Middle East

No injuries were reported in Sunday's attack on the city of Irbil, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Iran said it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria.

The number of those executed on Saturday — 81 — surpassed even the toll of a January 1980 mass execution for the 63 militants convicted of seizing the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979.

Iraq's capital city is already seeing record heat — up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. A report predicts more 120-plus degree days to come. And the "urban heat island" effect will make things even worse.

Observers say Russia's use of such corridors were effective in attaining the goals of regaining control of opposition areas.

Both countries are huge suppliers of grains and other essential foods. And with widespread hunger and high food prices already, the war couldn't have come at a worse time.

A visit to a hair salon in the West Bank turns nightmarish in Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad's new thriller Huda's Salon.

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Graeme Wood, staff writer at The Atlantic, about his profile of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

Beirut's historic city center and the traditional territory of the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas are among 25 places listed by World Monument Watch as in urgent need of preservation.

Israel is keeping good ties with ally Putin, as well as with Ukraine. But the owners of Jerusalem's Putin Pub, a bar for Russian-speaking immigrants, erased his name when Russia invaded Ukraine.

The hospitality greeting Ukrainians fleeing the violence in their native country has highlighted the stark differences in treatment given to migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa.

The Putin Pub, a 22-year-old mainstay of Jerusalem's Russian-speaking immigrant community, can no longer tolerate the joke of being named after President Putin.

Last year, the region imported more than 36 million metric tons of wheat, mostly from Russia and Ukraine. The concern is that Russia's war in Ukraine could disrupt supplies and drive up prices.