The Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation launched a joint appeal Sunday for a ceasefire in embattled Syria during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The heads of the Arab League and the OIC, Nabil al-Arabi and Iyad Madani,  urged "all fighting military parties in Syria to commit to a total ceasefire and all acts of violence and fighting in all its forms on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan," a statement said.

The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a $90 million dollar socio-economic development plan for annexed east Jerusalem which focuses on increased security and police presence in the area, the municipality said.

"One of the main goals of the plan that was approved is to bring about a significant decline in violence by means of integrated activity to reduce gaps in infrastructure, employment, education and social welfare and by boosting enforcement and personal security," said a statement from city hall. 

A Saudi citizen kidnapped in Yemen has been freed by his abductors and returned home on Sunday after "huge efforts" to secure his release, the foreign ministry said.

In a statement carried by the official SPA news agency, the ministry gave no details on when Ayedh bin Jibran Mikali had been abducted or who had kidnapped him.

An Egyptian and two Israelis, including an intelligence officer, will be tried by an Egyptian court for allegedly "spying" for Israel, judicial sources said on Sunday.

The Egyptian is in custody and the two Israeli "fugitives" are to be tried in absentia, the sources said. The date of the trial has yet to be fixed.

More than 1,200 Chinese workers have been relocated from conflict-torn northern Iraq to Baghdad, state media said on Sunday, as Iraqi troops fight back against a militant onslaught.

The employees of the state-run China Machinery Engineering Corp (CMEC) were successfully evacuated late last week and are due to return to Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The United Arab Emirates has launched a fundraising campaign to provide potable water to five million people facing shortages in Asia and Africa, local press said on Sunday.

The campaign that began on Saturday has already collected 33.5 million dirhams ($9.1 million, 6.7 million euros), mostly from top companies, and the government called for more donations before it ends on July 17.

A jihadist group in Syria has publicly executed and crucified eight rebels fighting both President Bashar Assad's regime and the jihadists, a monitor said on Sunday.

The report comes amid fierce clashes on the outskirts of Damascus between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is spearheading a major offensive in Iraq, and rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Israel is "ready" to expand its operations in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday after the air force struck 12 targets overnight following a surge in militant rocket fire.

Speaking to ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting, the Israeli premier said the almost-nightly military strikes on Gaza could be expanded should the need arise.

Saudi King Abdullah on Sunday sharply criticized religious extremists, vowing not to let "a handful of terrorists... terrify Muslims", in a speech marking the start of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Islam is "religion of unity, fraternity and mutual support" but some people "lured in by false calls... are confusing reform with terrorism", the monarch said, in comments carried by state news agency SPA.

Iraqi forces pressed a counter-attack on Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit Sunday as Russia delivered Sukhoi warplanes to aid Baghdad in what diplomats warn is an existential battle against Sunni militants.

Alarmed world leaders have urged a speeding up of government formation following April elections, warning the conflict driven by sectarian divides cannot be resolved militarily.