Middle East

Egypt, the Middle East's biggest country, is facing a deepening economic crisis

5:11am March 28, 2023

Egypt's economic crisis compels people to make hard spending choices, and challenges the government to accept more foreign aid to support a rapidly growing population.

Netanyahu delays plans amid unprecedented protests across Israel

5:09pm March 27, 2023

by Daniel Estrin

Facing protests that had shut down much of his country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's delaying a vote in parliament that could give his coalition more power over choosing judges.

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Netanyahu may have cooled down unrest in Israel, but it isn't gone

5:09pm March 27, 2023

NPR's Adrian Florido talks with Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro about demonstrations in Israel around Netanyahu's controversial plan to reform the judiciary.

Protesters wave Israeli flags outside parliament in Jerusalem on Monday, part of a massive show of anger over the hard-right government's push to overhaul the justice system.

World News

Here's why Netanyahu's court overhaul, now on hold, brought Israel to the brink

2:31pm March 27, 2023

The right-wing government's push to get more control of the judiciary system thrust Israel into a crisis. The pushback led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay his plan for at least a month.

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As Israel's judicial overhaul legislation faces a final vote, protesters don't let up

7:26am March 27, 2023

Mass protests are taking place in Israel over the firing of defense minister Yoav Gallant, after he spoke out against plans to weaken the country's judicial system.

National

Morning news brief

6:39am March 27, 2023

There are mass protests in Israel after the defense minister is sacked, Mississippi cleans up after a deadly tornado and jury selection is to begin Monday in the trial of a Grammy-winning musician.

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Israelis opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan set up bonfires and block a highway during a protest moments after the Israeli leader fired his defense minister, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 26, 2023.

World News

Opposition to Netanyahu plan mounts as unions launch a broad strike across Israel

4:29am March 27, 2023

by The Associated Press

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firing his defense minister for challenging the Israeli leader's judicial overhaul plan.

Israeli police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the freeway during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday.

World News

Netanyahu fires defense minister who urged a halt to overhaul of Israel's judiciary

3:03pm March 26, 2023

by The Associated Press

The move by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled he will move ahead with a contentious plan to overhaul Israel's judicial system — a plan that has sparked widespread opposition.

Ibrahim Muslimani, 30, speaks to a class about a piece of music blending different eras and languages at the Nefes Foundation for Arts and Culture, which he founded in 2016, in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Nov. 22, 2022.

A music school uniting Syrian and Turkish cultures survives the massive earthquake

6:01am March 25, 2023

by Fatma Tanis

A handful of students return to a school in Gaziantep, Turkey, that seeks to help revive old Syrian and Turkish music and integrate refugees.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon last week.

U.S. and militias linked to Iran trade airstrikes in Syria, Pentagon says

5:31pm March 24, 2023

by Emily Olson

A group believed to be linked to Iran fired a drone that killed one U.S. contractor and injured six others, the Pentagon said. The U.S. retaliated, and also faced a second attack on Friday.