Accessibility links
Leila Fadel Leila Fadel is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
Leila Fadel, photographed for NPR, 2 May 2022, in Washington DC. Photo by Mike Morgan for NPR.
Stories By

Leila Fadel

Saturday

Middle East

Fiancée Of Imprisoned Journalist Advocates For His Release

Mohammed Fahmy is among three Al Jazeera journalists who have been jailed in Egypt on terrorism charges. His fiancée continues to plan their wedding, even as the case languishes.

Fiancée Of Imprisoned Journalist Advocates For His Release

Listen · 4:15
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/344477063/344477064" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Libya's Crisis: A Shattered Airport, Two Parliaments, Many Factions

Islamist fighters in the Libya Dawn coalition guard the entrance of the Tripoli International Airport on Sunday. After days of battles, they captured it from forces aligned with rogue general Khalifa Hifter. Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

Libya's Crisis: A Shattered Airport, Two Parliaments, Many Factions

Libya keeps spiraling downward as Islamist fighters slug it out with forces loyal to a rogue general in the capital and elsewhere.

Libya's Crisis: A Shattered Airport, Two Parliaments, Many Factions

Listen · 4:02
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/343444450/343552848" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Africa

Foreigners Flee As Violence Worsens In Libya

Conditions in Libya have gone from bad to worse in recent months, with its main airport now a battleground and foreigners pulling out of the country.

Foreigners Flee As Violence Worsens In Libya

Listen · 3:54
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/337842923/337842924" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Barrel Bomb Attacks Devastate Iraqi Families

Smoke rises from buildings in May after shelling on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which is currently held by anti-government fighters. Rights workers say civilians are being killed by government attacks with so-called barrel bombs. Sadam el-Mehmedy/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Sadam el-Mehmedy/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

Barrel Bomb Attacks Devastate Iraqi Families

Rights workers say civilians are being killed by government attacks with so-called barrel bombs — the crude weapons made famous in Syria's current conflict.

Barrel Bomb Attacks Devastate Iraqi Families

Listen · 4:43
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/335444475/335540167" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Common Ground Between Iraq's Rebels May Be Crumbling

People walk by a damaged police station in Mosul on July 15. The militants of the Islamic State are in control of the key city and have acted against former members of Saddam Hussein's regime who helped them drive out the Iraqi army last month. AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP

Parallels

Common Ground Between Iraq's Rebels May Be Crumbling

The radical Islamic State and former associates of Saddam Hussein have fought together against Iraq's government. But the fault lines between the unlikely partners are beginning to show.

Common Ground Between Iraq's Rebels May Be Crumbling

Listen · 4:27
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/334475601/334494760" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

World

Life Under 'The Islamic State': Order In The Shadow Of Terror

The Sunni extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State is solidifying its hold on the Iraqi city of Mosul. As it does so, the group is building a track record for how it actually governs. NPR's Leila Fadel offers a glimpse of what life is like under the group's rule.

Life Under 'The Islamic State': Order In The Shadow Of Terror

Listen · 4:02
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/333737409/333737410" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Extremists Leave A Violent Message In A Small Iraqi Town

Thousands of Iraqis fleeing Sunni extremists fled to the Kurdish city of Erbil, where they lined up here on June 12 at a checkpoint before entering. EPA /LANDOV hide caption

toggle caption
EPA /LANDOV

World

Extremists Leave A Violent Message In A Small Iraqi Town

The Sunni town fought back when Sunni Muslim extremists from the Islamic State tried to impose their rule. The extremists leveled the town as a warning to Sunnis who won't accept their brutal rule.

Extremists Leave A Violent Message In A Small Iraqi Town

Listen · 4:31
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/332717869/332760122" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

World

A Few New Faces Aren't Likely To Satisfy Iraqi Government's Critics

Iraq chose a new speaker of its parliament today — a small step that the U.S. has been urging it to take toward ending the crisis there. But many say it's far from the overhaul that's needed.

A Few New Faces Aren't Likely To Satisfy Iraqi Government's Critics

Listen · 3:32
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/331751262/331751289" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Gas In Egypt Is 78 Percent More Expensive Now Than Last Week

Egyptians gather at a petrol station in Cairo as the government drastically raised fuel prices to tackle a bloated subsidy system on July 5. Mahmoud Khaled/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mahmoud Khaled/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

Gas In Egypt Is 78 Percent More Expensive Now Than Last Week

Egypt's government has slashed subsidies on fuel. While economists say the subsidy decrease is necessary to address the deficit, already-suffering middle class and poor Egyptians are furious.

Gas In Egypt Is 78 Percent More Expensive Now Than Last Week

Listen · 3:34
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/330038075/330038076" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Africa

On The Shores Of Tripoli, A Beach Party Libyans Need

The beach bums of Tripoli say that no matter who's in charge of Libya, they'll still be at the beach. NPR's Leila Fadel sends this postcard from Tripoli.

On The Shores Of Tripoli, A Beach Party Libyans Need

Listen · 4:12
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/328515613/328515614" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

A Rogue Libyan General Tries To Impose Order With An Iron Fist

Libya's Gen. Khalifa Hifter speaks at a news conference in Abyar, a small town to the east of Benghazi, on May 31. Hifter, a former military officer in Moammar Gadhafi's army, has has launched a self-declared campaign against Muslim extremists. This has won him both supporters and enemies. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters/Landov hide caption

toggle caption
Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters/Landov

Parallels

A Rogue Libyan General Tries To Impose Order With An Iron Fist

Khalifa Hifter was one of Moammar Gadhafi's top generals who eventually fled to the U.S. Now he's back in Libya, a polarizing figure waging a harsh crackdown on Islamist militants.

A Rogue Libyan General Tries To Impose Order With An Iron Fist

Listen · 4:29
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/326191770/326406692" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Africa

Remembering Salwa Bugaighis, The Libyan Advocate Who Took On Ghadafi

A prominent Libyan human rights worker was assassinated Wednesday. NPR's Leila Fadel interviewed Salwa Bugaighis earlier this month and remembers the lawyer's efforts against former dictator Moammar Gadhi's regime.

Remembering Salwa Bugaighis, The Libyan Advocate Who Took On Ghadafi

Listen · 3:17
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/325909181/325909182" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Middle East

Guilty Verdicts Claim 3 More Reporters, As Egyptian Courts Roll On

An Egyptian court issued its verdict in the trial of three journalists from the Al Jazeera English network. Though evidence of their alleged crimes was never presented in court, two of the journalists were slapped with seven-year sentences and one with a ten-year sentence. The decision has been met with international condemnation.

Guilty Verdicts Claim 3 More Reporters, As Egyptian Courts Roll On

Listen · 3:56
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/324906571/324906572" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Middle East

Egyptian Court Sentences Al Jazeera Reporters To Prison

Two journalists in Cairo got seven years in prison and third received 10 years. Egypt's government accused them of helping the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Egyptian Court Sentences Al Jazeera Reporters To Prison

Listen · 3:58
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/324738191/324738192" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript