Middle East

A picture taken on Oct. 20, 2017, shows writing about the so-called Islamic State group on a wall in the recaptured Syrian town of Mayadeen. The Red Cross is urging lawful treatment of foreign fighters who traveled to Syria to join the extremists.

World News

Red Cross Urges Fair And Lawful Treatment Of Captured ISIS Fighters

12:29pm October 26, 2017

by Bill Chappell

The remarks come days after a top U.S. envoy was quoted saying, "Our mission is to make sure that any foreign fighter who is here, who joined ISIS from a foreign country ... they will die here."

World News

More Tourists Flock To Lebanon Despite Its Infamous History

7:58am October 26, 2017

by Ruth Sherlock

Lebanon may not seem like an obvious vacation destination with its history of civil war, kidnappings and Israeli invasions, but that's history. (This piece initially aired on Aug. 30, 2017 on ATC).

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An 11-year-old boy put small magnets up both nostrils, then couldn't figure out how to get them out. These X-rays tell the tale.

When A Boy Sticks Magnets Up His Nose, Doctors Have To Get Ingenious

5:30pm October 25, 2017

by Greta Jochem

Children often swallow small magnets or stick them into noses or ears. They can cause serious internal damage, and doctors sometimes have to think outside the box to remove them safely.

World News

Children Orphaned By Battle Against ISIS Remain Vulnerable Amid Conflict

10:38pm October 24, 2017

by Jane Arraf

The battle to force ISIS out of Mosul ended a few months ago, but the impact that ISIS — and the battle — had on that city's children will most likely last their lifetimes. Many children who lost one or both of their parents and are still dealing with displacement.

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World News

As ISIS Loses Territory, What Happens To Its Fighters Who Came From Other Countries?

5:09pm October 24, 2017

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Seamus Hughes, deputy director of George Washington University's program on extremism, about whether ISIS fighters are returning to their home countries as feared, following losses in Iraq and Syria.

World News

In Turkey, Teachers, Parents Concerned About Religious Nature Of New Curriculum

5:26pm October 23, 2017

by Peter Kenyon

Schoolchildren are back in class in Turkey, but concern is growing about the latest changes to the curriculum that emphasize religion in what has long been a secular school system.

Jamie Harron, 27, was arrested in July and charged with a variety of offenses. He was ordered jailed for three months over what he says was incidental contact with a man in a crowded bar.

World News

Dubai Jails, Then Frees, Scottish Tourist Over Touching Man In A Bar

11:37am October 23, 2017

by Bill Chappell

One day after a Dubai court ordered Scottish tourist Jamie Harron to spend three months in jail over touching a man as he passed him in a bar, Dubai's ruler has ordered Harron freed.

Tillerson's Mideast Agenda

6:29pm October 22, 2017

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is on a diplomatic push in the Mideast to help Syria and Iraq rebuild after what the Trump administration says are major victories over ISIS.

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World News

U.S.-Backed Forces Liberate Raqqa From ISIS Control

7:38am October 22, 2017

NPR's Melissa Block talks to Holly Williams of CBS News, who was with U.S.-backed militia forces when they took control of the Syrian city. It had been serving as a de facto capital of ISIS.

A picture taken on October 21, 2017 shows an Egyptian Health Ministry ambulance parked in the desert near the site of an attack that left dozens of police officers killed in an ambush by Islamist fighters.

World News

Dozens Of Egyptian Police Killed In Desert Shootout

12:48pm October 21, 2017

by Chris Benderev

Sources told multiple news outlets that militants ambushed Egyptian police acting on what they believed was a tip on the location of a hideout.