Talks between Yemen's government and rebels, locked in a devastating war for nearly four years, opened Thursday as tension remained high despite what the UN envoy called a "critical opportunity".

A Turkish court has issued arrest warrants for two suspects close to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, raising pressure on the kingdom's de facto leader after two US senators accused him of ordering the hit.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has received an invite from Saudi Arabia to attend this month's Gulf Cooperation Council summit, despite an ongoing diplomatic crisis,

Yemeni government representatives were expected to join a rebel delegation in Sweden yesterday for high-stakes peace talks aimed at ending four years of devastating war. A 12-member team from the Saudi-backed government left Riyadh early yesterday.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani struck a defiant stance against US sanctions yesterday, renewing his threat to cut off international oil

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed that the United States would continue supporting Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen,

Israeli police yesterday said they had found enough evidence for bribery and fraud charges to be brought against Prime Minister

Iran's navy yesterday launched a domestically made destroyer, which state media said has radar-evading stealth properties, as tensions rise with arch-enemy, the United States.

Israel struck several positions south of Damascus, a war monitor said Friday, in the first strikes since Syrian air defences were upgraded following the accidental downing of a Russian plane in September.

World leaders welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday at the G20 summit, showing he was no pariah less than two months after the kingdom killed a dissident journalist.

British security firm G4S said yesterday that five of its employees were among at least 10 people killed in a Taliban-claimed attack on one of its compounds in Kabul.

The United Nations envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura signed off from his posting yesterday ruing "a missed opportunity" to help end the

A Syrian refugee who spent several months in limbo in a budget terminal at a Malaysian airport has been granted permanent residency by Canada and is en route to Vancouver, his lawyer said yesterday.

More than 700 people were injured in a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that shook western Iran, state television reported in an updated toll

The United Arab Emirates yesterday pardoned British academic Matthew Hedges just days after sentencing him to life in prison for spying in a case that stunned Britain and his family.

Turkish police were searching two villas in a northwestern province for the remains of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, state media reported.

Around 100 Syrians have been hospitalised with breathing difficulties in Aleppo, state media and a monitor said yesterday, after allegations rebels fired "toxic gas" on the regime-held city the previous day.

Bahrain holds a parliamentary election yesterday amid boycott calls from dissolved opposition groups which have been banned from taking part.

At least 14 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire Friday during protests along the Gaza border, the enclave's health ministry said.

At least nine security service members were killed in a suspected Islamic State group attack in the southeastern Libyan town of Tazerbo