The U.N. Security Council Saturday approved a resolution calling for the 30-day cease-fire, following one of the bloodiest weeks of aerial bombardment in the civil war that has devastated the country.

A Syrian government offensive against a rebel-held suburb of Damascus killed hundreds of civilians. The United Nations and humanitarian groups call urgently for a cease-fire, to little effect so far.

It appears the Kurds of northwestern Iraq, who get backing from the U.S., are making a deal with the Syrian regime. They want regime forces to protect them from a Turkish invasion.

Some Damascus suburbs have seen rebel fighting and government bombs for years. Now a suburb called Eastern Ghouta is the scene of a massive bombardment by government forces and their allies.

Airstrikes by the Syrian government and its Russian backers have increased, hitting hospitals and apparently employing chlorine gas. The escalation comes after rebels shot down a Russian plane.

Seven years ago a Tunisian fruit seller set himself on fire in protest. The uprisings he helped start have long faded but self-immolation has taken hold as an act of desperation among Tunisians.

Tunisia celebrated the seventh anniversary of when the country ousted a dictator on Sunday. But current economic problems are touching off new protests about unemployment and poverty.

Violent protests against Tunisia's austerity measures continued in the country, as demonstrators also marked the seventh anniversary of the Tunisian revolution.

Sunday marks the seven-year anniversary of the ousting of Tunisia's dictator. While Tunisians are celebrating the event, vast economic problems still persist throughout the country.

Syria's President Bashar Assad continues to reclaim territory from rebels. His government is now moving in to crush the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib.

U.S. troops have been in Syria fighting ISIS militants near the border with Iraq. More American diplomats and contractors are headed to Syria to help stabilize areas that have suffered years of war.

Lebanese security forces used tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. They were protesting against the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Yemen's former president was killed by Houthi rebels just days after switching allegiances from the Iran-aligned Houthis to a Saudi-led coalition, the latest development in a two-year-long civil war.

In Yemen, Houthi rebels are claiming to have killed the former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh and the rebels had an alliance against the country's current president that recently broke down. This action by the rebels could escalate regional tension.

The former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has reportedly been killed by a rebel faction, the Houthis, in the war-torn country. NPR's Beirut correspondent has more.

Mothers of detained journalists and activists in Yemen are protesting in public and seeking out international help.

We look at Roy Moore's chances in the Alabama Senate race after his communications director resigned. Also, Prime Minister Saad Hariri has returned to Lebanon and says he will stay on, for now.

Lebanon's prime minister returned and says he's not quitting as he had said earlier. The strange events raised alarms about the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran and their influence in Lebanon.

Lebanon's prime minister gave his first television interview since suddenly resigning last weekend, a move that set off rumors that Saudi Arabia had orchestrated his departure from government.

In his first interview since resigning as Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Hariri says he's not being detained by Saudi Arabia, and that he'll return to his country soon.