U.S. and Filipino forces on Tuesday launched their largest combat exercises in decades in the Philippines and its waters across the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, where Washington has repeatedly warned China over its increasingly aggressive actions.

On Sunday, Iranian media reported cases of poisoning in girls' schools in new Iranian cities. According to the circulating reports, female students in schools for girls in the cities of Saqqez and Sanandaj in the Kurdistan Province, and the city of Maragheh in the East Azerbaijan Province, were poisoned.

The Chinese Ministry of Defense published a video of its exercises near Taiwan, where the aircraft appeared during the maneuvers in the air, in addition to the movements of some naval vessels near Taipei.

 Traversing the Sabzak Pass in Afghanistan is treacherous. But for travelers in distress, one innkeeper, who personifies Afghan generosity, is there to help — with a cup of tea, a meal, or a car repair.