Iraqi officials say two protesters have been shot dead and at least 26 wounded in Baghdad and southern Iraq in continued unrest after Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi announced he intended to resign.

Iraq's Cabinet said in a statement it convened an emergency session Saturday to discuss Abdul-Mahdi's stepping down and approved the resignations of key staff. Experts said parliament must approve Abdul Mahdi's resignation for it to be valid.

Iraqis kept up their anti-government protests in Baghdad and across the south on Saturday, unsatisfied with the prime minister's planned resignation and insisting "all corrupted people" must step down.

A second round of talks on amending Syria's constitution ended Friday, after disagreement on the agenda prevented government and opposition negotiators from meeting, the U.N. mediator said. 

The United States called Friday on Iraqi leaders to address the "legitimate" grievances of protesters including corruption after the embattled prime minister announced his resignation.

Algerians thronged their capital Friday to insist that a presidential election set for December 12 must not go ahead before a change of regime.

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian teenager near the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said.

Iraq's embattled premier announced Friday he will resign in keeping with the wishes of the country's top Shiite cleric, after nearly two months of anti-government protests that have cost more than 400 lives.

Adel Abdel Mahdi's written statement was greeted with cheers and blaring music across Baghdad's iconic Tahrir (Liberation) Square, where crowds have amassed since early October against a ruling class deemed corrupt and inefficient.

Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani urged parliament on Friday to drop its support for the current cabinet after two months of anti-government protests that have left nearly 400 dead.

Thousands of defiant Iraqi protesters regrouped on Friday across the country's south, the morning after nearly 45 protesters were killed in one of the bloodiest days of anti-government rallies yet.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday approved a $9.2-billion budget for his war-torn country, official media reported.