Accessibility links
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson Special correspondent Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is based in Berlin. Her reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and read at NPR.org.
Stories By

Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is a NPR foreign correspondent based in Cairo.

Friday

World

Pakistanis Fear Violent Election Season

Pakistanis prepare for what many fear could become the most violent election season in the country's history. After bomb attacks on opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who had just returned from exile, many in Pakistan believe extremists will target candidates viewed too secular or pro-West.

Pakistanis Fear Violent Election Season

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15655347/15655299" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

World

Bhutto Says Militants Won't Drive Her Out

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had a news conference Friday in Karachi, a day after bomb attacks aimed at her motorcade left more than 130 people dead and dozens more wounded. Bhutto blamed militants for the attack and said she would not surrender the country to them.

Hear NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson on All Things Considered

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15460490/15460454" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

World

Blasts Follow Return of Pakistan's Ex-Leader Bhutto

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto ended eight years of self-imposed exile Thursday and arrived in Karachi, where tens of thousands of supporters greeted her. The return was marred by at least two explosions near her motorcade, which was surrounded by supporters.

Hear Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson with Bhutto's convoy on All Things Considered.

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15413640/15413597" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Bhutto Welcomed in Karachi, Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former prime minister, makes an emotional return after eight years in exile. She hopes to bring change to Pakistan in a power-sharing agreement with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf after elections in January.

Bhutto Welcomed in Karachi, Pakistan

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15400472/15395947" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Exiled Bhutto Returns to Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, ends an eight-year exile to return to Pakistan. Supporters welcomed her in Karachi. She has been negotiating a possible power sharing deal with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who seized leadership in a bloodless coup in 1999.

Exiled Bhutto Returns to Pakistan

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15391858/15391578" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Memorable Moments 2007

Disabled Often Carry Out Afghan Suicide Missions

There have been at least 110 suicide attacks in Afghanistan this year. An Afghan doctor who conducts bombers' autopsies says that up to 80 percent of suicide bombers in Kabul are disabled.

Disabled Often Carry Out Afghan Suicide Missions

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15276485/15275909" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

World

Victims Maimed by Taliban Get Help from U.S. Team

Afghans who work for U.S. and other NATO troops in Afghanistan are a favorite target of the Taliban. The militants view them as traitors to be tortured and maimed. But a Navy commander in Kunar province and an American hospital in Kabul have devised a plan to give Afghans back what the Taliban destroyed.

Victims Maimed by Taliban Get Help from U.S. Team

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15080011/15079991" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

World

Pressure Mounts for Karzai and Reconciliation

Afghan President Hamid Karzai told world leaders at the ongoing U.N. conference in New York that he is doing everything he can to end the Taliban insurgency, including setting up a commission to deal with reconciliation. His critics say he hasn't done enough.

Pressure Mounts for Karzai and Reconciliation

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15005498/15005455" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

World

Schools Aimed to Keep Afghan Boys from Militancy

As it struggles with a Taliban insurgency, Afghanistan's government is building Islamic schools. It's an effort to keep Afghan families from sending their sons to religious schools with a more militant bent in neighboring Pakistan.

Schools Aimed to Keep Afghan Boys from Militancy

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14863390/14942700" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

World

Suicide Bomber Hits Kabul Bus Filled with Police

For the second time in four days, a suicide bombing blamed on the Taliban targets a rush-hour bus in Kabul. The latest target was a police bus that had stopped to pick up officers on their way to work.

Suicide Bomber Hits Kabul Bus Filled with Police

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14887187/14886393" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Friday

World

Tapping into Afghanistan's Wealth of Gems

Afghanistan's mountains contain a huge, mostly untapped treasure chest of gemstones and precious metals. The Afghan government has recently begun promoting private efforts to mine the gems — and cashing in on the taxes and fees generated by the business.

Tapping into Afghanistan's Wealth of Gems

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14239357/14248747" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

World

Rocky Terrain Slows Construction in Afghanistan

Building up Afghanistan has been a main goal since U.S.-led forces defeated the Taliban six years ago. But construction is inching along at best. Not necessarily because of insurgents, but because of topography.

Rocky Terrain Slows Construction in Afghanistan

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14092740/14136156" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

World

Teams Focus on Poppy Eradication in Afghanistan

The cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan is at an all-time high. The United Nations says the country is expected to produce nearly 9,000 tons of opium this year — nearly all of the world's supply. But some anti-drug teams have been successful in reducing the amount planted.

Teams Focus on Poppy Eradication in Afghanistan

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14088743/14094385" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

World

Taliban Releases Remaining South Korean Hostages

The hostage crisis in Afghanistan has come to an end. Seven South Koreans held by the Taliban were freed after six weeks. The drama is over after the deaths of two of the captives.

Taliban Releases Remaining South Korean Hostages

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14045376/14045358" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript