The images are both haunting and inspiring, transforming a once dreary, grim underpass into a vivid, colorful wall of art.

"We want a nation, not a prison," says one painting that depicts a man bursting free from behind bars. "Plant a revolution, and you will harvest a nation," reads another showing a hand flashing the victory sign over protesters heads.

Iraqi officials say the death toll has risen to 10 after overnight clashes between protesters and security forces in Baghdad.

Security and medical officials said one protester died of his injuries Friday morning. He was wounded in bloody street clashes between Ahrar and Sinak bridges the previous night. The officials say over 100 people have been wounded. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

A defiant Benjamin Netanyahu rejected all allegations of graft Thursday, vowing to stay on as leader in Israel despite being indicted on a series of corruption charges.

Netanyahu denounced what he called the "false" and "politically motivated" allegations, hours after being charged by the attorney general with bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin was set Thursday to task parliament with forming a government to avoid new elections, after Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz each failed to form a coalition.

Two protesters were killed and dozens wounded in overnight clashes with security forces in Iraq's capital Baghdad, security and medical sources told AFP on Thursday.

Forces loyal to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar said they shot down an Italian drone in western Libya, flying in a zone under their control.

Israeli authorities closed several Palestinian organizations in Jerusalem Wednesday, including a television channel, an Israeli minister and officials from the organizations said.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman urged arch-rival Iran on Wednesday to abandon an expansionist ideology that has "harmed" its own people, following violent street protests in the Islamic republic.

Israel edged ever closer to a third general election in a year Wednesday, as Benny Gantz announced his Blue and White coalition -- the winner of the most seats in September's national poll -- was unable to form a government.

Two gay Saudi journalists who sought asylum in Australia after being threatened at home over their relationship have been held for weeks at an immigration detention centre, their lawyer said Wednesday.