People killed protesting aren't numbers - they have names and stories. They had lives. Here are some of those killed in recent days in Iran www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Robina Aminian was a 23yr old design student who loved fashion & clothes. She was shot in the head and killed during a protest in Tehran on Jan 8. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Iranians have been protesting for nearly two weeks now. What started as shut downs to show popular anger at an economy in free fall has turned into widespread unrest with political demands. Some attempts to explain what is going on here. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

In slightly happier news, my piece about running in the Middle East in today’s print edition. Read it online here: www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/we...

On #Iran’s ties with #Venezuela, with Nada Atallah, & Tehran’s position on the likelihood of US capture of Maduro being a precursor to attempted regime change at home Why do Iran and Hezbollah care about Venezuela? www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Wrenching story about a horrific, and still unresolved, child murder in Turkey. #NarinGüran

#breaking Syrian Army says it will launch a "limited military operation in Aleppo" in response to "sustained attacks by the SDF" on civilian neighborhoods, major roads and security forces. Says operation based on "local decision & public demand."

Syrian army declares SDF positions in #Aleppo enclaves 'legitimate military targets' in apparent warning of escalation. Civilians can leave in corridors open until 3pm. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

And from #Aleppo’s industrial zone, where factories run by #Assad cronies are now under Industry Ministry control, & new investors remain wary How #Syria’s battered powerhouse city is coming back to life www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

More of my reporting from #Syria. I went to the wild, unmarked Lebanon-Syria border, where security forces are still impounding huge drugs shipments ‘Huge returns’ draw smugglers to rugged Syria-Lebanon border www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

"A village traumatised, a nation stunned: Who killed Narin?" by @lcmporter.bsky.social. [3/5]

Something a bit different from me - I wrote about running in the Middle East and all the things it’s taught me What I've learnt from running the many marathons of the Middle East www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/we...

And more from my recent trip to Syria. In Aleppo, we met women who had been allowed out of the notorious Al Hol camp. NGOs supporting departees need more funding to back their reintegration. Video ahmad fallaha www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Late to share. This is possibly the hardest story I have ever worked on - both because of the brutal horror of the murder it detailed, and its complexity. May Narin rest in peace. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Analysis on #Aleppo's Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud areas after fatal overnight clashes between government forces and SDF militias. #Syria @thenationalnews.com www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Our report from government-held territory on #Syria's longest front line, as SDF integration stalls. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

شب یلدا مبارک ! 🍒🍇🍎🕯️🪔

🧵#Syria one year on from #Assad - some thoughts in a thread. I'm just back from 9 days in Syria. I travelled to Aleppo, Manbij, Idlib, Homs & Damascus. These are random observations about the state of things, based on my reporting & also casual conversations with people. 1/

The end of the Assad regime does not mean an end to #Syria being one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Millions of people remain internally displaced, unable to afford to go home. Our dispatch from Idlib @ahmed_fallaha www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

#breaking - Two US troops and an interpreter have been shot dead in an #ISIS ambush in the central Syrian city of Palmyra, the Pentagon and a local official confirmed. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

What is life like for people in #Syria's second largest city and industrial capital a year after the fall of the #Assad regime? I went to ask #Aleppo's residents. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Heavy fog cancelled flights on Sunday and Monday, preventing Syrians returning home to join celebrations marking the one year anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime. Many are trying to get into the country for a third day in a row today. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

OK one thing I will never understand about Turkey is how, when the temperature drops even slightly, people rachet up the heating in homes, shops and cars to Persian-Gulf-in-summer temperatures

Sesler Türkçe’de !

