Middle East

Saudi Supreme Court Upholds Blogger's Prison And Lashing Sentence

6:21pm June 07, 2015

The sentence of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes has drawn international condemnation but remains in place for Raif Badawi, a blogger who had earlier been found guilty of "insulting" Islam. NPR's Arun Rath speaks with correspondent Deborah Amos in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

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Supporters celebrate early election results outside the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in Istanbul. The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, has lost its majority according to preliminary results.

World News

Turkey's Ruling Party Will Lose Its Majority, Preliminary Results Show

3:16pm June 07, 2015

by Scott Neuman

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's governing Justice and Development Party was hoping to secure a big majority, but instead may be forced to share power with its rival.

World News

Saudi High Court Upholds Blasphemy Sentence On Blogger

11:52am June 07, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Raif Badawi, who was arrested in 2012 for "insulting Islam through electronic means," will undergo a total of 1,000 lashes and spend a decade behind bars.

World News

Risky Gazans Begin Digging Out Smuggling Tunnels To Egypt Again

10:57pm June 06, 2015

by Emily Harris

During their heyday, you could deliver fried chicken from Egypt to Gaza through tunnels. Despite new dangers of an Egyptian anti-tunnel campaign, some Gazans are digging out a living again.

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World News

Egyptian Court Rescinds Terrorist Label For Hamas

2:58pm June 06, 2015

by Scott Neuman

A court had put the Islamist organization on the terror list in February, but the latest ruling says it lacked jurisdiction in the case.

A man walks by a workshop damaged by an air strike on a nearby Scud missile base in Yemen's capital Sanaa in April.

World News

Saudis Shoot Down Scud Missile Fired By Houthi Rebels In Yemen

1:12pm June 06, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The Cold War-era rocket, which appeared to be targeted at a major air base in the kingdom's south, was brought down by Patriot missiles, officials say.

World News

U.N.-Led Yemen Peace Talks Are Set For June 14

12:44pm June 06, 2015

by Michele Kelemen

The United Nations envoy for Yemen is trying to bring together all sides for talks in Geneva this month in an effort to end a devastating conflict in the poorest nation in the Middle East.

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World News

ISIS Attack On Kobani Looms Over Turkish Elections

12:44pm June 06, 2015

by Peter Kenyon

Last year's battle for the Syrian town of Kobani and dissatisfaction with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's huge new palace are issues in Sunday's Turkish parliamentary elections.

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Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz in a photo from December 1998 as he stands at attention for the Iraqi national anthem at a conference in Baghdad. Aziz has reportedly died at age 79.

World News

Tariq Aziz, Saddam's Foreign Minister, Dies At 79

2:46pm June 05, 2015

by Scott Neuman

During the first Gulf War until U.S. troops toppled the Iraqi strongman in 2003, Aziz was the public face and defender of an often brutal regime.

A student wearing a face mask stands in a public square in Seoul on June 3. More than 200 primary schools shut down as South Korea has struggled to contain an outbreak of the MERS virus.

MERS In South Korea Is Bad News But It's Not Yet Time To Panic

8:20pm June 04, 2015

by Jason Beaubien

Fears that Middle East respiratory syndrome could sweep through the region seem to be overblown. But researchers say there's still a lot they don't know about the potentially fatal virus.

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