Special Focus | AW

Special Focus

North Korea

Sayyad-3 air defence missiles on display at an undisclosed location in Iran, last July. (Iranian Defence Ministry)

Iran boasts tripling missile output, raising concerns about North Korean factor

Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and his wife meet Pope Francis at the Vatican, on February 5. (AP)

Erdogan tries to boost Islamic credentials by meeting with Pope Francis over Jerusalem

tunisia

Getting out the vote. Employees of the ISIE election body work at an outreach booth at a shopping mall in Tunis, last August. (AFP)

Tunisia’s long-delayed municipal vote turns focus to local politics

Evolving landscape. Lebanon’s State Minister of Women’s Affairs Jean Oghassabian speaks during a conference on women’s participation in politics at Kempinski Summerland Hotel in Beirut, on January 17. (AP)

In Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, independent candidates hope to shake up the political status quo

Kareem Chehayeb

Elections

Will of the people. Iraqi lawmakers attend a session of parliament in Baghdad. (AP)

We have had elections in Iraq, now we need democracy

Mamoon Alabbasi

Problematic support. A file picture shows Salafist leader Yasser al-Borhamy (C) walking with his supporters in Alexandria. (Reuters)

Why are Egypt’s Salafists backing Sisi?

Changing alliances. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (C) meeting with Prime Minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani (2nd L) in Baghdad, on January 20. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office)

Iraq’s alliances uncertain ahead of elections

Major worry. A 2012 file picture shows an electoral worker verifying the identity of a voter at a polling station in the local council elections in Benghazi. (Reuters)

Fears of election fraud loom after disclosures about Libyan ID numbers

Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda’s roots stretch beyond bin Laden’s seed