By Josh Friedman The United States fell to 17th place in the Economic Freedom Index, an annual ranking of countries by economic liberty. Nations like the United Arab Emirates, Georgia and Lithuania now offer more economic freedom than the U.S., according to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington, D.C.-based think tank. In the 2017 Economic
An asylum seeker from Iran who stitched his lips in protest of the Greek-Macedonian border closure By JOSH FRIEDMAN With controversy swirling over U.S. President Donald Trump's refugee admission policy, many people may take interest in discovering who the refugees arriving in the West actually are. Care for an up close look at
Footage from the protest in Lucerne, Switzerland (in Farsi) By SABOOR NADEM and JOSH FRIEDMAN Ethnic minority migrants from Iran protested the Iranian regime Friday outside the train station in Lucerne, Switzerland. The protesters hailed primarily from the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, which is located near Pakistan. The demonstrators accused the Iranian government
Basir Yousofy UPDATE: The Lithuanian government confirmed Yousofy worked Lithuania's military in Afghanistan and granted him asylum in Lithuania. By JOSH FRIEDMAN An asylum seeker currently stranded at the Greek-Macedonian border is a former Lithuanian interpreter who reportedly worked with Lithuania's military in Afghanistan. Basir Yousofy says the Taliban was hunting him in Afghanistan because he
Watch interviews with asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who are trapped outside Idomeni, Greece at the Greek-Macedonian border. Some have been camped at the border for a month. A video report on the situation at the border can be seen here.
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Seven countries issue passports that provide more visa-free travel options than the U.S. passport, according to recently released rankings. German citizens have the world's top travel document. Henley & Partners (H&P), a residence and citizenship planning firm, ranks passports based on the number of countries and territories to which they provide visa-free access.
President Hassan Rouhani casting his ballot. Rouhani can now count on more support for improving Iran's ties with the West. By JOSH FRIEDMAN Iranians voted in a national election on Friday. The results are still not entirely clear, but western media are naming Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as the big winner. Iran’s presidency was
Journalist Saboor Nadem: Why I Fled Afghanistan
Saboor Nadem (front) walking in Macedonia during his journey from Afghanistan to Switzerland By SABOOR NADEM There are all too many reasons to escape from Afghanistan. Over the last four decades, Afghanistan has had more than 3 million people killed, wounded and displaced. The country was and still is plagued by hundreds of terrorist groups,