Fatma Tanis

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has been through a lot in recent years. It's just reopened and Ambassador Bridget Brink is overseeing a massive U.S. assistance operation with a limited staff.

Ukraine says it urgently needs the heavy artillery to counter Russia on the battlefield. Also, President Zelenskyy is looking for additional support as the leaders of Germany, France and Italy visit.

Schools in Afghanistan are expected to open for the new semester Wednesday. But despite Taliban assurances that girls will be allowed back, students and teachers are unclear about what will happen.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Elizabeth Bruenig from The Atlantic about the political benefits of arguing over book bans in schools.

Pakistan's second largest city, Lahore, tops the world's most polluted city list, along with India's New Delhi. Poor air quality has prompted the government to order a partial shutdown of schools.

Students and faculty with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music flew last week from Doha to Lisbon, where they will start their new lives and reconstitute their celebrated academy in exile.

The emergency gathering of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation was the largest international meeting on Afghanistan since the country fell to the Taliban in August.

"We want to prove to everyone forever that we respect humanity," Taliban spokesman Muhammad Naeem Wardak told NPR in Doha, Qatar. He also said women "must have the right to education and to work."

In the news, the al-Aqsa mosque compound is a fuse for conflict between Israel and Palestinians. But in daily life of Muslims, it's a park, holy site and, yes, a symbol of resistance.

An Israeli demolition last month revived fears among residents of al-Bustan in east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood. "Yes, Bustan is going to be demolished for a park," says Jerusalem's deputy mayor.