Syria
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European Council on Foreign Relations
Promoting human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
With authoritarianism once more gaining ground in the Middle East and North Africa, the European Council on Foreign Relations explores how European diplomats can be more effective in promoting human rights and democratic values in the region
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The world through Tala's eyes
"Tala'vision" – sadly poetic
Winner of the Student Oscar: a little girl in a bombed-out flat in Syria. The television is her only window to the world – but even this is taken away from her. Nikolas Fischer watched the impressive film
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Middle East
Arabs ease Assad's isolation as U.S. looks elsewhere
While Bashar al-Assad is still shunned by the West, which blames him for a decade of brutal war in Syria, a shift is under way in the Middle East, where Arab allies of the United States are bringing him in from the cold by reviving economic and diplomatic ties. By Maha El Dahan
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Hisham A. Hellyer on "the War on Terror"
"You cannot rely on the West"
Western states have fought against terrorism not only in Afghanistan, but also in Syria and Iraq – leaving behind people who were once their partners in fear and poverty. Hisham A. Hellyer talks in interview about the "war on terror" and the role played by the West 20 years on. Interview by Andrea Backhaus
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Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Egypt
A new dawn for diplomacy in the Middle East?
International relations are shifting across the Middle East as regional powers adapt to America's retrenchment and China's growing influence. Although the region could become the site of another great-power competition, it also has a chance to pursue diplomatic openings and new security arrangements. By Fawaz A. Gerges
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Berlin's Human Rights Film Festival
"Captains of Zaatari" – the unshakeable power of dreams
Berlin's annual Human Rights Film Festival closed at the weekend. One entry to the festival was the documentary "Captains of Zaatari". Its Egyptian director Ali El Arabi focuses on young refugees from Syria, who dream of escaping their dismal life in the Zaatari refugee camp with the help of football. Rene Wildangel reports for Qantara.de
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Arab world
"The people aren't ready" – can Arabs do democracy?
"The people aren’t ready for democracy" has been the constitutional basis for Arab tyranny, its favourite slogan and its sacred narrative for more than a century. Yet, asks Khaled Hroub, what chance does democracy have, unless it is repeatedly put to the test by the people at all levels of society?
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General election in Germany
How will Germany's immigrants vote?
Germany’s electorate includes some 7.4 million citizens with international roots, while many more millions of residents from abroad aren’t allowed to vote. Both groups are often overlooked by political parties. Kay-Alexander Scholz reports
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9/11 twenty years on
How the 'War on Terror' destabilised the Middle East
Two decades after the attacks of 11 September 2001, the West faces the shattered debris of its failure – not only in Afghanistan, but also in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen. What went wrong in the war on terror? And what lessons can Europe learn from it? Essay by Kristin Helberg
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Book review: Christy Lefteri's "The Beekeeper of Aleppo"
Escaping hell on earth
They have lost everything; they are deeply traumatised – and yet they refuse to give up hope. In “The Beekeeper of Aleppo“, bestselling author Christy Lefteri focuses on the plight of thousands and thousands of refugees. Dagmar Wolf read the book
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Exclusive: Investigating Syria's civil war
How hardline rebels turned on activist Razan Zeitouneh
The disappearance of Razan Zeitouneh and her colleagues has been one of the greatest mysteries of the Syrian war – until today. DW's investigative unit hunted clues across six countries to track down the perpetrators
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Berlin: "bê welat – the unexpected storytellers" exhibition
Taking a tender look at life through the Kurdish lens
How can the various realities of Kurdish life, shaped by depression, resistance and war, be depicted in art? This is the question addressed by the “bê welat – the unexpected storytellers” exhibition in Berlin. Ceyda Nurtsch reports for Qantara.de