Syria’s President: Investment Is Needed For Refugees To Return From Europe Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa contradicted claims by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last night, telling a London audience that he had not specifically said that 80% of the nearly 1 million Syrians in Germany should return home. Al-Sharaa was speaking at Chatham House during his first official v...

Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa has said Germany’s chancellor misquoted him on refugee returns, but added that with enough reconstruction and investment, many Syrians would go back, write @chriselkholy.bsky.social and @faisalalyafai.bsky.social .

Slopaganda Comes of Age The Trump paradox was always that he could be taken seriously without being taken literally, but that may no longer hold

From AI videos mocking Trump in the Iran war to the White House’s own meme-making, “slopaganda” is less about persuasion and more about capturing "some emotional truth," write @faisalalyafai.bsky.social  & @chriselkholy.bsky.social .

Egyptian Talk Show Host Crosses ‘Red Lines’ With Refugee Comments On April 13, Egyptian TV viewers were treated to a rare sight: the humiliation of a top government apologist and talk show host who strayed from the regime’s talking points. Ahmed Moussa, who hosts “A...

NEW: In Egypt, a segment by the regime-aligned talk show host Ahmed Moussa on the integration of refugees was pulled on Monday, revealing the tightrope the government is seeking to walk as the economy worsens, writes @chriselkholy.bsky.social . newlinesmag.com/running-note...

Egyptian Talk Show Host Crosses ‘Red Lines’ With Refugee Comments On April 13, Egyptian TV viewers were treated to a rare sight: the humiliation of a top government apologist and talk show host who strayed from the regime’s talking points. Ahmed Moussa, who hosts “Ala Masuliati” (a phrase that roughly translates as “on my head be it”), was on air on the ...

"The [Ahmed] Moussa episode — or, rather, its abrupt disappearance ... points to the fragility of the Egyptian regime’s attempts to balance economic anxiety, the needs of refugees and its regional alignments." | @chriselkholy.bsky.social 

Slopaganda Comes of Age The Trump paradox was always that he could be taken seriously without being taken literally, but that may no longer hold

As we enter the realm of “slopaganda,” the use of AI-generated content for political messaging, Trump’s base is now taking his memes both literally and seriously, write @faisalalyafai.bsky.social  and @chriselkholy.bsky.social .

Syria’s President: Investment Is Needed For Refugees To Return From Europe Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa contradicted claims by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last night, telling a London audience that he had not specifically said that 80% of the nearly 1 million Syrian...

NEW: Syria’s president says he was misquoted by Germany’s chancellor regarding how many refugees might return, but adds that large numbers would do so given sufficient reconstruction and investment, write @chriselkholy.bsky.social and @faisalalyafai.bsky.social . newlinesmag.com/running-note...

51st state behaviour

‘Those Who Wrap Themselves in America Are Naked’ As the Iran war intensifies, the Gulf Arab states are beginning to openly question the US role in the region

In one of our current top reads, @faisalalyafai.bsky.social  & @chriselkholy.bsky.social look at how a debate between Arab leaders in the Gulf over who to blame for their position between Iran, the U.S. and Israel has burst into the open.

As the Iran War Continues, Trump Loyalists Abandon the Supreme Leader President Donald Trump has faced intense criticism over the Iran war from his MAGA base, but the first major rupture within the administration has come from someone Trump himself hand-picked for one o...

NEW: The resignation of the Trump-appointed counterterrorism chief Joe Kent over Iran exposes the growing fault lines inside the “America First” camp, write @chriselkholy.bsky.social , @dannypostel.bsky.social and Alec D’Angelo. newlinesmag.com/running-note...

‘Those Who Wrap Themselves in America Are Naked’ As the Iran war intensifies, the Gulf Arab states are beginning to openly question the US role in the region

On March 22, 1945, Arab states met in Cairo to form the Arab League —an effort at regional unity whose legacies still shape Mideast politics today. Recently, @faisalalyafai.bsky.social & @chriselkholy.bsky.social explored how pan‑Arab ties shape debates over the Iran war

🎉Today we launch Running Notes, short-form commentary and dispatches from the Middle East and beyond. The pieces offer fast, sharp analysis alongside our long-form essays, giving our readers another way to engage with the stories that matter.
READ HERE:
newlinesmag.com/running-note...

‼️On March 30 my friends and I are sharing a live, interactive journalism show about life and loss in Gaza under the omnipresent drones of Israel. Early bird tickets are now on sale, and all proceeds go to Palestinian Students & Scholars at Risk (PSSAR)
Get them now: www.eventbrite.ca/e/living-wit...

