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Fatma Tanis Fatma Tanis is a correspondent covering global health and development for NPR.
Fatma Tanis
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Fatma Tanis

Wednesday

Saudi Arabia's Ambitious Economic Overhaul Hinges On Reducing Its Oil 'Addiction'

Flames are seen at the production facility of Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield in May. Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters hide caption

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Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters

World

Saudi Arabia's Ambitious Economic Overhaul Hinges On Reducing Its Oil 'Addiction'

The government has ambitious plans to diversify the oil kingdom — and that means revamping the world's biggest petroleum producer.

Saudi Arabia's Ambitious Economic Overhaul Hinges On Reducing Its Oil 'Addiction'

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Monday

Hooking Up Gets Easier To Do In Saudi Arabia

Saudi women wait for their drivers outside a hotel in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

Hooking Up Gets Easier To Do In Saudi Arabia

These days, some young people in the conservative kingdom also use Tinder to find a match.

Hooking Up Gets Easier To Do In Saudi Arabia

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Monday

Saudi Arabian Businesses Struggle With Rule To Replace Foreign Workers With Locals

Jewelry shops in Riyadh could be among the businesses to feel the strain after a government edict to replace foreign workers with Saudi ones. Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

Saudi Arabian Businesses Struggle With Rule To Replace Foreign Workers With Locals

The Saudi kingdom says it is trying to wean the economy off an oil and foreign worker dependency. Employers say it has not been easy.

Saudi Arabian Businesses Struggle With Rule To Replace Foreign Workers With Locals

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Wednesday

'Culture Shock Within Their Own Country': Saudis Come To Grips With Swift Changes

Saudi women jog in the streets of Jeddah in March. The government is encouraging greater participation by women in sports. Amer Hilabi/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Amer Hilabi/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

'Culture Shock Within Their Own Country': Saudis Come To Grips With Swift Changes

Activities once forbidden — cinema, music, women driving — are now OK. It makes some Saudis nervous. "I talk to younger people, they are happy with it," says a Saudi woman. "But older people are not."

'Culture Shock Within Their Own Country': Saudis Come To Grips With Swift Changes

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Tuesday

Lubna Olayan Broke Saudi Arabia's Glass Ceiling. Now She Wants More Women To Work

Lubna Olayan in her office at Olayan Financing Company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April. Fatma Tanis/NPR hide caption

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Parallels

Lubna Olayan Broke Saudi Arabia's Glass Ceiling. Now She Wants More Women To Work

The influential Saudi CEO discusses what she's done to get more women working.

Lubna Olayan Broke Saudi Arabia's Glass Ceiling. Now She Wants More Women To Work

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Saturday

As Saudi Arabia's Cinema Ban Ends, Filmmakers Eye New Opportunities

The AMC cinema in Riyadh hosted the first film screening in more than three decades on April 18. Movie theaters open to the wider public next month after Saudi Arabia lifted a 35-year ban on cinemas as part of a far-reaching liberalization drive. Bandar Al-Jaloud/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Bandar Al-Jaloud/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

As Saudi Arabia's Cinema Ban Ends, Filmmakers Eye New Opportunities

Allowing cinemas is part of a modernization drive by the Saudi government, which hopes to create more business opportunities and become a regional film hub. But it's a tough place to be a filmmaker.

As Saudi Arabia's Cinema Ban Ends, Filmmakers Eye New Opportunities

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Tuesday

U.N. Rights Chief: Myanmar's Treatment Of Rohingya Includes 'Almost ISIS-Type Crimes'

Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh wait to receive food distributed by a Turkish aid agency at a refugee camp on Saturday. Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

U.N. Rights Chief: Myanmar's Treatment Of Rohingya Includes 'Almost ISIS-Type Crimes'

The violence includes "some of the most awful crimes we have ever seen," including beheadings and cutting children's throats, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein tells NPR.

U.N. Rights Chief: Myanmar's Treatment Of Rohingya Includes 'Almost ISIS-Type Crimes'

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Friday

National

2 Houstonians Talk About Their City And How Hurricane Harvey Could Change It

Watching from afar as the devastation unfolds in Texas has been difficult for anyone paying attention. But that experience is magnified for expatriate Houstonians — like NPR's producer Fatma Tanis.

2 Houstonians Talk About Their City And How Hurricane Harvey Could Change It

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