Another weekend, another fun festival happening around town. Since the 1980s, the Houston Med Fest has been sharing the faith and culture of the Mediterranean to H-Town. We're giving you a preview of a two-day event, including a taste of a super flavorful flatbread you can try at home, no passport needed!

Spain says that this summer was the hottest on record for the country.

Authorities say France’s biggest wildfire this summer is spreading quickly in a Mediterranean region near the Spanish border after leaving one person dead.

Cyprus' government spokesman says aircraft from Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Spain are on their way to help battle a huge wildfire that has claimed the lives of two people.

Israeli police have been scouring the Mediterranean coast for a swimmer they fear may have been attacked by a shark.

A rare blue diamond was displayed at an exhibition of $100 million worth of the world’s rarest diamonds in the United Arab Emirates’ capital.

Cyprus and the United Nations agency for refugees are clashing over allegations that the east Mediterranean island nation continues to engage in so-called pushbacks against migrant boats departing from neighboring Syria or Lebanon.

Try out the Mediterranean diet if you're aiming to eat healthier this year.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is bringing hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon.

About 20 migrants are believed to be missing after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean this week.

Katy Perry pretends in her new music video to be one of the thousands of tourists having the time of their lives on on Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.

Officials say two NASA astronauts will remain at the International Space Station until engineers finish working on problems plaguing their Boeing capsule.

Boeing is closer to understanding what went wrong with its astronaut capsule in orbit, now that testing is complete on a spare thruster here on Earth.

Two astronauts are spending extra time at the International Space Station as NASA and Boeing troubleshoot capsule problems that popped up on the way there.

Two chefs are joining forces to bring a taste of Mediterranean and South Asian flavors for World Refugee Day. Find out how this special dish is helping their mission to support refugees while you enjoy a delicious meal.

The legal defense team for nine Egyptian men due to go on trial in southern Greece next week accused of causing one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwrecks say they will argue Greece has no jurisdiction in the case.

The European climate agency says Earth was record hot for the 10th consecutive month in March.

The Mediterranean Diet has won best overall diet for the 7th year in a row from U.S. News and World Report. It's balanced, sustainable and healthy. We learned how to get started from registered dietician and founder of Fully Mediterranean, Pam Fullenweider.

Pope Francis has blasted what he calls the “fanaticism of indifference” that greets migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

Pope Francis is travelling to the French port city of Marseille to join Catholic bishops in a meeting focusing on the Mediterranean and migration.

The prime minister of Libyan’s eastern administration says authorities have divided the flood-stricken city of Derna into four sections to create buffers in case of disease outbreaks.

Scientists say the Mediterranean storm that dumped torrential rain on the Libyan coast is just the latest extreme weather event to carry some hallmarks of climate change.

Cyprus police have rescued 18 Syrian migrants after their boat started taking on water some 3.5 miles off the Mediterranean island nation’s southeastern coast.

Nearly two months after a dilapidated fishing trawler crammed with people heading from north Africa to Italy sank in the central Mediterranean, killing hundreds, relatives are still frantically searching for loved ones among the missing and dead.

Dozens of migrants have been dramatically brought to safety by Italian rescuers as they foundered in the sea or clung to a rocky reef.

Veterinarians in Cyprus are lauding a government decision to allow its stock of human COVID-19 medication to be used against a feline virus that has killed thousands of cats on the Mediterranean island.

Rescue groups are accusing the European island nation of Malta of coordinating the return of around 500 people to Libya where they were subsequently imprisoned, in violation of international maritime law.

Touted as a “harmonious blend between traditional and modern,” Albi’s menu offers a mix of Lebanese, Turkish, and Jordanian cuisines.

Greece says it would welcome expanded cooperation with Turkey after both countries hold elections next month ‒ including on energy issues that have been at the heart of decades-old disputes.

Two European aid groups have docked their rescue vessels in Italian ports and some 500 would-be refugees have disembarked, even as the Italian government insists it isn't backing down on its hard line against migrant smuggling operations from North Africa.

