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Monday, August 20, 2012

What The ‘Tunnel Economy’ Means To Gaza

Palestinian smugglers push sheep through a smuggling tunnel from Egypt to the Gaza Strip in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, in 2010. (AP)

Palestinian smugglers push sheep through a smuggling tunnel from Egypt to the Gaza Strip in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, in 2010. (AP)

It’s been two weeks since 16 Egyptian policemen were killed in an attack by militants in the Sinai Peninsula close to Egypt’s border with Israel and Gaza.

Egypt and Israel blamed Islamic extremists and suggested some of them might have come from Gaza. One of Egypt’s responses was to threaten to shut down the huge network of smuggling tunnels that cross into the Palestinian territory.

The so-called “tunnel economy” has flourished as a result of Israel and Egypt’s blockade of Gaza, tightened when Hamas came to power in the strip 5 years ago. The BBC’s Jon Donnison looks at to what extent Gaza is still dependent on the tunnels and what impact their closure might have.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013
Dr. John S. Wilson, Jr. is president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Morehouse College)

President Obama delivers the commencement address this weekend at Morehouse College, the all-male historically black college. The school’s president discusses recent controversies and challenges.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013
Mark with Houston at Houston's high school graduation in 2009. (Courtesy of Mac McClelland)

Failures in mental health care mean that often the only way to get help for a loved one is to call the police. We speak with a journalist about the tragic consequences for her family.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013
"I Drive Your Truck" screenshot.

In 2011, a Nashville songwriter heard Alex Ashlock’s interview with Paul Monti, who lost his son in Afghanistan. It inspired her to write “I Drive Your Truck.”

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