A Mexican-Syrian Friendship Sparks a Refugee Program
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- Written by Riham Alkousaa

When Melendez first met Mohammed, he was working for Un Ponte Per, an Italian NGO partnered with the United Nations to support Syrian refugees in Iraq.
Read more at Al FanarSyrian rebels fear Bashar Assad benefits from Trump-Putin truce
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter and Asaad Hann

The Syrian acknowledged in an interview to having mixed feeling about the deal from the start. “The airstrikes have stopped,” said Dr. Sroor, 35, a medical doctor, “but the regime artillery units are still active outside the de-escalation zone.”
10 Iraqi Universities Rebuild In Wake of Islamic State
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- Written by Gilgamesh Nabeel
Hard-fought victory in sight: Iraq close to retaking Mosul from Islamic State
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- Written by Ammar Al Shamary and Gilgamesh Nabeel

Following weeks of steady but bloody progress, Iraqi government forces announced Thursday that they were close to recapturing the landmark Nuri mosque in Mosul, a hugely symbolic victory retaking the holy site where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance in 2014 and from which he declared the establishment of a radical Islamic “caliphate.”
Read more at The Washington Times
First elephants, then rhinos — now donkeys are under threat
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- Written by Zaheer Cassim

Ashley Ness was tracking down smugglers in the South African countryside earlier this year when she came upon an unexpected sight — hundreds of donkey hides hanging on tree branches.
The hides were on a homestead rented out to Chinese immigrants, said Ness, an inspector with Highveld Horse Care, a nonprofit animal rights group. Tractors, shipping containers and other detritus littered the property. Inside one of the containers, Ness and police officers found at least 3,000 donkey skins stacked.
Egypt’s Coptic Christians question whether el-Sissi alliance can protect them from terror
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter and Mina Nader

CAIRO — Pope Francis is long gone from Egypt, but his April trip intensified a growing unease among Coptic Christians about President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s embrace of their 10 million-strong community.
During the pontiff’s visit, Mr. el-Sissi told Francis that the Egyptian government “is committed to treating all nationals equally on grounds of citizenship and constitutional and legal rights.”
Palestinian University Graduates Face Harsh Futures
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- Written by Asma Jawabreh

HEBRON—Mohammad Ahmed studied accounting at al-Quds Open University in Hebron. He graduated with 3.7 out of 4.0 grade point average. But he’s never worked as an accountant.
“Two years after finishing my bachelor’s degree in accounting, I worked in a small furniture factory to earn money,” said Ahmed. “If I depended on my degree, I wouldn’t have a job in the next five years.”
Rush-hour bombing near embassies kills 90, wounds hundreds in Kabul
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- Written by Bilal Sarwary and Jane Onyanga-Omara

Public health ministry spokesman Ismail Kawasi told the Associated Press that 400 people were injured in the bombing, which happened near Zambaq Square in the center of Kabul during rush hour.
Rebuilding Mosul’s Library, Book by Book
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- Written by Gilgamesh Nabeel

A campaign to restore the holdings of the library of the University of Mosul has received an enthusiastic response since it began three months ago. Professors, students and private donors inside and outside Iraq are contributing books and other materials even before government military action to reclaim the city from Da’esh (Islamic State) has ended.
Islamic State seized the library when it captured Mosul in June of 2014, and made a show of destroying its books and manuscripts.
Who's fed up with sex assaults on Egyptian women?
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter
Palestinians clash over video of snacking politician on hunger strike in Israeli prison
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- Written by Asma' Jawabreh and Jacob Wirtschafter

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The deliberate release of a video showing Palestinian politician Marwan Barghouti eating cookies and a candy bar in his cell while supposedly leading a hunger strike against conditions in Israeli prisons has widened divisions as the 50-year anniversary of the Six-Day War approaches.
Israelis say the video highlights the duplicity of a terrorist. Palestinians are convinced that the leaked footage is either a setup or “fake news” about a charismatic leader whom many Palestinians view as a potential replacement for Mahmoud Abbas, the 82-year-old president of the Palestinian Authority.
English speakers from Cameroon are joining Syrian refugees on migrant boats
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- Written by Christian Locka

The 18-year-old has not attended school since January, when teachers walked off the job to protest the central government’s treatment of Anglophone Cameroonians in the largely French-speaking West African country. He’s missed so many classes, he couldn’t pass national exams anyway.
In Rwanda, growth is the only option
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- Written by Tonny Onyulo

