KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday declared a temporary pause in escalating fighting, two days after Kabul blamed Islamabad for a deadly airstrike in the Afghan capital that it said killed hundreds of people at a drug rehabilitation hospital.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies will be allowed to do business with Venezuela's state-owned oil and gas company after the Treasury Department eased sanctions, with some limitations, on Wednesday as the Trump administration looks for ways to boost world oil supplies during the Iran war.

HONG KONG (AP) — About 90 ships, including oil tankers, have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since the outset of the war with Iran, and it is still exporting millions of barrels of oil at a time when the waterway has been effectively closed, according to maritime and trade data platforms.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel said Tuesday it killed two senior Iranian security officials in overnight strikes in a major blow to the country’s leadership. Tehran defiantly fired new salvos of missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel in a war that showed no signs of abating.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Rescue crews were still digging bodies out of the rubble of a drug rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital on Tuesday morning, after officials there said that an overnight Pakistani airstrike killed at least 400 people in a dramatic escalation of a conflict between the two neighbors that is now in its third week.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — At least 23 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in suspected suicide bombings Monday night that targeted Maiduguri city in northeastern Nigeria, police said Tuesday. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the conflict-battered city in recent history.

HAVANA (AP) — Officials in Cuba reported an islandwide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen and its power grid continues to crumble.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — The war in the Middle East raged on multiple fronts Monday, as the U.S. and Israel pummeled military targets in Iran’s capital, Israel stepped up its campaign against Iran-backed militants in Lebanon, and Iran retaliated with a drone strike that temporarily closed Dubai’s airport, a crucial hub for travelers.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Iranian women’s soccer team is set to leave Malaysia on Monday night, ending days of uncertainty after most of the seven squad members who sparked a diplomatic furor by seeking asylum in Australia reversed their decisions and rejoined the team in Kuala Lumpur.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan said Sunday it targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan’s Kandahar region overnight, as the fighting that erupted between the two neighbors late last month showed no signs of abating.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in comments released Sunday that he was ready for the next round of trilateral peace talks to end Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine, but that it was up to Washington and Moscow to agree on where and when to meet.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A large explosion rocked a central square in Iran’s capital where thousands were gathered Friday for an annual state-organized rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel’s demise. Israel had warned that it would target the area in central Tehran.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba has held talks with the U.S. government, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday, marking the first time the Caribbean country has confirmed widespread speculation about discussions with the Trump administration as it grapples with a severe energy crisis.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — All six crew members of a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting operations against Iran are dead, the U.S. military said Friday, after their plane crashed in western Iraq.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s secretive new supreme leader vowed Thursday to keep up attacks on Gulf Arab countries and use the effective closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the United States and Israel. The purported statement would be his first since he succeeded his father, who was killed in an Israeli strike.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Disastrous landslides that struck southern Ethiopia following a week of heavy rains have killed at least 50 people and left 125 others missing, an official said Thursday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran targeted the world’s busiest international airport on Wednesday and attacked commercial ships as U.S. and Israeli strikes rocked Tehran, while the United Nations' most powerful body demanded a halt to the Islamic Republic’s strikes on its Gulf neighbors that threaten global oil supplies.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran attacked commercial ships on Wednesday across the Persian Gulf and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic.

LONDON (AP) — Documents released by the British government show officials believed there was a “reputational risk” to appointing Peter Mandelson as the U.S. ambassador because of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. said it took out more than a dozen mine-laying Iranian vessels Tuesday, and the Islamic Republic vowed to block the region's oil exports, saying it would not allow “even a single liter” to be shipped to its enemies.

GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) — Australia granted asylum to five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who were visiting the country for a tournament when the Iran war began, a government minister said Tuesday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s attacks on regional oil infrastructure and pledges to choke off maritime traffic left markets on edge Tuesday as the United States promised blistering new strikes. The war entered its 11th day as its effects were felt across the region and beyond.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran named the hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as supreme leader on Monday, signaling no letup in the war launched by the United States and Israel. 

LONDON (AP) — A major fire in the heart of Glasgow crippled Scottish train services Monday as firefighters worked to douse the blaze that destroyed a four-story building near Scotland's busiest railway station.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombians voted Sunday for a new Congress and to select candidates from three major coalitions in a primary-style contest ahead of a presidential election in May. The election unfolded under high alert for political violence across the South American country, particularly in rural regions dominated by illegal armed groups.