Media Coverage

The Taliban and Western diplomats have begun their first official talks in Europe since they took over control of Afghanistan in August. Taliban representatives will be certain to press their demand that nearly $10 billion frozen by the United States and other Western countries be released as...

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has announced his resignation, citing the inability of his office to influence policy during times of national crisis. Sarkissian, president since 2018, was at the center of a domestic political crisis last year that erupted in the wake of a war between Armenia...

The Islamic State (IS) group unleashed its biggest attack in Syria since the fall of its “caliphate” three years ago. More than 100 militants assaulted the main prison holding suspected extremists, sparking a battle with U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters that continued 24 hours later and left dozens dead...

The military in Burkina Faso says it has seized power and overthrown President Roch Kaboré. The announcement was made on state television by an army officer, who cited the deteriorating security situation as the reason for the military takeover. Mr Kaboré had faced growing discontent over his...

The author of a book about a powerful politician has been sentenced to two years in prison. Media advocates say the case is part of a trend in which the courts are being used to punish critics. The police raided a reporter’s house after he investigated an elite Catholic society. A court-ordered...

A prominent Sudanese pro-democracy group has conditionally accepted the UN’s offer to broker an end to political deadlock following the October military coup. Jaafar Hassan, a spokesperson for the Central Council for the Forces of Freedom and Change, said in a press statement on Sunday that the...

The threat of worsening violence looms over Baghdad again this week, underscoring the challenges faced by influential Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of parliament’s biggest bloc, in his stated efforts to form a majority government, following October’s contested election. In the latest of a...

Taliban rule has had a devastating impact on Afghan women and girls, new research shows, Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Institute at San Jose State University said on Monday. The organizations looked at the conditions for women since the Taliban took control in Ghazni province, in...

The influential former leader of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev denied any conflict with his successor Tuesday, in his first appearance since unprecedented violence in the Central Asian country sparked rumors of a power struggle. Nazarbayev, 81, was the first president of an independent Kazakhstan...

At least 145 community leaders and rights activists were killed in 2021 in Colombia, the country’s human rights ombudsman has said. The 2021 death toll, which came amid a year defined by protests and government crackdowns, was lower than in 2020, when 182 killings were registered, the offices of...