The first of an expected 2 million Muslims on August 19 began celebrating the hajj in Saudi Arabia, one of the five pillars of the world's fastest-growing religion.
Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has died at the age of 80 of an unspecified illness.
The leader of Afghanistan's Taliban has said there can be no peace in the country as long as foreign "occupation" goes on.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet on August 18 for talks about the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project that has drawn U.S. opposition.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to visit the Caucasus states of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan following her meetings outside of Berlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pakistani lawmakers were gathering in Islamabad to elect former cricket star and longtime politician Imran Khan as the country's prime minister.
A higher court in Turkey's Izmir Province has rejected an appeal to dismiss the charges against a U.S. pastor whose prosecution has provoked tensions in U.S.-Turkish relations.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has visited the city Ghazni, a week after Taliban fighters launched a surprise attack on the strategic provincial capital and captured several neighborhoods.
Gunmen have launched an attack on an Afghan intelligence training center in Kabul, officials say.
An estimated two million Muslims will gather in Saudi Arabia next week for the hajj, which will feature the return of pilgrims from Iran, whose government boycotted the event in recent years after a 2015 stampede that killed hundreds of Iranians.
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