Middle East

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud as the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, listens before a meeting at the Royal Palace in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 11.

World News

Why Does Saudi Arabia Seem So Comfortable With Falling Oil Prices?

10:29am October 31, 2014

by Jackie Northam

Normally, the "central banker of oil" would slow production to push up prices. Not so now. Some say it's a geopolitical tactic aimed at Russia and Iran; others say it's just protecting market share.

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What Was The Result Of U.S. Attack Against Khorasan Group In Syria?

7:42am October 31, 2014

by David Welna

More than a month after the U.S. targeted a shadowy al-Qaida bomb-making group known as the Khorasan in Syria with Tomahawk cruise missiles, little is known about the impact of that attack.

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World News

Sweden Recognizes Palestine, Drawing Sharp Israeli Criticism

7:50pm October 30, 2014

by Krishnadev Calamur

Israel's foreign minister says diplomacy is "more complicated than ... furniture from Ikea." His Swedish counterpart responds that diplomacy, like Ikea furniture, needs "a partner ... [and] a manual."

World News

Kurdish Fighters Enter Kobani To Help Battle ISIS Extremists

6:27pm October 30, 2014

by Peter Kenyon

As peshmerga troops start to arrive in the Syrian border town, some Syrian insurgents say that reinforcement is needed more urgently in Aleppo — which is nearly encircled by government forces.

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World News

How Much Does It Cost To Run A Caliphate?

6:27pm October 30, 2014

by Dina Temple-Raston

The self-proclaimed Islamic State is known as the world's richest terrorist organization, but the group is having to pay for services to the areas they are controlling in Syria and Iraq. U.S. analysts and officials say the financial burden of the group's territorial ambitions could ultimately lead to ISIS' demise.

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Iraqi soldiers walk in Jurf al-Sakhr, south of the capital Baghdad, on Monday after Iraqi military forces retook the area from Islamic State militants. Iraqi forces, supported by U.S. airstrikes, have made limited gains in recent months, but critics are q

With Limited Gains, U.S. Bombing Campaign Faces Growing Criticism

2:25pm October 30, 2014

by Tom Bowman

U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State began nearly three months ago, yet there have been relatively few changes on the battlefield. Many analysts say the U.S. effort may not be sufficient.

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World News

ISIS Rakes In Millions Through Slick Black Market For Oil

3:13pm October 29, 2014

by Jeff Brady

The so-called Islamic State is raking in millions selling oil to smugglers. The U.S. is working to undermine the militant group's finances by interrupting oil sales and punishing companies that purchase crude from them.

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An explosion following an airstrike is seen in the Syrian town of Kobani from near the Mursitpinar border crossing in the southeastern town of Suruc, in Turkey's Sanliurfa province, on Wednesday.

World News

Kurdish Fighters Begin Using Turkish Crossing To Reach Kobani

11:00am October 29, 2014

by Scott Neuman

Syrian rebels and Iraqi peshmerga fighters have been allowed to use Turkish territory to enter the fight against militants of the self-declared Islamic State.

Three female members of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and an Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighter stand near the front line in Makhmur, in northern Iraq, on Aug. 9. The Turkish and Iraqi Kurds have been fighting together against the Islamic State.

World News

Facing The Islamic State Threat, Kurdish Fighters Unite

1:17pm October 28, 2014

by Alice Fordham

Kurdish groups have often quarreled among themselves, or at least kept their distance. But Kurds from Iraq and Turkey have been fighting side by side in northern Iraq against the Islamic State.

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World News

Untangling The Roots Of Recent Flare-Ups In Lebanon

1:17pm October 28, 2014

Fighting in Lebanon is spurring concerns over the country's stability. Renee Montagne checks in with New York Times Beirut bureau chief Anne Barnard to discuss why America needs to pay attention.

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