Middle East

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Aaron O'Connell, a former National Security Council member and an Afghan war veteran, about reports that Russia paid the Taliban to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Writers and activists around the world share stories of those who have died from COVID-19 — in Colombia, Senegal, Pakistan, the Philippines and many other nations.

Kabul's cemeteries are hiring more grave diggers and they're preparing burial spots in advance to deal with a rush of COVID-19 victims.

Countries at the United Nations Security Council have condemned Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, but the Trump administration says it is up to Israel.

As the country's coronavirus cases surge, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for law reform to resume a surveillance program that the Supreme Court halted earlier this month.

Syrian President Bashar Assad –- with Russian and Iranian help –- has weathered nearly a decade of armed uprisings, but his hold on power faces new threats as Syria's battered economy collapses.

The city's deputy mayor said the banner was removed because he received complaints that it was offensive to residents.

Saudi Arabia has said this year's Hajj will be restricted to pilgrims already within the kingdom. Because of the coronavirus, pilgrims will not be able to enter Saudi Arabia.

Officials announce on Monday that this year's pilgrimage to Mecca will be restricted in size and limited to Saudi residents. In a typical year, millions of Muslims would make the journey.

The company says it didn't intend to suggest that fairness or white was "better than your own unique skin tone." Other major companies have announced changes to advertising tactics seen as racist.

Some religious Jewish settlers are mounting vocal opposition as the prime minister prepares to annex parts of the territory. The wider Israeli public is confused and unenthused by the prospect.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's plan to annex parts of the West Bank is getting pushback — not just from Palestinians under occupation — but, unexpectedly, from right-wing Jewish settlers.