Middle East

World News

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Is Mostly Absent In Israeli Election Campaign

12:15am March 22, 2021

by Daniel Estrin

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is barely an issue in the upcoming Israeli elections, which are a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But the vote will impact Palestinians.

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Amin Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, speaks during the fourth edition of the Future Investment Initiative conference at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Jan. 27, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Oil Giant Aramco Reports 44% Profit Slump In 2020 Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

7:03pm March 21, 2021

by Alex Leff

Saudi Arabia's state-backed oil company earned $49 billion last year as the pandemic slashed fuel demand around the globe, in what its CEO called "one of the most challenging years in history."

World News

Defense Secretary Austin Makes Unannounced Visit To Afghanistan

6:16pm March 21, 2021

by Diaa Hadid

As President Biden faces a decision on whether to withdraw troops from the country, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin went to tour the region himself in a visit to the capital of Kabul.

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Travelers waited to flee Paris at the Montparnasse Train Station on Friday ahead of a new lockdown announced by the government in response to a surge in cases of the coronavirus.

New Lockdowns In Europe As COVID-19 Cases Soar; Pakistan's PM Tests Positive

2:33pm March 20, 2021

by H.J. Mai

Several European countries have imposed new lockdown restrictions as COVD-19 cases soar. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan is self-isolating at home after testing positive for the virus.

The U.S. Is On Track To Miss May 1 Deadline To Pull All Troops Out Of Afghanistan

4:20pm March 18, 2021

The U.S. promised to pull all troops out of Afghanistan by May 1 when it signed a deal with the Taliban last year. Now, it looks like it will miss that deadline as peace talks crawl along.

World News

Civil War Has Left Syria In Ruins And Its People In Poverty

5:57am March 18, 2021

NPR's Noel King speaks with Jomana Qaddour of the Atlantic Council about the 10th anniversary of the civil war, in Syria and the economic toll it has taken on that country and its people.

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World News

A Ban On Girls Singing In Public Is Being Reviewed Following Social Media Campaign

9:12pm March 16, 2021

A ban on girls singing in public imposed by Afghan education officials is being reviewed after a social media campaign in which local women belted out their favorite songs in videos online.

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Conservation work on the basket in the Israel Antiquities Authority's laboratories.

Archeologists Discover Additional Dead Sea Scroll Fragments In Desert Caves

5:51pm March 16, 2021

by Daniel Estrin

A four-year effort by Israeli archeologists searched 500 caves near the Dead Sea. In addition to ancient parchments and papyri, they found an intricately woven basket more than 10,000 years old.

Growth of coronavirus cases around the world (as of March 14)

Coronavirus World Map: We've Now Passed The 100 Million Mark For Infections

8:21am March 16, 2021

A map of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world. The respiratory disease has spread rapidly across six continents and has killed at least 2 million globally.

A man reads the news about the U.S. elections on Nov. 9 in Tehran. Many Iranians are hopeful that President Biden will lifts sanctions imposed on Iran by his predecessor.

World News

What It Would Take For Biden To Revive The Iran Deal

8:03am March 16, 2021

by Jackie Northam

President Biden wants to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal that his predecessor pulled out of. It's at a standstill, but analysts say the Biden administration can make gestures to bring Iran to the table.

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