Now, the country is remarketing itself as the region’s economic miracle — the Singapore of Africa, the hotbed of a burgeoning services industry, a forward-looking country boldly pushing toward a cashless economy through financial technology.
Syrian rebels cheer U.S. missile strike on Assad's airbase
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter and Jabeen Bhatti

"Hitting regime targets which have been used to launch attacks against Syrian civilians for six years is welcome news," said Issam Elrayaes, 41, a captain in the Free Syrian Army, one of many rebel groups waging a civil war against Assad's rule.
Like a phoenix, Egypt economy is rising from ashes
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter

Yet all three are benefiting from an unexpected turnaround in Egypt’s long-suffering economy.
Pakistan wants millions of Afghan refugees gone
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- Written by Valerie Plesch

“The government of Pakistan has already deported my husband and my eldest son to Afghanistan,” said Afghan refugee Laiba Zeb, 27, who waited in line for hours at the registration office with her other remaining children.
Young Arabs have a message for their leaders: Security is about more than war and terrorism
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter

The well-coordinated early-morning attack on the editorial offices of the Charlie Hebdo targeted the editor of the bitingly satiric weekly, Stephane Charbonnier, nine colleagues and a security guard, all murdered in cold blood by masked assailants who reportedly called out the names of their victims as they were shot.
Read more at PRI
Egyptian Copts finally fulfilling ‘dream’ of traveling to Jerusalem
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter and Mina Nader

For years, those pilgrimages for Egypt’s Coptic Christians, like El-Sayeh, were discouraged.
As the Syrian conflict turns 6 years old, conditions remain unbearable
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- Written by Riham Alkousa and Jacob Wirtschafter

"I was next to them in the house," said Mahmoud, 35, a farmer. "They didn’t have time to run away."
Mood in Benghazi optimistic as authorities slowly defeat militants
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- Written by Mathieu Gaultier

“The war made it clear to me how important it is to study hard to have a better life,” said Mr. Al-Magrebi, 18, who dreams of becoming an aeronautical engineer. “Cousins of mine died fighting the terrorists. I cannot give up. I should build a peaceful future in their tribute.”
Pakistanis defy Valentine's Day ban with hearts, flowers and love
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- Written by Naila Inayat

Shahid and many other Pakistanis are outraged over a court's ban on celebrating Valentine's Day because it is considered 'unIslamic.' They vowed to press forward with hearts, flowers and love.
Separated Iraqi families hold emotional reunions in liberated eastern Mosul
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- Written by Valerie Plesch and Ali Al-Zobady

No one was expecting him, not even his wife. When he called out to her and his two daughters, they were too afraid to answer. He found them huddled in a back room.
Libyans understand Trump’s motive behind order for travel ban
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter and Mina Nader

But after three years of civil war that left an opening for penetration by Islamic State terrorists and with rival governments in its eastern and western sectors — neither with full control of state agencies or the country’s borders — some Libyan leaders say they can readily understand what drove the new U.S. president to hit the pause button.
Iraqi translators who served the US military are desperate for an exemption to Trump's travel ban
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter

He's been looking for a sign that he'll be able to travel to the US after the Pentagon submits a new list of Iraqis who translated for and fought with the Americans after the 2003 invasion. On Sunday, an officer from the Department of Homeland Security refused passage to Hameed and his pregnant wife as they were about to board a Qatar Airways flight to Atlanta, where his sister Nour already lives with her two children.
Israel’s Muslims fear worst as Netanyahu eyes curbs on mosque prayer calls
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- Written by Jacob Wirtschafter

“It’s not a noise,” said Mohammad Darawshe, a 53-year-old Iksal resident who lives about 500 yards from the city’s largest mosque, a poured concrete structure whose domed, blue-tile top serves as the village’s dominating landmark. “It’s been part of the scene here for 1,400 years.”
More Articles...
- 2 Egyptian Universities Start Religion-Blind Admission
- Battle for Mosul: 'I miss everything there'
- Two months into fight for Mosul, more than 100,000 flee the Iraqi city
- Arson attacks on Israeli settlements raise fears of Palestinian ‘Fire Intifada’
- Mosul treasures survived millennia, only to be destroyed by ISIL