Middle East

World News

Food Aid Welcomed In Besieged Syrian City Of Madaya

8:33am March 04, 2016

Renee Montagne talks to Rajaai Bourhan, a 26-year-old teacher living in the Syrian city of Madaya, for an update on conditions there. Images of starving children captured the world's attention.

Queue Listen Now

Amran, an unaccompanied minor from Afghanistan, at right, walks in the camp known as the Jungle with 35-year-old Farid Hamdan, a father of four, also from Afghanistan. "My heart is saying help him because he's only a kid," says Hamdan. "He has nobody else

World News

A Young Afghan Migrant Makes His Way In The Calais 'Jungle'

6:13am March 04, 2016

by Eleanor Beardsley

Many asylum-seekers in Europe are unaccompanied minors, traveling alone or separated from families. Amran, a 13-year-old Afghan, is among hundreds of minors left to fend for themselves in France.

World News

2 Americans In UAE Prison On Trumped Up Charges, Families Say

5:51am March 03, 2016

by Michele Kelemen

The two men have dual U.S.-Libyan citizens and were picked up after the United Arab Emirates began airstrikes in Libya. They've allegedly been tortured in a country that is a Gulf ally of the U.S.

Egyptian mourners carry the coffin of Mohammed Darbaka, who was allegedly shot dead by a policeman over a payment dispute, during his funeral on Feb. 19 in Cairo.

World News

In Egypt, Growing Discontent Over Abuses By Police

4:43pm March 02, 2016

by Leila Fadel

When a young truck driver was shot and killed in Cairo last month, it sparked protests. As concern grows over police abuse and judicial misconduct, the state seems worried about a backlash.

Gasoline prices are displayed at a filling station in Philadelphia.

Gas Prices Pop Up Despite Historic Supplies Of Oil. Blame Spring

4:36pm March 02, 2016

by Marilyn Geewax

The Energy Information Administration says oil inventories are at "historically high" levels. Still, gas prices have been heading up because oil refineries are switching to more costly summer blends.

Reemas al-Abdullah, 5, wrapped herself in a Canadian flag before a dinner hosted by Friends of Syria at the Toronto Port Authority in December.

World News

Canada Says It Has Met Its Goal Of Resettling 25,000 Syrian Refugees

3:46pm March 01, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Canada reached the milestone number less than four months after it started accepting Syrian refugees. The initiative was a campaign promise by newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

A family warms by a fire in the early morning on the Greek-Macedonia border on Tuesday in Idomeni, Greece.

World News

Thousands Of Migrants Stuck In Bottleneck At Greece-Macedonia Border

2:02pm March 01, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Migrant numbers in Greece are soaring as countries farther north close their borders or put caps on migrants. The U.N. says Europe is "on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis."

World News

Aid Agencies Monitor As Syria Cease-Fire Appears To Hold

1:57pm March 01, 2016

Days into the cessation of hostilities in Syria, how successful it is? Renee Montagne talks to Dalia Al-Awqati, who runs the humanitarian aid agency Mercy Corps' programs in northern Syria.

Queue Listen Now

Bassam Farouh, a Syrian rebel fighter, was wounded in a Russian airstrike on his hometown two months ago and is undergoing rehabilitation across the border in Turkey.

World News

5 Years On, Syria's Moderate Rebels Are Exhausted And Sidelined

6:53am March 01, 2016

by Alice Fordham

The Free Syrian Army was a key player in the early days of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. But many members are now feeling lost in a war that's become a morass of factions.

World News

Tensions Over Migrants Build Along Greece's Border With Macedonia

6:10am March 01, 2016

Thousands of migrants are stuck on the Greek side of the border. A crowd tore down a fence, and were met with tear gas from Macedonian authorities. Steve Inskeep talks to the BBC's Danny Savage.