Middle East

"Lebanese people have to help each other in the absence of a functioning state," says Hussein Kazoun of Nation Station, a volunteer disaster relief effort operating out of an abandoned gas station.

As the U.S. tries to get international cooperation for harsher sanctions on Iran, people in the country strain under the double economic hits of the pandemic and sanctions that are already in place.

The Saleh family lost four young children in a fire that broke out in their tent in June, when the parents were working in farm fields. Syrian refugees make up about 70% of Jordan's farm workers.

A U.N. Security Council vote on a U.S. bid to extend an arms embargo against Iran failed last week. Now the U.S. secretary of state wants to bring back all sanctions lifted by the Iran nuclear deal.

Heritage experts say hundreds of thousands of pieces have been looted at archaeological sites and museums. As the illegal trade in antiquities continues, Iraq is trying to get objects returned.