Exclusive with Khaled Yacoub Oweiss: #Syria has deployed troops to reinforce the southern province of Sweida amid Israeli military activity possibly aimed at setting up a base in the area. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Syria sends troops to Sweida front line as Israel moves hardware into area | The National

Tensions rising over southern province that is home to Druze minority

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We obtained the full text of the Makkah defence pact between #Saudi Arabia, #Turkey and #Pakistan www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Revealed: Full text of Makkah defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan | The National

Mutual defence agreement accelerated after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

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US garment workers helped pioneer multi-ethnic labor unions, which united people across racial, religious, gender, linguistic, and cultural divides. Also native-born citizens and immigrants. I think about that sometimes when I see people suggest such divides are unbridgeable.

Scenes of destruction and uncertainty over compensation in #İstanbul’s flood-hit districts vt.tiktok.com/ZSgSwtbMK/

There is a god

Kriszta Satori@fulelo.bsky.social · 4d ago

#BBCNews - People playing loud music on buses could face £100 fine www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

An effective headscarf ban in schools is an effort by #Azerbaijan to suppress "Arab-Persian values” from the country's secular system. Ally #Turkey, with its own complex history of headscarf bans, criticised the move. What happened? My attempt to explain. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Azerbaijan ban on headscarves in schools opens rift with ally Turkey | The National

Dispute after girls wearing hijab barred from classrooms

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Sorry but it's going to take more than one article to convince me www.thetimes.com/money/family...

Germany says an investigation isn't "necessary"; Norway says it's not investigating; Sweden wouldn't comment. These countries (& others) could investigate alleged crimes against humanity in #Iran. Why aren't they? My report on accountability's long haul. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

How Iran gets away with it: The struggle to bring 'architects of atrocities' to trial | The National

Abuses in Syria and Ukraine being investigated in Europe, but Iran is a different story

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“Show This to Anyone Denying Genocide” — front page of @scotnational.bsky.social

An Iranian court has rejected the appeal of singer Parastoo Ahmadi & her team against a sentence of 74 lashes & a ban on work & travel. The US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre has said lashings are a “degrading & violent punishment”. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Iranian court rejects appeal of singer sentenced to 74 lashes | The National

Parastoo Ahmadi and her team face flogging and travel ban over performance without hijab

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A US sanctions push against #Iran's aviation sector means normal Iranians are ever more isolated from the world. You want to take your exams, see your family, build your business. You cannot. My report from Istanbul. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

The 2,400km road to Tehran: Iranians 'totally isolated' by flight bans make weary journey from Turkey | The National

Special report: Already blockaded at sea, the walls are closing in on Iran’s airspace as US sanctions intensify

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Turkey will hold presidential elections in 2028, senior government officials have said, opening the way for incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend his rule, which could run to three decades. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Erdogan to compete in 2028 elections, Turkish officials say | The National

Long-time President to run for another term amid pressure on opposition

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4 months ago, I was as healthy as I knew how to be. I ran marathons & after 15 years of struggling with anorexia had essentially healed my relationship with food. Then I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and later with an autoimmune condition that may affect me for the rest of my life.

Iranian authorities used murder, torture, enforced disappearance, imprisonment & rape to crush an uprising sparked in Sep 2022 by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, acc. to a 1000-page @amnesty.org report released on the 4th anniversary of her death. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Architects of brutal women's rights crackdown consolidate their power in Iran | The National

Authorities used murder, torture and rape to quash uprising, says report released before fourth anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in custody

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Before my cancer diagnosis and medical leave, I spent six months investigating the killing of a man called Ahmed Farhat in southern Damascus last year, and his British son’s quest for justice. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

A fatal shooting, a seized villa and a Lime bike chase: British man’s quest for justice in Syria | The National

UK acknowledges 'devastating circumstances’ of British citizen after his father’s detention and killing outside Damascus

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Iran has executed two men allegedly affiliated with an ISIS cell, the judiciary and monitoring groups based outside the country have said. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Iran executes two men accused of links to ISIS | The National

Executions part of surge in Iran's use of death penalty, human rights groups say

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#Nato launched major projects on maritime security and counter-drone work that will boost responses to threats faced by partners in the Gulf, assistant deputy secretary general Javier Colomina told me at the summit in Ankara www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Nato launches anti-drone and maritime security projects to help protect Gulf | The National

