Middle East

World News

Children In Aleppo Experiencing 'Horrific' Violence, Says UNICEF Official

5:07pm October 02, 2016

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth says nearly 100 children have died in Aleppo, Syria just since Friday. He says the suffering is the worst he has ever seen.

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Pope Francis blesses a woman at the church of the Immaculate Conception in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday.

Pope Warns Of 'Ideological Colonization'; Praises Catholics In Caucasus

4:48pm October 02, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

Pope Francis reached out to Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and warned Catholics to stand up against gender theory, which he says is a threat to marriage.

Egyptians wait on shore in Rosetta on Sept. 22 as a coast guard boat arrives carrying the bodies recovered from a boat that capsized off Egypt's Mediterranean coast.

World News

Seeking A Better Life, A Migrant Survives A Shipwreck And Wonders What's Next

10:07am October 02, 2016

by Jane Arraf

More than 200 migrants drowned on Sept. 21 trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, in search of better lives. A survivor explains why he risked the journey.

Shimon Peres, former President of Israel, appears in a 2012 music video promoting his Facebook page.

World News

How Effective Was Shimon Peres' Social Media Push For Peace?

11:30am October 01, 2016

by Daniel Estrin

Shimon Peres spent his final years as a grandfatherly figure, using social media to urge young Israelis toward his optimistic vision of peace. They liked him — but some were skeptical of his message.

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Syrian volunteers carry an injured person after pro-government forces struck the rebel-held neighborhood of Heluk in Aleppo Friday.

World News

Intense New Airstrikes Reported In Aleppo; Fewer Than 30 Doctors Remain In City

10:08am October 01, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The largest hospital in the rebel-held portion of the northern city, which had already suffered a strike earlier this week, was hit again by at least two barrel bombs Saturday, an aid agency says.

World News

Aleppo Daily Life In Failed Ceasefire: Scarce Supplies, Information Apps As Lifelines

9:01am October 01, 2016

Aleppo has seen more bloodshed this week in the wake of a failed ceasefire. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Financial Times correspondent Erika Solomon about how daily life goes on in that Syrian city.

As Tight-Knit Jewish Communities Splinter, Shofar Takes Synagogue To The People

8:52am October 01, 2016

by Judith Kogan

At a time when some people just can't make it to synagogue, rabbis are taking the shofar (the hollowed out ram's horn once used to call Jews together) to the old and the young.

World News

Funeral Held For Former Israeli Leader And Founding Father Shimon Peres

4:44pm September 30, 2016

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Nahum Barnea, a columnist for the Israeli paper, Yedioth Ahronoth, who attended the funeral of elder statesman Shimon Peres, who was one of Israel's last surviving founders.

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Obama Delivers Speech At Funeral For Former Israeli President Shimon Peres

4:44pm September 30, 2016

by Daniel Estrin

President Obama spoke at the funeral for former Israeli president and founding father Shimon Peres, saying Peres' dream of peace with the Palestinians should stay alive.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech to provincial leaders in Ankara on Thursday.

World News

Turkey's President Recommends Extending State Of Emergency

1:22pm September 29, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

Thousands of people have been arrested or dismissed under the current state of emergency after a failed coup attempt July 15. The date has been declared a national holiday for "democracy and freedom."