Features A damaged hotel in the town of Moulay Brahim, about 45 miles south of Marrakesh. Credit...Tiago Petinga/EPA, via Shutterstock

After the Earthquake in Morocco, Tourists Grapple With the Ethics of Travel

By Ceylan Yeginsu Some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations — Türkiye, Greece, Hawaii and, now, Morocco — have been ravaged by disaster this…

Features This picture taken on September 19, 2023 shows a view of mud-covered furniture in the house of Mohamed Badr, 23, a survivor of the flooding who lost his brother and whose house was engulfed with mud in the recent deadly flash floods in Libya's eastern city of Derna. (AFP)

Libya Flood Survivors Endure Unbearable Wait for Missing Relatives

In Libya's flood-hit city of Derna, the Mediterranean Sea breeze mixes with the nauseating stench of human remains buried under the mud-caked rubble. Ten…

Features The floods inundated as much as a quarter of the city of Derna - AP

Left Behind and Grieving, Survivors of Libya Floods Call for Accountability

Abdel-Hamid al-Hassadi survived the devastating flooding in eastern Libya, but he lost some 90 people from his extended family. The 23-year-old law graduate…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features A view shows a damaged car, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya on September 16. (Reuters)

More than 100 Syrians Dead in Derna Flood, Says Monitor

A total of 112 Syrians, including entire families, died in flash flooding that hit Libya's eastern city of Derna last week, said the Syrian Observatory for…

Features This picture shows the aftermath of flash flooding caused by Storm Daniel in Libya's eastern port city of Derna on September 18, 2023. (AFP)

Libya Flood: After a Week, Families Haunted by Fate of the Missing 

"I lost my daughter. Her mother is convinced that she is still alive. I am convinced that she is dead," says Ahmed Ashour, 62. "The girl left me with a 3-month…

Features A "#UNGA" sign is on display at United Nations headquarters, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (AP)

Everything You Need to Know About This Year’s Meeting of Leaders at the UN General Assembly 

For two years, it was the coronavirus pandemic. Then, it was Russia's war in Ukraine. Throughout it all, the perils of climate change, poverty and inequality…

Features Heavily damaged Derna is shown on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, days after Storm Daniel unleashed deadly floods on the eastern Libyan city. (AFP)

Medicanes: Rare, 'Supercharging' Mediterranean Storms that Will Intensify, Suggest Experts

The flash flood that has killed thousands of people in Libya this week followed a "medicane", a rare but destructive weather phenomenon that scientists believe…

Features People queue outside a Passports and Immigration Services office in Wad Madani on September 3, 2023, following an announcement by the authorities of the resumption of issuing travel documents in war-torn Sudan. (AFP)

Desperate Sudanese Face Endless Wait for Passports So They Can Flee

Marwa Omar was one of hundreds who lined up at dawn to try and get passports in Port Sudan. Fifteen hours later, she still had nothing to show for it. A…

Features  Rubble is seen in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Amizmiz, Morocco September 16, 2023. (Reuters)

Moroccan Earthquake Shattered Thousands of Lives

With their arms around each other, three boys walked through the streets of their town at the foot of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. It could have been a scene…

Features Around 310,000 people have crossed from Sudan into Egypt since war broke out on April 15 © ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP

Sudan Refugees Bring Off-season Tourism to Egypt's Aswan

Thousands fleeing war in Sudan have taken refuge in the Egyptian city of Aswan on the Nile, where families are helping keep the tourism industry afloat far…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features People look for survivors in Derna, Libya, Wednesday, Sept.13, 2023. (AP)

Whole Families Drown in Libyan City’s Flood 

The wall of water several stories high smashed into apartment buildings, drowning entire families in minutes. One man, Fadellalah, believes 13 members of…

Features A woman speaks on a cell phone while a man next to her browses a phone along a street in Tehran on September 4, 2023. (AFP)

