Middle East

World News

The latest on Iran's protests, morality police and a silent majority

4:25pm December 05, 2022

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with New York University Associate Professor Azadeh Moaveni about the state of Iran's protests and the alleged removal of the morality police.

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What Iran has planned for its morality police

7:31am December 05, 2022

Is Iran taking steps to restrain its so-called morality police force? NPR's Rachel Martin talks with Nahid Siamdoust, assistant professor of Middle Eastern studies at UT Austin.

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Anish Adhikari, now 26, worked construction jobs in Qatar for 33 months in the lead-up to the World Cup. In this 2021 photo, he poses inside the new Lusail stadium, which he helped build and which will host the World Cup final on Dec. 18. Adhikari says the Nepali agent who got him the job misled him about working conditions in Qatar: "They sell a dream that's not reality."

Death and dishonesty: Stories of two workers who built the World Cup stadiums in Qatar

10:45am December 02, 2022

by Lauren Frayer

Vinod Kumar of India and Anish Adhikari of Nepal are among the many migrant workers who helped build the stadiums. Adhikari says he was misled about working conditions. Kumar died on the job.

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A man walks past a banner of Bollywood movie The Kashmir Files outside a cinema in the old quarters of Delhi on March 21, 2022.

An Israeli director sparks outrage in India over a film about Hindu persecution

4:52pm November 30, 2022

by Lauren Frayer

Controversy has erupted at one of India's top film festivals over the screening of a movie with Hindu nationalist themes. Were the jury head's comments an artistic critique or political commentary?

Gregg Berhalter, head coach of United States team, looks on during a training session on Monday in Doha, Qatar. The U.S. faces Iran in a crucial match on Tuesday.

What's at stake as the U.S. faces Iran at the World Cup

4:16pm November 29, 2022

by Tom Goldman

The U.S. has to beat Iran to advance, while Iran only has to tie. The match comes after controversy over flags, Iran's national anthem, and ongoing protests in Iran.

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Sports

News brief: China protests, Supreme Court immigration case, U.S.-Iran soccer match

6:09am November 29, 2022

China cracks down on protesters. The Supreme Court will hear arguments over how to enforce immigration laws. And, team USA and Iran battle before their World Cup match.

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World News

Israel appoints far-right politician with a history of inciting racism as national security minister

7:58am November 26, 2022

by Daniel Estrin

Israel's far-right politician Ben Gvir is set to be national security minister in the new coalition. What are the implications of his appointment?

Sports

Iranians feel conflicted about watching the World Cup amid protests at home

5:00am November 25, 2022

by Peter Kenyon

Iranians are watching their soccer team at the World Cup in nearby Qatar with mixed feelings about how to show support amid massive freedom protests at home.

World News

Pakistan's Foreign Minister says the climate 'loss and damage fund' is a victory

4:25pm November 24, 2022

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Pakistan Foreign Affairs Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari about the loss and damage fund established at COP27.

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Iranian soccer player Voria Ghafouri (right), then a member of the national soccer team, fights for the ball with Iraqi midfielder Hussein Ali during the AFC Asian Cup soccer match in Dubai in 2019. The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported on Thursday that Iran arrested Ghafouri for insulting the national soccer team and criticizing the government.

Iran arrests a soccer player for criticizing government and insulting the soccer team

1:55pm November 24, 2022

by The Associated Press

Voria Ghafouri, a prominent player who wasn't chosen to go to the World Cup, is an outspoken critic of Iran's authorities. Reports of his arrest came ahead of Friday's Iran-Wales World Cup match.