Middle East

World News

Top Provincial Leaders Assassinated Ahead Of Elections In Afghanistan

4:15pm October 18, 2018

by Tom Bowman

Top leaders in Kandahar province in Afghanistan have been assassinated two days before the country votes in parliamentary elections. The top U.S. military commander escaped injury. The Taliban have claimed responsibility in the attack.

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'A Few More Days' Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo Urges More Time For Saudi Arabia

4:15pm October 18, 2018

by Michele Kelemen

The Trump administration has been working to contain the political and diplomatic fallout from the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. President Trump has criticized a rush to judgment and efforts to implicate the kingdom as judging as guilty before proven innocent.

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As head of the police in Kandahar, Lt. Gen. Abdul Raziq was credited with bringing more security to the southern Afghan city. Raziq died in an attack Thursday; he's seen here in a photo from 2015.

World News

Key Afghan Police Chief Dies in Kandahar Shooting; Top U.S. General Escapes Uninjured

1:52pm October 18, 2018

by Bill Chappell

Shooting broke out at the end of a meeting at the governor's palace in Kandahar on how to maintain security during in in Afghanistan's upcoming parliamentary elections.

U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, shown here at a conference in April, says he will leave his post the last week of November.

World News

U.N. Syria Envoy Staffan De Mistura Is Stepping Down

11:53am October 18, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

De Mistura told the U.N. Security Council he was leaving for "purely personal reasons." In his final month, he plans to make a major push to try to lay the groundwork for a new constitution in Syria.

World News

What's Really Known About Saudi Arabia's De Facto Ruler?

7:33am October 18, 2018

by Deborah Amos

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is under increased scrutiny as Turkey and other nations accuse the Saudis of having journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed. Salman is said to have no tolerance for critics.

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World News

'Washington Post' Publishes Jamal Khashoggi's Last Column

7:26am October 18, 2018

Noel King talks to Karen Attiah, of The Washington Post, about the column which was filed before Khashoggi disappeared. He wrote passionately about the need for a free press in the Arab world.

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Morning News Brief

5:10am October 18, 2018

The Washington Post publishes the last column of a missing Saudi journalist. Voting is underway in 20 states ahead of midterms. Brexit talks between Britain and the EU appear to be at a stalemate.

Schoolchildren are led through a dance routine at a U.S. government-supported childcare center in Raqqa.

In Syria, A School Helps Children Traumatized By War

7:50pm October 17, 2018

by Tom Bowman

"What we found is children had been so traumatized, they couldn't even recognize numbers or letters," says a U.S. official. "We had to work through that before we could start educating them again."

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White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have reportedly forged close ties focused on the Middle East peace process.

Khashoggi Disappearance Tests Ties Between Jared Kushner And Saudi Crown Prince

5:35pm October 17, 2018

by Ayesha Rascoe

Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and close adviser, fostered a close relationship with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of a bid to help broker a Middle East peace deal.

World News

'NYT' Investigation Links Crown Prince To Those Accused Of Journalist's Killing

5:29pm October 17, 2018

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with New York Times reporter Malachy Browne about a new investigation into the ties between the Saudi prince and the individuals accused of killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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