Nearly a year after the Assad regime's fall, we spoke to some of the Syrians who have returned home over the past year. The vast majority of returnees are from neighbouring countries; many fewer are returning from Europe. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Pope Leo XIV led his first overseas mass as pontiff at an arena in İstanbul on Saturday www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Pope Leo was impressed by the Sultan Ahmed (aka Blue Mosque) and left with a sense of peace after his visit to the site, his first to a Muslim place of worship as pontiff, the mosque’s muezzin told me www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

“The significant presence of migrants & refugees in this country presents the church with the challenge of welcoming & serving some of the most vulnerable,” Pope Leo told a congregation of Christian worshippers in Istanbul's Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

And a brief history of Turkey-Vatican ties.... www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Pope Leo XIV began his visit to #Turkey on Thursday, calling for an embrace of social and religious diversity in a speech warning of the dangers of polarisation and wars fuelled by global economic and military competition. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

As Pope Leo XIV heads to #Turkey, I went to the small town of Iznik, where he will lead prayers tomorrow. With Robert Badendieck www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

What’s it like to be a Christian in Turkey ? How does the tiny community feel about Pope Leo’s upcoming visit ? I went to ask them www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

My sister is a sheep keeper in our family’s home village & I know how important livestock is to rural communities (& ultimately, the urban ones they feed). Their devastation doesn’t just wipe out food supplies; it destroys ways of life. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Why some Syrians are returning to refugee camps in their country after their homes were reduced to rubble

Late to share (from yesterday) - #Turkey has appointed former deputy foreign minister Nuh Yilmaz as ambassador to #Syria www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

UK gov facing more pressure over revelations by that a British Embassy Tel Aviv employee lives in an illegal West Bank settlement. Foreign Affairs Select Committee @emilythornberry.bsky.social chair said the revelation was “shocking”. www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2025...

Come and edit my work! As well as that of great colleagues around the region. Job is based in the UAE www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

Israeli government official, asked if #Trump administration has pressured Israel to allow Turkish role in #Gaza stabilisation force:"PM Netanyahu has made it clear & insisted that there will be no #Turkish boots on the ground inside of the Gaza Strip." Source - my ? during on record press briefing)

"The home secretary argued that for too long those being granted asylum have ended up spending a lifetime in Britain." Enriching and diversifying our society, now darn, we mustn't have any more of that, must we 🤦‍♀️ www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

The second phase of Trump's ceasefire plan for Gaza is hinging on a UN Security Council resolution that would provide a mandate for an international stabilization force. Contours of that draft seem complicated. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

#Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long called on women to have 3 children. The country's actual fertility rate is well below 2.1 replacement level. Now he says, "Why not at least four, or five?" www.iletisim.gov.tr/turkce/haber...

Cracking (and alarming) story by my colleague Thomas Helm on how a British embassy employee owns property in an illegal West Bank settlement built by an organisation sanctioned by the UK government www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

C’était un vrai plaisir de partager mes expériences en tant que correspondante dans le Moyen-Orient avec des journalistes de pays africains (le Tchad, Niger, Sénégal, etc) et des journalistes turcs. 1/2

This is completely symbolic. Kazakhstan already has v. good diplomatic relations with Israel. When I went to Astana & interviewed senior Kazakh officials in May, none were willing to criticise Israel. Trade between the 2 countries is pretty robust too. www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2025...

Now both Turkey and Qatar, Hamas' main interlocutors, seem to have assurances from the group that they are willing to cede governance of Gaza. But pledge to disarm still elusive. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Senior members of Turkey's largest pro-Kurdish party are expected to meet with President Erdoganon Thursday evening in an attempt to advance the dissolution of the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

You couldn't make it up: #Turkey's football federation has named 150+ match officials accused of collectively placing tens of thousands of bets on matches. 1 referee placed 18, 227 bets alone. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Cumhuriyet bayramınız kutlu olsun, Türkiye! 🇹🇷 Benim hayatım burada teșekkur ederim, güzelliğiniz için teșekkur ederim.

Insan haklarından konuşurken, #Avrupa'nın güvenilirligi kaybetti, #İsrail'e verdigi destek nedenliye, Fatih Tuna, AK Parti İstanbul İl Başkan Yardımcısı Dış İlişkiler Başkanı bana dedi. Röportajımız @thenationalnews.com için www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Europe has lost its credibility when it speaks about human rights because of its support for Israel during the war on Gaza, a senior AKP official tells me www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...