Jane Arraf

Teens in an isolated refugee camp for 80,000 Syrians have trouble with remote classes and finding something to do during the coronavirus lockdowns.

Six years after ISIS committed genocide against Iraq's ancient religious minority group, the Yazidis are not getting the help they need to recover.

A Yazidi woman struggles with the trauma of the ISIS genocide that devastated her people and her life six years ago this week.

The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., has a record of buying looted antiquities. And it's trying to reform — it plans to send some artifacts back to Iraq and improve acquisition policies.

Archaeologists have ID'ed 100-plus Facebook groups offering looted and illicit antiquities for sale. New rules ban the sale of "historical artifacts" on Facebook but critics want more enforcement.

Antiquities looters have been using Facebook to sell their stolen treasures — sometimes while the ancient items are still half-buried in the earth.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz tells NPR Jordan is determined to protect the most vulnerable and "went for a very different model ... based on social solidarity." There have been just 11 COVID-19 deaths.

A look around the globe shows other countries - Brazil, South Africa, Iraq - are in turmoil as the relentless coronavirus pandemic takes its toll.

One of Iraq's leading security experts has been shot dead after threats from both ISIS and Iran-backed militias. Iraq's prime minister has vowed to find the killers.

Crowds have seized supplies for ill relatives, and officials warn the health system could collapse. "This is a war against the coronavirus and we have lost the war," says an Iraqi official.

A spike in coronavirus cases and a shortage of medical resources has led to panic and unrest in Iraq. Some hospitals are filling, and family members have seized oxygen tanks for loved ones.

The museum has tightened its acquisition policies and is working to return potentially looted objects. Early acquisitions reflected a lack of expertise and lack of policy, its chief curator tells NPR.

Saudi Arabia has said this year's Hajj will be restricted to pilgrims already within the kingdom. Because of the coronavirus, pilgrims will not be able to enter Saudi Arabia.

A U.S. military contractor abruptly laid off most of the U.S.-led coalition's Iraqi interpreters. Some have gone into hiding. "We ... will be easily hunted down," a group wrote to the U.S. military.

While UNESCO and the Vatican agree the site is in Jordan, a spot across the Jordan River, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, draws more visitors.

The pandemic has affected people of various occupations across the world. One of them is a Bedouin tour guide in Jordan's ancient ruins of Petra. He has lost his home and is back in a tent.

U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking the return of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, purchased by Hobby Lobby for display in the Museum of the Bible, which authorities say cooperated with the investigation.

Tourists' absence from the ancient city has made way for the cats, dogs, birds and other creatures to take over.

Mustafa al-Kadhimi was the third candidate whom Iraq's president had asked to try to form a government. Parliament approved the majority of Kadhimi's Cabinet early Thursday morning.

After months of political paralysis, Iraq's parliament has chosen a prime minister. Mustafa al-Kadhimi, a former intelligence chief, is supported by the United States.