Javier Colomina, special representative for the Middle East, tells The National about 'extremely current' initiative

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US President Donald Trump said he would lift sanctions on Turkey and consider selling F-35 jets to the country after arriving in Ankara for a high-stakes Nato summit. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Trump lifts sanctions on Turkey and hails 'good chemistry' with Erdogan | The National

US President heaps praise on Turkish leader at Nato summit, as his criticism of Europe continues

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After a crackdown on major protests, economic turmoil and war, #Iranians are facing a mental health crisis. Amir Havasi & I spoke to people facing depression & anxiety, & mental health professionals seeing a surge in therapy, medication & self-medication. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

How mental health toll of war and repression has caused Iranians to 'fall apart inside' | The National

Residents and therapists tell The National of country's growing sense of despair and hopelessness

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You just couldn't even make it up www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

$14 million hidden in the walls: Raid on home of Iraqi deputy oil minister seizes stacks of cash | The National

Cash found during investigations into Ali Maarij Al Bahadly as Baghdad widens anti-corruption drive targeting senior officials

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Iran Risks Peace Talks With U.S. to Maintain Leverage Over Strait www.nytimes.com/2026/06/28/w...

Iran Risks Peace Talks With U.S. to Maintain Leverage Over Strait

nytimes.com

Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and her team have been sentenced to 74 lashes and work and travel bans over a YouTube concert. Human rights campaigners are recording alarming crackdowns as the government rides high on back of deal with US vt.tiktok.com/ZSCAGX5SF/

Very little information on this from Turkey's side. But US says it returned back to Florida from Turkey a man who allegedly defrauded Medicare of *$2.7 bn* . Ibrahim Khaldoon Hilmi had been on the run since May 2025, the FBI said. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Alleged fraudster accused of $3.7bn healthcare scam returned to US after Turkey detention | The National

Ibrahim Khaldoon Hilmi was detained in Turkey and returned to Florida, FBI says

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Sahba Rashtian would have been 24 this week. Instead, her sister Yalda posted pictures of her daffodil and sunflower-strewn grave on Instagram. "I am sorry that the future we imagined has become impossible.” www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Memory of Iranian footballers killed in anti-government protests casts shadow over World Cup | The National

Dozens of people linked to the game were detained and killed in January protests

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Ahead of #Iran's match against Belgium tonight, I wrote about all the Iranian footballers killed & detained in January's anti-government protests www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Memory of Iranian footballers killed in anti-government protests casts shadow over World Cup | The National

Dozens of people linked to the game were detained and killed in January protests

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The numbers are mind-bending: inflation in #Iran is crippling the quality of life of millions of people. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Comparing the market in Iran: Wartime price rises hit food, phones and AC | The National

Economic crisis continues for Iranians despite US-Iran deal

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Ms Ahmadi’s YouTube page published a message in which she described herself as a “girl who wants to sing for the people I love”. “This is a right I could not ignore; singing for the land I love passionately." www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Iranian singer and team sentenced to lashes and work ban over audience-less concert | The National

Court claims Parastoo Ahmadi's 'vulgar' performance damaged 'public decency'

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#Iran  ‘s ultraconservatives have been rallying against a deal. They also attempt to continue to impose curbs on Iranians’ lives, even though many have made it clear that they don’t want to live by hardline rules. My piece on the extreme end of Iran’s Principalists

War not talks: Who are Iran’s ultraconservatives? | The National

Hardliners clash with other conservatives and curb Iranians' freedoms

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Why did #Iran attack #Kuwait & #Bahrain this week? Tehran feels the need to assert its strength ; it wants to deter any action by the #US or #Israel that may make it lose its leverage over #Hormuz (or appear to do so). www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Iran sees recent escalation as show of strength in peace negotiations | The National

Series of strikes, including attack on Kuwait airport, is Tehran's way of laying down red lines

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#Iran’s middle class is disappearing. Carbohydrates are replacing protein as it becomes too expensive. Wild inflation comes on top of the trauma of war & brutal crackdown on protests in Jan. My in depth piece on an economy at the brink www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Broth, bargain hunting and cutbacks: How Iranians cope with 'inflation despair’ | The National

Fewer in the country have money to spend as triple-digit price rises bite

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