Displacement
How the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is still shaping the fraught relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous enclave located in the South Caucasus. For decades, the territory has been the source of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, however, ethnic Armenians have been living in this territory for hundreds of years.
Sharing the national burden in Israel
In Israel, most Jewish men are drafted into three years of military service soon after they graduate from high school. Jewish women serve two-year stints. The ultra-Orthodox community has been exempt. But this is beginning to change. Israel’s Supreme Court just ruled that religious seminaries called yeshivas are being cut off from government funding because they don’t send students into the military.
Oil refineries in northeastern Syria are sickening people and polluting the environment
Across northeastern Syria, makeshift refineries pump out fuel for cars, heating and electricity. They are also a major source of income for local residents who have endured more than a decade of conflict. But this critical resource is also harmful.
Ukrainian children thrive in Minnesota after losses in the Russian invasion 2 years ago
Artem Fedorenko, 10, has faced many challenges in the past two years since Russia invaded his home country of Ukraine. The fourth grader is missing his left arm, an injury from a bomb. He came to Minnesota with his mother to receive a prosthetic in late 2022. Rice Lake Elementary School in Maple Lake has welcomed over two dozen Ukrainian students like Artem, who are now learning to adjust to life in the US.
Residents in northeastern Syria react to recent attacks on US bases
About 900 American forces stationed in Northeast Syria have been attacked by militia forces in neighboring Iraq. The Americans act as a deterrence against ISIS and Turkey, both of which consider the Kurds in northeast Syria as their enemy. The residents in this area are on edge about the recent militia attacks and the possibility of a US withdrawal.