The war in the Middle East appears to be widening, almost one year after Hamas launched its attack on Israel.

For more on what might unfold from here, Consider This host Ailsa Chang speaks with General Frank McKenzie, the retired Commander of United States Central Command.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

(Image credit: AHMAD GHARABLI)

NATO's new Secretary General pledges continuing support for Ukraine and is dismisses member concerns about Trump.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his country was facing “one of the most dangerous phases of its history” amid Israel’s ground incursion into southern Lebanon, which began late Monday.

(Image credit: Hassan Ammar)

The Iranian airstrikes come in the wake of stepped-up Israeli military operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a group backed by Iran for decades. Israel says it shot down most of the Iranian missiles.

(Image credit: Maya Levin for NPR)

A bus carrying young students and their teachers on a school trip caught fire in suburban Bangkok, leaving more than 20 feared dead, officials and rescuers said.

(Image credit: Sakchai Lalit)

Claudia Sheinbaum is a 62-year-old environmental scientist who left academia on a political trajectory that took her from a local mayor, to running Mexico City, to winning the presidency with nearly 60% of the vote.

(Image credit: Eduardo Verdugo)

The Israeli military pressed its ground incursion into southern Lebanon on Tuesday, calling the operations “limited incursions” that are targeting Hezbollah militants.

(Image credit: Maya Levin)

As China marks 75 years of Communist rule, a battle is playing out over a Party insider's old notebooks and letters stored at Stanford University.

Japan's leading video company Nintendo is about to open a museum -- an unusual step for a company that rarely explains itself. The museum opens Wednesday in Kyoto, the company's hometown.

Ishiba, who chosen as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's new leader on Friday, replaces Fumio Kishida who stepped down after his government was dogged by multiple scandals.

(Image credit: Hiro Komae)

The 62-year-old scientist turned politician campaigned on a promise to protect an expanded social safety net and fight for the poor like her predecessor, but she faces many pressing problems.

(Image credit: Marco Ugarte)

Israel began a series of attacks against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with pagers and walkie talkies that exploded. They then launched airstrikes targeting the group's leadership. One strike killed Hezbollah's leader of over thirty years, Hassan Nasrallah. The attacks are an effort to prevent Hezbollah from continuing to fire rockets at northern Israel, which it has been doing since the war in Gaza began. Israel's airstrikes are continuing to widen and their military is massing at the border, pointing to a possible ground invasion.

We'll hear from our correspondent in Beirut about the feeling on the ground there. We also hear about whether and how Iran might respond. Iran had been arming Hezbollah to counter Israel, and the weakening of the group is a blow to an important proxy of Iran's.

For more coverage of all sides of this conflict, go to npr.org/mideastupdates

The UN Security Council has renewed a mandate of a Kenyan-led force in Haiti. But, the mission has had a slow start the U.S. hoped to make it a formal peacekeeping operation so the UN would fund it.

The Israeli military has launched what it called a "limited, localized" ground offensive in southern Lebanon against the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

(Image credit: Menahem Kahana)

Tropical storm Helene has left western North Carolina with catastrophic damage from historic flooding to a loss of power for thousands. And, Lebanon mourning the loss of Hezbollah leader.

(Image credit: Mahmous Zayyat)

Was the murder of a young Palestinian man in the West Bank an anti-gay hate crime? NPR identifies the accused killer and explores the parallel systems of justice that have yet to resolve this case.

(Image credit: Oded Balilty)

Amazon India says it ensures breaks and worker safety, but workers tell NPR they're pressured not to stop for water or to use the toilet, especially while processing same-day orders.

(Image credit: Dhiraj Singh)

Morning Edition spoke to the Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus about being tapped as Bangladesh’s interim leader and his country’s future.

(Image credit: Amir Hamja for NPR)

The number of people killed by flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall over the weekend in Nepal has reached 193, while 31 people were still reported missing.

(Image credit: Gopen Rai)

The Freedom Party on Sunday secured the first far-right national parliamentary election victory in post-World War II Austria. But political rivals have said they won’t work with the party's leader.

(Image credit: Andreea Alexandru)