Israel’s public health experts have been consistently ahead of their global counterparts in efforts to fight Covid-19. By securing an early supply deal with Pfizer for its vaccine, they have had an edge in understanding how it behaves in the real world.

The U.S. spent $145 billion over two decades to help the country stand on its own, but the Taliban takeover and the withdrawal of foreign aid have left the Afghan economy on the verge of collapse.

The attacks killed at least five people in Nangarhar province on Wednesday, and followed deadly weekend strikes on Taliban patrols for which Islamic State’s local affiliate also claimed responsibility.

For nearly two weeks, the hunt for the fugitives transfixed the nations, embarrassing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and emboldening Palestinian attackers.

The militant group’s initiative comes as Lebanon undergoes a severe economic crisis that has thrust millions of people into poverty.

The trial of 14 members of Palestinian Authority security forces accused of beating to death a critic of President Mahmoud Abbas has highlighted the growing reach of paramilitary troops in the West Bank and a creeping culture of authoritarianism.

The previously unreported incidents at Iran’s main nuclear facility allegedly involved inappropriate touching of female inspectors by male security guards and orders to remove clothing, diplomats said.

A U.S. effort to help members of the Zohra orchestra flee Afghanistan recently was thwarted when Taliban guards refused to wake a commander at Kabul’s airport.

Lebanon’s political factions agreed on a government led by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati, ending a long deadlock as the country struggles with a deepening economic crisis.

Maryam and Mehrsa Mohammadi fled to Kabul with their grandmother, then dodged danger to secure a reunion with their mother in Kyiv.

The Taliban released images they say showed the conquest of the provincial capital of Panjshir, a region that has held out against the group’s takeover of the country. The rebels denied the Taliban’s claim.

A Palestinian militant leader and five other inmates staged an elaborate escape from a high-security prison in Israel, raising political pressure on Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as he attempts to burnish his security credentials after leading a wide-ranging new coalition to power in June.

Islamic State attacks in Kirkuk province are commonplace but this was the largest and bloodiest so far this year. The area’s governor called for an emergency meeting of Iraq’s national security council to improve and coordinate the military response to the Islamic State threat.

The new prime minister wants President Biden to back off an effort to revive the 2015 pact that was scuttled by the Trump administration.

The Pentagon strategy to use U.S. airlines to ease crowded conditions for Afghan refugees at overseas military bases is creating a new bottleneck at Dulles International Airport.

The U.S. is set to shift its focus in a few days from evacuating Americans and Afghans to removing its remaining military personnel and essential equipment.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is expected as foreign minister to closely follow the line set by Iran’s conservative new president.

Tehran resumed fuel exports to Afghanistan, with the Taliban providing dollars to Iran from its narcotics operations.

The political survival of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett depends on winning votes beyond his conservative constituency while also fending off an all-out campaign by his predecessor to topple his fragile coalition. At stake is moving the country past a divisive and turbulent political period.

Wall Street Journal colleagues and their families experienced failed escape attempts and beatings by the Taliban.