Middle East

Netanyahu To Preview Speech To Congress Before AIPAC Conference

8:15am March 02, 2015

by Jackie Northam

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington, D.C, where he is expected to give a contentious speech before Congress on Tuesday. He appears before a powerful pro-Israeli lobby on Monday.

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Secretary of State John Kerry testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Wednesday.

Kerry Tries To Calm Tensions Over Netanyahu Visit

4:41pm March 01, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The secretary of state said the Israeli prime minister is welcome to speak in the U.S. and that the White House does not want to see his address to Congress become "a political football."

In "Exile From One's Country," Mohammed Al-Amari captures the pain of a Syrian girl.

The Art Of Syrian Refugees Sends A Message. Is Anyone Listening?

7:03am March 01, 2015

by Laura Starecheski

Syria's refugees are waiting for a new life. The artists among them are depicting this life in limbo — and their memories of the country they left behind.

Then-U.S. ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill (right) tours the Mosul Museum of History in May 2009. This week the self-declared Islamic State posted a video online that showed militants going through the museum, pushing over statues and smashing artifact

World News

Remembering The Relics And Rich History Of Mosul, Before ISIS

2:03pm February 28, 2015

by Alice Fordham

When NPR's Alice Fordham visited Mosul in 2010, bird droppings and rain were the biggest threats to its archaeological sites. Now ISIS has destroyed artifacts that had endured for millennia.

Members of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip earlier this month.

World News

Egypt Declares Hamas 'Terrorist' Group

2:00pm February 28, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The organization, an offshoot of Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood, controls the Gaza Strip.

Construction workers at the Erbil Citadel, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site last year.

World News

After 6,000 Years, Time For A Renovation At Iraq's Citadel

10:40am February 28, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

The Citadel, at the heart of the Kurdish city of Erbil, has been inhabited for six millennia. Now, amid war and destruction, it's undergoing a much-needed restoration and upgrade of city services.

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Alienation And Charismatic Recruiters Among Keys To Radicalization

8:13pm February 27, 2015

NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with Maajid Nawaz, a self-described former Islamic radical who grew up in Essex, England. He now runs the counter-extremist organization Quilliam.

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World News

Jordan's 'Philosopher Prince': Literacy Would Help Fight Fanaticism

8:13pm February 27, 2015

Royal elder Prince El Hassan bin Talal talks to Robert Siegel about the country's role in fighting terrorism and extremism. He concludes that the Arab world needs more literacy to combat fanaticism.

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Families Of ISIS Victims React To Identification Of 'Jihadi John'

7:16pm February 27, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

The family of Steven Sotloff said they hoped the man identified as Mohammed Emzawi is brought to justice. The daughter of aid worker David Haines said she wanted a "bullet between ... [his] eyes."

A playground is seen in London, outside an address where Kuwaiti-born London computer programmer Mohammed Emwazi is believed to have lived. Emwazi has been identified as masked ISIS militant "Jihadi John."

ISIS Extremist Who Beheaded Prisoners Is Identified

9:20am February 27, 2015

by Dina Temple-Raston

The masked man who appeared to behead hostages in videos for the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has been revealed. Known in the media as "Jihadi John," his real name is Mohammed Emwazi.

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