The play attempts to show how violence, especially as a result of war, shapes those characters. Raffo, an Iraqi-American who grew up in Michigan, links the stories to Iraq’s history and political forces, with commentary from characters who range from a child indifferent to the debris of war littering her neighborhood to an aging political exile, comfortably commenting from afar. 

The Iraqi army launched 24-hour radio broadcasts targeting the population of the western Iraqi province of Anbar under Islamic State jihadist group control, local media reported Saturday.

The nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers is "an opening for further diplomatic endeavors" to resolve the conflicts in the Middle East, the German foreign minister said in Tehran Saturday.