Aya Batrawy
Aya Batrawy is an NPR International Correspondent. She leads NPR's Gulf bureau in Dubai.
She joined NPR in 2022 from the Associated Press, where she was an editor and reporter for over 11 years. She covered the Arab Spring uprisings from Cairo, the rise and fall of the Muslim Brotherhood and the ensuing turmoil that ricocheted across the region.
Batrawy moved to Dubai in 2013 with AP, where she reported on tensions with Iran and the emergence of Gulf Arab states as the region's new powerbrokers. She also led coverage on Islam's hajj pilgrimage from Mecca and examined efforts by Gulf oil producers to diversify their economies away from fossil fuels in a world grappling with climate change.
The weight of her coverage has also centered on the rise of Saudi Arabia's crown prince — his attempts at transforming the kingdom and centralizing power.
Batrawy's love of broadcast news began at the University of South Florida. As an undergraduate, she volunteered at WMNF community station and the local NPR Member station in Tampa Bay, where she grew up. After two years in Washington as a journalist and a master's from London's SOAS, she moved to Cairo and produced for NPR's Peter Kenyon and Deborah Amos, crisscrossing North Sinai in memorable adventures with both. She taught journalism at the American University in Cairo and freelanced for Voice of America, Pacifica Radio and PRI's The World.
When not listening to podcasts, she's trying to drink her coffee while it's still hot, make it to barre class on time and keep up with royal news. [Copyright 2025 NPR]
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Dozens of Palestinians were killed, many while waiting for food aid, amid a deepening starvation crisis and despite Israeli assurances of a humanitarian pause in some areas of the territory. -
Israel's prime minister denounced a report in Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoting Israeli soldiers saying commanders ordered them to fire at unarmed crowds near food distribution sites. -
Palestinians say Israeli forces killed scores of people trying to reach food aid in Khan Younis on Tuesday in the deadliest attack of recent weeks on hungry crowds attempting to get food in Gaza. -
While it's common for U.S. presidents to visit churches, only a few have made official visits to mosques. -
President Trump is visiting Qatar and the U.A.E. after inking big weapons and tech deals in Saudi Arabia. So far, his trip hasn't seemed to push forward chances for a ceasefire in Gaza. -
Gulf states are keen to invest in Syria, which has important mineral and oil reserves, but had been prevented from doing so by U.S. sanctions. President Trump has now pledged to lift the restrictions. -
President Trump made the announcement at an investment conference in Saudi Arabia. He is also heading to Qatar and the UAE on a trip focused on big-dollar deals. -
Hamas is rejecting a new Israeli proposal to pause the war in Gaza, a Hamas official told NPR. Earlier, officials mediating talks had expressed optimism that a deal could be reached within weeks. -
Israel's military is expanding buffer zones inside the Gaza Strip and taking over more areas of the territory, shrinking land Palestinians can access by more than half. -
It's Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's second visit to the White House since President Trump took office this year, and comes as Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza hits the 18-month mark.
