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Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front and their jihadist allies attacked a convoy of Russian soldiers and Malian troops Thursday as they were en route to reinforce a military camp in the northern town of Anefis. 

Welcome and summary Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the continuing crisis in the Middle East. Iran was pummelled with a volley of missiles for a second consecutive night, with the US military claiming to have struck 170 Iranian targets in the last 48 hours. US Central Command (Centcom) said the intense bombing…

The US has launched a new round of strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump signalled he would “hit them hard again tonight” following an exchange of attacks on Tuesday. Explosions have been reported by Iranian state media in parts of the country’s south, including Sirik and Bandar Abbas – port cities on the Strait…

Neil Johnston, BBC Sport journalist It’s going to require something extra special to stop this Les Bleus juggernaut from reaching a third straight World Cup final. France have overcome a two-hour storm delay in Philadelphia, the loss of Deschamps for one match (he returned home for the funeral of his mother) and Paraguay’s ‘dark arts’…

Iran’s slain ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday will be buried at the country’s holiest shrine in Mashhad after a week of mass funeral processions, rallies and mourning ceremonies that has coincided ​with a flare-up in conflict with the US. Khamenei’s son and successor, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, has still not made any public appearances. 

Carl Smigielski, 61, is single now, after being a caregiver to his husband, Moshe, who died in 2019. He expects to be a “solo ager,” someone who doesn’t have a family member to rely on as he gets older. Ashley Milne-Tyte for NPR hide caption toggle caption Ashley Milne-Tyte for NPR Stay up to date…