They gather shortly after daybreak outside a mini-market, the tropical heat thickening, the dawn haze in lethargic retreat. They hug and catch up, purchase water and snacks for the upcoming ordeal. New volunteers are welcomed. “You’re not alone,” Lucia Diaz, a leader of the group, assures a young...
Stoic and composed, Itimad Bassam sat before the judges and confidently made her pitch. “I will rescue old clothes that have been thrown away in my neighborhood and turn them into wearable secondhand clothes,” the 22-year-old told the panel. “There’s a factory in my neighborhood. I will convince...
Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Wednesday threatened to suspend U.S. cooperation with Russia concerning the conflict in Syria, following heavy Russian and Syrian airstrikes on civilian neighborhoods in the divided city of Aleppo. The warning signaled growing frustration and anger in the Obama...
For several days this month, a cease-fire brought some measure of peace to the embattled city of Aleppo, where warring sides in Syria’s civil war have long been locked in a stalemate. But the lull in fighting quickly ended. The violence escalated dramatically Tuesday as pro-government forces launched...
It was Sunday morning, the start of the work week after the long Eid al-Adha holiday, when residents of the Jordanian capital, Amman, woke to reports of the killing of Nahedh Hattar. A journalist and commentator, Hattar was long known for his controversial secularist views and vocal support of...
As rescuers in the Syrian city of Aleppo searched for survivors between bursts of bombardment, the father of one trapped toddler tore frantically at the debris. An onlooker warned him to be careful to avoid further injuring the child: “He’s crying – go slowly, go slowly!” And then the little boy...
The Pentagon plans to send about 600 additional troops to Iraq to help launch a long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul in coming weeks, the most ambitious operation yet in the two-year military campaign against Islamic State. The escalation, which has been approved by the White House, suggests...
Two years after assuming power, Afghanistan’s flailing, U.S.-brokered unity government is facing a growing challenge from the biggest grass-roots protest movement since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Calling themselves the Enlightening, members of the Hazara ethnic minority have mobilized several...
As the world mourns for former Israeli President Shimon Peres, the eulogies will be clouded by concern that the Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation he had envisioned remains as remote as ever. “At a time when he is leaving us, the idea of the two states is going through its worst days ever,’’ said...
An Iranian appeals court on Wednesday upheld a 16-year prison sentence for a prominent Iranian human rights advocate. Narges Mohammadi had been sentenced in May on charges of violating national security and acting against the Islamic regime through her support of an anti-death penalty campaign....
It’s 3 a.m. on a Friday, and while most denizens of Baghdad are either winding down the night or ensconced in bed, Hatem Taai and his bleary-eyed crew have just begun their work day. They assemble in a dingy alley off of Baghdad’s posh Karrada Street. The staffers’ bulky frames, bulging muscles...
A group of passengers have taken refuge in the last safe place, the front car of a train that is barreling through the hinterlands of South Korea, as a mob of zombies seethes just beyond the door. As the last few passengers who haven’t succumbed to the zombie horde beg to be let in, those inside...
Ten years ago, a young man turned up at a Pretoria athletic field and trotted around the track a few times with casual ease. This must be the man I was waiting for. His name was Oscar Pistorius, and he was running on carbon fiber blades. I had an appointment for an interview about his efforts to...
A Van Gogh still life hangs in a budget hotel room. An abstract, black and gray composition brightens a corporate office. A Paris street scene gathers dust in a kitschy bar. The artist behind any of these may well have been Xie Chunti, a 31-year-old resident of the Dafen Oil Painting Village, a...
The mercury surged toward 104 degrees at noon. Intensity drained from the busy streets. Pedestrians sought refuge at sidewalk juice stalls, where vendors ordered extra ice. Yet as the town of Siliguri in eastern India baked, its 66-year-old mayor remained unperturbed. Asok Bhattacharya walked into...
The streets are packed with people young and old in Dodgers jerseys or Raiders jackets — L.A. Raiders, that is. Some wear white socks pulled up high under Dickies shorts. There are shaved heads, tattoos celebrating Chicano culture, bright white Puma sneakers and flannel shirts, with just the top...