Iran Steps up Internet Crackdown One Year After Mahsa Amini Death 

One year after young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died in police custody while under arrest for improper hijab, Iran has stepped up internet restrictions to stop…

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Features Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding Sunday in many towns of eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. (Reuters)

Storm Daniel Exposes Fragile Libya Infrastructure, Sparks Damning Criticism of Authorities

The devastation left behind by storm Daniel in Libya has underscored the fragility and decay of the infrastructure in the country caused by years of…

Jacqueline Zaher (Cairo)
Features Iranian journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi have both been held for almost a year - AFP

Iranian Women Paying Price for Reporting on Mahsa Amini

Iranian authorities have since the death of Mahsa Amini systematically persecuted the journalists, often young women, who helped expose the case and magnify…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features A building in Amizmiz is levelled by the earthquake. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Asharq Al-Awsat Speaks to Survivors of Devastating Morocco Earthquake

The deadly earthquake that struck Morocco last week has devastated the town of Amizmiz, some 56 kms from Marrakech. Abdulrazak, a local, told Asharq Al…

Asharq Al Awsat (Rabat)
Features People check an area damaged by flash floods in Derna, eastern Libya, on September 11, 2023. (AFP)

Mediterranean’s Devastating Storm Daniel May Be Harbinger of Storms to Come

Storm Daniel, which wrought devastation across the Mediterranean in the past week, killed 15 people in central Greece where it dumped more rain than previously…

Features  A destroyed building is seen in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Talat N'Yaaqoub, Morocco September 12, 2023. (Reuters)

Wedding Party Saved Moroccan Villagers from Deadly Quake

A wedding celebration saved all the people of a Moroccan village during Friday's deadly earthquake, which destroyed their stone and mud-brick houses while they…

Features FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, April 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)

A Timeline of the Complicated Relations between Russia and North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia to see President Vladimir Putin. It will be the two isolated leaders' second meeting. Their governments…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features A visitor takes a photo in front of destination signs including North Korea's capital Pyongyang and Russia's city Vladivostok at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (AP)

North Korean Ammunition Could Offer Russian Troops Flawed but Useful Support

If North Korea provides artillery rounds and other weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine, it could help Kremlin forces stretch their dwindling stocks of…

Features A graffiti against the government which is painted over in black is seen on the wall at a park in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. (AP)

In Iran, Snap Checkpoints and University Purges Mark the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini Protests 

Snap checkpoints. Internet disruptions. University purges. Iran's theocracy is trying hard to both ignore the upcoming anniversary of nationwide protests…

Features Rubble from damaged buildings following a powerful earthquake, in the village of Talat N'Yaaqoub, south of Marrakech, Morocco, 11 September 2023. (EPA)

Morocco’s Mud Brick Housing Makes Hunt for Earthquake Survivors Harder

Rescuers digging through the rubble after Morocco's deadly earthquake warned on Monday that the traditional mud brick, stone and rough wood housing ubiquitous…

Features Palestinian farmer Bassam Dudin can no longer draw water from his wells since Israeli forces poured cement into them- AP

Palestinian Water Woes Highlight Dashed Hopes of Oslo Accords

Thirty years after the landmark Oslo Accords, Palestinian hopes for statehood seem as remote as ever and popular frustration is rife -- nowhere more than over…

Asharq Al Awsat
Features The minaret of a mosque stands behind damaged or destroyed houses following an earthquake in Moulay Brahim, Al-Haouz province, on September 9, 2023. (AFP)

Morocco Quake Leaves Hearts and Heritage Broken

Hafida Sahraouia surveyed the rubble after an earthquake ripped through the historic Jewish quarter, part of the old city in Morocco's tourist center of…

Features India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) addresses the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 9, 2023. (AFP)

The African Union Is Joining the G20, a Powerful Acknowledgement of a Continent of 1 Billion People

The group of the world's 20 leading economies is welcoming the African Union as a permanent member, a powerful acknowledgement of Africa as its more than 50…