Journalist. Reporting for NPR in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Jordan. former NYT, Christian Science Monitor, Jazeera English, CNN, Reuters in lots of places.
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This is stunning - #Iraq prime minister tells parliament US troops should leave. Says @realDonaldTrump called him to ask him to mediate with #Iran and then ordered drone strike on Soleimani. Says Soleimani carrying response to Saudi initiative to defuse tension when he was hit.
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The analysts, the journalists, the doctors, the grandmothers and grandfathers, the women and children - an entire civilization is being erased.
Veteran Palestinian journalist and political analyst Mustafa Sawwaf and his entire family were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza earlier today.
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This explains why one woman fleeing Rafah destroyed her family photos... "I burned my personal pictures in case someone comes into my house and does something bad to them. It was a very difficult feeling to burn your memories" she tells NPR npr.org/2024/06/09/nx-s1-498…
"EXCLUSIVE: Inside Israel’s Insta-Genocide"
One of the most important pieces Zeteo has published: a 2-part special investigation by @ytirawi & @rnmwz166987 into how Israeli soldiers use social media to humiliate Palestinians & incite genocide:
#mustread
zeteo.com/p/israel-soldier-g…
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Twelve-year-old in Baghdad near the protest, left school after second grade. Sitting down because he's tired from selling gum to support his brothers and sisters. Kids like him are part of the reason the protestors persist. #Iraqprotests
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Great she is there. Unfortunate the editor didn't notice that when she says they are chanting 'death to America' they are actually chanting is 'God is greater'.
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Air raid sirens coming from US embassy and explosion that sounded like rocket landing but unclear whether in #Baghdad green zone or nearby neighborhood.
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My final @npr conversation with the wonderful @arishapiro @npract before joining @nytimes. Thank you to an enduringly great organization, cherished colleagues and editors and wonderful listeners. Photo Mosul 2017 w @SangarKhaleel npr.org/2020/12/07/943968729…
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In #Baghdad where my hotel has received security orders banning #journalists from staying in rooms facing river or on high floors where you can see Tahrir Square protest unfolding. Transported to Saddam’s time when entire hotel wings were blocked so we couldn’t see things.
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Peaceful student protest in Baghdad’s Tahrir square this evening calling for end to impunity for killers of activists. Iraqi military command issued orders barring photographers, video cameras. More security forces than protesters.
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He was wearing a home-made life jacket made of empty water bottles. Unimaginable the desperation that would lead to that.
Body of Iraqi migrant who tried to swim to Britain found off Belgium. Tragic. These are incredibly desperate people. theguardian.com/world/2019/a…
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Israel says it struck Palestinian Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus today. We found what neighbors said was an apartment vacated years ago and next door a badly wounded elderly woman and an injured grey parrot.
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Staggering number of people sentenced today in #Egypt's Rabaa square trial. 75 given death sentences, 47 life in prison, and hundreds more, inc American Moustafa Kassem, to 15 years. Five people died in prison awaiting trial for the 2013 protest against Egypt's military coup.
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A lovely woman and lovely moment in the flower market in Lviv, Ukraine. The pussy-willow bouquets are the Ukrainian version of palm fronds - blessed at churches on Palm Sunday.
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Explosion, presumably a rocket by the thud, in Baghdad green zone, followed by second explosion. Air raid sirens going off. No word yet on whether there were casualties.
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Rocket attacks near Erbil apparently hit empty fields - inc unexploded rocket near airport. No attack on US consulate according to security officials.
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Amazing. A concert near the building in #Mosul where ISIS threw people to their deaths.
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In the wonderful market in Qamishli, the Rojava region in northeastern Syria, a shopkeeper who has been selling yogurt and thick water buffalo cream for half a century.
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At #Baghdad protest today when I could open my eyes again after a cloud of tear gas descended, a policeman with a bunch of plastic roses with tiny white teddy bears handed me one. And I think that pretty much explains why #journalism is the best job in the world.
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#Mosul night-life. A well-kept secret - after ISIS east Mosul comes alive at night. Restaurants on the river packed with people. Amusement parks and boat rides on the Tigris. Families who can't afford any of those picnic on the sidewalk.
