Middle East

Sports

Beyond Soccer, Some Suspect Qatar's Investments Are Quid Pro Quo

1:24am June 01, 2015

Qatar has had a wide monetary influence on not just FIFA but also on many others. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with Tom Hamburger of The Washington Post about Qatar's many beneficiaries.

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Haneen Radi, an Arab Israeli, wants to organize a marathon for her town of Tira, but was told the run couldn't include women. When she insisted, she received threats, and the back window of her car was shot out.

Trying To Organize A Marathon, An Arab-Israeli Woman Runs Into Opposition

10:26pm May 31, 2015

by Emily Harris

Conservatives in Tira pushed back hard at the idea of women and men running together in a public race. Someone went so far as to shoot at race organizer Haneen Radi's car. For now, the run is off.

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Journalist Ayman Oghanna and Gen.Fadhil Barwari (right), commander of the First Brigade of The Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) or The Golden Division.

World News

Thousands Who Run, Few Who Fight: A Journalist On Ramadi's Fall

7:58am May 31, 2015

by NPR Staff

Ayman Oghanna was embedded with Iraqi special forces in Ramadi two days before the city fell to the self-declared Islamic State. He says Iraq's elite forces are capable, but need far more support.

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Armed Palestinian masked militants push back a crowd of worshippers outside a mosque in Gaza City on August 22, 2014, before executing more than a dozen men for allegedly helping Israel during its six-week assault on the Palestinian enclave. This week, Am

World News

Under Cover Of Conflict, Hamas Killed Palestinians, Amnesty Alleges

2:20pm May 30, 2015

by Emily Harris

The human rights organization says Hamas deliberately killed at least 23 Palestinians during the war with Israel last summer. Those killed were accused by Hamas of collaborating with Israel.

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Iraqi Forces Prepare To Reclaim Ramadi From Islamic State

3:27pm May 29, 2015

by Tom Bowman

Iraq is preparing to take back parts of Anbar province after the city of Ramadi fell to the self-declared Islamic State earlier this month, dealing a blow to the Iraqi government and militia forces. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to support Iraq with targeted airstrikes against Islamic State militants.

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Members of the Saudi security services inspect the site of a car bomb attack targeting Shiite Saudis attending Friday prayers at a mosque in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

World News

Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Second Saudi Attack

12:25pm May 29, 2015

by Scott Neuman

At least four people, including a suspected suicide bomber, were killed in the attack on a Shiite mosque in the kingdom's Eastern Province.

Palestinian Jibril Rajoub (left) and Israeli Ofer Eini shook hands Friday after FIFA's member groups adopted a plan to work out problems between their soccer associations.

At FIFA Meeting, Israeli And Palestinian Delegates Shake Hands

11:54am May 29, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The "handshake for peace" was perhaps the only thing that could compete with accusations of corruption and bribery that have dominated the international gathering of soccer's governing body.

Foreign Policy Experts Weigh In On U.S. Strategy Against The Islamic State

9:01pm May 28, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with White House spokesman Josh Earnest about the current U.S. strategy in Iraq and Syria. He also interviews foreign policy experts who say that policy needs review.

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After Fall Of Ramadi, Iraqi Troops Hope For More U.S. Support

7:38pm May 26, 2015

NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Washington Post reporter Loveday Morris about how the city of Ramadi, Iraq, fell to the self-declared Islamic State. She says Iraqi troops in the city were worn down.

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Trial Of 'Washington Post' Reporter Jason Rezaian Begins In Iran

6:31pm May 26, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Douglas Jehl, the foreign editor of the Washington Post, about the closed trial, which began Tuesday in Iran.

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