Mar 10th, 2010 · The league's peace initiative committee said if Israel pursues new settlement building in east Jerusalem, the proposed indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians would be irrelevant. A final decision on whether to support the process must be made by the foreign ministers of the Arab nations.
Feb 18th, 2010 · NPR News Investigation: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab took two separate trips to Yemen, four years apart, to learn Arabic at a school near the capital. Officials now wonder whether the second trip, in 2009, was simply an excuse to gain entrance to Yemen to train with al-Qaida.
Feb 13th, 2010 · Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate, Arabic-speaker and Iraq War veteran, was recommended for discharge under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy after declaring that he is gay. But now, he's been asked to return to training with his National Guard unit. The invitation comes as the Defense Department reviews the possible effects of repealing the military policy, which prohibits openly gay men and women from serving. Host Scott Simon speaks with Choi.
Feb 13th, 2010 · Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate, Arabic-speaker and Iraq War veteran, was recommended for discharge under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy after declaring that he is gay. But now, he's been asked to return to training with his National Guard unit. The invitation comes as the Defense Department reviews the possible effects of repealing the military policy, which prohibits openly gay men and women from serving. Host Scott Simon speaks with Choi.
Feb 11th, 2010 · Authorities at Philadelphia International Airport questioned Nick George, 22, about his Arabic language flash cards in August. George says he was detained even after it was clear he posed no safety threat. He missed his flight back to Pomona College where he is a physics major. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on his behalf.
Jan 29th, 2010 · The Israeli movie Ajami, short-listed for an Oscar, does not include the well-worn characters that Western audiences have come to expect from Middle Eastern movies. Rather, focusing on a gritty neighborhood in the old seaside city of Jaffa, it delves into the urban problems and personal conflicts of the area's residents. And it pays special attention to an often invisible minority — Israeli Arabs.
Jan 10th, 2010 · Would-be airplane bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab spent time in Yemen studying Arabic. Five years earlier, Sandy Choi also went to language school there. She brought back photographs of everyday life we not often seen outside the country.
Jan 8th, 2010 · The headwaters of the Middle East's great rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris, originate in Turkey, which controls flow of the waters to the Arab world downstream. A three-year drought has devastated Syria and Iraq, fueling resentment against the Turks.