Middle East

World News

ISIS Culls From School-Aged Kids To Assembly Its Army Of Tomorrow

6:41pm September 02, 2015

Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, talks with NPR's Arun Rath about his reporting on the Islamic State's brutal tactics to recruit the next generation of their fighting force.

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World News

Pack Your Imagination. We're Off To Herodium And A Clown Motel

2:11pm September 02, 2015

David Plotz of the travel website Atlas Obscura tells us about two more of his favorite unlikely parts of the world: Herodium in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and a clown-themed motel in Nevada.

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World News

Turkey Disputes Claims It Has The Most Jailed Journalists

12:18pm September 02, 2015

by Peter Kenyon

Turkey has been cracking down on journalists — especially local Turkish reporters. Advocates for press freedom rank Turkey as having the greatest number of jailed journalists in the world.

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An International Atomic Energy Agency inspector cuts a uranium enrichment connection at Iran's Natanz facility, 200 miles south of Tehran, in 2014. The U.S. Congress is expected to address the Iranian nuclear deal this month. One unresolved issue: How muc

An Unanswered Question About Iran's Nuclear Program

10:50pm September 01, 2015

by Michele Kelemen

Congress plans to address the Iranian nuclear deal this month. One unresolved issue: How much work might Iran have done previously on weaponizing its program?

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National

Marginalized Young American-Somalis Look East To Join ISIS

8:01pm September 01, 2015

The Twin Cities area has the largest Somali population in America. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Minneapolis Councilman Abdi Warsame about young people arrested for allegedly conspiring to join ISIS.

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World News

U.N. Confirms ISIS Destroyed Temple Of Bel In Palmyra, Syria

6:25pm September 01, 2015

Following initial reports of explosions at the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the United Nations has confirmed through satellite imagery that ISIS has destroyed one of the most visited and recognized examples of pre-Islamic architecture in the Middle East.

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World News

Archaeologist Works To Track The Islamic State's War On Culture

5:11pm September 01, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to archaeologist Michael Danti, who is tracking the cultural heritage sites and artifacts in Palmyra, Syria, that may soon be lost forever at the hands of ISIS.

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World News

Turkey Calls For New Elections Amid Fighting With Kurds, ISIS

8:44am September 01, 2015

by Peter Kenyon

Turkey's president told voters to be ready for a re-run of parliamentary elections on Nov. 1. The hope is the ruling party regains its majority as conflicts flare with the Kurdish minority and ISIS.

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World News

By Boat, By Bus, By Any Way Possible: One Refugee's Perilous Journey

1:57pm August 31, 2015

by Joanna Kakissis

Munzar Omar, a teacher from Syria, left his wife and children behind as he searches for a safer home for them. He's one of hundreds of thousands fleeing war in Syria and heading towards Europe.

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Sakine Arat, right, and Mayrem Bulut are Kurdish mothers camping out between Turkish amry forces and the Kurdish PKK militants, in hopes of preventing clashes. "Mothers on both sides should be doing this," says Arat, 80.

World News

Kurdish Activists Camp Out Between Turkey's Army And Kurdish Fighters

1:57pm August 31, 2015

by Peter Kenyon

As an old conflict heats up again in southeastern Turkey, the activists have staked out ground on a sunburned hillside and say they're willing to risk their own lives in order to stop the fighting.

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