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After the withdrawal of NATO troops, the Taliban are recapturing more and more territory in Afghanistan. Afghans who worked with the NATO troops are in particular fear for their lives and are desperate to flee the country.

What has happened in Mosul since the operation to retake the city from the so-called "Islamic State" started in October? Photo essay by Nadine Berghausen

China to the east, Russia to the north, Afghanistan to the south: in this geopolitical environment, Kyrgyzstan, which has been independent since 1991, is attempting to make progress – and is finding the going tough. By Marcel Fuerstenau

Hisham's Palace in the West Bank was recently renovated and is now opening to the public. Palestinians hope it will draw tourists. By Sarah Hucal

Located between the Red and the Dead Sea, Jordan is a small country that was long inhabited exclusively by nomads. At the crossroads between the Mediterranean world and the East, it is a place worth visiting – not only for its splendid archaeological heritage, but also for its famed Bedouin hospitality. By Pascal Mannaerts

More than six years of war has killed tens of thousands of people and left 80% of Yemen's population reliant on aid. With demand for firewood soaring due to fuel shortages, there are now concerns that the country's humanitarian crisis, with millions facing starvation, has compounded the risk of deforestation. By Khaled Abdullah

Sufism – the mystical path of Islam – enjoys a long tradition in Sudan. Sufis aspire to achieve perfection of worship through music, dance and meditative exercises. Two of the largest Sufi orders in Sudan are the Qadiriya and the Burhani brotherhoods. In Omduraman near Khartoum, members of the Qadiriya order meet every weekend by the hundreds in front of the tomb of their former leader, Sheikh Hamed al-Nil, at the cemetery bearing his name. The ceremony's popularity has long since extended beyond the Qadiriya order and is now the largest regularly-held Sufi event in Sudan. By Philipp Breu

In 633 AD, Muslim Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula attacked the Zoroastrian empire of Persia, and following a 21-year war, conquered the ancient realm. Iran’s official religion changed from Zoroastrian to Islam; however, 1367 years after that conquest, ordinary Iranians still celebrate various Zoroastrian traditions and rituals. By Changiz M. Varzi

Baswaliha, a 55-year-old woman living in Pakistan's Mohmand district near the Afghan border, lost her husband and a son in militant attacks. Today, fears of the Taliban's return are rife in the area. By S. Rehman

To mark the 60th anniversary of the German-Turkish recruitment agreement, the Ruhr Museum is exhibiting photographs by Istanbul photographer Ergun Cagatay. By Ceyda Nurtsch