India recorded more than 320,000 new cases of coronavirus infection Tuesday as a grim surge of illness and death weighed on the country and its sinking health system started getting much-needed support from foreign nations.

Tuesday's 323,144 new infections raised India's total past 17.6 million, behind only the United States. It ended a five-day streak of recording the largest single-day increases in any country throughout the pandemic, but the decline likely reflects lower weekend testing rather than reduced spread of the virus.

President Michel Aoun on Monday called on security agencies to “be strict in combating smuggling operations and those behind them,” days after Saudi Arabia banned Lebanese produce over a Captagon shipment suspected to have come from Lebanon.

During an emergency meeting that he chaired in Baabda to address the ban, Aoun also underlined “Lebanon’s keenness on preserving the best ties with brotherly Arab nations and on protecting security and stability in them.”

Lebanese troops aborted early Sunday an attempt to smuggle dozens of Syrian migrants to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the military said.

The attempt to smuggle 69 Syrian citizens comes as Lebanon is witnessing a severe economic and financial crisis that has thrown more people into poverty.

Lebanon's farmers union has described as "arbitrary and unjust" the decision by Saudi Arabia to ban Lebanese produce from going through the kingdom over drug smuggling allegations, calling for it be repealed.

The ban, ordered by the kingdom's Interior Ministry and due to take effect Sunday, is a major blow to the Lebanese economy, already reeling from an unprecedented economic crisis.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said after meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, that the Pope is willing to visit Lebanon but after Lebanese leaders form a government, noting that parties obstructing the formation “are known to the Vatican.”

“The Pope wants to visit Lebanon but after a government is formed. This is an important message for us to speed the government formation. The Pope perceives Lebanon as a message of mederation,” said Hariri in remarks to reporters after his meeting with the Pope.

The Israeli military said Thursday that a Syrian missile that reached deep into Israeli territory and set off air raid sirens near the country's top-secret nuclear reactor was the result of a misfire and not a deliberate attack.

The missile landed in southern Israel early Thursday, prompting Israel to respond with airstrikes on the missile launcher and other targets in Syria.

A first round of direct talks between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran signaled a possible de-escalation following years of animosity that often spilled into neighboring countries and at least one still-raging war. But few expect quick results.

The talks, hosted by Iraq earlier this month, were confirmed Tuesday to The Associated Press by an Iraqi and a Western official in Baghdad.

It was messy and hectic in Aisha al-Abed's kitchen, as the first day of Ramadan often is. Food had to be on the table at precisely 7:07 p.m. when the sun sets and the daylong fast ends.

What is traditionally a jovial celebration of the start of the Muslim holy month around a hearty meal was muted and dispirited for her small Syrian refugee family.

Iran named a suspect Saturday in the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there, saying he had fled the country before the sabotage happened.

While the extent of the damage from the April 11 sabotage remains unclear, it comes as Iran tries to negotiate with world powers over allowing the U.S. to re-enter its tattered nuclear deal with world powers and lift the economic sanctions it faces.

(THE CONVERSATION) New Jersey's first Sikh attorney general, Gurbir Singh Grewal, was a target of disparaging remarks in 2018. Two radio hosts commented on Grewal's Sikh identity and repeatedly referred to him as "turban man." When called out on the offensiveness of their comments, one of them stated, "Listen, and if that offends you, then don't wear the turban and maybe I'll remember your name."

Listeners, activists and Sikhs around the country acted immediately by contacting the station to express their concerns. News outlets quickly picked up the story and the radio hosts were suspended.