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Lebanon calls for financial aid amid virus outbreak

Literature is more powerful than tyranny

Unable to travel to Munich to attend the presentation ceremony for his Geschwister-Scholl Prize, writer Ahmet Altan penned a message against hatred and nationalism from his prison cell in Turkey. Read out by his close friend Yasemin Congar, it formed his acceptance speech

Coronavirus and the Middle East's ongoing state of emergency

Plagued by troubled state-citizen relationships on the one hand and conflict on the other, states in the Middle East could discover new uses for COVID-19 lockdown measures. By Abdalhadi Alijla

Free speech for everybody? Not so in Jordan, apparently

In recent weeks, Jordan's social media has been awash with photos and videos of demonstrators gathering in cities all over the country, chanting "Long live the teacher" and "we will not be silenced". Mainstream media coverage, however, has been noticeably lacking. By Marta Vidal

A plea for transparency

In many Arab countries, comprehensive democratisation and national reconciliation is needed if urgently needed security sector reforms are to have the desired effect, says Yezid Sayigh, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut

Egyptians in dire straits

The devaluation of the Egyptian pound combined with rising food prices is taking its toll on Egypt. More and more people are slipping into poverty. Karim El-Gawhary reports from Cairo

Telephone service begins between Israel and UAE after historic deal

Bangladesh vows help to sex workers hit by coronavirus for as long as needed

The fight against political Islam

The news that General Khalifa Haftar had been rushed to the military hospital in Paris on 5 April 2018 for the treatment of a serious health problem caused a variety of reactions in Libya: shock and anxiety on one side; jubilance and rejoicing on the other. To his supporters, he is the "Saviour of Libya"; to his adversaries, the "new Gaddafi". Farag Al Esha provides a portrait of this controversial figure

Libyaʹs free for all

Libya is today the scene of political chaos that is difficult to fathom from the outside. Two governments, one in the west and one in the east, are fighting for supremacy. And even within the power blocs there are military conflicts between the different militias. By Karim El-Gawhary