The Saudi-led coalition yesterday launched air strikes on Yemen hours after Huthi rebels announced a three-day truce, with the UN chief condemning a surge in violence as the war enters its eighth year.

The European Union’s coordinator for talks to restore the Iran nuclear deal, Enrique Mora, said he was hoping to close gaps in the negotiations ahead of his expected arrival in Tehran.

Yemen's Houthis said they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities on Friday and the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco's petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit, causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties.

An Arab assailant killed at least four people in Israel's southern city of Beersheba on Tuesday in the deadliest such attack in years, before he was fatally shot by a passer-by, police said.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group fired missiles and drones at Saudi energy and water desalination facilities, causing a temporary drop in output at a refinery but no casualties, the Saudi energy ministry said yesterday.

Turkey’s foreign minister said in an interview published yesterday that Russia and Ukraine were nearing agreement on “critical” issues and he was hopeful for a ceasefire if the two sides did not backtrack from progress achieved so far.

A Palestinian assailant stabbed an Israeli passer-by in Jerusalem yesterday before being shot and wounded by Israeli police, the police said.

The United Nations and aid groups have warned of grave consequences for Yemen after an international pledging conference failed to raise enough money to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the war-torn country.

Iran warned yesterday that it won’t tolerate “threats” coming from Iraq, a day after firing ballistic missiles at what it said was an Israeli site in the neighbouring country.

Iran claimed responsibility for a missile strike yesterday on the northern Iraqi city of Arbil, saying it targeted an Israeli “strategic centre”.

Saudi Arabia said Saturday it had executed a record 81 people in one day for terrorism-related offences, exceeding the total number killed last year and sparking criticism from rights activists.

Forty-seven children were “killed or maimed” in Yemen’s civil war in January and February following a surge in violence, the United Nations children’s fund said yesterday.

Saudi Arabia yesterday confirmed a 10-year travel ban for freed blogger and human rights activist Raif Badawi, who has become a symbol of freedom of expression around the world.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups, the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history.

Saudi Arabia has confirmed the formation of a nuclear energy holding company that will aid in the development of nuclear facilities in the kingdom, the Saudi Gazette reports quoting Saudi Arabia's governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid (IAEA).

Islamic State confirmed on Thursday the death of its leader Abu Ibrahim Al-hashemi Al-Quraishi and its spokesperson Abu Hamza Al-Quraishi, and announced Abu Al-Hassan Al-hashemi Al-Quraishi as its new chief.

Iran yesterday accused the United States of working to “complicate” efforts to restore a 2015 nuclear deal, after new Russian demands linked to its invasion of Ukraine raised concerns of further delays.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he believed his Israeli counterpart's visit will be a turning point in long-strained relations between the regional powers, and that Ankara was ready for cooperate in the energy sector.

Israel’s president landed in Ankara yesterday to meet Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the first visit by an Israeli head of state since 2007, as the countries seek to mend fractured ties.

India’s representative to Palestine, Mukul Arya -- a foreign service officer in his 30s -- died in his office premises in Ramallah on Sunday, according to India’s External Affairs Ministry.