Anti-government protests in Iraq entered their third week yesterday amid fresh bloodshed, but leaders appeared to have closed rank around the country’s embattled premier.

A mounting death toll in Baghdad and across southern Iraq coupled with reimposed internet restrictions sparked concerns yesterday that anti-government protests would once again trigger chaos.

Mortar fire by pro-Ankara forces Sunday killed a Myanmar national working as a cameraman and medic for a non-governmental group in northeast Syria, the group said.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Sunday pushed back against portrayals of his government as weak and timid in the face of recent unrest that left more than 80 people dead.

Iraqi security forces yesterday fired live rounds at anti-government protesters in Baghdad, hours after four demonstrators were shot dead outside the Iranian consulate in the holy city of Karbala.

As many as 75 Bangladeshi migrant workers return home from Saudi Arabia amid a deportation spree of undocumented migrant workers by the Gulf country.

US commandos zeroed in on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s final hideout with the help of an extraordinarily well-placed informant, an IS operative who facilitated the terrorist leader’s movements around Syria and even helped oversee construction work on his Syrian safe house, according to US and Middle East-based officials knowledgeable about the operation.

Preliminary results from Afghanistan’s presidential elections have been delayed for nearly a month, officials announced yesterday, a lengthy postponement likely to stoke political uncertainty and allegations of fraud.

Iraqi students joined anti-government protests in Baghdad yesterday, ramping up the street pressure on Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi who also faced a surprise sit-in from parliament’s largest bloc.

The Kremlin yesterday accused Washington of betraying the Kurds by withdrawing its forces from northern Syria and leaving allies alone in the face of a Turkish offensive.

The Taliban stormed a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan killing at least 15 policemen in the latest attack by the armed group, an official said yesterday.

US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper arrived Monday in Saudi Arabia, state television said. On October 11, the Pentagon said it was deploying new US troops to Saudi Arabia after Riyadh asked for reinforcements following a mid-September drone and missile attack on Saudi oil plants, which Washington blames on Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suffered a bitter defeat in his bid to hang on as premier by failing to form a new government, but his opponent faced similar difficulties yesterday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday as the Turkish leader threatened to restart Ankara’s military offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria.

A decision to impose a 100 percent tax on bills at restaurants that serve shisha has ignited criticism on social media in Saudi Arabia, where the water pipes are a popular pastime.

Lebanon’s cabinet approved a raft of economic reforms and agreed on the 2020 budget, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said yesterday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday lashed out at Western states, accusing them of “standing by terrorists” in failing to support Turkey’s operation against Syrian Kurdish fighters.

US forces withdrew from their largest base in northern Syria yesterday, a monitor said, as Turkey accused Kurdish forces of killing one of its soldiers in fighting that tested a fragile truce.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was sworn in for a second term yesterday, as helicopters flew overhead and troops kept watch in the capital Jakarta -- days after Islamist militants tried to assassinate his top security minister.

Israeli security guards at a West Bank crossing into Israel shot dead a Palestinian assailant who ran at them with a knife on Friday, the Israeli defence ministry said.