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Saturday

Friday

Biden says the U.S. will work to improve Palestinians' lives

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in east Jerusalem on Friday. Biden announced a U.S. investment of $100 million for a network of hospitals. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

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Evan Vucci/AP

Middle East

Biden says the U.S. will work to improve Palestinians' lives

President Biden says that he's committed to the two-state solution for Israel and an independent Palestinian state. But with that goal out of reach, he said, the U.S. will look to help Palestinians.

Tuesday

How the U.S. case might tie into the global upswing in polio

A child receives a polio vaccine in Kampala, Uganda, on Jan. 14, 2022. Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images hide caption

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Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

How the U.S. case might tie into the global upswing in polio

Countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia are counting more cases of vaccine-derived polio. Now there's a likely U.S. case. Researchers are looking for ways to stop it.

How the U.S. case might tie into the global upswing in polio

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Sunday

Russia's war on Ukraine is dire for world hunger. But there are solutions

A driver sits in the cab of a combine harvester during the summer harvest in a field of wheat in Varva, Ukraine. Ukraine accounts for more than 10% of the global wheat market. Russia's war threatens to disrupt the spring planting season. Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Russia's war on Ukraine is dire for world hunger. But there are solutions

Both countries are huge suppliers of grains and other essential foods. And with widespread hunger and high food prices already, the war couldn't have come at a worse time.

Russia's war on Ukraine is dire for world hunger. But there are solutions

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Thursday

A Symphony of Resistance (2021)

Graffitied wall off Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt, February 11, 2011. Egyptians celebrated minutes after former President Mubarak resigned from his presidential duties in the early evening on February 11 in Cairo, Egypt. Kim Badawi Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Kim Badawi Images/Getty Images

Throughline

A Symphony of Resistance (2021)

The Arab Spring erupted eleven years ago when a wave of "pro-democracy" protests spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The effects of the uprisings reverberated around the world as regimes fell in some countries, and civil war began in others. This week, we remember the years leading up to the Arab Spring, and its lasting impact on three people who lived through it.

A Symphony of Resistance (2021)

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Tuesday

Bonus: The Deep History of Dune
Ian West/PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

Throughline

Bonus: The Deep History of Dune

Rund and Ramtin speak to sci-fi writer and Princeton historian, Haris Durrani, about why the lore of Dune still proves so relevant and the ways in which the 2021 film succeeds and fails to convey its messages.

Bonus: The Deep History of Dune

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Thursday

A Symphony of Resistance

An anti-government protester is carried on shoulders before a speech by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square February 10, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. Chris Hondros/Getty Images hide caption

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Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Throughline

A Symphony of Resistance

The Arab Spring erupted ten years ago when a wave of "pro-democracy" protests spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The effects of the uprisings reverberated around the world as regimes fell in some countries, and civil war began in others. This week, we remember the years leading up to the Arab Spring, and its lasting impact on three people who lived through it.

A Symphony of Resistance

Listen · 56:30
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Monday

Thursday

UAE, Israel Move To Normalize Relations As Israel Halts Planned West Bank Annexations

President Trump speaks during a Oval Office meeting Thursday with representatives of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, announcing an agreement to establish diplomatic ties between the two countries. Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images hide caption

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Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images

World

UAE, Israel Move To Normalize Relations As Israel Halts Planned West Bank Annexations

President Trump brokers the historic agreement. The United Arab Emirates and Israel will move toward bilateral diplomatic relations, and Israel will suspend plans to annex portions of the West Bank.

Thursday

Thursday

CBP Chief Admits Officers 'Overzealous'; Critics Say Iranians And Others Targeted

Acting Customs and Border Protection director Mark Morgan speaks with reporters in the briefing room at the White House, on Nov. 14, 2019. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

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Alex Brandon/AP

National

CBP Chief Admits Officers 'Overzealous'; Critics Say Iranians And Others Targeted

The head of CBP says the Seattle field office was "corrected" after it questioned hundreds of Iranian-American citizens at a border crossing. But advocates fear this wasn't an isolated mistake.

CBP Chief Admits Officers 'Overzealous'; Critics Say Iranians And Others Targeted

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Monday

Turkey, Syria Trade Deadly Strikes As Russia Watches Uneasily

A Turkish military convoy passes through the Syrian town of Dana, in Idlib province near the Turkish-Syrian border, on Sunday. It is there, in northwestern Syria, that friction between the country and neighboring Turkey has flared into direct violence. Aaref Watad/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Aaref Watad/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East

Turkey, Syria Trade Deadly Strikes As Russia Watches Uneasily

Half a dozen Turkish troops and at least 13 Syrians died Monday in the Syrian border province of Idlib. The spasm of violence between the bitter neighbors also threatens to ensnare Syrian ally Russia.

Monday

Saturday

Omani Sultan Qaboos, Who Ruled Oman For Half A Century, Dies At 79

Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said, seen during a 2010 ceremony in Muscat, died at the age of 79 after suffering for years from an undisclosed illness. After a half-century reign, he has been succeeded by Haitham bin Tariq Al Said. Chris Jackson/Getty Images hide caption

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Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Middle East

Omani Sultan Qaboos, Who Ruled Oman For Half A Century, Dies At 79

The long-serving monarch named his successor, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who was sworn in as sultan Saturday. Under Qaboos, the tiny Middle Eastern state took on an outsize role in regional diplomacy.

Thursday

Transcript: NPR's Full Interview With NSC Adviser Robert O'Brien

At the White House on Wednesday, national security adviser Robert O'Brien hears President Trump address the nation on the ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing U.S. troops. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

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Alex Brandon/AP

Politics

Transcript: NPR's Full Interview With NSC Adviser Robert O'Brien

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with national security adviser Robert O'Brien about tensions with Iran and the future of the U.S. presence in the Middle East.