Spotlight
Battle of the Buffer Wheel
Twitch, Amazon’s multibillion-dollar streaming platform, is on the rise in Nigeria, but young creators hoping to ride the slipstream of Afrobeats to internet stardom face an uphill battle with bandwidth and cultural buy-in.
Beirut’s Vanishing Bookshops
Lebanon’s bookshops once thrived as hubs of debate and dissent, but economic collapse, censorship and war have gutted Beirut’s literary scene. Still, readers, publishers and book cafes find inventive ways to resist and revive the culture of reading.
The Syrians in European Limbo
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime brought euphoria to millions of Syrians in exile, but also created political and legal uncertainty. As some European states suspend asylum claims or discuss revoking refugee status, activists are campaigning for temporary return permits that would allow Syrians to reconnect without losing protection.
Pedaling Through the Fault Lines of Postwar Damascus
Every Friday, at dawn, 30 cyclists take to the streets of Damascus, riding through ruins and across the fault lines of a country emerging from 14 years of civil war. Among them are ex-rebels, former regime loyalists and foreigners drawn to the challenge of navigating Syria’s shattered landscape.
Amid Death and Destruction, Palestine’s Baseball Dreams Survive
Mustafa Tafesh, a 21-year-old player for Gaza’s Palestine National Baseball Team, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Despite such losses, the young team continues to compete internationally, carrying the dreams of Mustafa and the hope of a free Palestine.
In Syria’s Fractured Landscape, Salamiyah Stands Apart
In the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, sectarian violence has flared across Syria. But Salamiyah, a city of 100,000 on the edge of the Syrian desert, has stood apart. Home to Ismailis, Sunnis and Alawites, it may be a model for reconciliation and pluralism in post-Assad Syria.
How AI Became the Far Right’s Newest Weapon Against Refugees
Across Europe, far-right parties are weaponizing generative AI to produce hyperbolic, Islamophobic and anti-refugee visuals that spread rapidly on social media, amplifying disinformation and fueling hostility.