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For Malala, Now 20, Birthdays Are Best Spent With Girls Who Dream Big - my @NPR story on inspiring young women n.pr/2uKbNHR
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Ukrainian girl playing on top of a tank at the WWII museum in Kyiv. Her mom says they came on this day celebrating the end of that war to commemorate those who died so others could live.
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Security forces voting in Baghdad. This officer brought his daughter to show her how elections work. Iraq’s fifth national elections since 2003 - pretty good for the region.
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A happier ending to a terrible story. Sonya, the kidnapped daughter of a #Yazidi mom enslaved by #ISIS, walks out of a Mosul orphanage today after DNA tests confirm her identity. Her story here: npr.org/2020/11/24/938039004… (Photo courtesy Sukaina Yunis)
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Sometimes in Baghdad you see things that give you hope - cleaned up parks, playgrounds….and then there is this stuffed wolf.
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Iraq's state TV battles racism with the historic hiring of a remarkable young woman: A Black Iraqi’s Sudden Career in TV News: ‘They Wanted to See All Colors’ nytimes.com/2022/02/04/world…
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Absolutely extraordinary move in context of the region - #Yazidi religious leaders say Yazidi women who had children after being raped by #ISIS fighters can keep their children. Hundreds of women forced to give up them up to go home. Question now of whether they can find them.
In a historic move, the Yazidi Supreme Spiritual Council issues a statement to welcome all survivors, including women and their children born out of rape. We now hope to retrieve hundreds of women and their children from Syria.
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Iraqi Yazidis - among the biggest ISIS victims - denied boarding on US-bound flights despite visas. Cleared Iraqi refugees also barred.
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In Lviv, Ukraine street performer turns around the day of Ukrainian children, many of them displaced by war. Pure magic.
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Six years after #Yazidis lost their lives and their homes, why are children still living in tents in the mud? Anyone?
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UK court releases findings that #UAE's Sheikh Mohammed ordered the kidnapping of two of his daughters - one abducted after being sedated, the other subject to 'physical abuse amounting to torture'. Takes some of the shine off #Dubai. bbc.com/news/world-middle-ea…
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Amid the anniversary of the 2014 ISIS genocide this week, a small moment of joy. Yazidi children play in the wind and rain at a temple in the Iraqi Kurdistan region today. ISIS tried and failed to extinguish the community.
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An important story, with @sangarkhaleel, about who has the right over ISIS survivors' images, voices and stories: Women Enslaved by ISIS Say They Did Not Consent to a Film About Them nytimes.com/2021/09/26/world…
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In a rare summer rain shower in Iraqi Kurdistan, Yazidi kids play near a temple. Sheer joy. The ISIS genocide killed and enslaved thousands but didn't erase the community.
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Mourning the tragic passing of Dr Nemam Ghafouri - founder of Joint Help for Kurdistan and an extraordinary human being who devoted the past five years of her life to helping #Yazidi women and children. She moved mountains.
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#Kurdish president @masoud_barzani talks Mosul, #Iran and prisoners held by IS in my PBS @NewsHourWorld interview goo.gl/HJJOju
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Such sad news. #Iraq counter-terrorism expert and government advisor Hisham al-Hashimi shot dead tonight in Baghdad. There were few people who knew more about ISIS and were as generous with their knowledge.
Irak: j'apprends la mort d'Hisham al-Hashémi, chercheur spécialiste des mouvements djihadistes et un ami de longue date. Il a été tué chez lui à Bagdad. Paix à son âme.
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One of Iraq's most prominent human rights activists bids goodbye in Basra to her son who was kidnapped and shot dead. The government calls them unknown groups but everyone seems to know the groups carrying out these killings.
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Women Enslaved by ISIS Say They Did Not Consent to a Film About Them nytimes.com/2021/09/26/world…
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Striking that not a single person we talked to here believed it was #ISIS. They all believe #Iraqi political parties are jockeying for power and killing the poor in the process: Suicide Bombing in Crowded #Baghdad Market Kills at Least 32 nytimes.com/2021/01/21/world…
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The only non-Kurdish flag at rally going on now in #Erbil. Israel the sole country to support independence referendum
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I would like to cover an #Iraq where I don't have to write about 15-year-old boys sneaking out of the house to demonstrate for basic rights and being shot dead by security forces. Three of the latest protestors killed, including teenager Raymond Salem.
