Middle East

Music & Culture

A Palestinian pop singer faces threats to make music with a message

5:24pm August 06, 2022

Palestinian pop artist Bashar Murad is an openly gay singer who uses his music to address a number of societal issues. NPR's Daniel Estrin visited him at a recording studio in East Jerusalem.

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Killing of al-Qaeda leader renews tensions with the Taliban

8:11am August 06, 2022

by Arezou Rezvani

How Afghan citizens and the Taliban government are reacting to the revelation that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was living among them and was killed in a U.S. drone strike last Sunday.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, a Taliban leader, is Afghanistan's interim defense minister.

World News

We visited a Taliban leader's compound to examine his vision for Afghanistan

2:59pm August 05, 2022

On the day a U.S. drone strike killed the leader of al-Qaida in Afghanistan, NPR sat down for an interview with the man in charge of the country's defense.

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Turkey's President Erdogan is set to meet with Putin again — and has some requests

5:53pm August 03, 2022

by Peter Kenyon

Turkey is part of NATO and keeps close ties with the West, but its president is on the way to Russia with some very specific requests.

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Demolition of Jeddah neighborhoods sparks rare widespread criticism in Saudi Arabia

4:50pm August 03, 2022

by Fatma Tanis

A sweeping redevelopment aimed at drawing wealthy residents to Jeddah is displacing thousands and raising questions about how Saudi Arabia carries out its megaprojects.

World News

The reaction in the Middle East to Zawahiri's death and the outlook for al-Qaida

5:43pm August 02, 2022

by Fatma Tanis

In the Middle East, the reaction to the slain al Qaida leader's death was welcomed by Saudi Arabia. But some in the region expressed concerns over U.S. drone strikes.

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In this 1998 file photo, Ayman al-Zawahiri (left) holds a press conference with Osama bin Laden in Khost, Afghanistan. Zawahiri succeeded bin Laden as al-Qaida's leader following the 2011 U.S. raid that killed bin Laden in Pakistan.

Opinion: What Ayman al-Zawahiri's death means for al-Qaida's future

2:54pm August 02, 2022

by Colin P. Clarke

Zawahiri's death places al-Qaida in a precarious position, argues Colin P. Clarke of the Soufan Center. The question of succession will help shape al-Qaida now — and it may prove divisive.

World News

Resuming Ukrainian grain exports may help reduce food insecurity in the Middle East

8:19pm August 01, 2022

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Corinne Fleischer, the World Food Programme's Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe regional director, about what grain shipments from Ukraine means for some areas.

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A frame grab from a video aired in 2006 on Al-Jazeera television shows Al-Qaida second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

The U.S. has killed top al-Qaida leader and key 9/11 plotter, Ayman al-Zawahiri

8:12pm August 01, 2022

by Ximena Bustillo

President Joe Biden said a strike carried out by the U.S. has killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, a top Al-Qaida leader and key plotter in the 9/11 attacks.

Iraqi protesters rest inside the Parliament building in Baghdad on Sunday. Thousands of followers of an influential Shiite cleric stormed into the building on Saturday, for the second time this week, protesting government formation efforts led by his riva

World News

Protesters camp out in Iraq's Parliament building as a power struggle unfolds

4:33pm July 31, 2022

by The Associated Press

Followers of an influential cleric have pledged to continue the sit-in to derail efforts from Iran-backed groups to form the country's next government.