Jackie Northam
Jackie Northam is NPR's International Affairs Correspondent. She is a veteran journalist who has spent three decades reporting on conflict, geopolitics, and life across the globe - from the mountains of Afghanistan and the desert sands of Saudi Arabia, to the gritty prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and the pristine beauty of the Arctic.
Northam spent more than a dozen years as an international correspondent living in London, Budapest, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, and Nairobi. She charted the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, reported from Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and the rise of Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She was in Islamabad to cover the Taliban recapturing Afghanistan
Her work has taken her to conflict zones around the world. Northam covered the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, arriving in the country just four days after Hutu extremists began slaughtering ethnic Tutsis. In Afghanistan, she accompanied Green Berets on a precarious mission to take a Taliban base. In Cambodia, she reported from Khmer Rouge strongholds.
Throughout her career, Northam has revealed the human experience behind the headlines, from the courage of Afghan villagers defying militant death threats to cast their vote in a national election, or exhausted rescue workers desperately searching for survivors following a massive earthquake in Haiti.
Northam joined NPR in 2000 as National Security Correspondent, covering defense and intelligence policies at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She led the network's coverage of the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Her present beat focuses on the complex relationship between geopolitics and the global economy, including efforts to counter China's rising power.
Northam has received multiple journalism awards, including Associated Press and Edward R. Murrow awards, and was part of the NPR team that won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for "The DNA Files," a series about the science of genetics.
Originally from Canada, Northam spends her time off crewing in the summer, on the ski hills in the winter, and on long walks year-round with her beloved beagle, Tara.
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For nearly three years, the U.S. and its allies have slapped roughly 5,000 sanctions and export controls on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Russia faces new sanctions targeting oil and gas trade.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he is stepping down ahead of this year's general election. He had faced mounting pressure to resign — from both allies and opponents.
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Under pressure from voters and his own members of parliament, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he will step down once his Liberal Party names a sucessor.
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Trudeau's decision after almost a decade in power sets the stage for a succession fight to select a new prime minister. -
The White House says it will send nearly $6 billion in military and budget aid to Ukraine. It's likely to be the last bit of support by the Biden administration as Trump's team is about to take over.
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Iran considered Syria a critical component of its so-called Axis of Resistance. Collapse of the Assad regime caps months of setbacks for Iran, including defeat of its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas.
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Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Russia and are now in Moscow. Assad's departure marks the end of nearly 25 years of brutal rule.
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In Syria, government forces retreat as rebels capture key cities. The rebels' stunning advance raises questions about the survival of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
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Vito, a pug from Chapel Hill, N.C., beat out more than 1,900 dogs representing more than 200 breeds and varieties that competed in this year's event. -
What do Canada, Mexico and China have in common? They're the three largest trading partners of the U.S., and the incoming administration is threatening new tariffs. A look at the potential impact.