العراقييون البارحة توحدو بساحة التحرير وتوحدوا بالشهادة لان البارحة الي استشهدوا سني وشيعي ومسيحي اسف علمسميات بس يجب ان تذكر.
الشهداء:ريمون مسيحي ......محمد المختار سني.............علاء الشمري شيعي. الف رحمة ونور تنزل عليكم .
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A little known piece of Iraqi history at the new Iraqi Media Museum: this mechanical singing bird was presented by Adolph Hitler to King Ghazi on the opening of Iraqi state radio in 1936. A recording of its song still opens state radio broadcasts.
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Thousands turn out for burials in Qamishli of SDF fighters killed defending prison in northeast Syria from ISIS attack. 40 fighters and 70 prison guards and workers killed in the fighting.
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Great point. We have lost the ability to report on US military deployments as they mostly engage with media through handouts these days. But things are so bad a lot of journalists and even editors don’t understand why running these photos without context is deeply wrong.
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A happier ending than most: #Mosul orphanage official tells #Yazidi mom in Canada today her daughter kidnapped six years ago by #ISIS has been identified. (video courtesy Sukaina Yunis) The girl's story here: npr.org/2020/11/24/938039004…
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And the first visit by a pope to #Iraq. Saddam denied Vatican requests for a visit in fear of large gatherings he wasn't entirely in control of. Iraq is known as the land of prophets - including Ur - reputed birthplace of the Prophet Abraham.
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What did you do with the women? This looks like almost every official meeting in the Middle East.
Today we had a very productive meeting of the White House Coronavirus Taskforce in the Situation Room. We placed additional travel restrictions on Iran & we are increasing the travel advisory to level 4, urging Americans not to travel to specific regions in Italy & South Korea.
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#Jordan isn't really 'cautiously welcoming' the #UAE-Israel agreement with its polite statement, it's warning that the conflict will deepen unless this leads to an independent #Palestinian state - a prospect that seems further away with this deal.
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#Baghdad! Not always what you think.
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Drone attack on Baghdad airport Wednesday resulted in minor damage to State Department compound inside the airport complex, some treated for smoke inhalation. Today, U.S. offers up to $3 million reward for info on those targeting American diplomatic missions.
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Voting in #Baghdad - 84 year old voter and his wife, 75, in Athamiya neighborhood. They say they’re hopeful for the future. #Iraq #elections
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Iraqi Kurds at the Belarus border are describing a vision of hell. Beatings by Belarus police and if you make it to the Lithuania side, beatings and Tasers. And still people are so desperate for a better life than their country can offer they are willing to risk all that.
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Given the reports of bots behind this campaign, I think it's safe to say this is a real person, with a real message in Baghdad's real Tahrir square. A particularly brave one since so many young #Iraqis are being arrested or kidnapped for protesting.
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Iraqi women posing on steps of presidential palace after working with President @BarhamSalih on landmark draft bill to criminalize domestic violence. Controversial in #Iraq, the bill would end protection for assault within families and allow safe houses for victims of violence.
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The only non-Kurdish flag at rally going on now in #Erbil. Israel the sole country to support independence referendum
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A lovely piece.... Baghdad: forever on the brink correspondent.afp.com/baghda…
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#Iraqi nurses in #Baghdad's Tahrir square. After their hospital shifts they come to treat the wounded near the front lines of the protest. 'My parents think I'm at work' one says. #IraqiProtests
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An #Iraqi treasure is gone. Dr Lamia al-Gailani. An #archaeologist in #Iraq and London for the past half-century currently working on the new #Basra museum, passed away suddenly in Amman. Dr Gailani had an infectious love of archaeology and of life. She will be greatly missed.
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U.S.-led coalition says U.S. ground troops in armored fighting vehicles are now backing Kurdish-Syrian forces battling ISIS troops at Hasaka prison. SDF tightening cordon around the prison with hundreds of child detainees being held hostage.
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Thank you Diaa - I'm thrilled but sad to be leaving NPR - a truly wonderful place with amazing, talented and incredibly dedicated colleagues.
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