US national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday the Trump administration wants sanctions on Iran's crude exports to strain Tehran, but does not want to harm countries that depend on the oil.

An Afghan army helicopter carrying 25 people crashed in western Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing all those on board, officials said.

The United States called Tuesday for a ceasefire and peace talks in Yemen, as the Saudi-led military coalition sent more than 10,000 new troops toward a vital rebel-held port city ahead of a new assault.

A seasoned Norwegian diplomat has been named as the next special envoy to Syria. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres

The UN rights chief yesterday called for "international experts" to help investigate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and called on Riyadh to reveal the whereabouts of his body.

A woman suicide bomber yesterday blew herself up near police vehicles in the centre of the Tunisian capital, injuring nine people, the

Long-awaited reform of Qatar's controversial exit visa system, which requires foreign workers to obtain their bosses' permission to leave the country, came into force yesterday, the government said.

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa has said a planned Gulf security alliance, expected to include Egypt, will be formed by next year.

A suicide car bomb attack on a bus carrying police officers and workers in central Afghanistan killed at least six people and wounded

Afghans are voicing unprecedented levels of pessimism as hopes fade for the war-torn country's future, a US survey said Friday.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis yesterday said that the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi undermined Middle Eastern stability as Riyadh dismissed Ankara's calls to extradite 18 Saudis wanted for the murder.

The Israeli army yesterday accused the Syrian government and Iran of ordering Palestinian militants in Gaza to fire dozens of rockets into southern

Rescuers combed the shores of Jordan's Dead Sea early yesterday, searching for survivors, after flash floods killed at least 20 people, most of them children on a school outing.

The eldest son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi arrives in Washington with his family from Saudi Arabia, according to two sources close to the family, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushes for his return.

At least 16 people were killed on Wednesday in an air strike that hit a factory for vegetable packaging in Yemen's Hodeidah province, medical workers and residents said.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) said yesterday it had won a $777 million (680 million euro) order from India to buy defence systems for its navy.

Turkish investigators find two suitcases and other items in a Saudi consulate car in Istanbul, as part of the investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, broadcaster CNN Turk reports.

The Palestinian security forces "systematically" abuse and torture prisoners in what could amount to crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday vowed to hold peace talks with arch-rival India following elections in the neighbouring country, after a similar offer from the former cricketer was "rebuffed".

A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli soldier and was shot dead by the wounded man and other troops in the Israeli-occupied West Bank yesterday, the military said. In a statement, the military said the incident occurred near the biblical Cave of the Patriarchs, revered by Muslims as the Ibrahimi mosque, in the city of Hebron.