Middle East

A map of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world. The respiratory disease has spread rapidly across six continents and has killed thousands of people.

A missile operator who didn't properly calibrate his radar system fired on the Ukrainian passenger plane without authorization, Iran says. All 176 people on board were killed on Jan. 8.

Israelis and Palestinians have scrambled to hold weddings amid the pandemic lockdown, but a spike in coronavirus infections is shutting them down.

Aid groups warn that civilians are in danger, as a humanitarian assistance program that funnels supplies to displaced Syrians in areas outside government control is whittled down yet again.

An incident last week at an Iranian nuclear facility appears to be sabotage. A look at the chief suspects and what the impact could be on Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The Syrian government, which faces the collapse of the country's economy, has started a public fight with President Bashar al-Assad's cousin, who is said to be the wealthiest businessman in Syria.

One of Iraq's leading security experts has been shot dead after threats from both ISIS and Iran-backed militias. Iraq's prime minister has vowed to find the killers.

President Trump said the U.S. targeted Iran's Qassem Soleimani because of an imminent threat. A U.N. investigator says the U.S. has produced no evidence to back that up.

Siegal Sadetzki said Tuesday that Israeli leaders ignored her warnings and the country reopened too fast. "The compass handling the pandemic lost its direction," she said in her resignation letter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing criticism for focusing on West Bank annexation rather than a new surge of COVID-19 infections and an unemployment crisis.

Israel hoped tracking people's cellphones would help contain the coronavirus as the country reopened. But the tracking system has displayed major flaws, and cases are now on the rise.

In speeches, the president painted a picture of a divided America. Scientists examine other ways COVID-19 can spread. And, Israel criticized for focusing on West Bank annexation rather than COVID-19.