Tuesday, 19 Mar 2024

Middle East

Find breaking news, top stories and features from Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

As Saudis Consider Deal With Israel, Palestinians Seek Sway in Talks

When a group of three Arab states forged landmark diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, the Palestinian leadership saw the process as a betrayal: The deals upended a decades-old Arab practice of ostracizing Israel until the creation of Palestinian state. Three years on, amid efforts by the United States to broker a similar pact between […]

A Crackdown on Free Speech in One of the Freer Corners of the Mideast

The lavish wedding of Jordan’s crown prince this spring was breathlessly anticipated for months in the kingdom’s state media, and when it arrived, it did not disappoint. After days of public festivities, celebrities and royalty decked out in designer clothing swanned about an opulent palace. The writers at AlHudood, a satirical website that is the […]

Amid Struggles, Turkey Finds Heroes in Its Women’s Volleyball Team

As the volleyball game neared its end, thousands of fans watching on giant screens in an Istanbul park rose to their feet and fell silent. The ball soared, a Turkish player set it up near the net, and her teammate spiked it. Her Italian opponents blocked the shot but knocked the ball out of bounds, […]

In a Place Shattered by War and Earthquakes, People Feel Forgotten

On the spot where a three-story building completely collapsed after a devastating earthquake struck northwestern Syria in February, a small tent encampment has sprung up. Residents call it “the camp of the forgotten.” In one of the tents — which feels like a sauna during the daytime — sleep Fatima al-Miree, 61, and her family […]

Bid to Reassign Netanyahu Prosecution Hints at Next Steps in Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has long denied seeking to use his power to undermine his long-running corruption trial, for example by dismissing the country’s attorney general, who oversees his prosecution. But on Wednesday night, some of Mr. Netanyahu’s closest allies provided a glimpse of how they could intervene in his prosecution through subtler […]

Netanyahu Scores Another Victory, but at What Price?

Once again, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has pushed the limits, defying a nationwide protest movement to win new curbs on the Israeli judiciary’s power to pose a check to his far-right coalition government. But after years of brinkmanship and chaos management by the Israeli leader, this feels different. Such is the rancor and […]

Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Is Set Afire Amid Protests Over Quran

Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday and set fire to it, Reuters reported, citing a witness and other sources, as recent episodes of Quran burning in the European country have angered many in the Muslim world and drawn condemnation from the Swedish authorities. Footage shared on social media showed a […]

Hollywood Tycoon Testifies in Netanyahu’s Corruption Trial

In one of the more dramatic moments in the yearslong corruption trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood movie mogul, billionaire spy and old friend of the Israeli prime minister, took the stand on Sunday to testify as a key witness for the prosecution in an alleged gifts-for-favors affair known as Case 1000. In […]

In Iran, Some Are Chasing the Last Drops of Water

Summer has come to Sistan and Baluchistan province, an impoverished fragment of chapped earth and shimmering heat in Iran’s southeast corner, and all people there can talk about is how to get water. For weeks now, taps in cities like Zahedan have yielded nothing but a salty, weakening trickle. In the villages that water pipes […]

From ‘Pariah’ to Partner, Saudi Leader Defies Threats to Isolate Him

President Biden vowed during his quest for the White House to make the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, a “pariah” over the killing and dismemberment of a dissident. He threatened the prince again last fall with “consequences” for defying American wishes on oil policy. Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator, called Prince Mohammed, the oil-rich […]