Middle East

World News

Thousands Pay Tribute To Ankara Bombing Victims

9:05am October 12, 2015

Steve Inskeep talks to freelance journalist Lucy Kafanov about the political significance of deadly peace demonstrations in Ankara over the weekend. Nearly 100 people were killed in bomb attacks.

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World News

A Day After Blasts Rock Turkey Parade, Mourning And Mounting Protests

6:37pm October 11, 2015

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy about the bombings Saturday at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey, which killed close to 100 people.

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Syrian Basel Esa, 23, sits in the grass behind a gas station near the Hungary-Serbia border, rapping into an NPR microphone. The amateur rapper fled his home in Raqqa two years ago and lived in Turkey before deciding to go to Europe. He raps about war, su

Syria's 'DJ Marshall B' Raps About The Pain Of Being A Refugee

8:27am October 11, 2015

by Lauren Frayer

The Syrian performer has made his way through Europe while rapping about his experiences: "Lost between heaven and hell, I'm desperately trying to reach the light at the end."

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A woman reacts at the site of an explosion in Ankara, Turkey, on Saturday.

World News

At Least 95 Killed In Turkey Twin Blasts At Peace Rally

6:34pm October 10, 2015

The two explosions have wounded another 186 people near the center of the Turkish capital, Ankara, before a peace rally organized by civic society groups and ahead of Turkey's elections.

A Syrian refugee stands on top of a water tank at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan in 2013. While the surge of Middle Eastern refugees into Europe has grabbed world attention this year, most refugees find shelter close to their homeland, where they ofte

World News

Here's Where Refugees Actually Wind Up

10:21am October 10, 2015

by Greg Myre

The surge of refugees into Europe this year can give the impression that the Continent is the leading destination. In reality, most flee to neighboring countries and remain for years, if not decades.

Week In Politics: Speaker Of The House Race, Hillary Clinton On The TPP

8:18pm October 09, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with our regular political commentators E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution and David Brooks of The New York Times. They discuss Rep. Kevin McCarthy's decision to withdraw from the race for the next Speaker of the House, Hillary Clinton's opposition to the TPP, and the Russian strategy in Syria.

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6 Palestinians Killed In Clashes With Israeli Soldiers

8:18pm October 09, 2015

by Emily Harris

Israeli troops killed several Palestinians in clashes and there were a series of separate stabbing attacks as violence increased over access to Jerusalem sites holy to both sides.

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U.S. Halts Program To Train Syrian Rebels Fighting ISIS

8:18pm October 09, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The Obama administration is shifting its policy on arming and training rebels to fight the Islamic State in the Syrian conflict. NPR takes a look at the new policy and what it changes about the role of the U.S. in the conflict.

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European Leaders Develop Deportation Policy To Slow Flow Of Migrants

8:18pm October 09, 2015

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Germany is rejecting more asylum claims from migrants who fail to prove they are true refugees. But stepping up deportations has not discouraged migrants from making the perilous journey.

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'Doomed To Succeed' Examines Inevitability Of Close U.S.-Israel Relations

8:18pm October 09, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Dennis Ross about his book, which explores why the countries are close despite foreign policy establishment rhetoric suggesting ties are detrimental to U.S. interests.

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