How Iran and Saudi Arabia's diplomatic breakthrough could impact the entire Middle East
CBSN
Last week, Iran extended an official invitation to Saudi Arabia's King Salman to visit Tehran, one of many steps recently undertaken by the two countries as they slowly improve their relations. The two countries have been bitter rivals for decades, but their relationship has begun to thaw since they signed an agreement to resume diplomatic ties in Beijing last month. It was a diplomatic breakthrough in a standoff that has shaped events and attitudes across the Middle East for more than 40 years.
The two countries completely severed diplomatic ties after Sunni Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric in 2016. Iran's ruling clerics, and most of its population, are Shiite, and the two nations' animosity has exploded into "proxy wars" in several countries across the region, including Yemen, where groups backed by either side have taken a heavy toll in human lives and caused a dire humanitarian crisis.
Johannesburg — It's often called the forgotten conflict, but the civil war that has torn Sudan apart for 19 months is fueling the world's biggest humanitarian crisis. In just over a year and a half, 13 million people have been displaced from their homes. At least one overcrowded camp for displaced civilians is already dealing with famine, while other parts of the country are suffering though famine-like conditions.
Tropical Storm Sara formed in the Caribbean on Thursday, becoming the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The system, previously called Tropical Depression 19, developed in the western Caribbean earlier this week and intensified while traveling westward on a path toward Central America.
Paris — Security forces were on high alert Thursday in Paris ahead of a soccer match between France's national soccer team and the visiting Israeli side. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators held protests in the city Wednesday night, and there has been fear of a possible repeat of last week's violence and antisemitic attacks against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.