Global Security
The number of Americans studying in China is a fraction of what it once was
The US and China want more foreign exchange students between their two countries. But politics and bureaucracy often complicate the process, and far fewer Americans are going to China to study than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tens of thousands attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
On April 5, the final Friday in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan this year — a special time for Muslims worldwide — more than 3,500 Israeli police were deployed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Here, an estimated 57,000 Muslims attended Friday prayers.
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.
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.