Photo Essays

Lampedusa is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. Although it belongs to Italy, it is closer to Tunisia than it is to mainland Italy. It is one of the main points of entry for African refugees wanting to get to Europe. Mamadou Ba is a Senegalese citizen who lives in Portugal. His poignant and thought-provoking photos highlight the fate of all those – living and dead – who have set off across the sea from North Africa in search of a better life.

Dances, colourful carpets, fire jumps and the "seven S's": Nowruz (literally "new day") marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. The feast is celebrated by 300 million people around the world.

In February 1979, Shah Reza Pahlavi was overthrown. The Iranian Revolution turned the country's monarchy into an Islamic theocracy. This photo gallery presents some of the key events of the revolution that profoundly changed the course of the country's history

Today, over 22,000 Palestinian refugees live in the Shatila refugee camp on the outskirts of Beirut. Most of them belong to families who had to leave Palestine during the Nakba of 1948. However, since war broke out in Syria in 2011, the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon have seen a dramatic influx of Syrian refugees and are completely overwhelmed. By Mohammad Reza Hassani

Afghan refugee children suffer from hunger, malnutrition and disease. Many of the children who fled the Taliban with their parents have ended up in the slums of Kabul

The recent deal reached by Iran and the West has raised hopes of a better future for Iranians. Until then, Iranians will have to continue coping with the impact of Western sanctions on their economy

Despite international criticism the military government has reacted with force against the Muslim Brotherhood, which is demanding the reinstatement of Morsi. Here is our chronology of 2013.

Many people are suffering from psychological disorders in Afghanistan, a country blighted by decades of war. The mentally disabled face discrimination here, leaving their loved ones to bear much of the burden. Insights by Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi

Never before in the Arab world has a television show unleashed such controversy as the satirical programme "Al Bernameg" ('The Programme') presented by Egyptian television star Bassem Youssef – a furore that was stoked further when its broadcasting slot on the Egyptian broadcaster "CBC" was withdrawn in the wake of the uproar it caused. This makes it a milestone in the history of the freedom of expression in Egypt.