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Ruth Sherlock International Correspondent, covering the Middle East
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Ruth Sherlock

Ruth Sherlock

International Correspondent, covering the Middle East

Story Archive

Lebanon's Full Hospitals Turn Away Coronavirus Patients Amid Record Daily Cases

Inside an emergency room at Rafik Hariri Hospital on Nov. 17, a medic wearing full protective gear checks a woman who might have the coronavirus. Beirut hospitals are reaching maximum capacity amid an influx of coronavirus patients. Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption

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Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates

Lebanon's Full Hospitals Turn Away Coronavirus Patients Amid Record Daily Cases

A coronavirus surge is overwhelming hospitals, leading doctors to tell families to care for sick loved ones at home instead. Health workers fear New Year's parties could have led to further spikes.

Lebanon's Full Hospitals Turn Away Coronavirus Patients Amid Record Daily Cases

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Middle East

Migrants Flee Lebanon In Desperate, Doomed Journey

The story of Lebanese migrants on a doomed boat in September highlights the continuing attempts to get across the Mediterranean Sea — where over 1,000 migrants died in 2020.

Migrants Flee Lebanon In Desperate, Doomed Journey

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Deadly Explosion Rocks Yemeni Airport Just As New Government Members Land

Smoke billows behind a plane that brought Yemen's new government to Aden International Airport on Wednesday. Explosions rocked the airport shortly after the plane arrived. Saleh Al-Obeidi/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Saleh Al-Obeidi/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East

Deadly Explosion Rocks Yemeni Airport Just As New Government Members Land

People were still disembarking from the plane carrying the officials when the explosion hit, causing a large crowd to scatter. More than 20 were killed. There has been no claim of responsibility.

Deadly Explosion Rocks Yemeni Airport Just As New Government Members Land

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World

Migrants Continue To Die In Attempts To Cross Mediterranean Sea To Europe

The pandemic and its many travel restrictions haven't stopped thousands of migrants from attempting the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean Sea this year. More than 1,000 have died at sea.

Migrants Continue To Die In Attempts To Cross Mediterranean Sea To Europe

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Middle East

In Lebanon, Judge Suspends Inquiry Into Beirut Port Explosion

At the time of the August explosion, politicians promised to bring justice and find those culpable. Now they are placing limits on the inquiry.

In Lebanon, Judge Suspends Inquiry Into Beirut Port Explosion

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Arab Spring Generation 'Not As Scared As Their Parents Are Of Change'

A view of a mosque destroyed by regime forces in Douma, Syria, on March 21, 2018. Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus, was targeted by an air strike carried out by Syrian government forces. Muhmmad Al-Najjar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

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Muhmmad Al-Najjar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

World

Arab Spring Generation 'Not As Scared As Their Parents Are Of Change'

Hopes from the Arab Spring have mostly been dashed. But the era led to "a radical change in the way people think about the authorities, the state, and about their rights," says an Egyptian journalist.

Arab Spring Generation 'Not As Scared As Their Parents Are Of Change'

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World

Reflecting On The Arab Spring, 10 Years Later

The Arab Spring started 10 years ago this month and led to trouble - civil wars or even more repression. But some are holding onto the ideals of free speech and change.

Reflecting On The Arab Spring, 10 Years Later

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Imagine Waiting 6 Hours To Buy A Couple Of Bags Of Bread

Syrians buy bread at a shop in the town of Binnish in the country's northwestern Idlib province in June. Nowadays, people say they're waiting up to six hours in line for a meager government bread ration. Omar Haj Kadour /AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Omar Haj Kadour /AFP via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Imagine Waiting 6 Hours To Buy A Couple Of Bags Of Bread

That's the situation in Syria, where bread shortages are now widespread — and the queues for daily rations stretch on and on. The same goes for gasoline.

Imagine Waiting 6 Hours To Buy A Couple Of Bags Of Bread

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Middle East

Hours In Bread Lines: People Across Syria Struggle To Get Food

The U.N.'s World Food Program reports that half of Syria's population has trouble getting food. Syrians say hours-long bread lines sometimes end up yielding nothing.

Hours In Bread Lines: People Across Syria Struggle To Get Food

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Climate Change Closes In On Lebanon's Iconic Cedar Trees

A cedar tree that burned in a recent wildfire, in the Mishmish forest, Akkar, Lebanon. Sam Tarling for NPR hide caption

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Sam Tarling for NPR

World

Climate Change Closes In On Lebanon's Iconic Cedar Trees

A symbol of Lebanon's resilience through its long, turbulent history, the country's towering cedars now face increasing threats from wildfire and parasites, both fueled by global warming.

Climate Change Closes In On Lebanon's Iconic Cedar Trees

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Middle East

Lebanon A Year Later: Economic Collapse, Riots, Pandemic And Beirut Explosion

After a year away, an NPR reporter returns to Lebanon to find a country racked by inflation, degraded services and the pandemic and still picking up the pieces from August's explosion in Beirut.

Lebanon A Year Later: Economic Collapse, Riots, Pandemic And Beirut Explosion

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Middle East

Fighters In Syria Say Turkey Pays Them To Go To Wars In Other Countries

Some of the fighters in Syria's civil war — desperate for jobs and money — are becoming "guns for hire" in foreign wars. Turkey and Russia recruited Syrians for their military ambitions abroad.

Fighters In Syria Say Turkey Pays Them To Go To Wars In Other Countries

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Middle East

Thousands Of Women, Children To Be Released From ISIS Detention Camps

ISIS fell more than a year and a half ago, but tens of thousands of women and children still languish in detention camps in Syria. Kurdish officials said they will start releasing thousands of them.

Thousands Of Women, Children To Be Released From ISIS Detention Camps

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Middle East

After The Big Explosion In Beirut, Volunteers Are Helping Out

In Lebanon, volunteers have stepped in to do the aid work still needed after the blast that ripped through Beirut a month ago. Many blame the government for inaction.

After The Big Explosion In Beirut, Volunteers Are Helping Out

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Middle East

'We Are All Scared, All The Time': Syrian Doctors Can't Talk About The Coronavirus

Syria reports about 3,100 coronavirus infections and 130 deaths. But health workers say the situation is worse and that the regime has been telling people not to discuss it.

'We Are All Scared, All The Time': Syrian Doctors Can't Talk About The Coronavirus

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