Israeli-born IndyCar driver Robert Shwartzman won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, then used his platform to ask for peace in both the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Business travel to the U.S. fell 9% in April as companies and workers grappled with economic uncertainty and anger over the Trump administration’s tariffs and border policies.

Pope Leo XIV is vowing to actively promote and protect the spirituality and traditions of the eastern rite churches, those Catholic communities with origins in the Middle East and North Africa that have been decimated by conflict and persecution.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has again ordered the USS Harry S.

The Navy says an F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the hanger deck of an aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East, as sailors were towing the aircraft into place in the hangar bay of the USS Harry S.

A new U.N. report warns that transnational organized crime groups in East and Southeast Asia are spreading their lucrative scam operations across the globe in response to increased crackdowns by authorities.

The head of the U.S.-funded Al Hurra Arabic-language television and online news outlet has terminated most of his staff and curtailed TV programming.

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A rare blue diamond was displayed at an exhibition of $100 million worth of the world’s rarest diamonds in the United Arab Emirates’ capital.

Moroccans have protested Israel’s latest offensive in Gaza and U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to displace Palestinians and clear the territory for development.

The United States has given an initial approval for the energy-rich Mideast nation of Qatar to buy eight armed MQ-9B Predator drones for its military, an estimated purchase worth nearly $2 billion.

A U.S. official says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is beefing up the Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering two aircraft carriers to be there next month as the U.S. increases strikes on Yemen-based Houthi rebels.

The truck attack in New Orleans by an Army veteran inspired by the Islamic State group unfolded amid months of warnings by officials about a resurgent terrorism threat.

The deputy executive director of the U.N. World Food Program has been on whirlwind visits to hotspots in the Middle East and Sudan to assess dire humanitarian situations and escalating demands for food from millions of people trapped or fleeing conflicts.

The fall of Syria’s authoritarian government at the hands of jihadi militants has set off waves of jubilation, trepidation and alarm around the world.

One of the Middle East’s fastest-growing film festivals opened Thursday in Saudi Arabia, attracting filmmakers and stars from around the world to present over 120 films from 81 countries in Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district.

One of the Middle East and North Africa’s largest film festivals is openiong in Morocco, drawing actors and directors from throughout the world to present 70 features from 32 countries.

The Biden administration kept President-elect Donald Trump’s administration closely apprised of its efforts to broker the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect early Wednesday.

Morning 4 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day.

A popular gas station is breaking out in Metro Detroit, but not everyone is happy about it. Sheetz plans to open dozens of locations in the next five years. However, one group wants to stop this expansion from happening.

The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is sending additional bomber aircraft and Navy warships to the Middle East to bolster the U.S. presence in the region.

Many American voters are concerned that the ongoing situation in the Middle East will escalate into an even broader conflict.

Global oil prices are falling sharply after a retaliatory strike by Israel over the weekend targeted Iranian military sites rather than its energy infrastructure as had been feared.

Israel has unleashed predawn airstrikes against military sites in Iran.

Israel has attacked Iran with pre-dawn airstrikes in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired on Israel earlier this month.

Israeli military strikes are targeting Iran’s armed proxies across a nearly 2,000-mile stretch of the Middle East and are threatening Iran itself.

Oil prices climbed this week as unrest in the Middle East escalated.

Wars, a refugee crisis, famine, and artificial intelligence could all be recognized with Nobel Prizes.

Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies.

U.S. stocks pulled back from their records after a sharp escalation of tensions in the Middle East raised worries about potential disruptions to the flow of oil.

The Pentagon says is sending a “few thousand” additional troops to the Middle East to bolster security and to be prepared to defend Israel if necessary.

A U.S. Navy replenishment ship operating in the Middle East has sustained damage and the cause is under investigation.

The Pentagon says the U.S. is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East in response to a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon that is raising the risk of a greater regional war.

The U.S. is sending several additional Air Force fighter jet squadrons to the Middle East, beefing up what has already been an increased military presence there as the region teeters on the brink of all-out war.

The U.S. has imposed sweeping sanctions against hundreds of firms across Russia, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, accusing them of providing products and services that enable Russia’s war effort and aiding its ability to evade sanctions.

The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area.

Bob Woodward’s next book, continuing a long tradition of election year releases, will focus on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and their place in American presidential politics.

Top U.S. national security leaders are calling for calm in the Middle East and say they are directly pressing Israel, Iran and others to avoid escalating the conflict.

