Palestinian rival factions Fatah and Hamas will hold a new round of talks Tuesday in the Egyptian capital to push on with plans for forthcoming elections.

Thousands took to the streets in Syria's last major rebel bastion of Idlib Monday to mark 10 years since the nationwide anti-government protests that sparked the country's devastating civil war.

Three campaign groups announced on Monday a landmark legal case in Moscow against Russian mercenary group Wagner over the torture of a detainee in Syria, aiming to hold to account a murky fighting force with Kremlin links.

The United States' intervention to end Yemen's long conflict has energized a once lifeless peace process, observers say, but savage fighting in the country's north has thrown up yet another barrier.

When Israel this month holds its fourth election in less than two years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hope goodwill from a world-beating Covid vaccination campaign can finally secure him an elusive majority government. 

Kosovo said Sunday it had officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem after becoming the first Muslim-majority territory to recognize the city as Israel's capital.

Benjamin Netanyahu has remained in power as Israeli prime minister for a record 12 consecutive years, partly by convincing some voters that only he can keep the Jewish state safe while defending it on the world stage. 

But on March 23, the 71-year-old wily politician faces his fourth re-election contest in less than two years, after repeatedly failing to unite a coalition behind him, despite his devoted right-wing base. 

The overall death toll for Syria's civil war has reached 388,652 since it began a decade ago this month, a war monitor said on Sunday.

The United Nations Security Council called on Friday for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya "without further delay" in a unanimously approved declaration.

Egypt must stop using anti-terrorism laws to muzzle critics and even keep them in pre-trial detention indefinitely, dozens of countries told the U.N. on Friday.