The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 paved the way for the reunification less than a year later of Germany, split into East and West for 45 years.

Impoverished Yemen has been mired in a devastating conflict since Iran-backed fighters overran the capital Sanaa five years ago prompting Saudi Arabia and its allies to launch a military intervention the following year.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have spiralled since US President Donald Trump came to power, quit the multilateral deal on Iran's nuclear programme and reimposed sweeping sanctions.

Tens of millions of Shiite Muslims from around the world visited Iraq on Sept. 10 this year to see the shrines of Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, and his brother Abbas on the day of “Ashura.”

This annual pilgrimage marks the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic new year. As the Islamic calendar is a lunar one, the day of Ashura changes from year to year.

Eight years after triggering the Arab Spring, Tunisia is held up as a model of democratic transition, while other countries that experienced the mass uprisings are gripped by chaos, repression or war.

Despite priding itself on being the sole country to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings as a functioning democracy, Tunisia faces challenges on its new political path.

French President Emmanuel Macron senses an opportunity to bring Russia's Vladimir Putin back in from the cold and potentially help usher in peace in Ukraine, an ambitious -- and risky -- undertaking that Western allies might not welcome.

Robert Mugabe, who has died aged 95, used repression and fear to hold on to power in Zimbabwe for 37 years until he was finally ousted when his previously loyal military generals turned against him.

Saudi Arabia is confronting the perils of its combative foreign policy as it slides further into a military quagmire in Yemen, one of a series of strategic missteps under the ambitious crown prince, analysts say.

By The Associated Press undefined

As new U.S.-led naval patrols in the Persian Gulf raise the stakes with Iran and Tehran's nuclear deal collapses, the ongoing tensions have drawn renewed attention to foreign military bases in the region.