Middle East

World News

Dozens Of Syrian Civilians Dead In Chemical Attack On Rebel-Held Town

4:47pm April 04, 2017

by Alison Meuse

An apparent chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held area of Syria claims the lives of dozens of civilians, including children. The White House blames the Syrian government.

Trump Welcomes Egypt's Sissi To Washington In Reboot Of Bilateral Ties

4:54pm April 03, 2017

by Michele Kelemen

President Trump hosts Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi at the White House Monday. The Obama administration never invited Sissi to Washington out of concerns over his human rights record.

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World News

Activists For Egyptian Political Prisoners Monitor Sisi's U.S. Visit

12:14pm April 03, 2017

by Michele Kelemen

As President Fattah al-Sisi meets President Trump, Egyptians in exile and in jail wonder if the U.S. cares about human rights. They don't want Trump to turn a blind eye to Egypt's political prisoners.

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White House senior adviser Jared Kushner landed in Iraq on Monday. He's seen here with his wife, Ivanka Trump, at a White House event last month.

President Trump's Son-In-Law Kushner Arrives In Iraq

10:41am April 03, 2017

by Bill Chappell

Jared Kushner's foray into international affairs comes less than a week after the president named him to a commission on battling opioid abuse.

World News

New West Bank Settlement Approval Appears To Defy Ambiguous 'Policy Of Restraint'

6:43pm April 01, 2017

by Michel Martin

Israel's Security Cabinet approved construction of the first Jewish West Bank settlements in 20 years. Martin Indyk, former Ambassador to Israel, discusses how this affects U.S.-Israel relations.

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Abbad Yahya, a 28-year-old Palestinian novelist, is in exile after the Palestinian Authority banned his latest book, Crime in Ramallah, calling it indecent.

Facing Death Threats And A Ban On His Novel, A Palestinian Author Flees

8:04am April 01, 2017

by Joanna Kakissis

"I always thought there was much space to write, to think, in Ramallah, especially," says novelist Abbad Yahya. "I feel that this space has now disappeared." He's now in hiding, fearing arrest.

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Amgad Naguib holds a fez â one of the first made in Egypt as part of a nationalist movement started in the 1930s to replace imported goods.

For Egyptian Collector, No Object's Too Dusty Or Trivial For 'Mosaic Of Our History'

6:31am April 01, 2017

by Jane Arraf

Amgad Naguib collects old ticket stubs, wigs, letters and toothbrushes that he says tell Egypt's history. "I am sure I have more dresses and hats and handbags than you and all your friends," he says.

Syrian refugee Monzer Omar, 34, was recently reunited with his family in Germany. Wife Walaa Ahmed, 26, holds 14-month-old Lossin. Omar holds Lamar (left), age 4, and Lojain, 2.

World News

In Germany, A Syrian Refugee Is Reunited With His Family

7:09pm March 31, 2017

Syrian refugee Monzer Omar, who first spoke with NPR in 2015, has been living in Germany awaiting his wife and young children. After a 10-hour trek out of Syria, they were able to join him in January.

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Devastated Neighborhoods Left Behind As ISIS Is Forced From Mosul

5:10am March 31, 2017

by Jane Arraf

As the fight to push ISIS out of Mosul grinds on, civilians stream out of liberated areas that are unlivable, and Iraqi forces "clear" areas of holdouts and fire mortars at remaining ISIS areas.

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared at a joint news with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on Thursday.

Tillerson Asserts 'Difficult Choices' Are Ahead For U.S. And Turkey

5:47pm March 30, 2017

The U.S. secretary of state's remarks at a joint news conference punctuated a day of delicate discussions in Turkey, which is facing a number of issues at home and abroad.

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