Category: Middle East

Journalists Hunted: True Stories of Reporting in the Field

Every year, journalists are killed in the line of duty, at home or venturing into war zones and areas of conflict. Sometimes they end up in jail, detained for years on end, or exiled from their countries, forced into hiding. Some go missing, disappear. In this episode of International Reporters Roundtable, we explore what it…


PREMIERE – Journalists Hunted: True Stories of Reporting In the Field

Every year journalists are killed in the line of duty. At home or venturing into war zones and areas of conflict. Sometimes they end up in jail, detained for years on end, or exiled from their countries, forced into hiding. Some go missing, disappear. In this episode of International Reporters Roundtable we explore what it…


At Least 5 Killed in Mysterious North Iraq Helicopter Crash

DOHUK, Iraq—A mysterious helicopter crash in northern Iraq has killed at least five people, allegedly including militants belonging to an outlawed Kurdish insurgency group, according to statements Thursday from the Iraqi Kurdish-run counterterrorism agency and the region’s president. The AS350 Eurocopter crashed in the district of Chamanke in Dohuk province in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region…


Israeli Ministry of Health Produces Controversial Report on COVID-19 Vaccine Mortality

An Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH) study could not determine mortality risk from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and found no evidence of cardiovascular events after COVID-19 vaccination, the MOH said, though an outside expert said the conclusions are contrary to the data. The study (pdf) was published in Hebrew on the MOH website on Feb. 27….


Floods Kill 14 in Turkish Earthquake-Battered Provinces

ANKARA, Turkey—Floods caused by torrential rains hit two Turkish provinces that were devastated by last month’s catastrophic earthquake, killing at least 14 people and increasing the misery for thousands who were left homeless, officials said Wednesday. Rescue teams were still searching for five people reported missing in three locations, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said. Soylu…


Turkey’s Quake Toll Tops 48,000 as Government Races to Build Container Cities

ANKARA—The death toll in Turkey from last month’s major earthquakes has risen to 48,448, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday, as authorities rush to set up container cities to house for the longer-term those left homeless by the disaster. The combined death toll including those killed in Syria has climbed to more than 54,000….


Iran to Buy Su-35 Fighter Jets From Russia: Iranian Broadcaster

DUBAI—Iran has reached a deal to buy advanced Su-35 fighter planes from Russia, Iranian state media said on Saturday, expanding a relationship that has seen Iranian-built drones used in Russia’s war on Ukraine. “The Sukhoi-35 fighter planes are technically acceptable to Iran and Iran has finalized a contract for their purchase,” the broadcaster IRIB quoted…


Quake Death Toll Nears 48,000 in Turkey, 6,000 in Syria

Istanbul— The head of Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency has raised the country’s death toll from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake last month to 47,975. Yunus Sezer said during a news conference on Saturday that the people who died included 6,278 foreigners, with Syrian nationals accounting for the largest share. The Feb. 6 quake affected…


US Calls Iran’s Prisoner Swap Claim a ‘Cruel Lie’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Iran’s top diplomat claimed Sunday that a prisoner swap was near with the United Stats, though he offered no evidence to support his assertion. The United States immediately dismissed his comments as a “cruel lie.” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has made similar comments in the past about possible deals with the…


3 Palestinian Militants Killed in Attack on Israeli Troops

JERUSALEM—Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian militants Sunday who opened fire on troops in the occupied West Bank, the military said. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, claimed the men killed as members. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the men were killed by Israeli fire near…