Alice Fordham
Alice Fordham is an NPR International Correspondent based in Beirut, Lebanon.
In this role, she reports on Lebanon, Syria and many of the countries throughout the Middle East.
Before joining NPR in 2014, Fordham covered the Middle East for five years, reporting for The Washington Post, the Economist, The Times and other publications. She has worked in wars and political turmoil but also amid beauty, resilience and fun.
In 2011, Fordham was a Stern Fellow at the Washington Post. That same year she won the Next Century Foundation's Breakaway award, in part for an investigation into Iraqi prisons.
Fordham graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics.
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The dangerously monikered cactus is a source of joy in the Southwest. Albuquerque celebrates with music and yummy opuntia treats.
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The scale of a scam to recruit Native Americans into fake treatment for substance in Phoenix and bill the government fraudulently is now emerging. It's huge.
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New Mexico is short 1,000 teachers. National Guard volunteers now serve as substitute teachers.
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Women from Iraq's Yazidi minority get together to perform centuries-old sacred songs. They've survived captivity by ISIS and loved ones' deaths. "They are trying to heal," says a Yazidi politician.
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The pope spent the third day of his visit in the north of the country, where the Christian population is dwindling. He also prayed for the ethnic minority Yazidis, who were brutally targeted by ISIS.
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On the second day of a landmark trip to Iraq, Pope Francis traveled to the the city of Najaf to meet Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, before visiting what is believed to be the birthplace of Abraham.
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The pontiff arrived at Baghdad International Airport where he was greeted by the prime minister. During his four-day visit, Francis will focus on Iraq's ancient but dwindling Christian community.
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Domestic tourism has been strong in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, but sites in more impoverished, insecure areas tend to be visited less. A few Iraqi tourism companies are trying to change that.
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Many Iraqis — Christian and Muslim — say they are excited about the first papal visit to the country, raising hopes of religious tolerance in the face of extremist violence.
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"Iraq's economic situation can probably best be described as being dire," says an International Energy Agency expert. Government revenues have plummeted and its currency has been devalued.