The Spanish charity Open Arms has rescued 372 people seeking to cross the central Mediterranean Sea to Europe in unseaworthy boats in three operations.

The eastern Mediterranean and Middle East are warming almost twice as fast as the global average, with temperatures projected to rise up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century if no action is taken to reverse the trend, a new report says.

Spain's weather agency says July was Spain's hottest month on record.

Divers visiting the ancient seaport of Caesarea on Israel’s Mediterranean coast occasionally find treasure, but for World Oceans Day they searched for trash.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu new agency says Greece’s ambassador to Turkey has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry over concerns about the activities of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party in his country.

The U.N. health agency says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesn’t meet its standards for air quality.

Pope Francis says he may make a visit to Kyiv, and he has blasted Russia's war in Ukraine as an “infantile and destructive aggression."

The United States has returned a cache of smuggled ancient artifacts to Libya as the oil-rich Mediterranean country struggles to protect its heritage against the backdrop of years of war, turmoil and unrest.

The chief of the European Union’s border agency says the repatriation of migrants is Cyprus’ “most urgent need” and his organization is ready to facilitate flights to return individuals who had their asylum claims rejected.

The Russian military has deployed long-range nuclear-capable bombers and fighter jets carrying state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to Syria for massive naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea amid the soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine.

Two Tunisian women have sparked controversy after they posted videos of their migrant journeys to Europe by boat.

Cyprus’ interior minister says repatriating migrants who have had their asylum applications rejected is essential to easing overcrowding at a migrant reception camp and quelling incidents of violence.

The chief of ExxonMobil’s Cyprus arm says natural gas will remain an important energy source through 2050 and quantities of the hydrocarbon found off the east Mediterranean island nation could reach markets through a pipeline or by liquefying it for transport by ship.

Syria media are reporting that Israeli missiles fired from the Mediterranean struck the port of Latakia, igniting a fire in the containers area.

French rescuers have retrieved two more bodies from the remains of an apartment building in southern France that collapsed in a suspected gas explosion.

French rescue workers have dug out the body of a man but rescued his baby and the child’s mother from the rubble of a three-story apartment building that collapsed in a suspected gas explosion on southern France’s Mediterranean coast.

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will travel to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus on a five-day trip next month.

This family-owned business even makes fresh dog food you can purchase at the restaurant

Israeli archaeologists say a scuba diver has salvaged an ancient sword off the country's Mediterranean coast that experts say dates back to the Crusaders.

A climate change conference will underscore to policymakers in the Middle East and the east Mediterranean that the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is needed urgently because greenhouse gas emissions are helping to drive up regional temperatures faster than in many other inhabited parts of the world.

France's government spokesman says President Emmanuel Macron will speak in the coming days with President Joe Biden in their first contact since a major crisis erupted between France and the United States over a submarine deal with Australia.

French President Emmanuel Macron says firefighters have been able to “stabilize” a wildfire that is racing through forests near the French Riviera.

Panicked tourists in Turkey hurried to the seashore to wait for rescue boats after being told to evacuate some hotels in the Aegean resort town of Bodrum due to the dangers posed by nearby wildfires.

Turkish authorities are investigating the cause of a string of forest fires in southern Turkey, including two near the coastal resort town of Manavgat that killed three people and sent over 50 others to the hospital as homes burned down.

Authorities have evacuated homes in southern Turkey as a wildfire fanned by strong winds raged through a forest area near the Mediterranean coastal town of Manavgat.

Cyprus' interior minister says four people have died in what he called the “most destructive" fire in the island nation's history.

A newly sanctified cemetery for Tunisia's migrant dead is filling quickly.

Souvenirs from Sardinia’s pristine beaches can cost dearly.

Greece, Germany and five other European Union nations have introduced a vaccination certificate system for travelers weeks ahead of the July 1 rollout of the program across the 27-nation bloc.

