Middle East

A view of a mosque destroyed by regime forces in Douma, Syria, on March 21, 2018. Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus, was targeted by an air strike carried out by Syrian government forces.

World News

Arab Spring Generation 'Not As Scared As Their Parents Are Of Change'

10:33am December 22, 2020

by Ruth Sherlock

Hopes from the Arab Spring have mostly been dashed. But the era led to "a radical change in the way people think about the authorities, the state, and about their rights," says an Egyptian journalist.

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World News

How The Arab World Is Reacting To Accords With Israel

3:44pm December 21, 2020

The Trump administration mediated deals for four Arab countries to recognize Israel. NPR correspondents who recently visited Sudan and the United Arab Emirates discuss reactions in the Arab world.

Iraqi security forces stand guard in front the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Jan. 1. Over the weekend, eight small rockets launched by Iranian forces specifically targeted the International Zone in Baghdad, also called the "Green Zone," according to Secretar

U.S. Embassy In Baghdad Hit In Rocket Attack

10:14am December 21, 2020

by Jaclyn Diaz

The attack killed one Iraqi civilian and caused damage to the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad as well as surrounding residential areas. No embassy personnel were hurt.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said the hack into IT management firm SolarWinds affected dozens of Microsoft's customers.

Microsoft Says 40 Customers Hit By Ongoing Hack Of Government Agencies

11:35am December 18, 2020

by Jaclyn Diaz

Most of the Microsoft customers hit by the hack were in the U.S., but the rest were elsewhere in North America and in Europe and the Middle East.

The Trump administration has sanctioned two Iranian officials over the disappearance and likely death of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, shown here in a March 6, 2012, FBI poster.

Trump Administration Sanctions 2 Iranian Officials Over Levinson Disappearance

1:27pm December 14, 2020

by Ayesha Rascoe

"It's a very important acknowledgment, probably long overdue," a senior U.S. official tells reporters on a conference call about the sanctions. Former FBI agent Robert Levinson went missing in 2007.

World News

Reflecting On The Arab Spring, 10 Years Later

8:01am December 13, 2020

by Ruth Sherlock

The Arab Spring started 10 years ago this month and led to trouble - civil wars or even more repression. But some are holding onto the ideals of free speech and change.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen Thursday with U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, thanked Morocco's King Mohammed VI "for taking this historic decision to bring a historic peace between us.

World News

Morocco Becomes Latest Arab Country To Normalize Ties With Israel

3:15pm December 10, 2020

by Avie Schneider

It's the fourth such pact brokered by the Trump administration in recent months between Israel and Arab countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Shattered containers remain in front of towering grain silos gutted in the August explosion at the Beirut port that claimed the lives of more than 200 people.

World News

Lebanon's Caretaker Prime Minister Charged Over Massive Beirut Blast

2:36pm December 10, 2020

They are the highest-ranking officials to date to face charges in connection to the August explosion that killed at least 200 people and devastated large portions of Lebanon's capital.

The United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday that the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine provides 86% protection from the virus. The UAE said it has registered the vaccine following analysis by health officials.

Chinese Vaccine 86% Effective, UAE Health Ministry Says

8:32am December 09, 2020

by Jaclyn Diaz

The Sinopharm vaccine, developed by a Chinese pharmaceutical company, has already been approved for emergency use in a few countries.

World News

Do Palestinians In Israeli-Occupied West Bank Live Under Apartheid?

5:52pm December 08, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

Israelis debated this year whether Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank live under apartheid - what was a taboo subject in the past..