Middle East

Palestinian activist Issa Amro advocates nonviolence in the West Bank city of Hebron. He recently talked a teenage girl out of an attack, but acknowledges it can be difficult to persuade young Palestinians to his position. In the background, Israeli soldi

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In Hebron, A City Hit Hard By Violence, A Palestinian Preaches Nonviolence

8:44am January 10, 2016

by Daniel Estrin

Many Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israelis have come from the West Bank city of Hebron. One activist is urging his fellow Palestinians to find other ways to oppose Israel.

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On Jan. 5, demonstrators in Maaret al-Numan, in the Idlib province of Syria, hold banners during a protest for civilians who starved to death in Madaya. Aid is expected to reach Madaya Monday. On Saturday, Maaret al-Numan, the city shown here, was hit by

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Aid Set To Arrive In Besieged Syrian Towns Soon; Airstrike Hits Rebel-Held Town

8:38am January 10, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Aid convoys are expected to arrive Monday. Meanwhile, an airstrike in Idlib has killed dozens, and Syria has announced it's willing to join peace talks with the opposition — with conditions.

A woman complains inside her house in Nusaybin, Turkey, on Dec. 25. Tens of thousands of civilians in southeast Turkey have been caught in the middle as government forces and Kurdish militants battle.

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Surrounded By Troubled Neighbors, Turkey's Conflict At Home Escalates

10:41am January 09, 2016

by Peter Kenyon

Turkey's army and Kurdish factions are battling regularly in the southeast part of the country, displacing thousands. The resumption of fighting has largely been overshadowed by regional turmoil.

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A toddler is held up to the camera in this still image taken from video said to be shot in Madaya on Tuesday. Warnings of widespread starvation are growing as pro-government forces besiege the opposition-held town in Syria.

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Syrian Regime Allows Aid To Besieged Villages After Outcry Over Starvations

7:24pm January 07, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Bashar Assad's government will allow U.N. aid to enter three villages, including Madaya, where Doctors Without Borders has reported 23 deaths from starvation since Dec. 1.

Family members of Shafqat Hussain, who was convicted and hanged in Pakistan in August for killing a boy in 2004, waited to receive his body outside the central jail in Karachi. Pakistan executed more than 300 people last year.

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Fewer Countries Are Relying On Death Penalty, But They're Executing More

7:05pm January 07, 2016

by Jackie Northam

Saudi Arabia's spate of 47 executions last week continued a trend from 2015, in which several countries that have the death penalty used it more often.

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Iran Offers A Rare Peek At An Underground 'Missile City'

5:59pm January 07, 2016

by Peter Kenyon

Iran's Revolutionary Guards invited television cameras to have a look at what appeared to be long-range ballistic missiles, which have been a source of recent tension with the U.S.

Alabama Sues U.S. Government Over Plans For Syrian Refugee Settlement

5:03pm January 07, 2016

by Laura Wagner

Gov. Robert Bentley says the federal government failed to consult the state regarding refugee placement. Alabama is the second state to sue the government over the resettlement issue.

Security officers and other people walk next to damaged cars at the site where a truck bomb exploded at a security training camp on Thursday in the northwestern coastal city of Zliten, Libya.

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Truck Bomb At Libyan Security Training Camp Kills Dozens

3:46pm January 07, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

It's one of the deadliest attacks in Libya since the 2011 ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

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Journalist Says Iran-Saudi Showdown Comes At A 'Really Dangerous' Time

2:24pm January 07, 2016

Robin Wright, who writes about Saudi Arabia and Iran in the current issue of The New Yorker, says upcoming Syrian peace talks have been compromised by the execution of an outspoken Shiite cleric.

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These are submunitions that broke apart Wednesday in the Hayal Sayeed neighborhood of Sanaa in Yemen, Human Rights Watch says.

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Iran Claims Saudi-Led Coalition Hit Its Embassy In Yemen

12:17pm January 07, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

As tension boils between the two regional powers, witnesses say it's not clear that Iran's embassy sustained damage, or was even hit.