Middle Orient

An Australian-born Islamic State terrorist has been released from jail in Turkey but is stuck in immigration detention while he waits to see if any country will accept him. Melbourne-born Neil Prakash, who was raised a Buddhist, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison in March 2019. He was captured …

Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State (IS) and home to about 300,000 people, is now free. Yet many of its people want to leave. Those with property are trying to sell it to save up for the journey to Turkey. Those without money struggle to get by. At …

Olaf Scholz was meant to also visit Jordan and the West Bank, but has canceled those visits and will only be in the region for one day German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will arrive in Israel for a snap visit on Wednesday amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Regional alignments solidify after the invasion of Ukraine, as Iraqi politicians call for peace while four-way collaboration on dealing with the Islamic State and border security continues with Russia, Iran and Syria. Hours after the news broke that Russia had begun an invasion of Ukraine at dawn on Feb, 24, …

While some believe that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is tightening the noose around foreign fighters in Idlib with the ultimate goal to expel them, others consider that it serves the interest of civilians in the city of Idlib. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) security apparatus has recently warned the families of foreign …

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have an impact beyond Europe. Follow along for the latest updates affecting the Mideast region. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the largest state-on-state conflict Europe has seen since World War II. But the war’s effects are not limited to the continent. Middle Eastern states have …

The financial technology sector in Turkey has grown significantly, and is looking to Qatar for further expansion. Turkish fintech companies met with Qatari investors this week in a webinar. The Turkish presidency’s finance office organized the event along with the private Qatar Financial Center on Feb. 23-24, Turkey’s official Anadolu …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has chided NATO for failing to do more for Ukraine but remains averse to antagonizing Russia. Faced with a tough balancing act, Turkey has been sending mixed signals on its position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has angered Moscow by …

The success of Turkish-made drones in Ukraine is the most obvious sign of Ankara’s backing for Kyiv, but fear of Russian backlash is making Turkey tread lightly. Imagery of a burned-out Russian military convoy in Ukraine shared on social media over the weekend credited its destruction to Turkish-made drones. Turkish …

NATO member Turkey changed its rhetoric to call Russia’s assault on Ukraine a “war” on Sunday and pledged to implement parts of an international pact that would potentially limit the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, Reuters reported. Kyiv had appealed to Ankara to block …