Syria

With the Ukrainian president's visit, Syria's president returning to the fold and Saudi Arabia's recent detente with Iran, this year's Arab League summit reflects a changing region.

Syria's membership was suspended 12 years ago early on in the uprising-turned-conflict, which has killed nearly a half million people and displaced half of the country's pre-war population.

The Israeli military said its forces attacked targets in Syria after six rockets were launched from Syrian territory in two batches toward Israel in a rare attack from Israel's northeastern neighbor.

A group believed to be linked to Iran fired a drone that killed one U.S. contractor and injured six others, the Pentagon said. The U.S. retaliated, and also faced a second attack on Friday.

Camps in Syria have become overcrowded in the northwest of the country after the February 6 earthquake. NPR talks to Dr. Mego Terzian of Doctors without Borders about his assessment of the situation.

NPR gained rare access to parts of Syria after last month's devastating earthquakes, photographing what life is like for people who were already coping with a years-long civil war.

As Turkey's leaders promise a swift start to reconstruction efforts in the earthquake zone, attention is also turning to Istanbul — and whether Turkey's largest city is ready for a major quake.

Appeals for aid to Syria were falling short even before this month. Aid groups are trying to marshal more aid pledges while attention is still on the quakes, but the road to recovery will be long.

Even as rescuers rush to arrive, it's often locals who can best offer immediate help, experts say. And they say governments in devastated areas often fail to realize the scope and respond immediately.

Rescue crews pulled more survivors, including entire families, from toppled buildings despite diminishing hopes as the death toll of the quake in Turkey and Syria surpassed 28,000.