Cyprus got a shot in the arm amid the pandemic after Europe’s environmental watchdog ranked the country first among all European Union countries for having the cleanest swimming waters.

The Russian military says it has deployed three nuclear-capable long-range bombers to its base in Syria.

After last year’s Eurovision Song Contest was canceled amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is roaring back to life with coronavirus bubbles added to its heady mix of music and camp.

The vaunted Mediterranean diet and the French bon gout are getting some competition: The European food safety agency says worms are safe to eat. The Parma-based agency published a scientific opinion Wednesday on the safety of dried yellow mealworms and gave them a thumbs up. Researchers said the worms, either eaten whole or in powdered form, are a protein-rich snack or ingredient for other foods. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)ROME – The vaunted Mediterranean diet and French gastronomy are getting some competition: The European Union's food safety agency says worms are safe to eat. The Parma-based agency published a scientific opinion Wednesday on the safety of dried yellow mealworms and gave them a thumbs up.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks at a news conference in Madrid, Spain, Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. Turkey on Monday, Jan. 11 invited Greece to resume talks designed to reduce tensions between the neighbors, following this summer's dispute over maritime borders and energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean. Cavusoglu also extended an invitation to Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, for a meeting to discuss their troubled relations. “Today ... we want to extend an open invitation to Greece” Cavusoglu said. “We invite Greece to start exploratory talks, with the first meeting being held in January.”The foreign ministries of Turkey and Greece later issued separate statements saying the so-called exploratory talks would be held in Istanbul on Jan. 25.

Greece and Egypt are at odds with Turkey in a volatile maritime boundary dispute in the eastern Mediterranean over rights to search for and exploit natural gas deposits. The European Union and the United States have both criticized Turkey’s ongoing maritime research missions in waters where Greece asserts jurisdiction. The dispute between Greece and Turkey triggered a major military buildup over the summer that raised concerns of military confrontation. Turkey’s behavior, it said, “pushes further away any prospects of a constructive dialogue” between Greece and Turkey. Greece, Cyprus and Egypt widely criticized the deal between Ankara and Tripoli, saying it infringed on their economic rights.

Police work behind a restricted zone near the Notre Dame church in Nice, southern France, after a knife attack took place on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)PARIS – A young Tunisian man armed with a knife and carrying a copy of the Quran attacked worshippers in a French church and killed three Thursday, prompting the government to raise its security alert to the maximum level hours before a nationwide coronavirus lockdown. The French prosecutor said the attacker was not on the radar of intelligence agencies as a potential threat. The third victim, a 44-year-old woman, managed to flee the church alive but died at a nearby restaurant. .The three were killed “only because they were in the church at that moment,” Ricard told reporters.

ANKAR – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Greece and Cyprus of failing to fulfill “promises” made during negotiations within the European Union and NATO and said his country would continue to give them “the response they deserve." “Our Oruc Reis has returned to its duty in the Mediterranean,” Erdogan told legislators of his ruling party in a speech in parliament. Greece’s government said, meanwhile, that it wouldn't take part in planned exploratory talks with Turkey as long as the survey mission was in progress. Separately, Erdogan declared that he would on Saturday announce details of the discovery a new natural gas reserve off the Black Sea coast. In August, Turkey announced the discovery of 320 billion cubic meters of gas, which the country said would help ease the country’s dependence on imports.

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 file photo, Turkey's research vessel, Oruc Reis anchored off the coast of Antalya on the Mediterranean, Turkey. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)BERLIN – Germany's foreign minister on Tuesday criticized Turkey for “unilateral steps" in the eastern Mediterranean that are undercutting efforts to de-escalate tensions with Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and drilling rights. Ankara's redeployment of the Oruc Reis survey vessel for new energy exploration around Kastellorizo has reignited tensions over sea boundaries between Greek islands, Cyprus and Turkey’s southern coast. “We have every interest in engaging with Turkey in a constructive dialogue.”The Oruc Reis left the port of Antalya on Monday for a mission expected to end Oct. 22. Another Turkish survey ship is currently operating in waters where Cyprus claims exclusive economic rights.

