The pope will travel to Bahrain, a small majority-Muslim country in the Persian Gulf region. Pope Francis will be the first pope to visit the region.

Shireen Abu Akleh—a Palestinian-American, a Catholic and a 25-year veteran of Al Jazeera’s satellite channel—was shot Wednesday while covering an Israeli military raid in the Jenin refugee camp.

Pope Francis will visit Lebanon in June, the president’s office said Tuesday, in an apparent show of support for the country experiencing an unprecedented economic meltdown.

For more than a decade, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem has suffered noise and damages to homes from excavation work for a “Bible Park,” and residents fear they will be pushed out entirely.

Since the end of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, much of the world has turned its attention away from geopolitical conflicts in the region. But these issues have not disappeared.

The nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT) was written for a Cold War standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It can only be effective now if it includes new nuclear powers like Israel.