A photo of a toddler’s lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach after a migrant boat sank has sparked an international outcry on social media on Wednesday, in a poignant image of the refugee crisis.

More than 13 million children are being denied an education due to conflicts in the Middle East, the UN has said, warning “the hopes of a generation” would be dashed if they cannot return to classrooms.

The Taliban militant group in Afghanistan has denied involvement in a deadly car bombing attack targeting a convoy of NATO contractors in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The toll from heavy government bombardment of a rebel stronghold outside the Syrian capital rose on Sunday to 34 civilians including 12 children, a monitoring group said.

Putting final touches on preparations to receive millions of pilgrims from around the world, the officials in the Grand Mosque in Makkah have revealed that the fourth floor or mataf, or circumambulation area around the Kaaba, will be ready before hajj next September.

Syrian regime airstrikes on Saturday killed 50 people in the rebel-held town of Douma east of Damascus, Al Arabiya News Channel reported citing local committees.

A car bomb that exploded outside a private hospital in Kabul has killed 12 people and wounded another 105 people including children, according to the Afghan Ministry of Public Health.

Deaths have been reported in an Israeli air strike on a car in Syria, according to Syrian state media and activists.

Assailants have opened fire at the US consulate building and carried out a bomb attack on a police station in Istanbul, as two different attacks killed five security personnel in southeastern Turkey.

Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s ousted and imprisoned president, hinted on Saturday that he had been subject to a poisoning attempt by prison officials in a report in Middle East Monitor.