The Turkish search vessel, Oruc Reis, left the port of Antalya on Monday for a mission ending Oct. 22. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the vessel was continuing with its “planned and scheduled activities,” adding that the Turkish navy would provide “support and protection” if necessary. The common denominator is Turkey,” Dendias said — referring to regional hot spots in which Ankara has a military presence or active diplomatic involvement. A ministry statement accused Greece of declaring military exercises in the Aegean Sea to coincide with Turkey’s Oct. 29 national day celebrations. ___Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

ATHENS – Greece’s prime minister reiterated on Tuesday that his country is prepared to hold talks with fellow NATO member Turkey about a dispute over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean. Speaking after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the dispute, which saw Greek and Turkish warships facing off in the eastern Mediterranean, was a threat to NATO’s cohesion. He voiced hope that the two sides would be able to hold diplomatic negotiations to settle their differences — a hope he reiterated in Athens on Tuesday. When Turkey “disputes the sovereign rights of one, it opens wide the road to dispute the rights of others too,” Mitsotakis said. Mitsotakis welcomed recent Turkish moves to reduce tension, but said “it remains to be seen if this is an honest move or a temporary maneuver.”

A general view of the round table meeting at an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. European Union leaders are meeting to address a series of foreign affairs issues ranging from Belarus to Turkey and tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. “We have to decided today to implement the sanctions," European Council President Charles Michel told reporters after chairing the summit in Brussels. It is also unusual in that all 27 EU member countries, including Cyprus, reject the result of the Aug. 9 election that returned Lukashenko to power for a sixth term. “When a European Union member state is attacked, threatened, when its territorial waters are not respected, it’s the duty of Europeans to show their solidarity,” Macron said.

(Aris Messinis/Pool viaAP)ATHENS – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed support Tuesday for talks between Greece and Turkey, NATO allies whose relations deteriorated to the point where both had warships facing off in the Mediterranean Sea. His comments, however, angered Ankara, where a senior official accused Pompeo of not being impartial on the second day of a five-day regional tour. EU leaders are set to discuss this week potential sanctions against Turkey, which is not a bloc member. Turkey last month sent a research vessel, accompanied by warships, to prospect for energy resources in an area where Greece claims exclusive rights. The tensions at sea eased recently, with Athens and Ankara announcing they would hold exploratory talks on relaunching stalled negotiations.

Greece's prime minister outlined plans Saturday to upgrade the country's defense capabilities, including purchasing new fighter planes, frigates, helicopters and weapons systems amid heightened tensions with Turkey over rights to resources in the eastern Mediterranean. (Thodoris Manolopoulos/Greek President's Office via AP)ATHENS – The Greek government welcomed a Turkish survey vessel's return to port Sunday from a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean that has been at the heart of a summer stand-off between Greece and Turkey over energy rights. We will see how this develops to make a proper assessment,″ Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas told TV channel Skai. The dispute over potential oil and gas reserves has triggered a military build-up in the eastern Mediterranean. Nominal NATO allies Turkey and Greece both dispatched warships to the area where the Oruc Reis was engaged in seismic research and conducted military exercises to assert their claims.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, talks as the Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades looks on prior to their meeting at the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. Lavrov is paying an official visit to Cyprus amid heightened tensions over Turkey's search for energy resources in east Mediterranean waters where Greece and Cyprus claim as having exclusive economic rights. (Iakovos Hadjistavrou/Pool Photo via AP)NICOSIA Russias foreign minister said Tuesday that Moscow is ready to help ease rising tensions over Turkey's search for energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean. The embargo was directed against the southern, Greek Cypriot part of the island, where Cyprus internationally-recognized government is seated. We believe that Russia is playing a very destabilizing role in the region, especially in Syria, Garber said.

