Arab Spring

November 24, 2014

You can see the phrase scrawled on walls around the globe from Tahrir Square to Ferguson, seemingly anywhere people take to the streets: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." It was the creation of American jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron, whose biographer says he'd enjoy the term's enduring use.

Education

Turkey faces a daunting challenge in trying to educate hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees

America Abroad

November 11, 2014

Inside Syria, almost six million children have been affected by the country's ongoing civil war, and millions more have fled the country to find safety in refugee camps. Turkey, for example, has opened its doors to about a million-and-a-half Syrian refugees since spring 2011. But as the war drags on, Turkey is finding itself with a long-term humanitarian and education problem.

Culture

This Tunisian woman supports equal rights for women by driving a cab — something she's done for 30 years

November 11, 2014

Tunisia's new constitution explicitly recognizes women's rights, including the right to drive a cab. But Yamina Jaouani has been a taxi driver in Tunis for nearly 30 years.

How one woman stumbled into a violent uprising in Yemen

November 03, 2014

Laura Kasinof never expected to become a war correspondent, but her calm life in Yemen gave her a front-row seat to protests and violence as the Arab Spring reached the country. Now Kasinof has written a book about her experiences and shares her fears about Yemen's future.

The Arab Spring was no failure, says one activist who refuses to give up

October 29, 2014

Four years since they began, the verdict seems clear: The Arab uprisings failed. But one online activist — who’s been deported, jailed and is now seeking asylum in the West — says not so fast. He refuses to give up on the original promise of the Arab Spring.

Violence still rules in Libya on the third anniversary of Gaddafi's death

October 20, 2014

The euphoria that erupted in Libya following the death of Muammar Gaddafi is nowhere to be found on the third anniversary of his overthrow. Instead, armed factions are fighting for control of the country, wreaking havoc with the economy and people's lives. So is Libya better off now?

Photos of death and torture in Syria echo past horrors at the Holocaust Museum

October 16, 2014

Tens of thousands of images showing tortured and emaciated bodies were smuggled out of Syria by a former government photographer nicknamed "Caesar." Now some of the photos are being displayed at the US Holocaust Museum as a reminder of the ongoing threat of organized genocide.

How Libyans beat the heat — and the turmoil in their country

October 06, 2014

It's been a rough summer in Libya. Fighting between rival militias broke out in the capital in July, and forced the government to flee. With Islamists militias in charge, businesses closed and power cuts a common occurrence, many people are turning to the beach for relief from the heat — and a mental break.

Airstrikes in Syria may help — but their impact will be limited

The Takeaway

September 23, 2014

After resisting involvement for months — and even years — the US and five other countries finally launched airstrikes in Syria against ISIS, the Khorasan Group and other Islamist militants. But will the US be able to keep its long-standing vow not to send ground troops to defeat ISIS?

Pages

Some Syrian rebels struggle to separate their real identities and their nom de guerre

November 25, 2014

Egyptians are shocked as former president Hosni Mubarak goes free

December 01, 2014

Protests roiled Egypt this weekend after a court dropped all criminal charges against its former president, Hosni Mubarak. While his eventual successor, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, enjoys huge support, the reaction to Mubarak's release showed how many people are unwilling to forgive their ex-leader.

Development

Prostitutes want Tunisia's red light districts to get back in business

December 19, 2014

Prostitution is legal and regulated in Tunisia, but many of its red light districts closed down after the 2011 revolution in the face of Islamist attacks. Now sex workers want to reopen them, saying they provided community, safety and badly needed income.

A Yemeni watches from afar — again — as his country erupts in chaos

January 26, 2015

What's it feel like to watch your country succumb to revolution from afar? Ask Yemeni student Ibrahim al-Hajiby. He watched the Arab Spring engulf Yemen in 2011 from his college in Minnesota, and he's doing the same now as Houthi rebels take over the Yemeni government.

Four years after a 'revolution,' Egypt is back to square one

January 30, 2015

The January 25 uprising in Egypt caught journalist Thanassis Cambanis by surprise with its size and ambition. But, as he describes in his new book about the Egyptian revolution, the moment of changed seems to have passed, and Egypt is back in the hands of yet another strongman.

From thousands of miles away, an activist tries to keep change alive in Egypt

March 16, 2015

Updated

03/19/2015 - 1:00pm

Amira Mikhail was in Cairo's Tahrir Square on the day Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power. Four years later, she's still trying to press for change — but the disappointment of the Egyptian revolution's aftermath means she's doing it from the United States.

Hope is all but gone in Syria, but some in the country still work for change

March 26, 2015

Most people who live in Damascus fear voicing an opinion that doesn't echo that of either the government or the armed opposition. But some residents reject the bitter polarization that divides their country.

The man accused of stealing $60 billion from Yemen is still there and wielding power

April 02, 2015

Updated

04/02/2015 - 10:00pm

Critics of the Houthi rebels in Yemen say they are in league with Iran, a claim the rebels deny. But no one denies the Houthis are partnered with an ally much closer to home: Yemen's onetime dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, who remains a force in Yemen and may have billions of dollars at his disposal.

Business

Tunisia looks to tap into its history and push its olive oil front and center

April 20, 2015

The Arab Spring gave Tunisia international name recognition. Now Tunisia wants to be known for something else — its olive oil.

Egypt's first democratically elected president becomes a convict