Middle East

A medical worker sorts blood test samples at the National Blood Transfusion and Research Centre in Sanaa on Wednesday.

World News

Yemen Teeters On Brink Of A New 'Catastrophe' As Blood Bank Eyes Closure

6:19pm August 10, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Already racked by violence and the world's worst cholera outbreak, the country is now eyeing another crisis: The National Blood Transfusion Centre may have to shut down amid dwindling supplies.

World News

Smugglers Reportedly Toss Up To 180 Migrants Overboard Near Yemen

4:08pm August 10, 2017

by Scott Neuman

At least five migrants died Thursday — "deliberately drowned" by smugglers afraid of arrest, the International Organization for Migration says. Some 50 others are still missing.

Ruth Pfau, seen here at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Karachi in 2010, led a charity fighting leprosy and blindness in the country for decades.

Ruth Pfau, Beacon For Pakistan's Leprosy Patients, Dies At 87

3:58pm August 10, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

The German-born nun and doctor stopped in Karachi more than five decades ago by accident. But she returned — and through her relentless efforts against leprosy, earned the admiration of the country.

Melanie Shurka dedicates hours to make the Iraqi and Kurdish dumpling soup kubeh. It has become a beloved dish in Israel and a defining food of Mizrachi cookery, or the food of the Jews who settled in the Middle East.

An Iraqi-Kurdish-Israeli Dumpling Soup Makes Its Way To America

1:29pm August 10, 2017

by Devra Ferst

To make kubeh soup, braised beef is stuffed into semolina and ground bulgur dumplings. Brought to Israel by immigrants, this time-consuming dish has become one of the nation's culinary treasures.

World News

Syrian Activist Loans Scraps Of Fabric With Prisoners' Names To Museum

5:47pm August 09, 2017

by Michele Kelemen

When Syrian Mansour al-Omari left prison, he smuggled out pieces of fabric with the names of other inmates written in blood. He's hopes experts at the Holocaust Memorial Museum can help recover them.

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People walk on the corniche of Doha, Qatar on July 2. Visitors from 33 countries would be able to stay for up to 90 days in Qatar.

World News

Qatar Ends Visa Requirements For 80 Nations, Calling Itself 'Most Open' In Region

5:13pm August 09, 2017

by Bill Chappell

The change, effective immediately, means that people from the U.S. and other countries are now able to enter Qatar "with no paperwork, no payment and no visas."

World News

Iraqis Remain Displaced 1 Year After Fallujah's Liberation From ISIS

7:24pm August 08, 2017

by Jane Arraf

A year after ISIS was forced from Fallujah, the Iraqi city is still impoverished and extensively damaged. Many families languish in displaced camps because they're suspected to have ties to ISIS.

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World News

Netanyahu's Former Chief Of Staff Agrees To Cooperate With Police Corruption Probe

7:24pm August 08, 2017

by Daniel Estrin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former chief of staff has agreed to cooperate with a police corruption investigation, leading many Israelis to speculate about Netanyahu's future.

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Morning News Brief: Opioid Crisis, Netanyahu Faces Corruption Probe

8:27am August 08, 2017

President Trump will get a briefing on the opioid epidemic. The chief of staff for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be a witness for the state in a corruption inquiry into Netanyahu.

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World News

War Crimes Expert Carla Del Ponte Resigns From U.N.'s Syria Inquiry

8:27am August 08, 2017

David Greene talks to former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, who has announced she is quitting a U.N. commission investigating human rights abuses in Syria because it "does absolutely nothing."

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