A vote on a controversial law that would cut government subsidies to cultural institutions deemed disloyal to Israel was Monday postponed indefinitely, Israel's culture minister said.

The bill, submitted by Culture Minister Miri Regev, would give the finance and culture ministries the power to slash subsidies to institutions backing films or plays that do not show "loyalty" to the state.

A government reshuffle Monday in Syria renewed almost a third of the cabinet, including the ministers of interior and of public works, the official SANA news agency reported.

The reshuffle, which does not include any major surprises, was announced in a decree signed by President Bashar al-Assad.

A 10-week-old truce deal in northern Syria looked as precarious as ever Monday after an alleged chemical attack, which has already drawn retaliatory raids despite its origins being unclear.

Turkish police on Monday were searching the villa of a Saudi citizen in a northwestern province for the remains of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The officers began searching a two-story building in Termal district in Yalova with the help of sniffer dogs and drones before the investigation widened to the adjacent villa, state news agency Anadolu said.

Bahrain has said it "completely rejects" attempts to tarnish the reputation of neighbouring Saudi Arabia, whose powerful crown prince has been under intense scrutiny since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. 

U.S.-backed fighters in Syria suffered record fatalities in an assault by the Islamic State group, a war monitor said Monday, as holdout jihadists kept up a fierce defense of their last Syrian redoubt.

It said a total of more than 200 people have been killed since around 500 IS fighters burst out of the fog shrouding the area in eastern Syria near the border with Iraq to launch their deadly assault on Friday.

Tunisian unions and civil society groups called for protests on Monday against a planned visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The United Nations' Yemen envoy is expected in Riyadh on Monday as part of efforts to convene December peace talks between Huthi rebels and the Saudi-backed government.

The United Arab Emirates on Monday pardoned a British researcher who was sentenced last week to life in prison for spying, an official statement said.

At least 21 people have died and tens of thousands displaced by heavy rains that have battered Iraq over two days, the health ministry and United Nations said on Sunday.