Middle East

World News

U.S. Engagment Against ISIS Can't Be Timid, Retired Marine General Says

7:44am May 21, 2015

Steve Inskeep talks to retired Marine General Gregory Newbold about what the U.S. is doing right, or wrong, in its efforts to militarily contain the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

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World News

ISIS Takes Control Of Syria's Ancient City Of Palmyra

7:44am May 21, 2015

by Alice Fordham

The self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has taken the Syrian city of Palmyra, known for its well-preserved antiquities. It also has gas fields and roads across the Syrian desert.

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FIFA President Sepp Blatter kicks a ball during the inauguration of a football stadium in the village of Dura al-Qari near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday. Blatter said he is on a

For Israel, Soccer Becomes A Geopolitical Football

8:39pm May 20, 2015

by Emily Harris

The head of FIFA visited Israel and the West Bank this week, where Palestinians are petitioning to expel Israel from soccer's governing body — and its biggest international tournaments.

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Netanyahu Cancels Palestinian-Only Bus Plan Just Before Scheduled Start

7:17pm May 20, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Lahav Harkov, Knesset reporter for the Jerusalem Post, about the politics around a plan to require Palestinian laborers from the West Bank to ride Palestinian-only buses.

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World News

Ramadi's Fall To ISIS Revives Questions About U.S. Strategy

5:36pm May 20, 2015

Steve Inskeep talks to Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent and CEO of The Soufan Group, about how the U.S. should shape its strategy to stop the self-proclaimed Islamic State from taking Iraqi cities.

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Journalist Austin Tice Still Missing In Syria After More Than 1,000 Days

7:06pm May 19, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Debra Tice, whose son disappeared in Syria in August 2012 while working as a freelance journalist. She says the family has new, credible information that he is "safe."

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Displaced Palestinians seek shelter in the courtyard of a United Nations-run elementary school in Jabaliya, a northern Gaza town, in July 2014 â shortly before the school was hit by what the UN says was Israeli artillery. Israel has opened a criminal

World News

Will Israel Charge Soldiers In Gaza Civilian Deaths?

4:02pm May 19, 2015

by Emily Harris

Israel is investigating potential criminal actions by its troops last summer during the war against Hamas in Gaza, including three attacks that killed nearly 50 civilians taking refuge in schools.

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In this photo taken May 3 during a government-organized media tour, Kuttamon Chembadnan Velayi from Kerala, India, speaks to journalists while sitting on his bed in a room he shares with seven other Indian laborers in Doha, Qatar. The housing facility has

Labor Groups Blast Working Conditions In Qatar Ahead Of World Cup

4:10pm May 18, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

Their call comes on the same day the BBC said a reporting crew spent two nights in a Qatari jail for trying to film migrant workers who are building the infrastructure for the sporting event.

World News

Egyptian Court Sentences Ousted President Morsi To Death

7:41pm May 17, 2015

An Egyptian court has sentenced ousted President Mohammed Morsi to death. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with the London Times correspondent in Cairo, Bel Trew.

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Senior ISIS Commander In Syria Killed By U.S. Troops

3:00pm May 17, 2015

At President Obama's direction, U.S. forces based out of Iraq conducted a raid in eastern Syria. NPR's Scott Simon talks with correspondent Tom Bowman about the operation.

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