Middle East

Women shop in the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, in October 2022. Iranian police have announced a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf.

World News

Iran's morality police return in a new campaign to impose Islamic dress on women

11:25am July 16, 2023

by The Associated Press

The morality police had largely pulled back following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September, as authorities struggled to contain mass protests calling for the overthrow of the theocracy.

World News

As the Taliban shuts down salons, one beautician talks about the impact on her family

8:04am July 16, 2023

by D. Parvaz

In Afghanistan, the Taliban are shutting down beauty salons, one of few places where women can still work. One beautician says it may mean her family will not be able to afford basic necessities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on June 25. Netanyahu's office says he has been rushed to a hospital but that he is in "good condition" as he undergoes a medical evaluation.

World News

Israel's Netanyahu is rushed to a hospital; his office says he was likely dehydrated

7:31pm July 15, 2023

by The Associated Press

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday declared that he feels "very good" after he was rushed to the hospital for what doctors said likely was dehydration.

World News

Egypt is suffering neither war nor chaos, but people are migrating away anyway

4:25pm July 12, 2023

by Aya Batrawy

Egyptians were among the hundreds of migrants on a ship that sank off of Greece last month. The deadly voyage cast a spotlight on the number of Egyptians risking it all for a chance at a better life.

World News

The consequences of war are evident at a prosthetic center in Yemen

5:08am July 12, 2023

by Fatma Tanis

The war in Yemen is slowing down but one of the lasting effects can be seen in the large numbers of people — many of them children — who need prosthetic limbs.

Sweden's deal with Turkey to enter NATO stirs concern in Kurdish community

5:27pm July 11, 2023

Attorney Miran Kakaee talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about how Kurds in Sweden are responding to the concessions the country has made in response to Turkey's demands over their NATO membership.

Queue Listen Now

Israel's protests start again after prime minister tries to weaken judiciary

5:12pm July 11, 2023

by Daniel Estrin

The Israeli prime minister's move to take up measures that weaken the judicial system have revived Israel's democracy protests, where the move is seen as a threat to democracy.

Queue Listen Now

National

Morning news brief

5:53am July 11, 2023

Turkey's president has agreed to withdraw his objection to Sweden joining NATO. Protests resume in Israel over a planned judicial overhaul. Heavy rain causes flash floods in the Northeast.

Queue Listen Now

A controversial judicial reform bill in Israel passes an initial vote in parliament

5:05am July 11, 2023

Protesters are back on the streets in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revived judicial overhaul plans that demonstrators say undermine the nation's democracy.

World News

Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov kidnapped for months in Iraq

4:44pm July 06, 2023

NPR's Daniel Estrin talks with former NPR international correspondent Deborah Amos about the kidnapping of Israeli researcher and doctoral student at Princeton Elizabeth Tsurkov.