Middle East

Many woman in Iran who have disobeyed hijab rules say they'll remain defiant

5:22am August 07, 2023

by Arezou Rezvani

There are women in Iran who are continuing to flout mandatory headscarf rules — even though the government's so-called "morality police" force has resumed patrols.

3 years after Beirut port blast, an investigation has gone nowhere

4:42pm August 04, 2023

Three years after the blast in a port warehouse that devastated Beirut, Lebanon, has still not followed through on the probe of who was responsible.

Shaimaa Ali Ahmed, 12, lost her leg at age 6 after happening upon an unexploded rocket. Yemeni children like her bear an outsized burden from the civil war, where land mines and ordnance litter the landscape.

At Yemeni prosthetics clinic, the patients keep coming even though the war has slowed

7:15am August 04, 2023

The civil war in Yemen seems to be cooling off, but its deadly legacy of land mines will be felt for decades. At a prosthetics clinic near the the front line, children bear a disproportionate burden.

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World News

Mere miles apart, a family in one city have been separated for years due to Yemen war

5:05pm August 01, 2023

by Fatma Tanis

A family lives on the government side of Taiz, Yemen, while their parents and siblings are on the Houthi side. They haven't seen each other in eight years despite being a close drive away.

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The special Afghan unit would deploy with U.S. troops and speak with women and children.

They fought alongside the U.S. — now this female Afghan military platoon is in limbo

4:28pm August 01, 2023

by Kai McNamee

After the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, members of the Female Tactical Platoon came to America under a temporary humanitarian program. Many are now in immigration limbo.

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An archeological dig in Turkey has uncovered artifacts dating back 1,000 years

5:01am August 01, 2023

by Peter Kenyon

What started out as an exploration of a Roman garrison has uncovered artifacts dating back to the time of the Assyrian Empire. (Story aired on Weekend Edition Sunday on July 30, 2023.)

A Pakistani police officer stands guard at the site of Sunday's suicide bomber attack in the Bajur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Monday, July 31.

World News

Up First briefing: Pakistan bombing; Yellow trucking meltdown; grieving pet loss

7:59am July 31, 2023

by Suzanne Nuyen

A deadly bombing near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has killed dozens and injured hundreds. Shipping company Yellow is expected to file bankruptcy. How to cope with the loss of a pet.

National

Pentagon files reveal flaws in U.S. claims about Syrian casualties in Baghdadi raid

5:40pm July 29, 2023

by Daniel Estrin

An NPR investigation into Pentagon documents finds flaws in the U.S. claim that civilians were spared in the 2019 operation against the leader of ISIS.

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World News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discusses judicial system overhaul

6:46am July 28, 2023

by Steve Inskeep

NPR's Steve Inskeep interviews Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about his government's controversial overhaul of the country's judicial system.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comments on contentious new law

5:43pm July 27, 2023

by Daniel Estrin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks about what he plans to do with the contentious judicial overhaul law passed this week, which passed despite pleas from President Biden and protestors.

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