Middle East

Health & Safety

In Syria, Addressing Medical Needs In An Embattled City

4:07pm January 23, 2013

Nearly two years after the crisis in Syria began, the humanitarian situation in the country remains dire. Shinjiro Murata, head of the Doctors Without Borders mission in northern Syria and NPR foreign correspondent Deborah Amos, discuss the efforts to address growing medical needs.

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World News

Al-Qaida's Next Stronghold? What's At Stake In North Africa

2:10pm January 22, 2013

Recent unrest in Mali and Algeria point to the growing influence of al-Qaida in North Africa. Wall Street Journal Pentagon reporter Julian Barnes and Ret. Col. Thomas Dempsey, chair for security studies at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, explain the latest developments and the threat al-Qaida presents in the region.

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Obama's Foreign Policy: The Way Forward With Iran

8:44am January 20, 2013

As President Obama prepares for a second term, a host of international challenges await. In a piece in the Washington Post, former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that as Obama prioritizes his foreign policy goals, "It is essential that the issue of war or peace with Iran be fully vented."

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A Syrian boy carries a pile of bread as people crowd outside a bakery in the Salaheddin district of Aleppo, on Oct. 25, 2012.

World News

Jihadi Fighters Win Hearts And Minds By Easing Syria's Bread Crisis

7:16am January 18, 2013

by Kelly McEvers

Jihadi groups have stepped in to provide fuel and generators to get Aleppo bakeries running again. [Please see full story/text for a post-broadcast correction.]

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Ahmed (center) is staying at the school but will soon join his brother Yehya to go fight with anti-government rebels to earn money.

World News

For Those Still In Syria, A Daily Struggle

8:16pm January 16, 2013

by Kelly McEvers

The situation is dire for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees seeking shelter outside the nation's borders, but inside, the numbers are even higher. NPR's Kelly McEvers spent the night in one school, one of thousands, where families are taking cover from the shelling and fighting.

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World News

What's At Stake In Hotspots Across The Globe

2:27pm January 15, 2013

In Mali, the French continue air strikes to stop the advance of armed Islamist rebels in the north. In Syria, the death toll continues to rise, and in Afghanistan, questions remain about the ongoing transition of power. In all three regions, opportunities for current or future U.S. involvement is uncertain.

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World News

Grim Situation Starts To Lift In Aleppo, Syria

6:57am January 15, 2013

The situation in the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo is much less dire than it was a month ago. Food stalls are full of produce, albeit at much higher prices than before, and the bread crisis has been somewhat averted. The fighting is now centered on airbases on the outskirts of the city.

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Israel has announced plans to build a fence in the Golan Heights, saying radical Islamist groups have taken over Syrian villages near the boundary with Israel.

World News

Wary Of Syria's War, Israel Plans A Fence In The Golan Heights

9:04am January 13, 2013

by Sheera Frenkel

Some 20,000 Israelis now live in the Golan Heights, and so far, the Syrian conflict has had little impact on their lives. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's concerned the fighting could pose a threat.

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Beit Qamishlo is a modest house in southern Turkey that caters to Syrian exiles seeking temporary refuge. It also hosts frequent discussions on Syria's future. Here, Malik Dagestani (center), a former political prisoner in Syria, talks about his detention

World News

A Welcoming Way Station For Syrians Fleeing Home

6:37pm January 08, 2013

by Kelly McEvers

Part hostel, part performance center, a house in southern Turkey has become a valuable place for Syrians fleeing their homeland and seeking temporary refuge.

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World News

On Multiple Fronts, Russian Jews Reshape Israel

8:54am January 06, 2013

by Philip Reeves

The former Soviet citizens who flooded into Israel two decades ago have changed the country's demographics, helped strengthen the economy and played a significant role in the general rightward shift of the Israeli electorate.

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