Middle East

World News

Conditions Deteriorate In Aleppo As Syrian Forces And Rebels Drop Bombs

8:08am May 03, 2016

Steve Inskeep talks to Declan Walsh of The New York Times, who recently left Aleppo, Syria. There are reports that hundreds of civilians have been killed there in the last week.

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U.N. Mediator Tries To Revive Cease-Fire In Syria As Fighting Intensifies

7:21am May 03, 2016

by Corey Flintoff

The U.N. mediator in the Syrian peace efforts is in Russia to discuss how to revive and strengthen the cessation of hostilities. The talks come amid an upsurge of violence in Syria.

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'Missing Man' Examines Ex-FBI Agent Robert Levinson's Mission To Iran

7:04am May 03, 2016

Steve Inskeep talks to New York Times reporter Barry Meier about his investigation into Robert Levinson's disappearance, chronicled in his book Missing Man: The American Spy Who Vanished in Iran.

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Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr storm parliament in Baghdad's Green Zone on Saturday.

World News

Who's Behind The Demonstrators That Stormed Iraq's Green Zone And Parliament?

6:01pm May 01, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The demonstrators are mostly supporters of fiery Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has had a fraught relationship with the U.S. They're calling for the government to follow through on its promises.

World News

Protesters Storm Iraq Parliament

5:06pm May 01, 2016

Shia protesters stormed into the heavily fortified Green Zone Saturday, many of them demanding an end to corruption. The BBC's Ahmed Maher has an update from Baghdad.

An Iranian election official checks identities during a second round of parliamentary elections at a polling station in Shahriar district of Tehran, Iran on Friday.

Iran Parliamentary Election: Moderates, Reformists Make Gains, Fall Short Of Majority

11:15am May 01, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Supporters of President Hassan Rouhani fell short of a clear majority despite receiving the most votes. Analysts say the coming period will be combative, with many big issues decided by independents.

World News

5 Years Later, How Does Bin Laden's Killing Impact Al-Qaida's Legacy?

10:04am May 01, 2016

NPR's Rachel Martin talks with author Lawrence Wright about the fate of Al-Qaida five years after the killing of Osama bin Laden.

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Baghdad State Of Emergency Declared After Protesters Storm Green Zone

11:09pm April 30, 2016

by Maquita Peters

Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr occupied the Iraqi parliament on Saturday, escalating a month-long political crisis.

Firefighters combat a blaze on April 29, after regime helicopters targeted a medical center in an opposition-controlled region of Aleppo, Syria.

World News

A Cease-Fire In Name Alone

8:27am April 30, 2016

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon considers the breathtaking toll of the violence in Syria.

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Ahmed Darwish appears in a police station in Rumeilan, northern Syria, after being captured by Kurdish fighters as he was running away from a battle. He was wounded in a coalition airstrike in support of anti-ISIS forces. "There was camaraderie, friendshi

World News

Joining ISIS: It's Not Always For Reasons You Might Assume

8:26am April 30, 2016

by Alice Fordham

Two ISIS fighters captured in Syria say they joined the militant group as a way to fight an oppressive regime. But it also provided friendship, and it didn't seem much more violent than other options.

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