Prime Minister Erdogan can look forward to the parliamentary elections on 12 June with composure: his Islamic AKP currently has between 45 and 50 percent support in the polls. The opposition appears uninspired and politically beleaguered. Details from Thomas Seibert in IstanbulMore
Artists of all types have played important roles in the uprising that have swept across the Arab World. From its offices in Cairo, Alexandria and Tunis, Germany's Goethe Institute has been close to the action. The institute's President Klaus-Dieter Lehmann tells Aya Bach what the Arab Spring revolutions mean for Germany's foreign cultural policyMore
For years now, Turkish films have been winning prizes at international film festivals and are popular in European art house cinemas. The occasion of the mammoth 30th Istanbul International Film Festival is a fitting time to ask the question “What is with the Turkish film miracle?” An assessment by Amin FarzanefarMore
In this interview with Miriam Shabafrouz, the American-Iranian intellectual Hamid Dabashi talks about the democratic uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, their chances of success, their impact on geopolitics and on the global mediaMore
As secular and Islamic groups prepare for Egypt's first free elections later this year, the unchecked rise of the Islamist Salafi sect is causing concern among Egyptians who fear its violent extremist agenda. Nick Amies reportsMore
This audacious project has foundered more than once and even this time its success hung by a thread. Daniel Barenboim performed a concert in Gaza with a group of European musicians. Hans-Christian Rößler reportsMore
Syria always ranks close to the bottom of the Press Freedom Index published annually by the organisation "Reporters Without Borders". And as Mona Naggar reports, the Ba'ath regime has stepped up censorship and persecution in response to recent protests in the countryMore
Relations between Iran and its Arab neighbours have reached an all time low following the military intervention by the Arab Gulf states in Bahrain. But, warns Lebanese political scientist Khattar Abou Diab, it is unlikely that tensions can be contained at the diplomatic level should any further escalation occur. He talks here to Tarek AnegayMore
No matter what the content of the book – covers of Arab female authors's published in Europe and the US will always be graced with a veiled woman. In this article, Jordania-British author Fadia Faqir relates her experiences and curious findingsMore
The Assad clan rules Syria with no restrictions. And now the anti-reformist hardliners have apparently gained the upper hand in the family assembly. They include Maher al-Assad, the brother of the President, feared for his acts of brutality against members of the opposition. By Rudolph ChimelliMore
Baghdad's only music school was destroyed in 2003. Any budding Iraqi musician who wants to learn an instrument has to use the Internet or find a teacher – neither of which is easy in Iraq. But a group of young musicians has not allowed itself to be deterred by such hurdles and has set up an orchestra, which they see as a symbol of peace. Gudrun Stegen reportsMore
Mubarak may be gone, but the remaining elites will try to use his structural and political heritage to suit themselves, ensuring that Egypt's road to democracy will be a difficult and open-ended one. By Thomas DemmelhuberMore
What was long feared has now become reality: the COVID-19 pandemic has reached the closed-off Gaza Strip. It's a race against time to head off the outbreak and stop a catastrophe. By Diana Hodali
