From his shock detention to an audacious escape from Japan, the rollercoaster saga of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has grabbed headlines around the world.

The Taliban's takeover of Kabul has deepened the mutual distrust between the U.S. and Pakistan, two putative allies who have tangled over Afghanistan. But both sides still need each other.

With the Biden administration looking for new ways to stop terrorist threats in Afghanistan, it will likely look again to Pakistan, which remains critical to U.S. intelligence and national security because of its proximity to Afghanistan and connections to the Taliban leaders now in charge.

The cinematic escape of six prisoners who tunneled out of an Israeli penitentiary earlier this month shone a light on Israel's mass incarceration of Palestinians, one of the many bitter fruits of the conflict.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have passed through a military justice system designed for what Israel still portrays as a temporary occupation, but that is now well into its sixth decade and critics say is firmly cemented.

There was a time not long ago when uprisings and wars in the Arab world topped the agenda at the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York.

With most of those conflicts in a stalemate, the world's focus has shifted to more daunting global challenges such as the still raging coronavirus pandemic and climate change, as well as new crises in Ethiopia's embattled Tigray region and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Oil-rich Libya, whose parliament on Tuesday passed a no-confidence vote in its unity government, has been mired in chaos since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was ousted and killed in 2011.

The unity government, only installed in March, was to rule until elections scheduled for December, replacing two rival governments who have battled for years in a bloody struggle for control of the country.

Angela Merkel, Germany's first female chancellor, has been praised by many for her pragmatic leadership in a turbulent world and celebrated by some as a feminist icon. But a look at her track record over her 16 years at Germany's helm reveals missed opportunities for fighting gender inequality at home.

Named "The World's Most Powerful Woman" by Forbes magazine for the last 10 years in a row, Merkel has been cast as a powerful defender of liberal values in the West. She has easily stood her ground at male-dominated summits with leaders such as former U.S. President Donald Trump or Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Algerians looked back on two decades of "missed opportunities" as flags flew at half mast Sunday ahead of the funeral of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

His death at age 84 was announced late Friday, more than two years after the former strongman quit office.

The humble spoon has taken its place alongside traditional flags and banners as a Palestinian resistance symbol, after prisoners were said to have carried out one of Israel's most spectacular jail breaks with the utensil.

When the six Palestinian militants escaped through a tunnel on September 6 from the high security Gilboa prison, social networks shared images of a tunnel at the foot of a sink, and a hole dug outside.

Lebanon's new government, finally formed in the throes of an accelerating economic meltdown after 13 months of political deadlock, has its work cut out.

Lebanon's new prime minister Najib Miqati has pledged to gain control of one of the world's worst economic meltdowns, saying lifting subsidies was a critical priority for the small country's government formed after a year of political stalemate.

It is a momentous task facing the 24-minister Cabinet, which includes fresh faces who are prominent experts in their fields, but which still reflects Lebanon's fractious politics.