Middle East

World News

Biden administration says Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince should be shielded over killing

4:38pm November 18, 2022

by Michele Kelemen

The Biden administration says Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be shielded from a lawsuit over his role in journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing, angering human rights activist.

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Qatar relied on migrant workers to build stadiums and other infrastructure for the World Cup. Human rights organizations have raised concerns about worker deaths and safety.

Why Qatar is a controversial host for the World Cup

11:13am November 18, 2022

by Becky Sullivan

FIFA's choice of Qatar to host the World Cup has long been marred by criticism over human rights abuses, the safety of migrant workers and the logistics of holding a soccer tournament in desert heat.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has officially declassified an image first tweeted by President Trump in 2019.

Trump tweeted an image from a spy satellite, declassified document shows

9:02am November 18, 2022

by Geoff Brumfiel

More than three years after his tweet, the U.S. government has formally declassified the image from one of its most powerful spy satellites.

Politics & Government

Biden administration moves to shield the Saudi crown prince in journalist's killing

7:44am November 18, 2022

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Ellen Knickmeyer of The Associated Press about the administration's attempt to shield Saudi Arabia's leader from a lawsuit over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia takes his seat ahead of a working lunch at the G20 Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia.

National

The U.S. moves to shield Saudi crown prince in journalist killing

3:46am November 18, 2022

by The Associated Press

The U.S. declaration that Saudi Arabia's crown prince should be considered immune from a lawsuit over his role in the killing of a U.S.-based journalist breaks from Joe Biden's campaign denunciations.

Antigovernment protests continue in Iran, along with regime's violent crackdown

5:08am November 17, 2022

by Peter Kenyon

Despite sanctions and calls to ease up, the Iranian government continues to crack down on protests — sometimes using trials and death sentences. The protests are in their third month.

World News

The Dead Sea is drying up because of overexploitation and climate change

4:23pm November 16, 2022

by Daniel Estrin

Overexploitation of natural resources and climate change threaten the Dead Sea, a natural wonder drying up rapidly.

The state of human rights in Qatar ahead of the 2022 men's FIFA World Cup

4:23pm November 16, 2022

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Human Rights Watch director of global initiatives Minky Worden about the state of human rights in Qatar ahead of the 2022 men's FIFA World Cup.

Sailors inventory urea and ammonium perchlorate found on a dhow intercepted in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. Navy says it found 70 tons of a missile fuel component hidden among bags of fertilizer aboard a ship bound to Yemen from Iran.

World News

U.S. Navy seizes 70 tons of Iranian missile fuel from a sailboat to Yemen

10:42am November 15, 2022

by The Associated Press

The load — enough for a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles — was hidden among bags of fertilizer on a wooden ship called a dhow. It likely was bound for Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

On Monday, people lay flowers to pay tribute to the victims of a Sunday's blast that took place on Istanbul's famous Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, Turkey.

World News

Turkey blames Kurdish group for Istanbul bombing

11:38am November 14, 2022

by Peter Kenyon

Turkish authorities blamed a Kurdish group active in Syria. Turkey views the group as the Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which it has been battling for decades.