The Pentagon has announced that the U.S. will move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region.

The Pentagon has announced that the U.S. will move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region.

The helicopter crash in which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials were killed is likely to reverberate across the Middle East, where Iran’s influence runs wide and deep.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this coming week as Washington and Beijing try to keep ties on an even keel despite major differences on a range of issue, from the Middle East to opioids.

Israel’s military chief says Israel will respond to Iran’s weekend missile strike.

Big banks warned of an uncertain year ahead after mixed financial results during the first quarter in an environment of stubbornly high inflation and geopolitical clashes in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.

Iran has marked the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid tensions gripping the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

After three years of exceptional sales growth, McDonald’s is returning to Earth.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is raising concerns over a series of recent U.S. military strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

The U.S. Navy’s top Mideast commander says Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels during Israel’s war against Hamas.

Henry Kissinger's legacy in the Mideast is the pursuit of what's possible, not necessarily peace, in one of the world's most intractable conflicts.

Much of the world is currently watching the Middle East as a temporary cease-fire in Gaza is expected to start Friday.

Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas.

Russia has issued carefully calibrated criticism of both sides in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The White House is developing “prudent contingency planning” to evacuate Americans from the Middle East in case the Israel-Hamas war spreads into a broad regional conflict.

The Pentagon has sent advisers, including a Marine Corps general versed in urban warfare, to Israel to assist in its plans to conduct a ground assault in Gaza.

Fifty years after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the current crisis in the Middle East has the potential to disrupt global oil supplies and raise prices.

The explosion of Israeli-Palestinian violence has Arab leaders faulting a Biden administration policy that moved away from big U.S. pushes for a broad Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

President Joe Biden has postponed a trip to Colorado to stay in Washington and focus on the growing conflict in the Middle East.

Metro Detroit police agencies are stepping up patrols in response to community fears related to the conflict in the Middle East.

“Barbie” is set to open across the Middle East on Thursday, but moves by Kuwait and Lebanon to ban the film over its themes on gender and sexuality have raised questions about how widely it will be released.

Jill Biden will promote women and youth empowerment and plans to attend a royal wedding in Jordan during an upcoming trip to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by Associated Press photographers in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan in March 2023.

Economies across the Middle East and Central Asia will likely slow this year as persistently high inflation and rising interest rates bite into their post-pandemic gains.

A rights group says in a new report that security agencies and government officials across several countries in the Middle East and North Africa have been using social media platforms and mobile dating apps to crack down on LGBTQ people.

A Russian arms dealer, his son and a group of front companies across Asia, Europe and the Middle East and their leadership have been targeted for U.S. sanctions in an effort to quell Russia’s access to weapons to continue its invasion of Ukraine.

Patriot missile systems have long been a hot ticket item for the U.S. and allies in contested areas of the world as a coveted shield against incoming missiles.

The U.S. team’s victory over Iran at the World Cup was closely watched across the Middle East.

Polish soldiers have begun laying razor wire along Poland’s border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East boarded a U.S. ballistic missile submarine in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday.

They literally run the country.

The eastern Mediterranean and Middle East are warming almost twice as fast as the global average, with temperatures projected to rise up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century if no action is taken to reverse the trend, a new report says.

The United States military says it flew a pair of nuclear-capable B-52 long-distance bombers over the Middle East in a show of force, the latest such mission in the region as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran.

Agreements to unblock Ukrainian grain stuck at Black Sea ports for nearly six months of war also gave a boost to Russia's food and fertilizer.

President Joe Biden has wrapped up his four-day visit to the Middle East.

President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East comes as the region is experiencing dramatic changes and struggling to address deep problems.

The World Health Organization says the number of coronavirus cases rose by 18% in the last week, with more than 4.1 million new cases reported globally.

The United Nations says prices for world food commodities like grains and vegetable oils have reached their highest levels ever because of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan — when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk — has begun in much of the Middle East, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and food prices soaring.

Senior U.S. commanders tell Congress that the complete U.S. military withdrawals from Afghanistan and Somalia last year have made it more difficult for the U.S. to counter terror groups that aspire to attack America and its allies.

The World Health Organization says the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths globally have continued to fall in the past week.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has brought up deep divisions in the Middle East, where Moscow has made itself a key player in recent years.

