Spotlight
Raqqa, the Day After
A Jan. 18 agreement between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces may signal the end of Kurdish-led administration in Syria’s northeast. While thousands of residents celebrated what they called Raqqa’s “liberation,” Kurdish neighborhoods emptied, and symbols of Kurdish self-rule were removed.
Reflections on the Iran Protests
Following weeks of nationwide protests fueled by economic collapse, internet blackouts and a deadly crackdown, Iranians face a country in ruins. From the streets of Rasht to the Iranian diaspora abroad, the question now is not only whether the regime can survive, but what might come after it.
The White Helmets’ Search for Syria’s Disappeared
Between 100,000 and 300,000 people are still missing in Syria. One year after Bashar al-Assad was ousted, families are searching for their loved ones with the help of the White Helmets, while a new national commission seeks to build the infrastructure to trace, exhume and identify the disappeared.
In Syria’s Desert, the Islamic State’s Shadow Persists
In its former Syrian stronghold of Palmyra, an Islamic State group attack underscored the diffuse — and largely unseen — threat the group continues to pose. “They exist, but they don’t exist,” said one resident. “You don’t see them.”
Boxing, Celebrity and the Death of Mastery
From Jake Paul’s bout with Anthony Joshua to Andrew Tate’s foray into the ring, celebrity boxing has become a stage where spectacle is increasingly displacing mastery.
Syria’s Circassian Community Is Finding Its Voice
For decades, the Syrian Circassians’ story of exile was suppressed by the Assad regime. Now, as the country remakes itself, that silence has begun to lift, with generations of Circassians embracing their Syrian identity — while continuing to preserve their culture and traditions.
What Jude Bellingham Reveals About England
The outrage over a display of frustration by England soccer star Jude Bellingham on the pitch continues a long-standing British discomfort with Black brilliance, exposing how soccer remains a battleground for national anxieties about race and belonging.