Middle East

The United States is considering its military options following last week's apparent chemical weapons attack outside Damascus, Syria. Russia is opposed to such action. The Russian government says there's no evidence that the Syrian government was behind that attack. And Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that if NATO attacks Syria it would be a violation of international law. To get a better understanding of the Russian view on Syria, Robert Siegel talks with Andranik Migranyan, director of the Institute for Democracy and Cooperation, a Russian-funded think tank in New York. He says Russia is opposed to regime change from the outside and that the solution must be a negotiated settlement.

American Bob Bradley says the only thing in Egypt that can unite all Egyptians is soccer. Bradley coaches Egypt's national soccer team. He talks to David Greene about the turmoil in the country, and about his team as it closes in on a spot in next year's World Cup.

Renee Montagne speaks with Los Angeles Times Beirut bureau chief Patrick McDonnell about allegations that the Syrian government used gas attacks on civilians near the capital, Damascus. The Syrian government has strongly denied the accusation.

Israel has released 26 Palestinian inmates — one day before the scheduled resumption of Mideast peace talks in Jerusalem. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spent months persuading the two sides to sit down with each other.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military shot down a rocket aimed at a Red Sea resort along the Israeli and Egyptian border. Robert Siegel talks to New York Times reporter Robert F. Worth about the increase in violence in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

A deadly standoff continues between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, who are holed up inside a Cairo mosque. Host Scott Simon gets the latest from reporter Sharif Abdel Kouddous.

On Thursday, more than 200 bodies of those killed in a crackdown on protesters by the Egyptian military were being prepared for burial at the El-Iman mosque in Cairo. Some mourners said the government was pressuring them to say the dead committed suicide or died of natural causes.

President Obama announced the cancellation of a joint military exercise with Egypt in the wake of that country's military government crackdown on protesters. At least 500 were killed in those skirmishes, including 40 police. For more, David Greene speaks with NPR's Scott Horsley.

Security forces in Cairo have begun to forcibly disband two massive protest camps there. Supporters of ousted Islamist President Morsi have been conducting a sit-in for weeks amid threats of a government crackdown. For details, Renee Montagne talks to Michael Wahid Hanna, an analyst with The Century Foundation.

Israeli settlers turned the area near the spring into a picnic spot. A local Palestinian says the land has been in his family for generations. The fight is symbolic of the much larger battle over West Bank land.