Middle East

World News

Israel Braces For More Protests By Minority Ethiopian Community

4:46pm May 04, 2015

by Jackie Northam

Security forces have been deployed in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to try to prevent further violence after police and protesters clashed Sunday at rallies to protest police treatment of Ethiopian-Israelis.

Jewish worshippers gather at a makeshift synagogue established by the Jewish Agency for Israel for Ethiopian Jews in Gondar, Ethiopia, in 2012.

They Speak Hebrew And Keep Kosher: The Left-Behind Ethiopian Jews

8:27pm May 03, 2015

by Gregory Warner

Two years ago, Israel ended with great fanfare a program that brought tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. But many are in limbo, separated from family, the result of stricter religious law.

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In Syria, Signs That The Army Is Losing Ground To Rebel Groups

7:52pm May 03, 2015

NPR's Arun Rath speaks with Anne Barnard, the New York Times Beirut bureau chief, about the state of the Syrian army. Might an end to four years of fighting be in sight?

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A young boy carries a rifle in Yemen's capital Sanaa. When photographer Alex Potter arrived in Yemen in 2012, men had guns but rarely displayed them publicly. Now, as the country has collapsed into civil war, men and boys are often armed.

World News

Yemen's Descent, Through A Photographer's Lens

12:40pm May 03, 2015

by Alex Potter

Photographer Alex Potter arrived in Yemen in 2012 as it was going through an uprising, part of the broader Arab upheaval. Since then, she's grown deeply attached, even as it has fallen into chaos.

Bottom Drops Out Of Syria's Currency Causing Economic Hardship

11:08am May 01, 2015

by Alice Fordham

In the past, Iran has helped out with credit lines. But now, an Iranian official has instead encouraged the Syrians to "develop a resistance economy" like Iran's sanctions-strapped fiscal management.

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Malala Yousafzai, who was 15 when she was shot, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

World News

10 Men Sent To Prison Over Shooting Of Pakistani Girl Malala Yousafzai

8:25pm April 30, 2015

by Bill Chappell

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced the men to 25-year terms for their roles in the near-fatal attack on Malala Yousafzai when she was 15.

People gather around a helicopter reportedly belonging to Syrian government forces that crashed in March in Jabal al-Zawiya in northwest Syria. Islamist rebels captured four crew members, while a fifth was killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for H

World News

Is Bashar Assad Just Losing Some Ground ... Or His Grip On Power?

8:19pm April 30, 2015

by Alice Fordham

After four years of ebbs and flows in Syria's civil war, rebel fighters are pushing back the president's forces. He's having trouble replacing soldiers. And his allies may be providing less support.

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Earlier this month, Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's new deputy crown prince, met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo.

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Saudi King Salman Reshuffles Line Of Succession

4:42pm April 30, 2015

by Leila Fadel

Saudi Arabia's King Salman shook up the monarchy on Wednesday. According to a royal decree, the king's nephew takes over as crown prince, and the king's young son becomes deputy crown prince.

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Saudi King Salman (center) appears alongside then-Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz (third from left) and then-deputy Crown Prince and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef (left) in January. Muqrin has since been pushed aside to make way for Mohammed.

World News

Game Of Thrones: Saudi King Shakes Up Line Of Succession

11:34am April 30, 2015

by Jackie Northam

King Salman has named a new heir to the throne — and consolidated power in the hands of a younger generation.

World News

Israel Criticized For Leaving Pregnant Surrogates In Nepal

11:07am April 30, 2015

Israel evacuated 26 newborns from Nepal but left behind about 100 pregnant women — surrogates, carrying the babies for Israeli parents. Renee Montagne talks to Debra Kamin, a journalist in Tel Aviv.

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