Mask-clad Muslims circled Islam's holiest site along socially distanced paths on Sunday, as Saudi authorities partially resumed the year-round umrah pilgrimage with extensive health precautions adopted after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus.

Desperate to help his family displaced by Syria's war, pro-Turkey rebel fighter Abu Ahmad is waiting to be deployed to Azerbaijan hoping to earn almost 80 times his current salary.

Kuwait's new emir has big shoes to fill and formidable issues to deal with -- balancing relations with regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran, steering the economy through crisis, and selecting a new crown prince.

Saudi Arabia will reopen the Muslim holy places for the year-round umrah pilgrimage on Sunday, scaled back and with extensive health precautions, seven months after coronavirus prompted its suspension.

Turkey and Iran are increasingly adopting "game-changing" drones as their weapon of choice against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, prompting fears for the safety of civilians and stoking geopolitical tensions.

Two days of talks between representatives of Libya's rival administrations that took place in Egypt this week were "positive" and pave the way for further face-to-face discussions, the U.N. said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper signed a 10-year military cooperation deal with Tunis Wednesday during his first stop on a regional tour, hailing U.S.-Tunisia collaboration over the conflict in neighboring Libya.

The past decade has seen growing cooperation between the Pentagon and Tunisia, particularly on counter-terror training and securing the North African country's long border with Libya, where jihadist groups operate and world powers back rival sides in a complex war.

Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, appointed Kuwait's ruler after the death of his half-brother, is an elder statesman who has held high office for decades but earned a reputation for being modest and low-key.

Kuwait's late ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, an acclaimed diplomat and mediator, was laid to rest on Wednesday, shortly after his half-brother was sworn in as the new emir.

Baghdad is "not happy" with a "dangerous" threat by Washington to pull its troops and diplomats out of Iraq, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Wednesday.