Middle East

In Qatar, Released Taliban Member Raises U.S. Concerns

9:16pm January 30, 2015

by Bill Chappell

There are new suspicions that one of the men released from a U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last year might be trying to contact Taliban fighters.

World News

Jailed Saudi Blogger Granted Another Reprieve From Flogging; Reason Unclear

3:55pm January 30, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

Raif Badawi is being punished for insulting Islam. He was flogged Jan. 9, part of a sentence of 50 lashes a week for 20 weeks, along with a decade in prison. Two previous rounds were also canceled.

World News

Woman Held By Jordan Has Close Ties To Islamic State

10:07am January 30, 2015

by Dina Temple-Raston

Jordan has indicated that it is willing to swap a convicted terrorist for a Jordanian pilot held captive by the so-called Islamic State. The terrorist is a woman named Sajida al-Rishawi. She and her husband conducted a suicide attack at a Jordanian hotel. Her belt did not detonate but dozens of people were killed. ISIS has demanded her release in part because she has longstanding ties to the group.

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World News

Syrian President Assad Talks To 'Foreign Affairs' Magazine

10:00pm January 29, 2015

The civil war in Syria has been going on for almost four years. Jonathan Tepperman recently met with President Bashar Assad in Damascus. He talks to Steve Inskeep about how Assad views the conflict.

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Relatives of Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who was captured by ISIS militants in Syria, protest in front of royal palace in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday. Jordan has suggested it might be willing to hold a prisoner exchange for his release.

World News

ISIS Hostage Said To Announce New Deadline For Prisoner's Release

9:04pm January 28, 2015

by Bill Chappell

A Japanese hostage held by the violent extremist group ISIS has reportedly been forced to record a message setting a Thursday deadline for Jordan to release an Iraqi prisoner.

World News

Jordan Considers Handing Over Prisoner For Hostage Pilot

8:39pm January 28, 2015

by Alice Fordham

The Jordanian government says it might trade a notorious attempted suicide bomber for a pilot being held by the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or ISIS.

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World News

How A Single Town In Syria Became A Symbol Of The War Against ISIS

8:23pm January 28, 2015

by Tom Bowman

Now that Kurdish fighters have retaken the Syrian border town of Kobani from ISIS, the Obama administration is assessing the significance of the development. For months, officials suggested the town was of little strategic significance even as warplanes bombed targets day after day.

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World News

Jordan Tests Coalition Against ISIS With Offer To Negotiate

6:25pm January 28, 2015

Robert Siegel talks to Rula Al Hroob, member of the Jordanian Parliament, about how people in Jordan feel about a prisoner exchange for a pilot captured by ISIS in Syria.

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World News

2 Israeli Soldiers Killed In Attack Near Lebanese Border

3:00pm January 28, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack and Israel returned fire, in one of the most serious flare ups of a long-running confrontation.

World News

Even At $30 A Barrel, Saudis Are Still Making Money On Oil

6:30pm January 27, 2015

Robert Siegel talks to Amy Myers Jaffe of the University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management about how falling oil prices impact production.

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