SAT-7's Middle East Briefing brings you a monthly roundup of news from the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular focus on the experiences of believers and the challenges facing the Church in the region. It's available as a long-read article, or as a 7-minute podcast. Read the articles below or listen to all our latest podcast episodes here. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple podcasts - just search "The Middle East Briefing".
Country Briefing: Tajikistan
August 2024In this month’s Country Briefing, we journey to the easternmost reaches of SAT-7’s satellite footprint: the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan. The presenter of a new Tajik women’s talk show shares with us the difficulties faced by Christians in Tajikistan, but also how God is using SAT-7 to build His Church there. Click here to listen to the 7-minute audio […]
Middle East Briefing – July 2024
July 2024“We urgently need to find our way back to peace in line with the UN Charter [of Human Rights] and international law.” This was the impassioned message that Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, sent to the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council last month. Prominent among the examples he gave were Gaza, Sudan, Syria […]
Country Briefing – June 2024
June 2024SUDAN BRIEFING: Church perseveres in faith and love amid conflict Nicknamed “the forgotten war”, the conflict that erupted in Sudan last April has taken a devastating toll on its people. The fighting has displaced over 8 million people and left around 25 million in need of humanitarian aid. Almost 15,000 deaths have been reported, but the true figure is likely […]
Middle East Briefing – May 2024
May 2024Freedom and security seem ever more elusive in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This month, we bring you various reports on religious freedom, women’s rights and press freedom, as well as more hopeful news from Syria. Freedom of religion and of belief is “being challenged more and more” around the world, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom […]
Middle East Briefing – April 2024
April 2024While conflict in the Holy Land and the fresh involvement of Iran dominates headlines, a war between generals continues to ravage Sudan, and Türkiye expresses an appetite for change in political leadership. The Middle East found itself on a knife-edge last weekend after Iran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel – the Islamic Republic’s first direct assault on Israel […]
Middle East Briefing – March 2024
March 2024While the Holy Land and Sudan continued to suffer ruinous wars this month, Iran had elections with record low turnouts as it prepared to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian new year. Unrelenting conflicts in Gaza and Sudan have brought both countries to a new level of suffering. Many of the 300,000 Palestinians still living in the north of Gaza have been […]
Middle East Briefing – February 2024
February 2024A year on from the two devastating earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria, the repercussions are still being felt for many people who live in the two countries. Elsewhere, the new World Watch List highlights the dangers facing Christians the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and conflict in the Holy Land continues to deepen, bringing stronger calls from international […]
Middle East Briefing – January 2024
January 2024The Middle East and North Africa begins the new year dominated by the war in Gaza and an under-reported conflict in Sudan. The Gaza Strip has been devastated by over 100 days of war with Israel. A displaced and starving population has been squeezed into ever smaller pockets of land while fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces intensifies. In Sudan, […]