosion

A timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Palestinians inspect their house which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Aug. 8, 2022. 

As Israel-Palestinian truce holds, Gaza power plant restarts

As Israel-Palestinian truce holds, Gaza power plant restarts
US President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid, sign a security pledge at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem

US and Israel sign joint declaration on Iran's nuclear program during Biden's visit

US and Israel sign joint declaration on Iran's nuclear program during Biden's visit
Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist for Al Jazeera network who was shot and killed in Jenin

Al Jazeera reporter killed during Israeli raid in West Bank

Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has been shot and killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin. She was fatally shot in the head. Her producer, Palestinian journalist Ali Samoudi, was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in the back.

Al Jazeera reporter killed during Israeli raid in West Bank
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks to a group of Bahraini businesspeople during an official visit to Manama, Bahrain

What's at stake for Israel and Gulf Arab countries in light of the Abraham Accords?

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has visited Bahrain as part of a push to boost regional ties with Gulf Arab countries following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020. The World's host Marco Werman spoke with Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, about what's a stake for the regional partnerships.

What's at stake for Israel and Gulf Arab countries in light of the Abraham Accords?
Faeza Satouf, from Syria, looks at a photo of her graduation day on her phone during an interview in Nivaa, Denmark, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. 

Family in conflict: Part II

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive into new research on how family networks allow people who flee violence to survive in their new homes. 

Family in conflict: Part II
Three women health care workers in uniform, wearing headscarves and masks, stand and listen among a crowd of medical workers.

‘Sometimes I feel like I betrayed my country’: Lebanon's doctors are leaving in droves

Amid the pandemic and economic meltdown, doctors in Lebanon are lured away by the hope of better salaries — and a future. An estimated 1,000 medical professionals have left since the August blast.

‘Sometimes I feel like I betrayed my country’: Lebanon's doctors are leaving in droves
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is shown wearing a traditional white turban while sitting behind a microphone.

Iran starts 20% uranium enrichment, seizes tanker in strait

Iran on Monday began enriching uranium up to 20% at an underground facility and seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, further escalating tensions in the Middle East between Tehran and the West.

Iran starts 20% uranium enrichment, seizes tanker in strait
A devil cartoon sits on shoulder of cartoon image of a president with Arabic script.

No joke! How two cartoonists spurred revolution during the Arab uprisings.

Syria's Ali Ferzat and Egypt's Mohamed Anwar radically departed from long-established rules about how to depict their leaders. Their images served as a catalyst for massive uprisings that swept across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011.

No joke! How two cartoonists spurred revolution during the Arab uprisings.
Tunisian protesters demonstrate beneath a poster of Mohamed Bouazizi near the prime minister's office in Tunis, Tunisia, Jan. 28, 2011.

Fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi's protest inspired the Arab uprisings. A decade later, his sister still mourns.

“One day, I hope all Tunisians live in dignity. That’s what my brother wished for,” said Leila Bouazizi, sister of the Tunisian fruit seller who set himself on fire on Dec. 17, 2010.

Fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi's protest inspired the Arab uprisings. A decade later, his sister still mourns.
Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zied, known by his nickname Shawkan, gestures in a soundproof glass cage.

10 years after the Arab uprisings, Egypt at ‘lowest point’ for human rights

Egypt has gone from a human rights success story to a place where thousands have been detained or executed — and human rights activists have gone underground.

10 years after the Arab uprisings, Egypt at ‘lowest point’ for human rights
A compiliation of images from the Arab uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East

Looking back at a historic time in the Middle East and North Africa

Dec. 17 is a historic day on the minds of many people in Tunisia, elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East — and around the world. That's because exactly 10 years ago, a single event in Tunisia triggered a series of revolutions across the region.

Looking back at a historic time in the Middle East and North Africa
Leah Weiss, who is also a medial clown named Rosie, has been working in the COVID-19 ward of a Jerusalem hospital most of this year.

To cheer up COVID-19 patients, Israeli hospitals send in the clowns

Israel is considered a world leader in medical clowning. When the pandemic hit back in March, one clown knew she could help COVID-19 patients at her hospital — no matter their ages.

To cheer up COVID-19 patients, Israeli hospitals send in the clowns