Malcolm X and the Difficulties of Diplomacy In 1964, the Black nationalist organizer toured Africa and the Middle East on a journey that would both transform his outlook and reveal the limits of transnational solidarity

On this day in 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated. A year earlier, his Africa-Middle East tour sought solidarity but drew him into rivalries he didn’t fully grasp, writes @alexjwhite.bsky.social 

'My only crime is being a mother': How Israel arrests Palestinian women to pressure 'wanted' individuals Israel regularly detains Palestinian women for being related to those the occupation is seeking to arrest, a practice experts say is unlawful.

"I asked them, 'Why are you arresting me?' The officer replied, 'Simply because you're his mother."

"It wasn't the first time Barghouti was arrested by Israeli authorities in an attempt to pressure her children to surrender."
#WestBank #Palestine #Israel #Military #Incarceration #Solitary

Cracking Down on the Right To Love in Palestine New rules requiring that relationships be reported to the Israeli military are only the latest of countless restrictions on romance in the occupied West Bank

From the @newlinesmag.bsky.social archives:
@annalekasmiller.bsky.social  reports on how Israel controls romance — and demographics — in Palestine with Byzantine bureaucracy and arbitrary rulings.

A ‘Ghazal’ Sensibility on Valentine’s Day How a poet finds solace in the ebb and flow of a classical literary genre

Departure and return, variation and repetition — movements that the “ghazal” poem makes with immense longing — have come to qualify all of Zeina Hashem Beck's loves, writes the poet in a Valentine's Day musing.

Developers have dismantled part of the ancient Roman walls in central Beirut to pave a parking lot. Activists say it’s part of a bigger problem as Lebanon loses its ancient past, report Madeline Edwards and João Sousa
newlinesmag.com/reportage/beiruts-histor...

I want to be just like you

Hind Rajab and the Dying Light Kaouther Ben Hania’s film retells the story of the 5-year-old’s final hours and amplifies her voice to indict the world’s silence over Gaza’s children

Hind Rajab was afraid of the dark. After killing her family & wounding her, Israel prevented her rescue & left her to die alone in the dark. I write about those critical hours & the film that brings back her voice to induct the world’s silence @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/review/hind-...

Washington Post layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, preliminary Guild data shows "We cannot ignore what this means for equity, representation, and the future of this organization."

The @washingtonpost.com layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, per data from the @postguild.bsky.social.

50% of Hispanic/Latino guild members,​ 45% of Black members, and​ 43% of Asian members were laid off, compared to 37% of white members.

www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/wash...

If you read one thing today, let it be this:

An Engineer Was Fired After Speaking Out for Palestine. Now He’s Suing His Former Employer Palestinian-Canadian Amjad Ramadan is seeking nearly $400,000 in damages after he was abruptly terminated by NTN Canada, the manufacturing company he’d worked at for 15 years. He was fired soon after…

New story in The Grind.

Amjad Ramadan, a 52-year-old Palestinian-Canadian, is suing his former employer for wrongful dismissal after he was abruptly terminated for speaking out for Palestine.

"There is a campaign to silence us," he told me.

@thegrindto.bsky.social

Adorable!

Global Thought Archives

What cities around the world have really interesting, dynamic intellectual “scenes”? Want to tell the story/paint a portrait of such a “scene” — especially in the Global South — for @newlinesmag.bsky.social’s Global Thought series? Pitch me: dpostel@newlinesmag.com

newlinesmag.com/topic/global...

This is well done! @hannahel711.bsky.social

Preserving Iraqi Memories Through Immersive Virtual Reality Basil Al-Rawi’s ‘House of Memory’ allows the diaspora to share personal stories and reclaim their cultural heritage

From the @newlinesmag.bsky.social  archives:
The virtual reality “House of Memory” created by the artist Basil Al-Rawi allows viewers to explore Iraq’s past, and the diaspora to share personal stories and reclaim their cultural heritage, writes @chriselkholy.bsky.social 

Appropriating the death count: Manufacturing consent for an attack on Iran Protest death toll speculations are used to rally support for an attack on Iran and downplay the genocide in Gaza.

“An arduous verification process of the recent deaths is crucial not only for the sake of accountability, but also to expose the media manipulation that is once again preparing the ground for a unilateral US-led act of aggression in the Middle East.”

www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...

Carney has spent the past year subtweeting Trump.

At a certain point, these words mean nothing if he won't actually come out and say what he's criticizing.

NEW: Far-right Zionist group Betar US will disband following an investigation by NY State Attorney General Letitia James into the group's "violence against and harassment of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and Jewish activists" and failure to register as a charity in NY despite soliciting donations.