FILE - In this file photo dated Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, People walk along the beach in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Cyprus police said Sunday Sept. 6, 2020, that four boats carrying Syrian and Lebanese migrants have arrived in waters off the east Mediterranean island nations coastline within a 48-hour span. Some 21 migrants remain aboard a boat that is adrift off Cyprus southeastern tip as a result of a faulty engine. European Union member Cyprus and Lebanon have an agreement to curb the arrival of boats loaded with migrants from reaching the island. He said Cyprus migrant reception center is reaching its limits amid concerns over sticking to health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

A hospital in Barcelona is studying how short trips to the beach may help COVID-19 patients recover from long and traumatic intensive hospital care. A medical team at the Hospital del Mar the Hospital of the Seas is seeing if short trips to the beach just across the street can help COVID-19 patients after long and sometimes traumatic ICU stays. In April, the hospital was operating several additional ICU wards and expanded its normal capacity of 18 patients to 67. The team wants to take this anecdotal evidence further, and see whether such outdoor trips can help in the mid- and long-term recovery of COVID-19 patients. For Espana, who works in a local market and has a passion for music, his memories of 52 days in intensive care are cloudy."

(Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool)ANKARA Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned Greece to enter talks over disputed eastern Mediterranean territorial claims or face the consequences. Ankara is currently facing off against Greece and Cyprus over oil and gas exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean. The two NATO allies have been locked for weeks in a tense standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey is prospecting the seabed for energy reserves in an area Greece claims as its own continental shelf. Simulated dogfights between Greek and Turkish fighter pilots have multiplied over the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean. Erdogan said Turkey had repeatedly expressed its willingness to come to a just agreement.

Turkey on Monday, Aug. 31, accused Greece of "piracy" and warned it will stand up to Athens' alleged efforts to militarize islands near its coast. Neighbors and NATO allies Greece and Turkey have been locked in a tense standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey is prospecting the seabed for energy reserves in an area Greece claims as its own continental shelf. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Dendias would be delivering a letter from him to Guterres detailing what he said was Turkey's illegal activity in the region. Simulated dogfights between Greek and Turkish fighter pilots have multiplied over the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean. A Turkish and a Greek frigate collided last month, reportedly causing minor damage to the Turkish frigate but no injuries.

(Greek Defense Ministry via AP)ANKARA Turkey called on the United States to reconsider a decision to partially lift a 33-year-old arms embargo against Cyprus, saying Wednesday that the move disrupts equality and balance between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities on the ethnically divided island nation. It was directed against the southern, Greek Cypriot part of the island, where Cyprus' internationally recognized government is seated. Cyprus split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkey, the only nation to recognize a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island's north, maintains more than 35,000 troops there. Ambassador to Cyprus Judith Garber said the lifting of the embargo strengthens the U.S.-Cyprus security partnership while boosting regional security.

In this photo provided by the Greek Defense Ministry, warships take part in a military exercise in Eastern Mediterranean sea, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. Turkey is accusing France of stoking tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, where NATO allies Turkey and Greece are locked in a stiff standoff over competing claims over offshore energy exploration rights. On Thursday, France was set to join Italy, Greece and Cyprus in three-day air and sea military exercises off the east Mediterranean island. Greek military officials said Thursday the United Arab Emirates have sent four fighter jets and five military transport planes to an airbase on Crete for joint training with Greek forces. Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, and Lorne Cook in Brussels, contributed to this report.

(Turkish Defense Ministry via AP, Pool)ATHENS Germany's foreign minister was heading to Greece and Turkey on Tuesday in an effort to ease increasing tension between the two neighbors, which are at loggerheads over prospecting rights in the eastern Mediterranean. In response to the Oruc Reis's operations, Greece put its armed forces on alert and sent warships to shadow the Turkish vessels. Turkey and Greece are our NATO allies. Ankara responded by extending its notification to shipping, known as a Navtex, about the research vessels operations to Aug. 27. The windows for dialogue between Greece and Turkey must now be opened further and not closed, Maas said.