Fatma Tanis
Fatma Tanis is a correspondent covering global health and development for NPR.
Tanis reports on U.S. foreign aid policy, the global humanitarian aid sector, as well as poverty and hunger, among other global health issues.
She's covered some of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world from Yemen, Chad, Gaza and Ukraine. Her reporting has often focused on the most vulnerable populations around the world and how they are impacted by the policies of governments.
For over a decade Tanis has reported on major events from all around the world, with a focus on the Middle East – including the social changes in Saudi Arabia in 2018 and onwards, the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in Iran in 2023, Turkey's geopolitical strategy vis-à-vis Russia and the West, the plight of Syrian refugees in Turkey, and the war between Israel and Hamas.
Tanis speaks Turkish and Arabic and can survive in Persian.
Tanis can be reached via encrypted message at fxtanis.05 on Signal. [Copyright 2026 NPR]
-
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.
-
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.
-
In the village of Jisr al-Zarqa, residents wish for opportunities available in nearby Jewish towns. They wonder if the new government, which includes an Arab party for the first time, will help. -
The controversial law would prevent Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza from acquiring residency in Israel, even after they marry Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. -
Saudi Arabia released activist Lujain al-Hathloul from prison on Wednesday. AlHathloul led the campaign to allow women drivers in the Kingdom.
-
Saudi Arabia is expected to release women's rights activist Loujain Alhathloul from prison this week, but she will likely continue to be under tight government control.
-
The sister of a prominent women's activist in Saudi Arabia is calling for her release from jail before the country hosts the virtual Group of 20 summit, where one of the themes is women's empowerment.
-
Voting by mail is easier now across the U.S. Officials in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, a swing region in a critical state, are making changes to manage the time-consuming process of counting ballots. -
"They told us, even if you stand here for 100 years, we are not going to let you cross," one refugee who made it to an Iraqi camp tells NPR. Many have resorted to paying smugglers to help them cross. -
In Iraq and Syria, the ISIS leader's death has stirred a mix of responses — from joy to disbelief to dread that the militants will rise again.
