Middle East

Since the clashes started last month, more than 300 protesters have been killed and 15,000 others wounded. Protesters demand overhauls to the country's political system and an end to corruption.

Iraqi security forces are cracking down on protesters amid continued anti-government protests.

Protests continue in Baghdad with government promises doing little to quell the dissatisfaction of hundreds of thousands taking to the streets.

"They told us, even if you stand here for 100 years, we are not going to let you cross," one refugee who made it to an Iraqi camp tells NPR. Many have resorted to paying smugglers to help them cross.

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Mark Rasch, formerly of the Justice Department's computer crime unit, about arrests of two people on allegations that they enabled Saudi Arabia to spy on Twitter users.

Turkish troops invaded northern Syria after the U.S. moved troops out of their way. Turkey says it might move more than a million Syrians back over the border into the "safe zone" it's creating.

Deadly protests in Iraq continue even after the country's prime minister agreed to step down. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to former Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S. Rend Al-Rahim.

Iran is reopening one of its most controversial uranium enrichment facilities. The move increases its ability to generate enriched uranium and puts more pressure on the already strained nuclear deal.

Omar Shakir of Human Rights Watch was ordered to leave the country for allegedly backing boycotts of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Aghast critics call it a blow to free expression.

Much of the protesters' anger is directed at Iran and at corrupt Iraqi politicians. "Parliament is just mafias and corrupt parties — all of them came to destroy this country," says one protester.

From its seas, to rivers, to its air quality, Lebanon is ruining itself. Scientists say the country should be a cautionary tale of what happens when governments prioritize business over environment.

The Iran hostage crisis began 40 years ago. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Assal Rad of the National Iranian American Council about how the crisis remains important.