Four of the world's five top executioners in 2020 were Middle East states, Amnesty International says.

United States (US) President Joe Biden has announced that he will withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by 11 September, finally ending his country’s longest war ever. The move was indicative of a broader shift by the US away from the Middle East – one that has been a long time coming. Will anyone take its place in the region?

Few good things will come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now killed more than 2.2 million people worldwide. But one possible silver lining could be serious prison reform – including in Malaysia. In September 2020, an initially small COVID-19 cluster, centred around the Lahad Datu police headquarters and Tawau prison on the island of Borneo, quickly exploded into the biggest cluster of Malaysia’s second COVID-19 wave, infecting 1,146 people.

This is the full text of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations General Assembly, on 29 September, 2020. Portions have been edited for flow and clarity. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,The Middle East is not exactly renowned for producing good news, and few expected this year to be any different.

Last week, a warehouse stocked with nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up, laying waste to the port of Beirut and ripping through much of the rest of the Lebanese capital. At least 137 people were killed, thousands were wounded, and hundreds of thousands were rendered homeless.

Earlier this month, Iran announced that it is negotiating a 25-year agreement with China encompassing trade, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, and even military cooperation. For Iran, the prospect of a strategic partnership with China comes at a critical time.

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:India's SurgeIndia now has more than 500,000 confirmed cases, according to government figures that show a record daily leap of 18,500 new infections."Unlike China, where the pandemic was relatively more concentrated around Wuhan and a few other cities, India has a more diffused spread that makes it a bit more challenging for the healthcare system," says Anant Bhan, a leading public health expertIndia may see several pea

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis.Brazil Threatens WHO ExitBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro threatens to follow in the footsteps of United States (US) President Donald Trump and pull out of the World Health Organization (WHO)."I'm telling you right now, the United States left the WHO, and we're studying that, in the future.

Before United States (US) President Donald Trump decided to withdraw his country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister and the nuclear agreement’s chief Iranian architect, was the most popular public figure in his country.

Iran on Wednesday launched a missile attack on an Iraqi airbase where US forces are based, threatening "more crushing responses" if Washington carried out further strikes, Iranian state media said.It said the missiles were in response to a US strike last week that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi top commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.Security sources said that nine rockets hit the sprawling Ain al-Asad airbase in the country's west, the largest of the Iraqi milita