Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi faces daily pressure from pro-Iranian groups at home, but that has not stopped him from reaching out to Tehran's enemies.

Jordan's Prince Hamzah, who says he is under house arrest in a dispute with the government, was once the crown prince but lost that title to the son of his half-brother King Abdullah II.

Jordan, a former British protectorate, is seen as a key Western ally and anchor of stability in the Middle East.

A Jordanian top former royal aide was among several suspects arrested Saturday, as the army warned a half-brother of King Abdullah II against damaging the country's security.

A virus visible through only the most powerful microscopes and a huge container ship stuck in the Suez canal visible from space highlight how fragile the "just-in-time" global trade system can be.

From the arid expanses of the Sahel into the Sinai Peninsula and now Mozambique, Africa is proving fertile ground for jihadist groups looking to bolster their notoriety by exploiting conflicts that have often festered for years.

A giant container ship, almost as long as New York's Empire State Building is high, became wedged during a sandstorm last Tuesday in Egypt's Suez Canal.

Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled as Israel's prime minister for a record 12 consecutive years, partly by convincing many voters that only he can keep the Jewish state safe while defending it on the world stage.

Even if they pay their taxes to Israel, east Jerusalem's Palestinians will be barred from voting in Tuesday's election because the Jewish state does not consider them as citizens. 

The Persian New Year, Nowruz, begins on the first day of spring and celebrates all things new. But as families across Iran hurried to greet the fresh start — eating copious crisp herbs, scrubbing their homes and buying new clothes — it was clear just how little the country had changed.

A year into the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated Iran, killing over 61,500 people — the highest death toll in the Middle East — the nation is far from out of the woods. And although Iranians had welcomed the election of President Joe Biden with a profound sigh of relief after the Trump administration's economic pressure campaign, the sanctions that have throttled the country for three years remain in place.