Middle East

World News

Civilian Casualties And Refugee Crisis Intensify As Syrian Army Moves In On Idlib

6:17pm February 26, 2020

by Deborah Amos

Syrian and Russian armed forces are advancing quickly on rebel areas, killing civilians and intensifying suffering as nearly 1 million refugees huddle in camps near Turkey. Little relief is in sight.

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World News

Afghans React To Weeklong Partial Truce — A Rare Peaceful Moment

4:20pm February 26, 2020

by Diaa Hadid

The current reduction in violence is the longest partial truce for Afghanistan in nearly two decades. Some Afghans explain what these days mean to them.

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World News

Israel Takes Strict Approach To Control The Spread Of Coronavirus

6:56am February 26, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

Because of the coronavirus outbreak, Israel is banning the entry of foreign nationals who have been in China, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and South Korea over the last two weeks.

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Many refugees, who have fled the fighting in Syria's Idlib province, are living in tents during a cold and snowy winter.

Health & Safety

U.N.: Humanitarian Crisis In Syria Reaches 'Horrifying New Level'

6:33pm February 25, 2020

by Fran Kritz

As fighting escalates in northwest Syria, the U.N. estimates that thousands of Syrians are being displaced every day.

World News

The Legacy Of Hosni Mubarak And The Arab Spring

6:30pm February 25, 2020

Michele Dunne, Middle East program director at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the late Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak and the Arab Spring.

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World News

Military Offensive In Syria's Idlib Province Creates Humanitarian Crisis

12:16pm February 25, 2020

NPR's Noel King talks to Mark Lowcock, U.N. under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordination, about what renewed fighting in northwest Syria has done to civilians.

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Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was a supporter of Israel and took a hard line against terrorism, but eventually U.S. administrations began to pressure the Egyptian leader over human-rights abuses.

World News

Mubarak, Egypt's Ousted President, Is Dead At 91

10:44am February 25, 2020

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

For many Egyptians, Mubarak became the symbol of all that was wrong with their country. His nearly 30-year rule is recalled as a time of repression and economic stagnation for all but an elite few.

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Reduction Of Violence In Afghanistan Bolsters Hope For Further Peace Agreement

4:59pm February 24, 2020

by Diaa Hadid

On Friday, the Taliban agreed to scale back attacks for seven days. If the deal holds, the U.S. and the Taliban will sign an agreement Saturday to begin the process of withdrawal of U.S. troops.

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3 Countries See Rapid Acceleration Of Coronavirus Cases

11:08am February 24, 2020

The Coronavirus is spreading, and worries are intensifying in three more hot spots: Italy, Iran and South Korea. The World Health Organization says the window to contain it is narrowing.

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World News

A 'Devastating Scale' Of Suffering In Syria

7:27am February 23, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to CNN's Arwa Damon about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Idlib as Turkish and Russian-backed Syrian government forces fight for control of the territory.

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