Here are some milestones in the history of Israel, founded more than seven decades ago.

In the capitals of the two Koreas, flagship museums offer radically different accounts of the same conflict -- the war launched to unify the peninsula but that now defines its division.

Armed with a brush, Carolyn McCrea furiously scrubs the grey marble. Someone has written "WLM" -- "White Lives Matter" -- on the only statue of a black man on this avenue in Richmond, Virginia, and she intends to wash away the affront. 

Syria's war since 2011 has involved a host of regional and international players, created millions of refugees and displaced, and left more than 380,000 people dead.

Cabin crew in protective suits, health certifications for passengers, mandatory face masks, and longer check-in times.

The protests that left much of the world in a haze of tear gas last year were slowed by a pandemic – until the death of George Floyd sparked a global uprising against police brutality and racial inequality.

From Hong Kong to Khartoum, Baghdad to Beirut, Gaza to Paris and Caracas to Santiago, people took to the streets in 2019 for the pursuits of freedom, sovereignty or simply a life less shackled by hardship while few prospered. It seemed as if the streets were agitated everywhere but the United States.

A recap of key dates in the regime of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for three decades and died on June 10, 2000.

Bashar al-Assad's rise to power after three decades of his father's iron-fisted rule raised hope of democratic opening. But 20 years later, Syria is isolated and war-ravaged.

Rattled by a string of military defeats for ally Khalifa Haftar in neighboring Libya, Egypt has pressed for a ceasefire -- and, despite doubts, is sticking with the strongman for now, analysts say. 

Violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody led several US cities to impose curfews, but do they help maintain order or merely further antagonize demonstrators?