Society

Lebanon’s Waste Crisis
Lebanon likes to advertise its Mediterranean lifestyle to lure in tourists, but the reality is that trash dumps around Beirut are leaching toxic chemicals and dumping refuse straight into the sea, killing marine life and contaminating beaches.
An elderly couple relax on Gleem Beach.
Identity and Corruption in Alexandria

As Alexandria – Egypt’s second city – removes public access to beaches along its shoreline, citizens grapple with what it means to be Alexandrian in a city where the sea has defined identity.

A man working on the coast
Holiday of a Lifetime?

Every year, around a million tourists visit the Maldives. As the island nation in the Indian Ocean capitalises on its dreamlike facade, the reality is a country struggling with its history, the dark side of tourism – and with Islam.

A drift race in Benghazi.
Drift Racing in Libya

Drift racing is one way to burn off frustrations in Benghazi, and drifters are a passionate lot, determined to race even when the war was raging.

Keep pushing: Syrians help to get an old car started on a ferry across the river Meuse.
Syrians in Europe

200 Syrians spend five days hiking in the Netherlands, following in the footsteps of Frans van der Lugt, a priest murdered in Homs in 2014. What brings these people from different European countries together?

The Carthage Byrsa School in Tunis.
Post-Revolution Reform in Tunisia

In a country of social unrest, high youth unemployment and ever-present terrorist threats, improving its education system should be the priority for Tunisia. But education reform hit a rocky patch under the rule of an inconstant minister.

The Wakhan Valley
Walking The Wakhan Valley Mountain Range

In a hidden corner of central Asia, surrounded by two mountain ranges and four countries, lies the Wakhan Valley. Once upon a time, Marco Polo traversed this valley; today, not even the Taliban make it here...

Youth near the Ebu Bekir mosque in Pazardjik.
Inequality Among Roma in Bulgaria

The threat of radicalisation of Roma is often raised by politicians and media commentators in Bulgaria. But economic exclusion makes Roma communities open to gestures of friendship or financial support, giving radical groups a target.