Middle East

A photo from a video clip posted on YouTube shows a man with a knife threatening two captives identified as Haruna Yukawa (right) and Kenji Goto Jogo. The Islamic State says it wants $200 million for their release.

World News

Islamic State, In Video, Threatens To Kill 2 Japanese Hostages

12:12pm January 20, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

In a message to Japan's prime minister, the group said it will kill the men unless it gets $200 million — equivalent to Japan's pledge in nonmilitary aid to countries facing threats from the group.

Why Was Iran's President Riding The Subway?

7:58am January 20, 2015

President Hassan Rouhani rode the subway to mark Iran's National Clean Air Day.

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Economic Isolation Weighs On Iranians; Desire Nuclear Talks Resolved

8:24pm January 19, 2015

As nuclear talks with Iran resume, Steve Inskeep talks to Thomas Erdbrink, Tehran bureau chief for The New York Times, about rhetoric and sentiment in that country.

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Lebanese Hezbollah supporters carry the coffin of Jihad Mughniyeh during his funeral in Beirut on Monday. Mughniyeh was one of six ranking members of Hezbollah killed in a suspected Israeli strike Sunday. Iran says a general of its elite Revolutionary Gua

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Suspected Israeli Strike Kills Iranian General Advising Syrian Troops

7:32pm January 19, 2015

by Alice Fordham

When a general in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard and several ranking members of Hezbollah were killed Sunday, they were within 10 miles of Israel's northeastern border.

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Nuclear Talks With Iran Recess After 'Limited' Progress

10:38am January 19, 2015

by Peter Kenyon

Iran and six world powers wrapped up their latest round of talks in Geneva over Iran's nuclear program. Negotiations resume in February ahead of a self-imposed July 1 deadline for a deal.

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Miss Lebanon Criticized For Photo With Miss Israel

7:37am January 19, 2015

Miss Israel took a selfie at the Miss Universe pageant that captured other women including Miss Lebanon. After being criticized for being in the photo, Miss Lebanon insists she didn't pose it.

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Pakistan Pressures Afghan Refugees To Go Home

12:57pm January 18, 2015

by Philip Reeves

Authorities are responding with draconian measures following the massacre of more than 130 students in Pakistan. Officials are focusing on Afghan refugees, even though the killers were Pakistani.

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A mentally disabled Yazidi man is carried to a bus that will bring him to the Kurdish city of Dohuk, after being released by Islamic militants, in Alton Kupri, outside Kirkuk, Iraq, on Sunday.

ISIS Frees 200 Elderly Yazidis; Reportedly 'Too Expensive To Feed'

9:07am January 18, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The mostly infirm refugees from the religious minority were released by the self-declared Islamic State. Speculation is that they had become a burden to the militants.

A rebel fighter takes aim during a training session in Eastern al-Ghouta, a rebel-held region outside the capital Damascus, earlier this month. Russia is inviting Syrian opposition groups to peace talks in Moscow, but few of them want to go to a country t

World News

Syrian Opposition Groups Wary Of Russia's Invitation To Moscow

6:59pm January 17, 2015

by Michele Kelemen

Russia is proposing peace talks in Moscow, and the U.S. seems to be backing the idea, but some opposition groups resist cooperating with a country that's been backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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The undated portrait photo shows Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, chief of staff for Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Bin Mubarak was kidnapped on Saturday in Sanaa.

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Gunmen Kidnap Top Official In Yemen

4:21pm January 17, 2015

by Scott Neuman

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's chief of staff was kidnapped from his car in the heart of the capital Sanaa. Security officials blame Houthi rebels.