The Saudi foreign minister says his country views Cyprus as a “bridge” between the Middle East and the European Union, helping the 27-nation bloc “understand what’s going on” in the region.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group to stay in the Mediterranean Sea region rather than move on to the Middle East, amid worries about the buildup of thousands of Russian troops near the Ukraine border.

Officials say that after months of study, the Pentagon has decided no immediate major changes are needed in the global positioning of U.S. forces.

The World Health Organization says the number of coronavirus cases has risen in Europe for the fifth consecutive week, making it the only world region where COVID-19 is still increasing.

A climate change conference will underscore to policymakers in the Middle East and the east Mediterranean that the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is needed urgently because greenhouse gas emissions are helping to drive up regional temperatures faster than in many other inhabited parts of the world.

The law would require the United States to work toward what’s known as a “Two-state solution” between Israel and Palestine.

There was a time not long ago when uprisings and wars in the Arab world topped the agenda at the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York.

The European Union has promised to help Lithuania cope with an influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa, which the Baltic nation says has been encouraged by authorities in neighboring Belarus as part of their standoff with the West.

A top U.S. commander says that as the United States scales back its military presence across the Middle East to focus on great power competition with China and Russia, it risks giving those two countries a chance to fill the gap and expand their influence around the Gulf.

The top U.S. commander for the Middle East says finding better ways to counter attacks by small drones across the region is a top priority and that the U.S. is still behind the curve on solutions.

Surges in violence and scenes of civilian suffering are testing President Joe Biden’s resolve to wrench America’s foreign policy focus and troops away from the hotspots of the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The top U.S. commander for the Middle East says he will make recommendations to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in early June on how to monitor and fight terrorist groups in Afghanistan from beyond its borders after all American forces withdraw.

President Joe Biden is set to visit Ford Motor Company’s Rouge Center in Dearborn on Tuesday -- but not all Michiganders are welcoming him to the state with open arms.

A new study from the University of Michigan’s Rogel Cancer Center finds that Metro Detroit’s Middle Eastern and North African communities face fear, discrimination and other significant barriers that impact their health.

Economies across the Middle East are recovering from the coronavirus pandemic faster than anticipated.

The Biden administration is moving again to increase U.S. assistance to the Palestinians as it fires up a new Mideast policy that is directly opposite of the one pursued by its predecessor.

The United States says it is giving $15 million to vulnerable Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a boost to the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority had only secured 10,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and 2,000 shots from Israel for the roughly 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. But in recent weeks, it has inoculated over 100,000 Palestinian laborers in the West Bank who have permits to work inside Israel and its West Bank settlements. Wennesland said the U.N. and its partners will continue to support Palestinian vaccination efforts, expressed appreciation for Israel's essential role in deliveries, and urged support for the Palestinian COVID-19 response. U.S. envoy Thomas-Greenfield announced the $15 million contribution as Israel awaits the final results from Tuesday’s fourth parliamentary elections in two years.

The Biden administration is mulling over Americas role in Syrias ongoing conflict as the U.S. tries to break away from Middle East wars. AdDealing with Syria's war will test the Biden administration's determination to focus on Asia and not the Middle East. Hence Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's Middle East tour this month. “If this is the security future of the Middle East, we’re all in trouble,” Jeffrey warns. It was the Syrian war that sparked that debate, when President Barack Obama first considered military strikes there, said Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

A pair of B-52 bombers flew over the Mideast on Sunday, March 7, 2021, the latest such mission in the region aimed at warning Iran amid tensions between Washington and Tehran. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Josh W. Strickland via AP)DUBAI – A pair of B-52 bombers flew over the Mideast on Sunday, the latest such mission in the region aimed at warning Iran amid tensions between Washington and Tehran. The U.S. military's Central Command said the two B-52s flew over the region accompanied by military aircraft from nations including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which patrols the Mideast and often has tense encounters with Iran, declined to comment on the footage. However, the Gulf of Oman saw a series of similar attacks in 2019 that the U.S. Navy then blamed on Iran.

A U.S. airstrike targeting facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Syria appears to be a message to Tehran delivered by a new American administration still figuring out its approach to the Middle East. Kirby said the operation in Boukamal, Syria, sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. In the meantime, relations with Iran have been further strained as the country's proxies become more assertive, with Iran-backed militias increasingly targeting U.S. interests and allies. Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said the operation in Boukamal, Syria, sends an unambiguous message: “President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. By striking Syria, Biden joins every American president from Ronald Reagan onward who has ordered a bombardment of countries in the Middle East.